My Semester in a Women's Study Class

It is amazing to see the leaps and bounds women have taken throughout US history. Once being slaves to their husband's whims, women have fought their way from nearly the lowest ranks in society to a point where there is almost complete equality. 

As of today women have stepped into the roles in the work place that were once considered a man's job. Women today are found in every industry and even positions of power within a company. Even with this fairly new chance for equal opportunities, there is still and issue with unequal pay that needs to be taken care of. For some reason the US still has women making less than a man working the same job, in many situations. Women are also assumed to have specific jobs while working in a certain field. For example, if a women is working at a hospital she is assumed to be a nurse or if a women is working at office building it is assumed that she is a secretary. It is these almost automatic speculations that we need to get out of the heads of Americans. This, of course, will take time.

As we have discussed in class, social movements go in waves like a bell curve. Right now I believe we are working our way to the top of one of these curves. The media has definitely been showing women's inequality as an issue in our society as of late. With the "This is What a Feminist Looks Like" campaign in Europe, supported by big names like Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Emma Watson, the trend is slowing making its way to the US because of our love for these amazing stars.  

This course has definitely opened my eyes to the struggles that women have faced to get to where they are today and also to the future struggles that they will continue to face to get to where they should be. I still believe that the word feminist leaves a bad taste in peoples' mouths and will continue to do so until they are educated on what the world really means. I never really thought of myself as a feminist before but I have always believed that everyone should be treated equally regardless of race, sex, gender, or sexual orientation.

"Feminism is a collection of movements and ideologies that share a common goal: to define, establish, and achieve equal political, economic, cultural, personal, and social rights for women. This includes seeking to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment. A feminist advocates or supports the rights and equality of women." (Thank you Wikipedia) 

Equal opportunities for women. I think this is the key fact here. I will admit that I have almost always associated the word feminist with radial feminist. But feminism isn't about making women better than everyone else it is about allowing them the same opportunities as men. The movement needed to get off the ground somehow and without these radical feminists however, that might never have happened. There is always a fine line to balance when it comes to social movements and this one is no different. There is still more work to be done but what the public needs right now is education.