Feminism for All

We all need feminism.Feminism—by its dictionary definition and the definition I will stick to—is “the belief that men and women should have equal opportunities” (according to Merriam-Webster). Obviously there are alternative definitions of feminism, most notably the extremist ones, but for the purposes of this article, I will discuss equality between men and women only. I’m not arguing that women are the superior gender; I am arguing for greater equality.Some may be wondering: why do we need to discuss equality? Aren’t women and men already equal? Perhaps in some sense, yes, we are. We both have the right to vote. We both technically have equal opportunity when searching for jobs. We are mostly given equal rights, in the legal sense of the term.But looking through the social lenses—of women in work, women in the media, general views of women’s sexuality—there is a great disparity in equality.According to a September 2013 article in the Wall Street Journal by Brenda Cronin, full-time working women still made 76.5 cents on the dollar in 2012 as compared to full-time working men’s salaries. The article cites a few reasons for why this might be the case: perhaps it’s because some women work fewer hours, or because they choose flexible schedules over higher salaries.Other reasons why women’s pay is still lower are harder to pinpoint, perhaps it’s because women, in general, don’t negotiate their salaries as much, some analysts say. But even since 1990, women have only increased their wages by around 5 cents to the dollar of men’s pay, and it is still not equal. Another study by the American Association of University Women has shown that women in engineering, with degrees from competitive colleges, still only make 88 cents to every dollar of their counterparts. Are women getting gypped?Who’s to blame for the clear economic gap between women and men's salaries? Is it society, for not giving women the opportunities that men have historically always had? Is it women, for not stepping up to match their male peers? Is it a little bit of both? Regardless of who’s at fault, there is still a large disparity between the two salaries, which is a perpetual problem in our world.Economics is not the only problem in modern feminism. There is the problem of women in the media—how Hollywood still romanticizes the male/female relationship. Women are the poor, helpless, victims. Men are the saviors. Many, but not all, modern films still depict dependent relationships, that women need men in order to be happy. Think Transformers. Or James Bond. Or even Disney classics like Sleeping Beauty. This is not to say that women are always objectified in Hollywood. But by in large, women are still the prize, and men are still the champions. Even at Exeter, I’ve heard of a practice in boys’ dorms in which boys who “hook-up” with girls are given free dorm grill food as a reward.It’s not all the men’s faults. It’s women too. It’s women like former Princetonian Susan Patton, who believe that a woman’s priority in life should be to get married and bear some children. Patton, who wrote an article in The Daily Princetonian last year telling Princeton women to hurry up and find husbands, recently wrote a second op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. “You should be spending far more time planning for your husband than your career,” she writes. She chastises women who don’t marry young, because apparently, marriage is equal to success.My problem with Patton is her insistence that all women should have these goals. Women should be allowed to have the same aspirations as men do, and should not be socially stigmatized for choosing lives different from the norm. Maybe some want to settle down and have families, maybe some want to be single and mingling forever, maybe some want to become career women—all these paths are successful in their own ways. Patton is also forgetting the other half of the relationship. As a recent Atlantic article by Lisa Endlich Heffernan points out, men improve in their health, happiness and longevity when married. It’s not just the women who need men. Men need women too. People like Patton need to stop acting as if the only way to survive as a woman is by living off a man. Not to mention that all gender identifications need relationships that pull equal weight on both ends.The final, and perhaps most contentious reason why we still need feminism, is because of the way society views a woman’s sexuality. There is a double standard; as the iconic saying goes, men who sleep around are “bros” and women who sleep around are “hos.” Sex, however, is a two-way street. Both parties are involved. Why should one party be admired while the other ridiculed?I remember talking to my mom about her attitude towards sex. She became emotional. I asked her if she’d react the same way if my brother asked for her opinion on the matter. She said no, because it’s just “different” for men. Society has continued to place women on a pedestal, insinuating that they are pure objects not to be touched.It’s also a shame that society views a woman’s body as always sexual. Why are there still so many problems with women breast-feeding in public places? Why must women cover up when they are in such a natural act? They are not trying to be “sexy” as they’re doing it. A woman’s body is not inherently pornographic.Of course, in some ways, women are achieving today. In America, more women than men go to college. More graduate. But this is not the case everywhere in the world, and women are certainly behind on many other aspects in our country.We have not reached the point at which women and men are equal. Even just the articles in the news, ones that feel the need to point out that woman XYZ was the first woman to achieve some goal XYZ—this is inherently unequal. Why does society feel the need to emphasize gender roles? Thank you to all the guys who have opened doors or bought dinner for girls, I’m sure it’s appreciated. But it’s not, or shouldn’t be, expected. Women should act the same way for guys or girls and vice versa as common courtesy. I’m not asking for special treatment. I’m asking for respect. That’s true chivalry.This is a problem that won’t fix itself. In today’s society, women are unequal to men, and all men, women and etc. must work toward greater equality. And equality can’t just come from one end—equality in all ways calls for equal rights and equal responsibility, even if that means women should be able to be drafted. We all need feminism in our lives. Women are roughly fifty percent of the population. It’s time we stand up for them.