Women in the 1990s Essay -- Essays Papers

Women in the 1990's In today’s technological society it is hard to imagine that trivial things from the past like discrimination or prejudice are still present, but they are. Yes we still have racism, but for the most part this is only a problem of the less educated and vocal minority. There is a different prejudice that is deep rooted in this land of freedom and prosperity. This prejudice is sexism. The basic definition of sexism is when a person of either sex is discriminated against in any way based on their gender. But history has recorded that men, usual in every society in this world, have always been the dominant sex and women have taken a lower role. This has been especially true in the United States throughout its history. Women always seemed to be the one who took care of the children and home as the men went to work and earned a living. Women do not have the choice to give birth to children, but they should have a choice in whether they are the primary care givers to that child. Betty Friedan, a well-known feminist, writes, â€Å"We are still very mother-centered. It’s still ‘mother, mother, mother,’ when it really should be ‘mother, father, society.’†1 What she means by this is that society still has not overcome the discriminatory thought that the mother should not work and stay home with the kids. Although this is very deep rooted, women in today’s society are making advancements, in part because of the efforts of Betty Friedan. Friedan wrote the Feminist Mystique, a book about women's roles in society in the 1950's. This book is often reviered as the most influential piece of women's rights which sparked the movement for change. In 1966, Friedan cofounded a organization called NOW, and was named the presid... ...nt aspects were discussed and brought to the world’s attention. The attention that it received helped to bring about awareness of women’s rights all over the world. Not only did it bring about awareness of inequality; it helped to set the standards and goals which they wanted to achieve. They discussed issues ranging from abortion to lesbian right's .3 As you can see, there are many changes being brought about in the 1990’s to reform the way women are treated and looked upon in a sexist world society ruled by men. Although these groups and individuals have not yet reached their final goal of equality for all, they have got the message out that this is unacceptable. Nothing happens overnight, there are many steps to reform and these groups are on the right path. They are starting to get societies to see that women are human too and they should be treated as equal.