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Alan Molina
Professor Lusine
English 114b

Womens oppression and inequality based on Gender

We live in a capitalist society which just so happens to be mostly under the influence of
men at the moment. Women make up over half the United States population yet, men have
control and hold almost all the power within the country. This is due to the fact that based on
gender, women in the United States are oppressed through inequality by men to the point where,
they have no say or even the power to change how society interprets this injustice. Color of skin,
race, economic class, work status, political status, all these dont mean a thing if ones gender is
that of female in todays society. Even if women obtain high achievements, wealth, and power,
these are seen as insignificant when compared to a man. So in short, its like nothing significant
has come to mind that would be worth acknowledgement. Contributing factors include violence,
the media, economics, and gender maintain women at a submissive state which men feel is their
appropriate role for them since, well they are just women not men. Although it is true that we
live in a patriarchal society under men, women make up a large portion of it so not
acknowledging the fact that they are in an oppressive state with unequal opportunity based on
gender that would be the biggest social injustice of them all.
Maxine Hong Kingston is the author to the book The Women Warrior which does tie into
the concept that women are in an unfavorable position in society based on gender. She was more
involved with inequality of women through culture which to her would have been the Chinese
culture. Culture plays a role in how women are being kept in an oppressive and unequal state. In

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Maxines story No Name Women culture plays a huge role in oppressing women When the
family found a young man in the next village to be her husband and promised before they met
that she would be his forever. (Pg. 6). She talks about how in some traditional cultures women
are just objects in which men are in charge of and have full control giving them little to no choice
to choose for themselves at all in this case using her aunt as the example. That is just an abusive
and terrible way to have control over her aunt who hadnt even met he future husband. Choosing
who is going to be your husband without the womens say is just how some cultures just roll like
the Chinese culture, regardless of her feelings and emotions. Culture does have a way to give one
gender the upper hand leaving the other side with less to work with. This is just one form of
social injustice that women have to confront even to this day. This is a form of oppression and
inequality that women face even to this day in many cultures which Kingston points out too
through her book. Still there are other forms of inequalities that women have to face besides
culture as Kingston points out in her story.
Naturally money is something that has a huge role in todays society since well, its use is
necessary for almost everything including the suppression and oppression of women. There is a
saying The world is ruled by power and power is obtained by money (Tadeusz Borowski)
which really simplifies to how money is power. Money can open the path for many but
consequently, that isnt the case towards women in todays society due to the huge gender wage
gap between men and women. Through economics women are at a huge disadvantage when
compared to men since society favors them over women. Wages are another form of oppression
that women have to face with in todays present society. In The Simple Truth about the Gender
Pay Gap it says that that in 2014, women working full time in the United States typically were
paid just 79 percent of what men were paid, a gap of 21 percent. This is a big deal because even

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though women can have the same job, work on equal terms with men and maybe even do the job
better than men, they will still get a lower pay. This is a way that men are holding more power
over women and is a form of inequality through gender. Women have the right to be paid equally
since there should be no reason to be payed less based on gender, so why should, women be paid
less compared to men. There should be no form of discrimination towards women when it comes
to wages based on gender, anyone who works being man or women should be paid equally.
Money is a form of inequality that is a social injustice towards women in the workforce with
wage gaps based on gender in todays society since everyone should always have equal
opportunity.
Domestic violence is another form in which women are oppressed by men since there
is a huge difference when it comes to both genders. Men are usually seen as the ones involved in
the violence towards women in almost everything in todays society. Society sees this as the
norm so it really is integrated into society that women will always be targeted by violence and
thats just how it is. Violence is a way that women are always going to be oppressed in society.
In the article Domestic Violence at the Intersections of Race, Class, and Gender: Challenges
and Contributions to Understanding Violence Against Marginalized Women in Diverse
Communities authors Natalia Sckolof and Ida Dupont talk about how violence is a form of
oppression that women suffer through. The traditional feminist perspective argues that violence
against women is a consequence of socially constructed and culturally approved gender
inequality (Pg. 5). They see how violence helps keep women in a state of fear so keeping them
under control is easy and accepted. This is a big form of oppression since that is how it is
integrated in society which is very unjust to women. This is also what Kingston points out in her
story of No Name Woman that violence is a powerful tool for oppression of women. They both

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gave her orders: she followed If you tell your family, Ill beat you. Ill kill you. Be here again
next week The fear did not stop but permeated everywhere (Pg. 7). Kingston explains how
her aunt was under constant fear through domestic violence and nobody ever bothered to see that
when they raided her home, even though it was the male that did the abuse and violence not her.
Ultimately society in the U.S does seem to not pay attention to the fact that violence keeps
women in an oppressive state through the use of fear, which does have large consequences. An
example of this in use would be through the form of rape which is a form in which to keep
women in an oppressive state. Rape keep women in a state of fear and it messes with them
psychologically since they would be in an uneasy state which can be through being blamed for
what has happened to them. Being blamed for actually provoking it based on what they wore or
how they acted but, that is not true and is never the victims fault. So these sorts of violence
towards women do place them in an oppressive state based on their gender.
Along the same lines media also plays a role is womens oppression in todays society.
Women are portrayed as being inferior to men in almost every way possible. Through movies,
shows, and ads keep women in a state of feeling powerless. The biggest for would be through the
sexualization and objectification of women in the media. Ads from companies like Victorias
Secret promote these ideas into the minds of the young and gives them the sense that this is how
society is meant to be in which women are just tools. They are seen as tools for men and so this
can be used to oppress women even more and in a much larger scale. They are shown as just
slaves or play things that can be used at the whim of men. This has been integrated into our
society so it is seen as normal. From music videos to ads women are just on display and are
under mens complete control. So women arent place on equal footing as men so they have to
struggle against all these images and thoughts that the media has shown but that is a challenge.

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This is a social injustice towards women since it places them in situations that arent completely
in their control and just obediently go along with it.
There are those that believe that women do have rights and that there is nothing wrong at
all in how we live in todays society. Women have the right to vote, wear what they want and get
well paying jobs just like men can so they see no problem. There are even more women in
college so of course they arent oppressed in society, Females are expected to account for the
majority of college students: about 11.5 million females will attend in fall 2015, compared with
8.7 million males. according to the NCES (National Center of Education Statistics). There are
many who believe that women do have equality and are in no way oppressed but, this sort of
thinking is why todays society does oppress women even through all these facts. Yes it is true
that women are attending college in far greater numbers compared to men but some majors are
gender segregated. They wont be encouraged to aim big but on the contrary guied them to be
teachers or secretarys. Also through the media what women wear is at the pleasure of men
through all the underwear, swimsuits, dresses, jeans, shirts since well men what to see women as
eye candy. Women are oppressed based on gender so ignoring that fact is a big insult and a large
social injustice that women are unfairly struggling against.
Ultimately the greater picture here is that women need to be free from any and all forms
of oppression in society. This is important because if women keep getting treated the way they
are now, future generations will see this as a norm and will continue this cycle of oppression in
society. This brings no benefit to anyone especially not women who have every right to be on
equal footing alongside men in present day society. Every man women and child are born with
equal right in this world so why take womens rights and keep them suppressed. From the wage
gaps to the media women need to have a say and have their voices be heard so that there may be

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equality for all. Things need to change for the better so that everyone has an equal opportunity to
do what they want to do so why cant women. People need to come together and insure that
nothing needs to be based off gender so that women can be free to do what they want in society.
That is something that everyone should acknowledge and respect since isnt that what the U.S
stands for, the pursuit of happiness for all.

Work Cited
"Fast Facts." Fast Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2016.
<http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372>.
Kingston, Maxine Hong. Women Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood among Ghosts. Place
of Publication Not Identified: Econo-Clad, 1999. Print.
Sokoloff, Natalie, and Ida Dupont. "Domestic Violence at the Intersections of Race,
Class, and Gender: Challenges and Contributions to Understanding Violence Against
Marginalized Women in Diverse Communities." Violence Against Women, 11.1 (2005): 38-64.
"The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap (Spring 2016)." AAUW: Empowering
Women Since 1881. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2016. <http://www.aauw.org/research/the-simpletruth-about-the-gender-pay-gap/>.