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Modern Feminism

As you have presented absolutely no evidence to support any of your claims, I have no choice but to disregard them as fabricated. For the sake of the debate, however, I will provide my final argument and a rebuttal disproving the arguments you have concocted. 1: Women in Government/Capability- The PEW Research Center conducted a study on why there are not more women in government positions, finding that "topping the list of reasons, about four-in-ten Americans point to a double standard for women seeking to climb to the highest levels of either politics or business, where they have to do more than their male counterparts to prove themselves." Women are considered as less intelligent as men, a theory based in a centuries old practice of preventing female education. Time Magazine has found that, contradicting that theory, more women enter the workforce with four years of college or more than men. Men are generally paid more and awarded more prestigious jobs than women as a commanding man is viewed as a confident while a commanding woman is considered a bitch. Naomi Wolff, a feminist activist, found that "Young women, especially, suffer from discrimination in the workplace when they are seen as “too” aesthetically appealing. Many workplaces channel conventionally attractive young women into out-front support, or subordinate, jobs, in which their appearance – as they bring coffee to high-status men in meetings – can add value to the corporate “brand,” though no value is being added to their own careers." A woman's competency is not taken into evaluation nearly as much as her looks, creating a double standard between men and women. This double standard exists in government as well as regular companies. Let me remind you that when Hillary announced her presidential campaign, everyone was up in arms questioning her ability to adequately run with a single grandchild on the way. The very same people were ready and willing to vote for Romney in 2012, despite his litter of grandchildren. The double standard is clearly visible between these two candidates, and exists all throughout government. 2: American Female Objectification Objectification is not an illusion women have created. These advertisements are an objectification, sexualizing women's bodies to sell their product, yes, but to draw the eyes of men. Have you ever noticed how many clothing advertisements exhibit photos of half-naked, or completely naked women? Have you ever noticed how many ads feature women's bodies cutting out the head so the focus is the breasts or the butt? That right there is an example of how women's bodies are used to the appeal of society. I will agree that periodically there are ads containing the same material using a male model, but this ad is much less frequent and often ignored next to it's female counterpart or competitor. Your argument that "As for a 12 year old wearing yoga pants, that is an issue with their parents, parents should not let their daughters walk around dressed like that if they are at all concerned about that," plays into the sexualization of women starting at a very young age. Here you are agreeing that 12 year old girls in yoga pants is too sexy and too revealing, and thus is wrong. You are perpetuating the problem by sexualizing a 12 year old girl. That right there is objectification. The problems my family and friends have had are the result of this same mindset. You proved my point that objectification exists when you said her parents should never have let her out of the house. Using your logic of "but it most likely was you at fault" if the very same 12 year old girl in yoga pants was assaulted by the 50 year old man, would he get off Scot-free? She brought it onto herself by wearing yoga pants right? Your entire argument is worthless as you have proved my point of the existence of objectification. 3: Respect- Contrary to (apparently) popular belief women do not receive "copious" amounts of respect. This argument ties into my previous argument in the existence of objectification and sexualization, as people do not often give adequate respect to things they see as objects. Until women are not objectified and are afforded the same opportunities in the workplace, we will not have equal respect. 4: Rape/Rape Culture- I believe you may have never actually considered the concept of feminism. A feminist is a person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes. Often, feminists are associated solely with women's rights as that is the main concern. Women are treated far less equally than men, but that does not mean men deserve nothing. We understand male rape exists. Contrary to what you may believe, or what you have heard, but feminists do not exclude or condone male rape. We do not excuse it, or believe it does not exist. Female rape is committed far more often. Using a statistic from the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs, its known that, "Somewhere in America, a woman is raped every 2 minutes." Male rape, though not less important, occurs much less often according to a statistic from the National Crime Victimization Survey, "In asking 40,000 households about rape and sexual violence, the survey uncovered that 38 percent of incidents were against men." Feminism does not discount these crimes against men. Often, feminist organizations try to help these male victims. This practice is just less prevalent and not as well known as male rape is no where near as common as female rape. According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, "1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime" as well as the fact that "15% of sexual assault and rape victims are under age 12." These statistics show how prevalent rape is in our culture. Though you may not know it, you more than likely know multiple women who have been raped or assaulted. These rapists, though it does happen, are not always "committed by a criminal, typically in a bad place at a bad time". In fact, about 4/5 rapes are committed by someone the victim knows and about 47% are committed by a friend. This victim blaming, which you have just done, Concerning street harassment, "98% of women surveyed in 2008 reported that they had experienced cat-calling and harassment.” though 2008 was several years ago, this number has not changed much, if at all. this harassment has been shown to cause depression as it weakens self worth and self actualization, a basic human need according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Cat calling can induce stress, which over a period of time can lead to hypertension, weight gain or loss, nausea, chronic pain, and depression. Predatory stress can cause inflammation of the brain in several different locations. Cat calling can actually lead to physical sickness from fear and stress. 5: Hysterical: I do admit that forced hysterectomies do not occur much in the United States in this century. this does not mean they never happened. This does not mean it is okay because it doesn't happen anymore. The history of the word and its continued use is what perpetuated the idea of violence towards women. Even if the procedure is no longer practiced, the idea is still around. 6: Conclusion- As none of your “facts” have any substance and no backup whatsoever, I have no option to but assume they are fabricated. Please do not throw empty assumptions at your opponent if you have absolutely no fact to base it in. I would like to reiterate the fact that feminism is not an evil, “man-hating” belief. We are a group of people, both men and women, invested in the complete equality of all people. We are not a violent group. We simply believe in equality. 7: Sources- https://rainn.org... http://www.wcsap.org... http://www.huffingtonpost.com... https://thebiocheminist.wordpress.com...