We Still Need Feminism Today

In terms of cognitive perception, there can be little doubt that both genders experience reality and emotion in much the same way. Regardless of gender or biological sex, in other words, human beings tend to have nearly identical emotional palettes and capacities for mental and physical pain. Because causing pain to a woman is as immoral and unethical as causing emotional and/or physical pain to a man, and because discrimination causes individuals pain, discrimination against women is immoral and unethical.

Moreover, because of the extremely deleterious effects of social prejudice on women, discrimination against and persecution of women in the form of antifeminism is also immoral and unethical. Just as a man would regard it as a significant moral offense to be subjected to mental or physical pain during a social encounter such as a job interview or a discussion about a pay raise, it is equally morally objectionable to subject a woman to such pain.

Undoubtedly, much violence against women occurs due to widespread beliefs about the role of women within society. For example, domestic attacks perpetuated on women by men often stem from controlling behaviors on the part of such men; these behaviors are reinforced by cultural notions that women should be subservient to their male counterparts and/or that men should be the heads of both their households and their societal institutions.

In Afghanistan, for example, a strong culture of discrimination against women has led to an epidemic of acid attacks against females who do not “fit in” with notions of traditional femininity. According to the BBC, moreover, Afghani civil rights leader Malala Yousafzai was shot by a member of the Taliban for speaking up against the lack of educational opportunities for women within the country.

As in the case of the Taliban, it is clear that distorted and violent notions of masculine behavior tend to emerge around fundamentally antifeminist belief systems such as ultraconservatism and ultra-religious orthodoxy. They also enable other members of society to sweep episodes of violence “under the rug” via a system of denial and cognitive dissonance. For years before allegations against him were widespread, for example, the powerful Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein acted against women with almost total impunity.

o wit, unless the relationship between traditional notions of femininity and male violence are addressed via feminism, widespread violence against women is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

For women who grow up in a patriarchal society, the capacity for internalizing negative beliefs about female roles within the culture at large can be both immense and catastrophic in its effects. When society objectifies women on a regular basis, for example, many women will begin to base their self-worth solely on their appearance. This is a harmful and unacceptable outcome. It is also an outcome that feminist theory can help society avoid in the future.

It is also clear that current notions around femininity subtly reinforce the power of men while denigrating women. Within popular culture, men can be depicted as slovenly and careless about their appearance. Such men are even regarded as antiheroes and countercultural icons.

Yet women who neglect their looks in the same way often become objects of shame and ridicule. Tabloids regularly feature photo spreads of female celebrities that serve to denigrate any powerful woman who does not maintain a “perfect” appearance at all times. This kind of body-shaming perpetuates a cycle of social embarrassment in which women of all ages struggle to develop genuine foundations of self-esteem; that struggle can manifest itself in a variety of mental health conditions such as eating and anxiety disorders. If women do manage to succeed under the pressures of such a system they are are often made to feel as though their success is only due to their outward appearance.

It might be almost beside the point to assert that such a system violates the human rights of women. This is not the ideal of a country such as the United States, where all people should be regarded as equal regardless of their gender, sexuality, or ethnic background. To discard that ideal is to discard one of the most fundamental values in the American belief system.

One of the greatest arguments for the relevance of feminism lies in the fact that feminism has advanced society for hundreds of years. We need only look at what society used to be to recognize that feminist change was essential for moral progress. Moreover, to deny the continual need for such change in the future would be to effectively hold society back from moral progress. A glance at any history book shows this to be true.

For example, women during the Victorian era were treated as little more than human chattel: A married woman was the property of her husband, and the power that such men could exert over their wives was often abused in the extreme. According to The Atlantic Monthly, a man who was dissatisfied with his wife’s behavior during the Victorian era could have his wife committed to an insane asylum. There, his wife could be subjected to electro-shock “therapy” in a bid to “cure” troubling behaviors such as “insubordination.”

Tragically, any woman who spoke out against an emotionally or physically abusive husband could be branded as a “lunatic” and locked away for years. Tragically, with the absolute male power of the Victorian patriarchy came the absolute power to silence any assertion of female rights.

To halt the progress of feminism would be to return to an age such as this. Moreover, we do not yet know how future societies will view our own treatment of women: The way in which women are treated in contemporary society may one day be seen as a profound injustice. Because it is the duty of every citizen to root out and eliminate injustice, it is the duty of every citizen to support the rights of women and fight for feminist ideals. To do less would be to shirk a civic responsibility, and history has looked unkindly on those who have remained silent when innocent people have suffered.