Dear President of the United States:

Terrorism, immigration, gun violence, and police brutality are just a few of the large number of controversial problems in the United States. I want to express my support of your focus on these issues, but the topic of women’s rights or feminism is not one that requires your attention or concern. My primary reason for this statement is my belief that there is no longer a need for feminists. Women are now equal to men.

In the 1800’s and 1900’s, women such as Victoria Woodhull, (suffragist; first woman to run for U.S. presidency) Sojourner Truth (women’s rights activist and speaker) and Fanny Garrison Villard (philanthropist, suffragist; helped organize Women’s Peace Party) inspired women to work hard for their dreams. (University of Louisville, Suffrage History) The same women taught other females that they are just as important as men are. These feminists were very important and helped women gain the rights they deserved. Feminists served their purpose at that point in our Nation’s history. Given the progression of our society, I believe gender inequality no longer exists.

Feminists delude themselves into believing that men are always discriminating against them. One popular argument they make is that there is a gender wage gap. (Coslett and Baxter) This is true, but not because of gender discrimination. In reality, some of the reason there is a wage gap is because women go on maternity leave. It is typical in a family for the woman to want to stay home with her baby while her partner works. “Careers are interrupted; even when employers allow greater job flexibility, incomes and advancement prospects suffer.” (Samuelson) Feminists complain about discrimination in the workplace but their argument is quite ridiculous. Discrimination exists on all levels, not just for women. “The U.S. Sentencing Commission reported in March 2010 that in the federal system black offenders receive sentences that are 10% longer than the white offenders for the same crimes.” (Quigley) This statistic shows that there is discrimination between races and not just women, as feminists believe.

Since 2007, the number of women owned firms has grown 68% compared with 47% for all businesses. (White) Women have been able to obtain the support and financing to become successful in the working world, even though Feminists say the opposite. Feminists need to understand that just because there are women who are not making as great of an income as men, does not mean that their employer is sexist or discriminatory.

Another issue Feminists complain about is that some women feel like they are expected to do the housework instead of their spouses. A study by UNISEF showed that girls do two more hours of chores per week. (Wootson) Also, “boys are 15 percent more likely to get an allowance for doing them. And when they do get paid for it, girls will get less. The lesson: boys are doing something special to be rewarded when they do a load of laundry or mow the lawn, while girls are doing something “natural” that doesn’t require remuneration.” (Covert) If a woman is upset that she feels obligated to do housework and that her spouse does not do much, it is her own fault. It is up to her to have good communication within her family unit about balancing the amount of chores that need to be done inside and outside of the house. The feminists who complain about these issues are only finding someone else to blame other than themselves.

Many feminists also support a woman’s right to abortion. Abortion is selfish- the woman is killing her baby in order to make a better life for herself. It is a woman’s fault for not being responsible and by getting pregnant. It is not up to the government to fix their problems. There are a few exceptions, such as the fact that some pregnancies could result in the death of the mother and the baby if the mother went through childbirth. Otherwise, the woman should be responsible for taking control of her actions, and should not prevent a human from living the life they were destined to have.

Women who are upset about the “gender wage gap,” who are doing more housework than their spouse, and who are wanting the “right to their bodies” is a lame excuse to blame men and American society in general. The government cannot help fix the issues regarding feminists because it is not their responsibility to. Women, who are Feminists, need to start appreciating all that they have in life and stop blowing small things out of proportion. I hope you take my letter into consideration and understand that there are much more important issues to focus on in our country. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Emma M.