One of the most apparent problems in modern society today is the difference in gender inequality throughout the entire country of the United States. Despite progress being made over recent years, there have been emerging problems that show the differences in numerous fields between males and females, whether it is politics, wealth, education, or simply the different ways that each sex is treated daily. Moreover, females are discriminated against in multiple areas of life and it is one of the most glaring problems in society today and it needs to be addressed more effectively. After looking at “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman it was apparent how the “Rest Cure” was an extreme and effective use of treatment that was commonly used to treat women dealing with neurasthenia throughout the duration of the 19th and 20th centuries. This type of treatment helped develop stereotypes that women need to be secluded and are to “weak” to engage in a type of cure like the “West Cure”. These stereotypes caused by the “Rest Cure” are still actively present in society today.

Throughout the course of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “Yellow Wallpaper” it was evident how women were treated vastly different for neurasthenia than men were at the time. In society nowadays women are stereotyped as being weaker and less durable than men, and this stereotype is still seen actively today. In the “Yellow Wallpaper” the narrator is progressively losing her sanity due to the inhumane treatments that her husband is administering her. The narrator is treated as inferior and weak, the husband chooses to force the woman to rest her body both intellectually and physically. Gilman was widely regarded as a leader in the woman’s suffrage movement during her life and she is able to highlight the stereotypes that women were faced with by using the treatments that the husband treats the narrator with. Gilman also makes sure to note how unsuccessful the treatments are, and as a result the husband blames the narrator. She goes on to write “I have a schedule prescription for each hour in the day” (Gilman 301). The husband micromanages the narrator to every “hour in the day” resulting in the narrator having no freedom. Gilman chooses to include the intense treatment that the women faces to show how women are expected to listen to men. By highlighting all of the stereotypes that women were being faced with on a daily basis, it allows for Gilman to show how they need to be corrected in society. 

After looking at “Bulletin of the History of Medicine” by David G. Schuster it was apparent how the “Rest Cure” was one of the catalysts for developing negative stereotypes of women that are still apparent in our culture today. In the article, Schuster specifically focuses on how Weir Mitchell, the author of the theory, applies this inhumane treatment on women in the 19th century, Schuster connects this ineffective treatment as a catalyst for the disrespect and negative attitudes that women experienced during this time. Schuster chooses to include the interaction of Mitchell and a few of his patients to show how the treatment was proven to be not only be ineffective, but also inhumane. Since Weir was regarded as one of America’s most influential psychologists in the creation of neurasthenia treatments his inaccurate methods were falsely adopted by many members of society, which led to the “Rest Cure” being a catalyst for negative attitudes towards women’s suffrage in society. Schuster chooses to include a testimony from Charlotte Gilman. The testimony described the methods of in-depth methods of the “Rest Cure” that Mitchell administered to Gilman. Gilman was administered a rigorous schedule of rest, sponge baths, and massages, as well as being limited to only two intellectual hours a day. She later talks about these methods of treatment and says how they took her close to insanity instead of making her feel better. Schuster inserts numerous examples of the “Rest Cure” failing which supports his thesis that the cure served as a catalyst for intellectual and lifestyle changes during a new era for women. Instead of allowing women to progress with suffrage, the rest cure hurt them drastically. Schuster also includes the testimony of another patient, Sarah Wister, who was faced with a similar treatment of her neurasthenia. Wister was administered a similar rest cure of bed rest and little intellectual and physical work, however it also focuses on how her male cousin was sent out west to work with more manly activities to deal with his diagnosis of neurasthenia. By showcasing the differences in the extremely different treatments of males and females in the time period it enhances his thesis that women were perceived as weaker members of society due to the belief that they were not as mentally strong as males. 

By looking at Schuster’s article on the treatment of women in the 19th and 20th century it was apparent how women are viewed under entirely different circumstances as men are. Schuster talks about the vast differences in treatments between men and women in the 19th and 20th centuries, when women were administered bed rest and a lack of intellectual thinking, in contrast to me who were sent to the west to embark on more manly conquests. By sending males off on physical challenges and keeping females on bed rest, it started stereotypes that men were stronger mentally than females, and this stereotype carried on for years. Moreover, Schuster focused on how Mitchell was viewed as one of the leaders of the neurasthenia. When Schuster focuses on examining the differences between both males and females in the 19th and 20th century, he makes it a point of showing how males were given far better treatment for neurasthenia. Whereas females were locked away and told not to do intellectual activities, this helped establish the stereotype that males “are to be more respected” than females. Furthermore, Schuster talks about how males were administered much more “manly” tasks based on the “west cure”. In contrast, females were given a “rest cure” which not only caused females to worsen in condition, but it also established another stereotype that “females couldn’t handle the west cure”, which carried over for years to come. When the narrator of “The Yellow Wallpaper” was administered the “rest cure” it was ineffective, yet the narrator believes her symptoms were because she was a “women”. Instead of blaming herself the narrator give in to the stereotypes that her misogynistic husband believes are real. This problem is still present in society today, there are many stereotypes against women that are not addressed, this results in people believing them which hurts women significantly. Moreover, Schuster also references how Mitchell was widely recognized as misogynistic, however his treatments were still widely used and considered to be effective, even though they clearly weren’t. In conclusion, by showing how the treatment of males and females in the 19th and 20th century was wildly different, it established stereotypes as well as being a catalyst to women being perceived as needing more sensitive and secluded treatments.

Aside from the “Bulletin of the History of Medicine” article it was also evident throughout “Selling Women Short” by Louise Roth how there are unseen gender hierarchies that are apparent during the everyday workplace environment and how men are given far more opportunities . Roth specifically focuses on the Wall Street environment and how male employers chose to employ other males, whereas firms with diverse clients give an advantage to women and minorities, but these firms typically specialize in lower paying positions, which results in an advantage for men. However, Roth states “from the perspective of firms the gendering of job assignments can appear quite rational, even as it is discriminatory” (Roth 602). By showing how men are given higher paying roles it automatically reinforces the disadvantage that women are being challenged with in the workplace. This is similar to “The Yellow Wallpaper” when the narrator talks about her husband being effective in his treatments, despite them not working. The narrator assumes that her husband will have effective treatments, mainly because he is a man. Moreover, in the article Roth talks about the bonus system that allows for employees to earn additional revenue while working on Wall Street. However, this system is specifically geared towards male employees since they can make much more money than their female counterparts. Roth goes on to write “describes how non-merit factors subtly bias even the most meritocratic performance-based pay systems” (Roth 602). By focusing on the non-merit factor’s, it shows how men can make more money simply because they are favored higher by their employers. This is an important factor since it shows how men are given an unfair advantage over females based off non-job related characteristics. Roth also chooses to talk about the subtle bias and factors that employees and clients engage in on a regular basis. This allows for her to highlight another important difference between males and females in the workplace. By focusing on this difference Roth can show how males have advantages in not only wages, but also the ability to be hired to begin with. Both areas are crucial topics when it comes to the debate between males and females in the workplace and many people overlook the bias that people unknowingly live their life with, Roth does a great job in highlighting this bias.

Another important article that highlights gender inequality in the United States is “American Women Have It Wrong” by Debora Spar. Throughout the article, Spar focuses on talking about how many women in society have embraced certain stereotypes and chosen to strive to become the ideal housewife, mother, and wife. Spar goes on to say “We have become a generation desperate to be perfect wives, mothers, and professionals-Tiger Moms who prepare organic quinoa each evening after waltzing home from the IPO in our Manolo Blahnik heels” (Spar 3). Spar chooses to note how women wear “Manolo Blahnik heels” to show readers how women are expected to dress and behave a certain way. This is similar to how Weir Mitchell believes all women were to be treated a specific way when he was developing and administering the “Rest Cure”. Another important area that Spar focuses on is how women expect themselves to work a sixty hour per week job, and then go home and become a great mother and wife. She goes on to say “Yet women are repeatedly berating themselves for failing at this kind of balancing act, and (quietly, invidiously) berating others when something inevitably slips.” Spar focuses on talking about the challenges that women face not only at the workplace, but also in everyday life, particularly at home when it comes to dealing with children. Moreover, she focuses on the differences between males and females when it comes to taking care of children at home. Traditionally, women are expected to handle a much more involved role with the children, whereas men typically don’t. Spar notes how this adds a lot of additional stress to women which in turn forces them to “repeatedly berate themselves”. The imbalance of duties at home helps establish stereotypes that women are expected to be housewives and deal with any problems that are related to any children. Furthermore, Spar brings up an interesting point about how women are making strides in a lot of the higher paying fields and actively becoming employed, but she also notes how they are rarely leading the companies. Spar goes on to write “As of 2012, women accounted for only 16 percent of partners at the country's largest law firms and 15 percent of senior executives at Fortune 100 firms. They constituted only 10 percent of the country's aerospace engineers, 7 percent of its Hollywood directors, and 16 percent of its congressional representatives” (Spar 6). Despite women attempting and making some success in getting into great fields, they are struggling to lead “at the country’s largest law firms” as well as only making up “15 percent of senior executives at Fortune 100 firms”. The stereotypes in society today that women are unable to lead was developed years ago and it is still clearly present in culture today.

In addition to women being faced with obstacles at obtaining positions of leadership as well as being given unfair expectations at home, women are also experiencing gender inequality in politics, one of the most important fields in the United States. After taking a look at “Why Are There No Female Sheldon Adelsons” by Rebecca Traister it was evident how gender inequality is a major part of politics in America currently. Traister brings up an interesting point about how women are simply not making strides in politics, she goes on to say “The top ten male donors this election cycle had given more than $51 million to their preferred candidates and causes, while the top ten female donors had given only around $8 million.” (Traister 1). Traister focuses on the lack of money that women are simply putting into other candidates running. She mentions how it seems that women are not willing to take risks in the field of politics, mainly because it is a field dominated by men. Women in society today are so used to seeing the field being mainly males that they simply lack the confidence to run for higher positions in politics. Not only has there not been a female president yet, but only 20% of the House of Representatives is made up of women. Traister mainly blames the culture that has been established that seemingly forces women out of the field. Gender inequality in politics is just another area where women are being forced out of. Traister blames the lack of participation in the field mainly on the inability for women to have successful backers financially, she writes “women simply have less money to give and that the relationships between women, men, money, and politics have been an important part of the story of female progress” (Traister 3). By showing the wealth gap in male and female candidates it helps explain the lack of success that women have been able to experience in the field.

Aside from Traister highlighting the main reasons on how culture is able to effectively force women out of politics, the writer of “Breaking the Glass Ceiling” Benjamin Newman, focuses on the research that shows how gender plays a significant role in the salaries of employees. Newman highlights the differences in salary between males and females for the same job. He goes on to write “the female-to-male ratio of median annual earnings was .60 in 1980 and rose to .76 by the turn of the century” (Newman 1007). Despite the recent progress in closing the wage gap, females are still making significantly less money than males. This is similar to how Roth examined the success in high paying fields between males and females. Not only are females making less for the same job as a male, but they are also being given the less profitable positions. The stereotypes that females were given years ago, are still present in society today, and they play a major role proven by the inequality of salaries between males and females.

By examining the gender roles that are present in society today it is evident how the gender roles that were established years ago have led to the inequality we see today. After looking at “Breaking the Glass Ceiling” and “American Women Have It Wrong” it is evident how the two articles highlight the disadvantages women experience economically in comparison to men. The articles bring up points how a large portion of the disadvantage is due to men dominating the market. Not only do women have a harder chance at getting hired for a top position in a company, but men are more likely to hire men for a position. This results in males holding the top position for many years, and when they finally get replaced the position goes to another male. As it is now, the job hierarchy is being dominated by males in a lot of the top positions and society needs to address the inequality that is being faced by males and females. By showing the period of time that males have dominated the workplace it shows how gender inequality has been present for many years starting with the stereotypes shown throughout “The Yellow Wallpaper”. Both the articles addressed the inequality that women face in the workplace, but Traester also focuses on the inequality they face in politics. By highlighting the differences between males and females in politics it allows for Traester to show how the root of the problems women face in gender inequality stems from stereotypes that were established many years ago. 

As a society one of the most important goals should be a fair opportunity for every individual, and as it is now, with men having a major advantage, we must focus on combatting gender inequality throughout the United States. By bringing up the stereotypes that women are faced with as a result of the unfair and inhumane characteristics women were given years ago. Over the past few years, as a society we have started to address this problem but we still need to strive to have an equal society for all genders in order to give everyone a fair chance at making a life for themselves.
