The Rising Tide

In no time at all the rights of women have progressed from absolutely nothing to general recognition among society. We have started to realize how important feminism actually is to our culture and how important equal rights are for all, not just some. As women make up more than half of the population of both the US and the world, they technically should be the majority in every culture, yet they are considered to be the minority in 99% of the situations they are put in. Yet, slowly but surely these women have started revolutionizing the way we think of them and recreating the stereotypes which were previously made centuries ago. Although they may try as hard as possible, they still can hardly achieve the respect that they deserve because of the patriarchal principles we reinforce on a daily basis. Men have prevented the options for women to be socially accepted on the same level as a white male by consistently changing the picture for women to fit, making social goals for success unattainable, and countless other techniques. Like it was said by Cynthia Enloe in Beyond the Global Victim, "Women articulate their own strategies for oping with their husbands' resentment, their foremen's sexual harassment, and the paternalism of male union leaders" (Enloe 534). Men don't provide the opportunity for women to succeed in the workplace, therefore prohibiting the things which let a person achieve respect in society: money and individual stability. As we encourage men to be the breadwinner of the family, we subconsciously--and sometimes consciously--force women into the domestic role. But this is changing.
When we realize the pressure we put them under, the degradation they encounter, the hopelessness they feel, and the lack of imagination possible in the meager social power we give them, we start to understand their situation. By recognizing their situation and what we've been doing to them for centuries we are finally able to change our ways while altering our social structure to allow them freedom. We can now see our oppressive ways because they have called us on it. We can now see where we went wrong and how they are supposed to act and feel: however they want. Naomi Littlebear poeticizes this idea in her poem "Like a Mountain" by saying, "Nobody can stop a woman from feelin' / That she has to rise up like the sun / Somebody may change the words we're sayin' / But the truth will live on and on" (Littlebear 149). Although we may be able to censor and suppress the inspiration of women in our society, they will continue on fighting for equality and justice. Once we give them the rights and respect they deserve, our society will be altered in complete positive ways which will lead to more happiness on a whole as a country, while also leading to less stress, more peace, and a better understanding of ourselves and each other. I'm going to say it again because you enjoyed it in "A day With[out] feminism": the way we get there is through RESPECT.