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The American Feminist Movement: Equal Rights For Women

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Equal Rights for Women Have women’s rights always been the same? The answer is no, not at all. Women have gone through a lot to get equal rights. A woman is seen of little worth to most men because of the stereotypes that exist. Such as women having to do all the housework, women receiving less pay, and women taking forever to do anything. Even though it has taken quite some time, through their hard work women have proved that not all stereotypes are true. The American Feminist Movement focused on women receiving the same equal rights as men through protests, books, and marches. Women were limited in almost every aspect in their lives, but men had more advantages. Women were especially limited in getting good jobs. “The 38 percent of American …show more content…
Women wanted to do everything in their power to show society that they were just as capable as men, and that was why they deserved equal rights. “The women’s movement used different means to strive for equality: lobbying congress to change laws; publicizing issues like rape and domestic violence through the media; and reaching out to ordinary women to both expand the movement and raise their awareness of how feminism could help them” ("The 1960s-70s American Feminist Movement: Breaking Down Barriers for Women"). Women realized that it was not right to be treated inferior to men. Women protested in front of thousands of people to spread awareness to their cause. The use of the media also helped these women get in touch with others that felt the same way, about women being looked down upon. It was a long process and there were many obstacles throughout the way. For example, women had to put up with the fact that men did not want anything to change. They wanted to stay in control and be superior to women. Women were “attacked” and called many disgusting names because they were trying to fight to be as equal as men were. This did not stop women from protesting and marching for what they knew was right. Women were determined to gain equality, and they soon achieved it. "Today the gains of the feminist movement — women's equal access to education, their increased participation in politics and the workplace, their access to abortion and birth control, the existence of resources to aid domestic violence and rape victims, and the legal protection of women's rights — are often taken for granted. While feminists continue to strive for increased equality, as Betty Friedan wrote, "What used to be the feminist agenda is now an everyday reality” ("The 1960s-70s American Feminist Movement:

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