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Feminism is necessary in modern day United States.

I will start the round with my main points, defending them if necessary, then go on to address my opponents points. I start off with the logic that if there is substantial inequality against women in any of the following grounds, social, political or economic, feminism is inherently necessary to maintain a just nation. This point is logically valid, as any injustice should warrant a people's movement to erect it. I will prove that there is indeed specifically political and economic injustice which warrants feminist movements. Point 1) Women are paid substantially less then men in contemporary US, therefore warranting feminist movements. From the AAUW, in 2014, women working full time are paid 79% of men's average wages. My opponent attacks this claim by stating that men are more likely to pursue STEM jobs, which pay more. I agree with that, but that actually proves my point. Men are more likely to pursue stem jobs. That itself should be changed and is an injustice. Women need to be empowered to take those stem jobs, hence warranting feminist movements. Also, my opponent states that maternity leave accounts for the pay gap. This is another injustice that feminism movements should try to overturn. Childbirth and infancy is a difficult time for women, and the government should offer some form of subsidy to help women instead of cutting pay. Furthermore, my statistic doesn't even account for maternity leave as it only deals with full time working women, therefore, my opponents point is irrelevant. As conclusion, women working full time are paid less then men, this suggests an economic inequality in society that warrants feminist movements to counter it. Point 2) Women are underrepresented in the government. Daily Kos. com states that women account for 51% of population but only 17% of Congress. This is stated in Senator Gillibrand's diary. This percentage of women serving in government is extremely low. In comparison, countries like Burundi, South Africa, Rwanda, Uganda and South Sudan have a higher percentage of women in government. Furthermore, all countries listed above are from Africa, bear that in mind. Also, even Afghanistan has a greater percentage of women in government than the US. This shows that the United States has an unequal representation of women in the government. This form of inequality must be amended by feminist movements. Point 3) Societal norms enforce inequality against women. Boundless.com states that In the U.S., masculine roles are usually associated with strength, aggression, and dominance, while feminine roles are associated with passivity, nurturing, and subordination. These societal expectations enforce stereotyping which in turn leads to sexism. Gender roles are also often reinforced, leading to phenomenon my opponent actually brought up such as women being less likely to pursue STEM jobs. Thus, social norms that stereotype against women must be brought down, and feminism is a means to accomplish this. Thus feminism is necessary in the modern United States. The bulk of my opponents arguments are claims against specific feminists and feminist movements. I agree that certain feminists are taking the movement too far, and that is not beneficial to societal well being, but one cannot take specific instances and generalize them towards a movement as a whole. For example. many instances of unjust violence are associated with the African American suffrage campaign such as the Black panthers, a militant group that depended on violence to enforce black rights. One cannot use a specific group or act such as the Black panthers (Marxists.org) and label the whole act as "unnecessary". I understand that my opponents cites multiple acts and people, but even so, she offers no statistic on exactly what percent of feminists are radical. Since you cannot use specific people to brand an act as necessary or unnecessary, my opponents main offense falls. Furthermore, my opponent states that we should focus our efforts on other countries and that US feminist movements are diverting the attention. But as you look at my statistic, many African countries actually have more women in the government then US and the United States desperately needs to catch up in terms of gender equality. In conclusion, economic, political and social inequality inherently warrants feminism if we are to pursue a just United States. I conclude my arguments with a summary. There are social, political and economic injustices in the American society. Feminism is needed to counteract those injustices. Even though certain feminists were radical and unjust, we cannot brand the entire movement as unnecessary on the basis of those few individuals. Because I feel like gender inequality is prevalent in the modern United States, it is necessary.