Vivas 1
The issue of feminism is still debated today by both males and females who are either for or against it. Many women in particular feel that enough strides have been made to bring equality to women; therefore, the feminist movement is no longer needed.
Many feel that now that “the problem that had no name” (Friedan XVI) has been named and strides made that we can all breath a little easier. However, there is still inequality for women in the US, and danger still exists that some of the hard earned rights we have already won will be taken away. In order to prevent this from happening women must remain diligent about staying informed about issues that pertain to female rights, and fight when injustice is being allowed to happen. Feminism is still needed to protect the rights of women in the workplace, of our rights to choose whether or not to bear a child, and of our rights to protect ourselves from abuse.
In the workplace there is still a struggle for equal pay for equal work among women. Though more women now hold jobs in the upper echelon of both the business, medical and governmental world, there is still inequality in terms of the salary women receive in comparison to the salary of men. A census done for 1999 showed that the median income for men was $35,922, and for women it was $26,292 (McCuen-Metherell
& Winkler 555). That’s a large discrepancy for women and that extra money could make a big difference in the everyday struggle to pay bills, and put food on the table. In 2004, women employed by Walmart filed a huge lawsuit against their employer for discrimination of women. They receive lesser pay than men for holding the same position and it takes women longer to be promoted to the management level. This salary gender gap will continue to grow unless something is done to stop it and that’s where the feminist movement comes in, “to stimulate men and women to transform the aims of equality into reality” (Gubata 557).
Another danger is the issue over a women’s right to choose whether or not to have an abortion. Though many may think this issue was long ago settled in Roe v. Wade, it is still a hotbed of controversy. Republican legislature which was signed by Gov. Mike
Rounds attempted to get a ban on abortion passed in South Dakota (Barone). Though the law was rejected by a margin of 56 to 44, it shows that there are still many people out

Vivas 2 there waiting for an opportunity to once again make abortion illegal. They have forgotten the days where women, ashamed and horrified were going to supposed doctors to be butchered, where women were dying or severely damaging their inner bodies by resorting to the wire coat-hanger method. Feminism helps fight for these rights as well as others.
Though some opinions of feminism is that it’s “an outdated, misdirected ideology”
(Rubins 560) it is a necessary movement because there is still injustices in the US that need to be addressed. Without the feminist movement it would be harder to bring about change for women.
Feminism must also exist in order to fight to get better laws passed against those who rape and abuse women. The laws in most states are not harsh enough to curtail criminal acts against women. Laws right now against rapists are abysmal, because women are still not yet valued as equals. It’s widely known that 17% of women residing in the US have been raped, and it’s probably close to twice or three times that amount, because most cases of rape go unreported. It is also a well known fact that most rapists will repeat the crime again and again, and yet they are still given light sentences as though violating a women’s body is not worth much. Women who travel alone especially have to take care when being around men. It’s all good and well to be told to avoid putting yourself in a situation where you would be in danger, but you can still end up fearing for your safety when you’re at home, on the road, at school and so on. These fears have prompted some women such as Linda M. Hasselstrom to carry a gun because they’re convinced they’re safer when they have it (524-527). With feminism, women can join together to get these laws changed, so that we don’t have to wonder whether or not we should get a gun.
Feminism is not the fight for women to be treated better than a man, it’s the fight to be viewed and treated as the equal of a man, no more no less. If a women works hard they should be paid accordingly, not paid less because they are female. The whole battle behind feminism is not to get special treatment, but to avoid being treated special. We do not want to be viewed as second class because of our physiological makeup, let our characters and skills decide our treatment. Feminism will always be an issue, but if it wasn’t still necessary it would not exist any longer.

Vivas 3
Barone, Michael. “The Abortion Issue: No Longer Salient”. U.S. News & World Report.
11 Nov 2006. 8 Dec 2006.
<http://www.usnews.com/usnews/opinion/baroneblog/archives/061117/the_aborti on_is.htm>.
Friedan, Betty. The Feminine Mystique. New York, 2001.
Gubata, Kate. “The New Feminism”. Readings For Writers. Ed. Jo Ray McCuen-
Metherell and Anthony C. Winkler. Boston: Thomas Wadsworth, 2007. 556-557.
Hasselstrom, Linda M. “A Peaceful Woman Explains Why She Carries a Gun”. Readings
For Writers. Ed. Jo Ray McCuen-Metherell and Anthony C. Winkler. Boston:
Thomas Wadsworth, 2007. 524-527.
McCuen-Metherell, Jo Ray & Winkler, Anthony C. “Issue For Critical Thinking and
Debate: The Status of Women”. Readings For Writers. Ed. Jo Ray McCuen-
Metherell and Anthony C. Winkler. Boston: Thomas Wadsworth, 2007. 555-556.
Rubins, Rebecca E., “The Farce of Feminism”. Readings For Writers. Ed. Jo Ray
McCuen-Metherell and Anthony C. Winkler. Boston: Thomas Wadsworth, 2007. 560-
561.