The Problems with Modern Feminism Today

Since 1920 a society has changed, but have the effects of modern feminism created a counter-productive culture? Our society has taken a turn from worse to increasingly better. There are countless women using terms such as “mansplaining” to try and shut down anything factual that a man has to say (Goodwin 1). The pink tax is built on the belief that women are charged more for products when statistically it’s just marketing. Feminists complain of the gender wage gap, but there are countless factors causing it.

Modern feminism has been taken too far, and most arguments displayed by feminists have no statistical support.

History of Feminism

Society was expected to go through radical change when the 20th amendment was ratified. It shouldn’t be expected that people change immediately, change takes time. “Passed by June 4, 1919, and ratified August 18, 1920, the 20th amendment had given women the right to vote. Although this wasn’t the first time women had seen the right to vote”(Wheeler 100). “During the late 1800s and early 1900s Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah had granted women’s suffrage.” (Wheeler 100). The only possible explanation was that the west was more practically minded. All people should have the same rights, regardless of their biological sex.

The second world war, a time of great necessity in America. Men were being drafted left and right to go fight the threat the Japanese had set upon the nation in 1941. Due to the many men leaving, the workplace was in need of attendants. The women of the nation took responsibility and filled the workplace with ease. Iconic in our nation, the many Rosie The Riveters had been tirelessly making bombs, aircraft, and weapons. By the end of the war, the number of women in the workplace had shot up 10% (McNearney 1). Although the influx of women in the workplace had been required for the U.S to make a difference in its war efforts “ Women were making just 31.21 per week, while male counterparts were making 54.65$ weekly” (Mcnearney 1). An unfair amount of comparison. All individuals should be making the same amount of money for the same amount, and type of work. “For 18 years the equal pay for women had been a struggle for feminists, until June 10th, 1963” (National Archive 1). The law signed by John F. Kennedy planned to abolish the pay difference and regardless of sex, would pay equally for the same amount of work for equal qualifications. In the best of hopes, the law would completely abolish all pay differences and take a vital step to modernize feminism.

Issues with Modern Feminism

The pink tax is just marketing, and feminists use no statistically relevant facts. The pink tax is a term feminist use to address that women are charged more for their products than men. Take an example of a razor, a marketer would charge more for the pink razor than the green one. “42 percent of products are targeted to women. As a consequence, women deciding to buy these products are estimated $1351 a year worse off”( Georgenson 1). The average cost per male/female ratio is higher towards women because marketers know that women would pay more for a pink razor. A biological difference expressed through women rather than men. Women are more likely to put up with the two dollars more pink razor. It’s not sexism, it’s marketing. The intentions are not to degrade women, but instead to make the marketer money.

Mansplaining

Mansplaining is when a man tries to explain something to a woman that he assumes she has no idea what he’s talking about. Mansplaining is real, and men stereotype women often. The opposite gender is capable of doing the exact same thing. Think of it as womansplaining. A woman tries to explain how a tampon works when the man didn’t ask to be educated on the term, she just assumed the man had no idea how it worked. The two opposite genders go hand in hand with one another. Mansplaining shouldn’t be a big deal. Man, woman, White, Black, Asian, Hispanic, it’s just common stereotyping.

The Gender Pay Gap is Real

The gender pay gap is real, but with the factors included it explains the reason why women are paid less than men. The first and most important factor to be accounted for is the number of dangerous jobs men take compared to women. “4,761 men dying on the job compared to 386 women in 2017. The fatality rate for men was about 10 times that of women: 5.7 per 100,000 vs. 0.6 per 100,000 for women” (DeVore 1). Equally, men are consequently paid more. “The wage gap without calculated factors is called the raw wage gap, while the gap with the factors included is the calculated wage gap” (DeVore 1). The wage gap that modern feminists refer to is the raw wage gap. They take the percent of the average male salary a year and compare to the annual female salary. Statistically, male’s do make more money, but it doesn’t mean we have a sexist society. It just means men are more inclined to take dangerous jobs and result in getting paid marginally more.

Conclusion

Since the 1920s America has been undergoing a change in feminism, but feminists are pushing the issue too far. Obviously, sexists are real, women are treated unfairly, and some women aren’t paid correctly. It is real, and denying it would be completely deranged. The issue with feminism today is the number of women using these terms to feel victimized. Most women are treated fairly, and the modernization of feminism has assisted that. Thanks to the early feminists pushing women’s suffrage in the 1920s feminists today can say that they have the ability to vote. Feminists today can sue a company if they aren’t paid fairly. Feminists today have the resources now, because of the past. Feminists today take that for granted. They tirelessly push for equal rights and equal pay. The law states that they already have these available. They blame men for the position they’re at politically, or socially. It isn’t fair towards men, and men shouldn’t be blamed for something they didn’t do.

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