Please edit and revise my essay

Amey Nguyen

Doctor Austin

English 1302 Fall 2016

5 October 2016

Past Feminism Vs. Today's Feminism

Since the creating of Adam and Eve, women and men have always been viewed and

treated differently; and that is not necessarily a positive thing. Especially when females were

viewed as fragile and less intelligent. Females that are victimized from these inequalities are

extremely unhappy. July 13, 1848 was the the first known date for the beginning of the women's

rights movement. Women from all over the time line had gotten together to fight for equality

with men. These ladies of the past had successfully gained all American women more

economical, social, and political rights. However, today's feminist are walking into unknown

waters. The only thing that today's feminist had done “Successfully”, was gaining American

women the right to be drafted into the military and be viewed as a man's “equal”. They fight

saying they speak for all women, but not every female agrees.

On July 13, 1848 Elizabeth Cady Stanton was invited to a tea party with four other

women. It was just a normal tea party on a hot summer day, until the conversation about

women's rights came up. Elizabeth Stanton had expressed her frustrations and listed many issue

that had justified her feelings. Some of what was listed on that day, were how women are

practically dead after marriage in the eye of their society, women had to follow laws that they did

not even have a saying in, and women were not allowed to participate in professions that fall

under the law or medical field. Stanton was upset and so were her fellow tea mates. They then

decided to get together and organize a future meeting with other females to take actions. Soon

after, Elizabeth Stanton and Susan B. Anthony created The National Women Suffrage

Association in 1869. But what really pushed for this, all women's group, was their prior failed

attempt of gaining suffrage through teaming up with former male slaves. They first teamed up in

hopes of when the former slaves gain the right to vote, so will women. But that was not the case

when the fifteenth amendment was passed. The fifteenth amendment had stated “ That no

American citizen will be denied the right to vote based on their race, class, or pass servitude”.

No were in the fifteenth amendment does it say anything about women's rights to vote. Another

historical example of this prejudice was exemplified in 1908. A case had gone through the

supreme court in 1905; Lochner verses New York. The cause of this case was due to New York

wanted to restrict baker's weekly working hours to only 60. Outraged the bakers took it to the

supreme court pleading the fourteenth. The supreme court had ruled it unconstitutional and it

was not passed. However, a similar case in 1908 emerged. Muller versed Oregon, had involved

Oregon wanting to restrict women's hours to only 10 a day. When brought to the face of the

supreme court, they had passed the law. Their reasoning was that if a women was to work any

more than 10 hours a day it would shift their female organs, rendering them infertile for the rest

of their life. Although women have been victims of this prejudice society, that was not the case

for too long.

As history has claimed, women joining together for equality can be quite effective. There

have been many different women groups all over history, but they all come together for one

purpose, and that purpose is to make life easier on women all over the United States of America.

A few of these groups became the focal points for the feminists. For an example, the Center for

Women's Glob Leadership (CWGL) in 1982 and the UN World Conference on Human Rights

(WCHR) in 1991, one focusing on women, human rights, and violence and the other on

activism; both on equality. A major achievement for these historical feminists is the nineteenth

amendment, which finally allowed women to participate in voting and have a voice in politics.

Another hug leap for women-kind was when they stepped foot into a public office as an

employee. This is a big deal because women went from not even being allowed to have a word in

what laws or regulations are passed, to being some of the few who think them up. Even today,

more and more women are being elected into public offices. With the increasing numbers, people

are starting to ask themselves why this is happening and what is the side-effects. Some

experiments were conducted to find out the answers. The results shows that with more female

influence in these offices are impacting public policies immensely. View points that, the male

gender, would not have considered in the first place are effecting how the US is deal with their

issues and laws. Also women in the past were viewed as a fragile and unintelligent gender, Jane

Colden was one of the few women to change that kind of thinking. America's first female

scientist, Jane Colden, was just completing “her own catalog of over three hundred plants and

gained public recognition for her bountiful discoveries”(Soloman 59). Bringing a different point

of view and a ripple effect through history and women's relationship with education. All of these

amazing women have sent the stones for the future generations and pushing the limits that men

though women could never do before.

Although there have been positive outcomes due to women coming together in the past.

Today's feminist groups are fighting for all of the wrong reasons and bring more negative than

positive effects to the table. The current day feminists are trying to fight for equality, that is

already currently there. They say that they want to be equal with men, but some even wants to be

viewed as a man. Some would even get offended if they were referred to as a “her” or a “she”.

Although it is not outrageous to be referred to as the gender you were given at birth, some

feminists believe that since the times have changed, so should this “issue”. The issue they are

referring to is not a real issue. Their issue is that they are tired and frustrated that they were not

able to choose their own gender at birth. They are also fighting and claiming that they are

fighting for all women as a whole. However, not everyone agrees with what they stand for. If

they were to fight for something they believe in, they should fight in the name of themselves

instead of calling themselves feminist; because not all women agrees with them. Its offensive for

them to refer themselves to such a great historical group of women. In fact the historical feminist

had fought with an all women group. They had believe that if they were to have males be apart

of their group would over shadow them. That is also a major difference to today's feminist, a

quarter of today's feminist are men. When Elizabeth Cady Stanton decided to fight and speak for

all American women, she had first spoken to her fellow female friends as well as setting a date

for all local females to talk on the matter. She had confirmed that every female had felt the same

as she and her friends; and not assumed that all American female feel as passionately as she had.

The feminist group wants to fight and have men treat them as their own. So these females would

go out of their way to pay for meals on dates, open their own doors, ask a men out, and even

strike a men with their fist. All may seem harmless, but what they are doing is causing a larger

effect on other people's thinking then they know. And not all women are happy with the

outcome.

Today's feminists are “winning” American women unwanted gifts. They are fighting to be

men's equal, yet they have not considered everyone's point of view. It has gone so far as women

being required to be enlisted on draft if they turn eighteen on or after the first of January 2018.

Senator John McCain said the reason for it was that, “every single leader in this country, both

men and women, members of the military leadership, believe that it’s fair since we opened up all

aspects of the military to women that they would also be registering for Selective Services”

(Ste inhauer). Basically saying that since women are already able to participate in the military

and is constantly fighting for equality, then it only makes sense for them to participate in the

draft as well. It is not just the government that is starting to view females differently, it is also

everyday men as well. The gender roles in relationships today is all messed up and switched.

Males are expecting girls to pay for their own tab or the entire tab when they go out on dates.

Males are expecting girls not to expect anything on holiday's or birthdays, but will expect

expensive gift on their own birthdays. Males are now believing it is okay to strike a women.

Males are no longer lending their jackets to girls at a cold restaurant, opening doors, or pulling

out seats. Women now a days are going so far as to ask a man out instead of the other way

around. Something that use to be seen as “easy” is now just apart of today's norms. Their are no

longer standards for a good partner anymore and those that has standards are viewed as needy or

picky. The feminists are okay with it now, but wont be when they have grown up and have

children, wondering “where their baby-daddy at?”. Women that follows the old standards are left

with males that don't care and they are not happy about it. America's society view point on

women is being shifted by today's women activists.

Since the the 1800's women have gathered together in a fight for equality with men.

Though the journey was not easy, they have prevailed in the end. Women were able to gain the

rights to vote, work in public offices, and make men take female education seriously. Women are

no longer seen as delicate or as ignorant as men thought. Today's women are following in these

hero's foot step and calling themselves feminists. However, they do not have the same morals as

the past feminist. The current day feminist are fighting for totally different reasons. Not only

have they not been able to gain anything beneficial for American women all over the United

States, they have successfully gained American women the rights to be drafted into the military

and changing society's view on them for the worst.

Work Cited

Butler, Judith P. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York,

Routledge, 1990.

Peters, Julie, and Andrea Wolper. Women's Rights, Human Rights: International Feminist

Perspectives. New York, Routledge, 1995.

Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!: an American History. 4th ed., vol. 2, New York, W.W. Norton

&Amp; Co., 2014.

Carroll, Susan J. The Impact of Women in Public Office. Bloomington, Indiana University Press,

2001.

Steinhauer, Jennifer. “Senate Votes to Require Women to Register for the Draft.” The New York

Times, The New York Times, 14 June 2016,

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/15/us/politics/congress- women-military-draft.html.