The Feminist Argumentative Analysis

For decades women have been fighting for political inequalities, and other broader range of inequalities such as those in the workplace, the family and reproductive rights. The feminist perspective recognizes that women are not only victims of inequality but that they also suffer from oppression due to their race, gender and even their role in society. For the purpose of this argument, we are going to focus on the feminist perspective’s concept of oppression of women in marriage. The feminist perspective is defined “as being the view that inequality in women’s roles is the result of male dominance in the family and in society” (Williams, B. K., Sawyer, S. C., Wahlstorm, C. M., 2013). That is, the view of the gender-stereotypical way of marriage.

The wife should be the one running the household while the husband is the one out working and providing monetary support for the family. In today’s world this idea has change enormously, now you see more women than ever before doing the “job of the men”. There are many women that even make more money than their spouses and that is not even an issue because they are content with their way of living and their marriage. In addition, there are also marriages were the spouses shared equal responsibility of the household necessities. This idea actually supports one of the main goals of the feminist perspective.

The feminist perspective has many goals, the following are three of the main goals in which cultural and political concerns are being addressed.

These are: (1) Emphasis of inequality, (2) No one kind of family, (3) Reduction in harassment and violence. Emphasis of inequality focuses on the idea of equal partnership, it suggests that both spouses should share the burden of household chores and rearing of the children. They also promote that there should be more equality when it comes to divorce laws; family leave and finally they work to secure reproductive rights. Following there is, No one kind of family, which opposes the idea that husbands should be the ones who offer financial support while women should be the homemakers. Instead, the goal of the feminist group is to promote and provide today’s society with a better understanding of what the definition of family has become. What we used to know as family has shifted to families such as, single parents, same-sex unions, stepfamilies, etc. and all representing distinct races and ethnicities. Last but not least, we have the goal of Reduction in harassment and violence; with this the feminists argue that society should put more emphasis on eliminating sexual harassment, domestic violence and assaults against children. The feminist’s concerns on this matter has resulted in changes in policies such as how the police should handle domestic violence, applying restraining orders and medical resources for women and children who have been victims of such

violence.

Overall, the feminist thought has made significant contributions that have affected in a positive way how women are perceived and treated in our society today. Not saying there is not still people that hold a more structural functionalist view on the issue. But, fortunately women have gain a lot more power than ever before as a result of many of years of revolutions and protests held by the feminist community.