Equal rights ended women’s struggles, right? If you visit some of the manosphere centers of the internet, you might believe that falsehood, but women still face plenty of struggles in today’s society.
Here are the biggest struggles that, although not unique to women, women tend to experience more.
Menopause Resources
Though half the population experiences menopause, the medical condition receives little resources or medical research. Women still discuss the condition in hushed tones, and everyone else pretends these women aren’t experiencing massive hormonal fluctuations and body changes unless, of course, they can turn it into an offensive joke.
Career vs. Family
Everyone expects men to have illustrious careers while raising families, but women still face scorn for either decision.
On Choosing Family
If a woman chooses to stay home, she’s ridiculed for not contributing financially to the household. She also must give up her career, earnings potential, and social security earnings, leaving her reliant on her husband’s retirement planning for financial security.
Left Destitute
Far too many women who choose flexibility or to stay home to raise children end up in poverty during their senior years. Many relied on a husband who left her for a younger model after she sacrificed her career to raise his kids, while others were thrust into the workforce after their husbands faced tragedy.
Financial Abuse
Many who stay find that their husbands don’t view them as partners. They beg for scraps to feed themselves and the kids while the husband blows money on fun things for himself. She can end up in poverty even if she stays due to his lack of financial skills.
On Choosing Career
Career women may have complete control of their financial futures, but society still derides them for letting someone else raise their kids.
Working a Double
Working women also face a double shift. Though they’ve stepped up at work and contributed financially to the household, they still do most of the domestic labor and childcare at home.
Judged
Some tell women to let it go; they don’t have to keep a clean house. These people are usually men who don’t face society’s harsh judgment for a messy home.
Not Taken Seriously
Professional women write books about all the ridicule they face at work. Even those at the top of their careers get spoken over, laughed at, and dismissed for their ideas.
Of course, as soon as a man steals and repeats her ideas, everyone praises him.
Women’s Pain
Women aren’t taken seriously in medicine either. Where men get medical tests to determine the root cause of the problem, women are dismissed as “hysterical” or told the pain is all in their heads.
Doctors routinely dismiss women’s pain.
Designed for Men
The world itself is designed for men. Read Carlone Criado-Perez’s epic Invisible Women to see the full scale of how everything, from crash test dummies to parking lots to bus stations, is designed by men for men and how it’s detrimental for women.
Outrageous Beauty Standards
Every few years, new outrageous beauty standards appear that women must try to attain. There’s a multi-billion dollar industry committed to making women feel bad about themselves, so they’ll buy into these ridiculous standards.
Rights Disappearing
The most pressing issue facing modern women, especially in America, is the backlash and erosion of women’s rights. Women in America no longer have the right to bodily autonomy. Some political wings are fighting to restrict access to birth control, while others want to see women trapped in abusive marriages.
Men Getting Worse
Men’s attitudes towards women are worsening as more and more men vote to push women back into subservience. The rise of misogynistic content creators promoting “traditional values,” which is actually 1984 double-speak for ending women’s right to independence, highlights the growing backlash against women.
The Obsession with Youth
Women aren’t allowed to age. A society that values women for their appearance first and foremost ignores women who “look too old.” As a result, many women rely on drastic measures such as Botox or plastic surgery to maintain a youthful look, unable to age gracefully.
Public Property
People treat women like property in public. Many men believe women exist solely to please them, so they harass and catcall women who are just trying to live their lives, hit on women trying to work and feel entitled to every random woman’s time and attention.
Women would love to exist freely in public without all the comments and attention.
Violence from Men
Modern women face many of the same problems women faced throughout history. Domestic violence is an ongoing problem, and rather than asking why she stays, we need to start asking why men abuse their partners.
Whataboutism
Whenever a woman attempts to discuss women’s issues, hundreds of men will swoop in to deride her for not centering men.
Yes, men have struggles, too, but why do you only bring it up when women discuss their issues? It seems like these problems are only thrown out to derail progress on women’s issues.
Uncertain Consent
The “Me Too” movement helped shift ideas about consent, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. Many men use questionable techniques to gain consent, such as guilt, intimidation, fear, coercion, and more, but they think since the woman ultimately said “yes,” he did nothing wrong.
It’s terrifying that so many men will stoop to such lows to exploit someone. Women must tread carefully in all their interactions because they never know which men will behave this way.
Pay Gaps
Dude bros constantly scream that the pay gap doesn’t exist while refusing to look at the issue with nuance. A pay gap does exist.
Women are less likely to receive early career promotions and mentorship, limiting their lifetime earnings. Women must choose flexible careers because society doesn’t value motherhood, and their husband refuses to step up. The average pay for traditional “women’s” fields is less than average for “men’s” fields, and when a career field shifts from having primarily men to primarily women, the average pay decreases.
All these contribute to the pay gap.
Hobosexuals
Some men are only looking for a free ride. They date woman so they have free housing and don’t have to lift a finger to help.
Here are some red flags that the guy you’re dating doesn’t want you, he wants to live comfortably off your hard work.
Complex Feelings About Being a Female Breadwinner
As female breadwinners are on the rise, it’s important to discuss the complex feelings that can arise when we shrug off societal expectations.
Women Are Leaving Their Husbands In Droves
Walk away wife syndrome is all about weaponized incompetence. Women are fed up and leaving men who don’t contribute.