Introduction
What is the first word coming to your mind when you see a picture of a woman’s body? What about a man’s? Undoubtedly, almost every country in the world is dominated by a patriarchal society. The misbalance of rights and powers between males and females exists everywhere. Bette Davis has said, “When a man gives his opinion, he’s a man. When a woman gives her opinion, she’s a bitch.” It sounds a little bit exaggerative, but it clearly defines the position of females. When a female tries to express her opinion, people tend to suspect her or critique her more severely than a man’s point of view. To eliminate the bias, females try to fight for their rights. That is the principal reason for feminism’s existence. Nowadays feminism issue is of great importance not only for western countries but also for eastern ones as women’s rights are discriminated everywhere including their position at work, in the family, and different public events resulting in the risk of sexual harassment, sexual assault, psychological pressure, and subordinate position in general.
Main body
First of all, it is necessary to identify what exactly feminism is. According to the dictionary definition, feminism is “a theory and/or movement concerned with advancing the position of women through such means as the achievement of political, legal, or economic rights equal to those granted to men” (Defining Feminism: A Comparative Historical Approach, Karen Offen, p. 123). However, feminism does not have an exact form. Rebecca West, a female writer, states, “I have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat.” Focusing on this quotation, one could determine that all the behavior that tends to argue for females’ rights could be considered as feminism. Some people suppose that feminism is the opposition of women versus men. In this connection, women could gain more power and even dominate society as men do nowadays. It is partially correct because some of the extreme feminists hold that point of view. However, the key goal of the majority of feminists is to establish real fairness between genders. Consequently, feminists fight mostly against gender discrimination including the gender stereotype that males tend to be strong and protect the family, or that they should not like pink color.
Other people consider that bias and unfairness between men and women exist, but it is not too serious and even acceptable. However, is it acceptable or do people educated to accept it? Regardless of western or eastern country, males controlled the culture and society for centuries. For example, China was dominated by feudal society for nearly 2400 years. During that time, females were educated as something belongings to males. There were plenty of rules to judge a female whether she is a good woman or not. For instance, a woman should follow what her husband said, and if her husband is gone, then she should follow what her son said; or a good woman should not be educated and other aspects. Even princesses of that time have been used as a tool to establish peace between two empires using marriage to an emperor or a prince she had never met before. Today, the influence of the tradition remains. Most Chinese people still thought women are “weak” and “ignorant”. In this connection, the majority of the manager-level employees in organizations are males.
The tendency exists not only in China but also in western countries. There is a short French video called Oppressed Majority reversing the position and the “social duty” of males and females and ironically showing emotions and feelings while people are being treated unfairly using a man’s point of view. In this video, several shirtless women are running in the street while men were taking care of babies and waiting for their wives. When the main character was riding the bicycle, he has been sexually harassed by women. The latter threatened and laughed at him when he tried to protect himself. His wife denounced him because he clothed the short-sleeved shirt, and he should not complain about what had happened. Such problems are essential for females. Nevertheless, a lot of comments said that it was ridiculous, and even several women expressed such a view. As a matter of fact, due to the tradition and the education we have today, plenty of people both male and female do not aware of the unfairness concerning females. It is one of the reasons why people should take feminism into account.
The second reason for feminism necessity nowadays is that gender discrimination could cause sexual harassment. Consequently, women should have appropriate rights to protect themselves. “Girls for Gender Equity place sexist street harassment on a continuum of public violence that circumscribes girls’ movement to school, home, and places of leisure” (Intimate Injustice, Political Obligation, and the Dark Ghetto, Shatema Threadcraft, p. 735). Even the place identified as “Gender Equity” is not safe enough for girls. It seems that the law is not perfect, and the public opinion of sexual harassment might influence a woman’s life negatively. In many countries’ laws, sexual harassment is not as pressing as sexual assault. In other words, the physical consequence caused by sexual harassment is not as horrible as those caused by sexual assault.
However, the psychological impact is almost the same for the victim. It is also should be noted that when a sexual harassment case is posted on the public website, there are always several comments suspecting the victim whether they looked sexy or clothed in a short skirt. Even if a girl looks attractive or wears a short skirt, she should not be harassed. An example of such a case happened just a few days ago in China. At a wedding party of two stars, the group of best men joked to a bridesmaid trying to throw her into a pool. The dress of the bridesmaid was made of muslin, and if she would be pushed into the water, everyone in that wedding party might see her body. Fortunately, another bridesmaid saved her. After the post of the video clip online, most of the public felt angry about it, the victim came and apologized that she did not coordinate the joke while none of the best men apologized. The most terrible thing is that such kind of jokes exists in several provinces, and already causes some bridesmaids’ suicide. This case shows the absolute lack of respect for females. Thus, helping females avoid sexual harassment as well as sexual assault is important for feminism.
The last but not least, women are treated unfairly both in the family and at work. “In most Asian countries, women are more likely than men to engage in unpaid work on a family farm or business” (Economic Development Has Improved Lives of Asian Women, but Cultural Traditions Can Limit Its Effects, S. Edwards, p. 81). In Asia, females suppose to do most of the housework even if they have their job. It means that Asian employed women should do the housework after work along with concerns of education problems of her children. Mostly, her husband would not help her with the cleaning and children’s education issues. In addition, in Asia, females are expected to marry a man as early as possible. “You will not find a good husband after 30,” state all their surrounding. It is the statement that Chinese young girls heard from their parents and relatives very often. According to the data collected in 1996, since 1960, the average age when women get married is around 18 to 20 in South Asia; and around 21 to 25 in East and Southeast Asia (Economic Development Has Improved Lives of Asian Women, but Cultural Traditions Can Limit Its Effects, S. Edwards, p. 82). The most important point is not the very young age of girls before marriage. It is rather significant to make life fair for females letting them have the right to choose the age of marriage or to become white-collar or a housewife. Women’s decisions should not be forced by their families or society. The above point confirms the importance of feminism, too.
Conclusion
To conclude, feminism is necessary today because our society has a lack of resection and laws to protect females from sexual harassment. Besides, society did not give females enough respect to make their own decisions in life. Some of the females do not aware of the unfairness. Thus, feminism needs to be considered if females want to have equal rights with males.