Seeing if feminism should be a part of people's everyday lives is very interesting to me because I'm really passionate when it comes to the topic of human rights and I want other people to be aware of the issues in today's society. This topic affects my values of how each and every person should be treated and respected. It directly affects me by making my life and opportunities more equal to that of a male. I have had a decent amount of personal experience involving the topic, all spanning from my grandmother telling me when I was little that I shouldn't mow the lawn because it was a "man's job," to being afraid to walk alone at night, even around campus, to boys saying "girls who smoke are trash" behind my back after I ask them for a cigarette. I'm qualified to write about this topic because I am a female who believes that there is more that the world can improve on with the rights between the genders.

To help answer my research question, I have found three sources. The first one is an article by Bridget Murray Law entitled, "What Feminism Means Today." In this piece, Bridget Murray Law talks about how people view feminism and the negative stigma that it has to some people. She then gives data on how unequal pay wages are in the workplace and how important it is for women to be paid the same as men. In the interviews at the end of the passage, the different professors all agree that how people's view on feminism needs to change. The major values and interests at stake for Murray Law is that feminism should not have a negative connotation and that there is still much more work to be done for the genders to actually be equal, like in pay wage, gender roles, etc. The author is credible since her article is centered on interviews from psychology and women's studies professors from different universities around the United States. She uses some bias in the article because she only ever mentions the pros of feminism, never the cons. 

My second source is also an article. Casey Cavanagh's piece, "Why We Still Need Feminism," argues many different points for why the world needs feminism. She explains that the issue isn't one about genders; it's one about humanity itself and how equality is a basic human right. The major values and interests at stake are that feminism needs to be a more natural, universal thing and how people need to accept it. The author is very credible. She writes for the Huffington Post, which is a very large and well-known newspaper. She uses a lot of bias in her piece. She is very, very pro-feminism, sort of putting down people who are against it. Like the previous author, she only talks about the pros of feminism. The article is rather recent, so that gives it some Kairos to help out with the author's claims.

The third source is an essay written by Jennifer R. Rocha, entitled "A Superior Place: The Impact of Feminism in Our World." Like all of my other sources, the main point of this piece is that feminism is very important to society. She explains that feminism is the equality between the genders and gives examples of how far it has gotten us to be where we are today. Again, the major values and interests at stake are that the stigma on the word "feminism" needs to be seen in a more positive light. The author seems credible. She's a student at the University of New Mexico writing a research essay on feminism, just like I will be in the next couple weeks. She does use bias and like my other sources, she also only focuses on the pros of feminism.

Pertaining to my research topic, there are very many disputes as to whether feminism is important or not. A lot of people believe that it is and that it creates equality between the sexes, while many believe that it isn't and that's it's just for "crazy man-haters" and "bra-burners." Many people also believe that equality has already been achieved, so they don't think that there's any need for the movement. For the sources that I have so far, they all agree that feminism is something that everyone should accept and believe in. They believe that the equality that they are fighting to attain is a basic human right. The sources have different, yet very similar, perspectives of the topic just help solidify my views on feminism. They make me feel more certain that my beliefs are correct. Since feminism is such a broad, widespread topic, I should make my research question narrower and just focus on one area of feminism. I think that I'll make my topic about the wage gap that we, as a society, are still struggling to fix. My question could be something along the lines of "why does there need to be something done about the wage gap between men and women?" I could talk about the different celebrities and "feminist icons" that are popular right now, like Beyonce, Emma Watson, Taylor Swift, etc. I could use some of what they say and preach as evidence for a change in the wage gap. As for my sources, since I'm probably going to be changing my research question, I need to find more articles on the wage gap. Pertaining to the sources that I already have, I should find some that contradict my argument, since my other sources are all for feminism, not against. I should also find some that don't include bias, since all of my previous sources are biased towards feminism. I need to find sources about life situations and testimonials too. Basically, I need to change up my sources a little because right now, they're all one-sided.

