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On balance modern Feminism is beneficial to the modern United States.

For those who comment I ask that you be respectful to both sides of this debate. This topic can be heated. Mister_man is someone I have seen around the website and respect as a well-reasoned individual. I like to think of my-self in the same way. There is no need for ad hominem attacks in the comments, as I imagine them not to be present in the debate either. For this debate I intend to show convincingly the benefit that Feminism can and is providing to the U.S. today. My outline is very simple. I will… 1: Establish proof that men and women do not currently have equal rights and opportunities. 2: Present how Feminism can help and produce positive results in relation to this problem. In so doing I will affirm the resolution that “on balance modern Feminism is beneficial to the modern United States.” 1: Establish proof that men and women do not currently have equal rights and opportunities. A: Economic Injustice: This issue is also referred to as the pay gap. “In 2012, the median earnings of American women working full time year-round were $37,791. American men earned a median income of $49,398. The gender wage gap has hovered at about 77 cents on the dollar since 2007.” (1) This shows that generally men are paid more than women in the U.S. The typical response to this is to ask are women paid less because they choose lower-paying jobs? The answer is no as the following shows. “Earnings are high for both women and men who work as computer and information systems managers. But while median earnings for men in 2011 were just over $98,000, median earnings for women were around $86,000. Likewise, aerospace engineers tend to earn a good living. But while a typical male aerospace engineer took home just over $100,000 in 2011, his female counterpart was paid $83,000.”(2) This shows that Higher income occupations pay men more than women on average for the same work. “Median earnings for male engineering technicians in 2011 were just over $56,000 compared with median earnings of $43,000 for female engineering technicians. Among drafters, typical earnings for men were just over $51,000 while typical earnings for women were just over $45,000.” (2) This shows that median income occupations pay men more than women on average for the same work. Let us Move on to how poverty affects men and women. “one in three Americans lives at or below the poverty line, and almost 70% are women and children.” Or that “Women represent nearly two-thirds of minimum wage workers, concentrated in jobs that tend to be labor-intensive. They go without paid sick days or access to affordable child care. Moreover, women across the spectrum continue to earn less than men no matter the education level, profession or position” (3) “Add to this picture that 40% of our nation's households with children rely on women as a primary or sole source of income,”(3) Clearly the pay gap is empirically evident and as such is indisputable. Just as evident is that poverty affects women significantly more so than men. It can then be concluded that men and women do not have an equal rights or opportunity in the U.S. economy. B: Domestic violence: I recognize that this is not solely a women’s issue. However, as I will show, it is empirically evident that women are, on balance, affected significantly more than men. “Nearly one in five women surveyed said they had been raped or had experienced an attempted rape at some point, and one in four reported having been beaten by an intimate partner. One in six women have been stalked, according to the report.” (4) compare that to men, “One in seven men have experienced severe violence at the hands of an intimate partner, the survey found, and one in 71 men — between 1 percent and 2 percent — have been raped, many when they were younger than 11.” (4) Clearly domestic violence targets women significantly more than men. As this is a sad reality that 1 in 4 women deal with in our nation, it limits the opportunity and rights of women in a way not as true for men. 2: Present how Feminism can help and produce positive results in relation to this problem. Despite only 1/5 of Americans define themselves as feminists, (5) the Feminist movement has, and will continue to help bring equality to the USA. Historically, feminism helped bring the right to vote to women. The 60’s saw the Women’s rights movement, which brought up issues as equal rights and pay. It is true the U.S. has come a long way, but as is evident by the still present inequality, there is more to do. Feminism continues to bring these issues to light. Feminism continues to expose inequality. Feminism continues to lobby for justice. Feminism continues to be a positive force in the United States. The following link provides “23 Ways Feminism Has Made the World a Better Place for Men” (6) No I do not intend this to be a comprehensive addition to my argument as it would be beyond my character limit, nor should any expect my opponent to have to refute any of the 23 ways listed herein. I wanted to include this for those reading who would like a broader look at the impact of feminism today. As well as show the vastness of material that exists to show the positive impact feminism has today. Conclusion: Men and women do not currently have equal rights and opportunities. This is empirically evident by the stats that I have provided. Women are not paid equally, or afforded the same opportunity in the U.S. economy. Women are affected significantly more than men by domestic violence, as this has become a common issue (1 in 4) it limits the opportunity and rights of women in a way that does not generally affect men. Feminism has been, and will continue to be a force for good in the U.S. as it brings to light these injustices and lobbies for change. Therefore we are lead to conclude that “on balance modern Feminism is beneficial to the modern United States.” (1) http://www.huffingtonpost.com... (2) http://www.aauw.org... (3) http://www.cnn.com... (4) http://www.nytimes.com...; (5) http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com... (6) http://mic.com...