Feminism

When thinking of feminism, I think of the fight for equality. Since the beginning of time, women have always had less power than men. Men were expected to be strong and protect the family while women were supposed to care for the children and look after the house. Those roles have changed significantly in the last forty years. Women slowly received more and more rights. The trigger for women to gain so much respect was when Congress added the 19th Amendment, women’s ability to vote. While women still to this day do not have as much power or respect as men, there is much more equality now than there ever has been in the past; however, there is still a gap between genders. The fight for feminism has not ended, just slowed down; “some observers say that feminism has become a less potent force since the 1970s because many of the battles for women's equality have already been won.”

Feminism has always been about the equality between genders. This is eminent in today’s society. For example, you look at Hilary Clinton; you may not agree with her politics, but she is still fighting for equality. President of the United States of America has always been a male’s position. Feminists believe that women should possess the ability to lead the nation. Look at Golda Mier ; she was one of Israel’s greatest Prime Ministers, yet she is not a male. Feminists strongly feel they could do just as good a job as men could. The problem is that men do not feel that any women, no matter how smart she is, could be a leader. A woman should not be smarter than a man. I personally feel this is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. There are plenty of women who are way smarter than I will ever be. If you look in the entertainment field, some of the greatest actors are women. For example, my favorite show, 30 Rock , Tina Fey, possibly the funniest person in the world, not only stars in the show, she writes for it and even directs some episodes. I only wish that I could be nearly as talented as she is when I grow up. Many men realize that some women are better than they are, they just do not want to acknowledge it.
When Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, women had minimal power and respect. It is interesting that he had so much respect for women at that time that he gave them such a dominant role in his play. It is not such a big deal when we read it in the modern day, but if you attended a production of this when it was first staged, you would have been flabbergasted. Women have not always played powerful roles in movies. Along time ago, men played all the roles, especially the main roles. One of the first major movies to have a woman as the protagonist was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; Walt Disney’s first feature length animate film. It was extremely rare for audiences to be able to connect with a women character. Young girls finally had a role model to look up to: an innocent princess. It was a first of a long line of Disney Princesses that little girls would look up to.
Since this blog is for English class, I am forced to mention Lady Macbeth from the novel Macbeth, written by Shakespeare. I do not feel that Lady Macbeth shows positive characteristics as a feminist. She is trying to push for women to be better than men, yet I always felt the point of the feminism movement was to create equality between genders. If this were the case, she would not be trying to take over Macbeth’s life. She could suggest things that Macbeth could do, but not pressure him into actually doing them. Then, after Macbeth does these horrible things, she backs away. She wants nothing to do with the consequences of her husband’s actions. She is a terrible feminist. Everyone should learn from her of what not to do.