Feminism, as the viewpoint and the social movement, has been a recognizable topic for the past few decades. However, the media, for some reason, tends to knock it down as something that is hurting this country, causing it to die down as a discussion. People express that America does not need feminism anymore because it isn’t relevant and sexism no longer exists in this country. This seems to be a common viewpoint because Americans consistently confuse feminists with being radical lesbians that hate men and want to have more rights than them. Or they think feminists believe they are just flat-out better than men. However, this is the exact opposite of the mission that feminism strives for. Feminism is all about having total equal rights and privileges for men and women of all races, and America needs it now more than ever. Rape culture is continuing to go on the rise, and feminism is becoming lost in the shadows. As well as this, the current government, i.e. the Trump administration, is allowing for sexism to be praised and supported in America. The President’s sexist comments and actions have set a lower standard for how the public now acts towards each other. These are somethings that should not be tolerated and is a huge reason why America is in desperate need for feminism. Without the presence of feminism in America today, rape culture will continue to become a social norm and sexism will become more and more accepted. This will overall cause women to have less opportunities and equal rights as men. Without feminism, this country will continue to spiral down, and will be almost impossible to pick back up. This paper aims to prove that Americans need to truly understand what feminism is so that they can see why this country needs it to stop the dangers that the rise of rape culture, sexism, and the Trump administration are causing for this country. 

One of the main reasons why people think that this country doesn’t need feminism is because they don’t understand what feminism actually means. Feminism researcher, Michelle Friedman, states that the “stereotypes of feminists are almost as commonplace as stereotypes of women in general, and certainly as unflattering” (3). This goes to show just how many incorrect interpretations there are that completely eclipse what feminism is truly about, making supporters of the movement seem unethical. Freidman goes on to give examples of these stereotypes, including “…women with hairy legs, […] aggressive, strident women, […] and women that are afraid of men and who seek the protection of women’s company as a shield against a harsh, violent masculinist world” (3). These incorrect labels make feminists seem gross, mean, and weak and prove in themselves exactly why America needs feminism. Painting this picture of feminists as radicals that just want attention shows that people act in hate towards women when they show interest in wanting a better life. If these people understood the actual meaning of feminism, their views on it would be more understanding and hopefully more supportive. These feminists are not women who want more rights than men and hate men all together. Huffington Post writer, Casey Cavanaugh, explains that “in order to be considered a feminist, you only need to be on board with one idea: all humans, male and female, should have equal political, economic, and social rights” (par. 2). When these denouncers of feminism are able to understand that feminism means equality, and not “women over men”, they can finally understand why America needs feminism, and their stereotypes of feminism are part of the reason why.

Another reason why this country needs feminism is because people, even women, don’t believe that sexism exists today, when it absolutely does. Researcher, Albena Azmanova, says that although women fought for and gained many rights in the twentieth century, they fell short on achieving true equality between men and women (749).  An article from USA Today elaborates on the topic and says that women, without realizing it, are actually born sexist against themselves because of the standards that America’s popular media has pre-made for them (Dastagir, par. 3). Obviously, not every woman can live up to this one single standard. So when contemporary media paints this one picture of what a woman is supposes to be, men start to expect it and women aspire to be it. This then causes both men and women to become sexist against women when she doesn’t become that perfect woman. Sexism does not only allow for these unrealistic standards, but also forces women to accept sexism as something they have to live with. Author, Rory Dicker, elaborates on this and says “teaching a girl to get along in the world on its terms, rather than on her own terms, has been a cultural task of mothers, grandmothers and aunts for centuries” (110). These life figures know that the world doesn’t look out for women most of the time, so they end up forcing their growing girls to be what the culture and the media wants, rather than who they are. However, feminism gives women a voice to stand up to these sexist standards. It allows them to shut them down so women can live however they so please because everyone should have the right to pursue who they truly are. Sexism not only effects societal relationships, but is also relevant within the job force. In fact, there is still a 23% pay gap between men and women in the workplace (Cavanagh, par. 4). If sexism didn’t exist, women would not still be trailing for equal pay as men by an amount as large as 23%. Without feminism, the realization of how much sexism still exists in this decade wouldn’t occur. America truly needs feminism to raise awareness of sexism and make sure it gets rid of it once and for all.Rape Culture on the Rise

In like manner of sexism, America’s rising rape culture statistics means feminism is needed more than ever to help raise awareness and stop this awful occurrence. Rape culture is basically the idea that the cultural society is allowing rape to become a social norm and is not treating it as serious as it is. Concepts like sexual harassment, acquaintance rape, and martial rape are now household terms because of how common they are, despite the fact that they weren’t even named until the 1970s (Dicker 312). America is allowing rape to be a common occurrence by not doing enough to stop it. Dicker goes on to say that a few rapists will be found guilty in court and maybe get a couple small charges, but it isn’t enough to actually cause a change in behavior (312). There have also been countless instances where women have been raped and the rapist has been defended, and/or the victim has been blamed, and that’s just messed up. An example of this happened just a couple years ago in 2014, when “a 19-year old girl was raped over a bathroom sink at a house party” (Willingham, par. 4). In the court case, Judge Robin Camp asked the young girl “why she couldn’t have just kept her knees together” (Willingham, par. 5), practically blaming the girl for being raped by this man. Then it got even worse. Judge Robin Camp proceeded to defend the rapist by saying that the boys needed to be more careful around women in order to protect themselves (Willingham, par.9). The current justice system is teaching rapists to protect themselves rather than teaching them not to rape and permanently scar innocent victims. It’s also teaching men that women with short skirts and a couple drinks to many are asking for it and they won’t actually get in trouble (Dicker 312). That’s why America needs feminism. Rape culture is real, and without feminism, it will continue to be a social norm to the point where it’s irreversible. 

In addition to all of the awful repercussions that come with sexism and rape culture, having famously corrupt, Donald Trump, as president drastically rises America’s need to feminism for the stability of the country. Researcher, Michaele Ferguson, says that the citizens of America should realize “…the very real threat the Trump presidency poses to feminist gains in policy areas such as reproductive rights and pay equity, and to the visibility of women in leadership positions…” (53). In fact, only about 27 percent of Trump’s appointments have been women, compared to almost 50 percent in Obama’s presidency (Kassel par. 4). It has been proven that when there is a gender balance in the workforce and in political positions, the country runs better as a whole (Kassel par. 4) In addition Trump’s sexist appointments, many of his actions, including his policies for maternity defunding and against abortion organizations, are said to be and assault on all women, threatening women’s ability to obtain basic human rights (Kassel, par. 1). He has projected a bill to take away funds to organizations that even mention abortion, a bill to block access to Planned Parenthood to patients with public insurance, a bill to take away maternity coverage, and a bill that calls for much stricter and very hostile reproductive rights (Berg, par. 4). All of these policies are directed towards taking basic rights away from women, and women only, causing women seem small in comparison to men. Because of this, America needs to embrace feminism in order to have true equality and grant women their personal rights. The Trump administration is not only affecting women’s rights and presence in politics, but also the overall equality between men and women. In fact, true equality is not even present in Trump’s agenda. Writer, Bruce Baum, states that “[Trump’s] fusion of white nationalism, quasi-democratic populism, and business class elitism epitomizes an exclusionary, meritocratic version of a civic equality” (10). Trump’s idea to “Make America Great Again” is basically molding America into a society fit for white males, and nobody else. His ideas erase feminism and replace it with a male-dominated America, instead of the equal country that feminists strive for. In order to fix America’s growing inequalities, this country has to embrace feminism as a guide to live by. Without feminism, America will only grow further and further apart. 

In conclusion, Feminism is absolutely imperative in America in order to realize true equality. Not the stereotypes of feminism that say that women should have more rights than men, but the true feminism that fights for equal rights for all. Sexism is still very relevant in America and its media today, and it has come to a point where it is almost impossible for women to fight back. Women are just accepting the fact that they have to live a certain way in order to be accepted. Along with sexism, the rise of rape culture is also causing women to lose their basic rights and to become smaller in comparison to men. With all of these things on the rise, having a sexist Trump administration is triggering these issues to grow even more. Sexist policies submitted by this administration takes human rights away from women in America. Of course, none of these examples are to say that men don’t have their struggles too because everybody does. However, women need to be able to realize their equal rights. Without accepting feminism, America won’t be able to grant equal rights for men and women, and women will continue to struggle.
