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Is feminism outdated? Absolutely not. The myth that feminism is not longer needed appears to be based on an equally terrible myth that we have reach total gender equity, and the simple fact is that we haven't

Yes, women have made great strides towards equality due to the exhaustive work of generations of men and women who wouldn't accept the excuse that the consistent disenfranchisement of girls and women was "just the way things are." It seems now that everything that can be legally done to protect women's rights has been done. Pay inequity is illegal, as is sexual harassment, domestic abuse, rape, and employment discrimination based on sex. In the eyes of the law, men and women are equal.

But laws are not what make up the everyday experience of women, the fight that remains is for people's actions and attitude.

Rape is against the law, but defense lawyers in rape cases still bring up a rape victim's sexual history to subtly and deviously convince juries that any sexual experience gives the victim no rights to her ownership of her own body.

It is illegal under sexual discrimination and pay equity laws to deny a woman a job or equal pay due to her gender, but someone up for a job or a promotion rarely knows why they were denied, so pay inequity and sexual discrimination can go unnoticed.

The double standard is still alive and well, punishing women for sexual expression far more than men who are equally sexually experienced.

One only need to look in any retail store to see that many products are still divided by gender. Pink tiaras for little girls and versus rocket ships, trucks and dinosaurs for little boys. Pink "ladies" razors versus the otherwise totally identical blue men's razors. Tool kits in feminine pastels (pink again) versus more manly shades of gray or yellow.

Finally and most importantly, the argument for the retirement of women's right advocacy conviniently forgets that upper middle class western women are not the only lives at stake here. American women have the rights to their own property and money, to an education, to free speech, to their children and to their bodies...but not all women are so lucky. We forget while we are debating whether we are equal if we haven't elected a woman to the presidency, that their are women else where in the world who have no legal rights, who can be stoned to death for fornication if they're gang raped, who get burned to death for daring to go to school. So no, feminism is not at all outdated because there are women who are being tortured right now because no one has even brought it up where they are. Giving up on this is a luxury that they can't afford.

Learn more about this author, Holly Huffstutler.
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