Mae Gilligan

Green Group
Feminism Essay
Approximately 3.5 billion people in the world have been wrongfully persecuted
throughout all of recorded history, but only recently has it become a topic deemed appropriate to
discuss. In order to counteract the long history of objectification and oppression that women
have endured, many have argued that they require legal protection of the variety afforded to
minorities. Since the fight to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s, this has been a
major debate, its opponents and supporters ranging from all sides of the political spectrum, from
the liberal left to the far right. Although women are not a minority in the world, their deplorable
treatment and ingrained societal objectification, such as in pornography, has made it necessary
for them to receive similar legal protection to minorities.
In the 1970s feminists across America fought to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. It
was composed of 24 words, and would have made discriminatory laws illegal from then on, as
well as abolished any discriminatory laws. Instead, the law was ratified in 35 states, 3 states short
of what was needed, and this is largely attributed to conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly and her
tireless Stop ERA campaign. In an interview with Time Magazine, Schlafly stated that feminism
is not about success for women. It is about treating women as victims and about telling women
that you can't succeed because society is unfair to you. She opposed the ERA and feminism
because in her opinion, they were useless, as women had already achieved the state in which they
were meant to be.
In chapter 12 of her feminist book Against Our Will, Susan Brownmiller argues in
favor of feminist legislation in order to prevent sexual assault. One of her arguments is
specifically related to pornography. The first amendment, while protecting the right to free
speech, does not protect the right to hate speech, particularly racial slurs. These slurs are a

Mae Gilligan
Green Group
Feminism Essay
punishable offense because they stereotype and belittle one racial group. It is now a given that
these should be made illegal. But the debate over pornography rages on. Brownmiller argues that
there can be no equality in porn, and that it is designed to dehumanize women. This is just
as true of racial slurs, and yet pornography is a first amendment right? Brownmiller, logically,
found this outrageous, and would have absolutely supported the media campaign for the ERA,
which counteracted the media-propagated image of women as subservient.
Contemporary America is a much more equal place than it has been, However, in my
opinion and experience, it is still not equal. If the United States government is meant to be, to
paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, of the people, by the people, and for the people, then why there are
only 20 women in a Senate of 100 people (Center for American Women in Politics)? Though this
is a major improvement over 1985, when there were only 2, its a gross misrepresentation. Other
nations have begun to use quotas in order to integrate more women into their governments and
become more equal, a process similar to the affirmative action used to defend minorities. The
website Quota Project, a collection of data on political quotas for women, says that The core
idea behind this system is to recruit women into political positions and to ensure that women are
not only a token few in political life. In India, for example, 1/3 of government seats are required
to be filled by women (Quota Project). America needs to adopt a system like this in order to
ensure that women have a voice in issues that matter to them.
Women inherently deserve the same rights as men. They deserve the same basic voice in
their government, and they deserve to be taken seriously by the world. Until such time as this
occurs, legal protection of the variety given to minorities in necessary to begin eradicating
sexism.

Mae Gilligan
Green Group
Feminism Essay
Works Cited
Brownmiller, Susan. Against Our Will. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
Center for American Women in Politics. Rutgers, The State
University of New Jersey, n.d. Web. 3 May 2015. <http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/fast_facts/
levels_of_office/Congress-Current.php>.
Quota Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2015.
<http://www.quotaproject.org/
Sachs, Andrea. "Phyllis Schlafly at 84." Time 4 Apr. 2009: n. pag.
Print.
"Women Representatives and Senators by Congress, 1917Present."
History, Art and Archives, United States House of Represenatative. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2015.
<http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/WIC/Historical-Data/WomenRepresentatives-and-Senators-by-Congress/>.