Is Feminism Relevant in the Western World?

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Is Feminism Relevant in the Western World? There is no doubt that women in much of the Eastern world are heavily oppressed and marginalized. Feminism in developing countries that are blatantly patriarchal receives no opposition toward its relevance. The fight for equality is clearly alive and the facts are irrefutable. The fight is not so prevalent in the Western World. After fighting for 100 years, women achieved the right to vote through the 19th Amendment and increased levels of college education. They have dominated fields of work, owned companies, served in Congress, and moved up the social mobility ladder in numerous ways. Many believe that Western women have reached the peak of equality in modern society. Though women have scaled the ladder of success in the past century, they still fall several rungs short from where men have always been. Although women in the Western world face less oppression than women in many Eastern countries, Western society must recognize that feminism still holds relevance in modern society. The backlash towards modern day feminism proves not only that it is relevant in society but that we still continue to need feminism. The main proponents of this backlash argue that feminism has run its course and live under the phrase “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.” There is overwhelming evidence that the system IS broken (despite women’s numerable achievements) and full equality has not been reached. We look back on the days when patriarchy was so blatant with indulgence towards people’s blindness; however, we remain just as blind to many modern-day inequities. This blindness is seen in the thousands of men and women who have turned the term “feminism” into a venomous insult. These “anti-feminists” and advocates of a society without feminism argue that women have already achieved full equality and the pursuit of such a thing is trivial; for
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