Feminism Problems In The Modern World. Gender Inequality

The feminist movement has existed for over 100 years and during this time has greatly changed society. Initially, the problems of feminism were global and consisted in changing the principle of the structure of society. Suffragettes have achieved legal, political, public and social freedoms for women (the opportunity to take part in elections, receive an education on an equal basis with men, and so on).

The content of the article

• 1 Negative self-perception of women caused by stereotypes
• 2 Glass ceiling
• 3 Representation of women in contemporary art
• 4 And the bottom line …

Many people think that in the modern world there is no longer gender inequality and the problems arising from it, but this is not so: despite the fact that much has been done, the problems of feminism still exist in the modern world, it is just that sometimes they are not so noticeable and obvious at first sight. The main ones include:

Negative self-perception of women due to stereotypesi

Unfortunately, even nowadays, the vast majority of women of all ages suffer from stereotypes that make them feel inferior or wrong; women themselves do not consider themselves full-fledged members of society, having the right to their opinion and choice, because from childhood they were raised only as a “beauty” and “ruler of the kitchen”, and not a deep and strong personality. And if in childhood there was no pressure on a woman, she will surely face him in a society that will try to adjust her to her stereotypical views. Gender stereotypes are important and complex problems of feminism, as they are firmly entrenched in society and in the minds of people.

Glass ceiling2

In the feminist milieu, they used to call the “glass ceiling” the phenomena that prevent women from continuing their career above a certain level: there are so few women leaders or successful politicians than men that it is striking even when watching the news. This problem directly follows from the previous one: people subject to stereotypes simply will not take a woman to a high position, but will choose a man. Despite the fact that labor discrimination by gender is prohibited in the Russian Federation at the legislative level, in addition to being removed from leadership positions due to stereotypes, it is much more difficult for a woman to achieve success and fame in science.

The difference between the wages of women and men is seriously aggravating the situation (based on the Eurostat study, men are paid more by 0.5-52.9% depending on age and country). This difference is monstrously unfair in the modern world, which is perceived by people as an equal world. In addition to the fact that women often work on an equal basis with men, receiving lower wages, in addition to paid work, they also traditionally have a “second working front” in the form of a “female mission” - caring for the house, raising children, spending time and money on cosmetic procedures.

In 2016, a large-scale study was carried out in 217 countries, during which it was found that a woman spends about 23 years of her life on additional work, from which most often men are excluded - this includes household responsibilities for caring for the house, raising children, and assistance to elderly relatives. But in 23 years you can build a career! It is also reported that women spend twice as much time on household chores as men, often losing their careers or education because of this.

Representation of women in contemporary art3

The problems of feminism in our time are not limited to social pressure and the problems of women in moving up the career ladder. Not conspicuous, but therefore no less important, is the minimal portrayal of strong female characters in modern cinema and literature. Most modern films tell stories in which the main character is a man.

Female characters, in turn, are almost always interconnected with the male hero (wife, girlfriend, girl or sister of the male hero). The number of films featuring strong female characters and designed for a target audience of both genders, not just female, is far behind the huge number of films about strong men (almost always saving the whole world or the "princess" alone) watched by the whole family. The situation is even worse in computer games, traditionally designed for a male target audience, where the main character is almost always a man. This lays in the minds of people a stereotype that only men can, which is important, on their own, change the world and save it, decide destinies and so on.

Also, girls, unlike guys, do not have such a large base of motivating heroes who can become an example to follow, since it is quite difficult to fully associate oneself with a character of the opposite sex.

What is the bottom line … 4

Thus, it is clear that modern feminism still has work to do in order to achieve equality between men and women. Also, in many eastern countries, gender equality is absent, and women there and now do not have the right to vote and civil liberties.

It remains only to believe that soon the modern problems of feminism will be solved and the social order will become even better and fairer.