Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Miscellaneous None Provided4 None Provided4 Feminism is defined as the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. It began as an organized activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests. This concept was developed to help women earn a place in a predominantly male society. Unfortunately over the years, the intentions of feminism have become distorted, not only by anti-feminists, but also by the feminists themselves. The principle of equality for women and men has turned into a fight in which feminists wish to be better than men. Feminism has been twisted and misunderstood so much that it has become a harmful idea. Michael Levin, a professor of philosophy and author of the book Feminism and Freedom, faults feminism for trying to impose an inappropriate equality on men and women that conflicts basic biological differences between the sexes (Levin, Taking Sides, 42). Women are not the same as men, neither physically nor psychologically. In the past, men tended to be the stronger more powerful gender, while women have traditionally been viewed as the weaker, more feeble one. The untrue assumption that men and women are the same in their ways of thinking and physical capabilities leads to the failure of the feminist message. Their agenda of eliminating all observable differences between men and women is doomed to fail and will inflict more pain than gain in the process. Recognizing the differences between the sexes and allowing each to do what they are strongest at will in the long run make society stronger, more efficient, and more effective. The first problem Levin tackles is the one of socioeconomic inequalities; simply said, the pay and job position differences between men and women. Levin does not blame this on sexism, but rather it results largely from women’s choices. In the traditional society, women have stayed home and had the responsibilities of the family and the home care, while men went out and worked. In today’s society, this is less common, but still holds true to some degree. A typical situation is that a woman attends college and then establishes her career. After working in the field for several years, she may decide to marry and start a family. This then takes her out of the work force for several years. Meanwhile, a man who had the same education and the same job has remained in the field for the entire time the woman has been raising her family. When she decides to return to the field, she is far behind the man, not because she is not qualified, but simply because he has had more years of experience than she has. This places the women in a situation where she will be at a lower level than the male, as well as being paid less. Furthermore, gender inequalities are no proof of discrimination because no doctrine is more influential in shaping institutional and public life than feminism. In fact, political leaders of every persuasion reflectively employ gender quotas. This quota mentality now dominates all phases of employment. If the company has more than fifteen employees or receives money from the government, they must obey the laws of Affirmative Action, which states that these organizations must proportionally represent the population with the employees it hires. This is true not only for minorities, but also for females and the handicapped. This means that if the geographical area that the business is located has a 40% female population, than the company must have 40% of its employees to be females. This would be applicable in a situation such as if two equally qualified candidates applied for a job, and the decision is between a man and a woman. If the company is below its quota number for women, than the job would legally and automatically be awarded to her. Several reasons exist why women earn lower average wages than men do. The aforementioned reason of women leaving the market while men remain in the field is one possibility. Another cause of these differences is the variances in the motives which lead men and women into the labor market. In the past, women would get a part time job when the children were in school for extra income or to keep busy. Today, however, more women are making careers for themselves. Men and women also invest their human capital differently, mostly due to varying physical abilities between men and women. Studies have been performed on the brain differences between men and women. One sex is not superior or inferior to the other; women and men just think differently. This is evident in the manner in which women and men solve the same problems. If you were to present a situation or a problem to be solved to both a man and a woman, most likely their thought pattern would be different, even if their conclusions were the same. The psychological abilities are not the same; men favor spatial while women excel in verbal. This supports the fact that there are more male engineers and computer science jobs held by men than women. This could also contribute to the differences in money, since these jobs traditionally pay higher than jobs such as teaching and nursing which were traditionally held by women. In today’s society, men that monopolize leadership positions because they try harder to get them does not mean that men deserve these positions or that men do a better job in them than women would do if they became leaders. Women need to determine whether or not they choose to work towards these positions of power and authority. Most often, they need to work harder to earn the jobs, so as to prove themselves worthy not only to the organization and to co-workers, but also to themselves. Gender quotas are the most persuasive influence of feminism in America. Quotas deny benefits and impose burdens on individuals not responsible for any wrongs. They cannot be justified as compensation, inspiration, or prevention, and they decrease economic efficiency (Levin, 50). If two equal parties applied for a job, as previously mentioned, and the decision had to be made between a man and a woman, the job would be granted to the women if the quotas were not filled. This, however, can also work in reverse for men in fields such as nursing that are predominantly female. Gender differences will emerge in any human social organization. Every society that has ever existed has associated familial authority with the male and conferred the overwhelming majority of the positions of power on males. In every known society, the male’s need for achievement can be recognized, while women have been taught to remain silent for so long. Many believe that men will strive harder than women to reach the top of the hierarchies they encounter merely because of their incessant need to boost their egos. As women have gained equality, they have become a group of vicious victims, who blame others for their inability to cope. Men feel obliged to apologize for everything and to everybody. Extreme feminists make men feel that their only alternative is to give up; if they are nice, women think they have ulterior motives, and if they are mean, women think they are cold and heartless. It seems almost as if the sexist ideals held by men have been turned against them. Nowadays, male bashing is as common as the idea of “women-as-property” was a hundred years ago. Male bashing can be seen as mere ventilation and leaves women yet unfulfilled. Women have become liberated and vocal while men remain untrained and uncertain in sensitive interaction. Even though society has distorted the ideals feminism was founded upon, some of the remaining true roots still hold true. While women are gaining equal opportunities in society, they need to not diminish the importance of working together with men to form a functional society. The widespread idea of quotas needs to be analyzed. People should be accepted into college or hired for a job because they are the most qualified, not because of their sex. Society has demented feminism as a harmful dogma because it has been an excuse, almost a cop-out by women who do not want to work for their acceptance. Both men and women need to realize the necessity that exists for each other to make society work. Bibliography: Works Cited Levin, M. “Feminism and Freedom” Transaction Books, 1987. Excerpt form Taking Sides, 44-50. Word Count: 1399
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