Aren't there already equal rights for men and women?

Question

I thought there were. When there is complete equality between men and women, will there still be feminists?

Answer 1

Hi,

The physical, instinctive and mental differences between the genders show that men and women are not equal.
Women are smarter and more protective, men are stronger and more mischievous.
There can never be complete equality between men and women.

Some occupations are more convenient for men -like heavy workmanship or soldiership- and some occupations are more convenient for women -like babysitting or nursing- .
But besides that, both can have equal rights to be what they want to be, although one of them is always better in a specific occupation.

Feminist advocates women's right.
As long as women have the right they wanted in all areas, I don't think that feminist would care about the equality between men and women.

Answer 2

Women are not guarunteed equal rights under the law and won't be until there is a constitutional amendment guarunteeing such rights. Even though in the 1970s the Supreme Court began to apply the 14th amendment's equal protection clause to gender discrimination, it has done so unevenly and uncertainly. Moreover, the Supreme Court can change this interpretation. Finally, laws that discriminate against women are only reviewed under intermediate level of scrutiny as opposed to strict scrutiny, the level under which laws that make racial, religious or national origin distinctions are made.

Presently, an african american male has more rights under the constitution than a white woman. Until we have the same rights, we will never know whether feminism will die out. The laws are the first step to changing attitudes. As we saw with the civil rights movement, peoples' attidudes are slow to change, even when there are laws in place. So, I think there will be feminists when the laws are in place, but perhaps not many after we are completely equal in law and society.

Answer 3

Feminism is and has never been about "equality" but rather special rights and privileges without accompanying responsibility.
While women have the same legal rights as men and a few extra, society demands more from men by saddling them with responsibility that is never put upon women such as in the arena of reproduction (women have several legal rights including abandoning an infant while men's rights are non-existent other than whatever the mother allows/demands for him), affirmative action that demands businesses hire women who may be unqualified in place of qualified men just to archive some feminist Utopian dream of equal outcome, not equal opportunity, custody that is virtually always given the mother despite the fact that she may not be the best parent, child support, which is based on income, not costs, etc.

There is no wage gap. Feminism is demanding that women's average earnings be equal or better than that of men's average earnings despite the fact that more women work part-time, work fewer hours, take time off for family, miss more work for illness, are less likely to work overtime (or even full time) and especially the fact that 39% of women work for wages compared to >80% of men.

As long as feminists demand and obtain special privileges without responsibility, there will be feminists demanding more for women and less for men.

Edit: I think the answer to your question may be found in the following:
When a pregnancy occurs, what choices do women have?
When a pregnancy occurs, what choices do men have?
When a birth occurs, what choices do women have?
When a birth occurs, what choices do men have?
I am sure the answers will show that there is no equality between men and women, at least on this one subject. Now since it is obvious that one sex obviously has more rights, it cannot be truthfully said to be equal.

Answer 4

Unfortunately, it is not legal even though it is supposed to be. It takes a woman 16 months to equal the salary of a man at 12 mths with the same skills, education, etc. Take a look at leadership roles in companies males far outweigh females in these positions. Also take a look at some of the questions and answers in Yahoo, there are many men that post outrageous posts like should women be allowed to vote, what % should women be paid in relation to a males salary. Society has to change before equality is reached.

Answer 5

Nope not yet. There is supposed to be, but it most certainly is not equal. Equally educated men make more money, and are promoted to leadership positions faster, glass ceiling for women and an escalator to the top for men. Women are still expected to do the majority of household labor including the "emotional work" of caring for all the children and the husband, which we all know is a lot of work especially with the modern family of both people working! Even plans like affirmative action which affect women are being dismantled state by state because "we're equal and no one deserves special treatment." well it wasn't really special treatment, it was more like a way to assist in everyone getting equal footing...

As far as Feminism after true equality? Yeah, of course there will be. Feminism comes in all shapes and forms, in fact just the idea of gender equality is feminism. I certainly hope that all flavors of feminism remain after true equality because its the best way to keep everyone honest.

Answer 6

When there is equality between all men and all women, what will feminists have left to fight for? For the most part, the rights are all there (we're still working on securing our reproductive rights), but the encouragement to use them is not quite as available.

Answer 7

There are certainly equal rights under the law, (or supposedly there are... and of course, there are a whole lot of people who would like to see that changed), but there are still many prejudices held against women. Society works like a machine; changing a few laws doesn't mean that thousands of years of ideas and cultural norms just disappear.

For example, something everyone knows well: the sexual double standard for men and women. Have you ever thought about WHY that exists, and all the complexities that go into creating and maintaining that idea? What purpose does it serve? What does it say about the different ways we view men and women, and not only in a sexual context? How does it affect real women's lives?

Answer 8

Men and women are legally and socially equal in the United States.

Answer 9

It is the law and my daughter can get jobs that are for men. They are glad to get her to set examples for the lazy men.
Women need to be able to take care of themselves, we never know what may arise. Still there are those that think a woman's place is in the kitchen, and I know some will continue to think that way. There are women that also want to have the men work and take care of them. I think there will be feminist and some that aren't, that depends on the person you are talking to and how they believe.

Answer 10

-No there isn't equal rights for men and women.
-It'd be great if feminists and masculinists were no longer needed. It'd be great if people were not hungry and poor in the US and through out the world (with more women being the poor and hungry ones), and if people were literate (right now the majority of illiterate worldwide are women).
-If there were equal rights for men and women in the US right now, then we wouldn't have more poor women than men, there would be no rape of men or women, there would be no battering or murder of men or women, both men and women would take equal responsibility for birth control and childcare and housework, no one would care who was your doctor, carpenter, or teacher, since either men or women could do it, and no one would care if you were white, black, hispanic, female, male, gay or lesbian, you would be eligible for the same jobs if you had the same education and experience.
-Until then, feminists, masculinists, and humanists are needed.