Wilson Rigler

Green Group
ERA ESSAY
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was an amendment created in order to affirm the
equal application of the United States constitution to both males and females. Its three sections
stated that, Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States
or by any state on account of sex [and that] Congress should have the power to enforce the
provisions of this article, (EqualRightsAmendment.org). However, the ERA was not ratified
because it was left three states short of its affirmation. Many people say this is because of the
anti-ERA group led by Phyllis Schlafly, who squared off against the National Organization for
Women and other pro-ERA groups in one of the most bitter battles of the 1970s (Time.com).
Compared to the 1970s, womens rights have changed a substantial amount, yet there is still
room for improvement; however there is a large group of people that are against the ERA and its
statements.
Phyllis Schlafly was and still is a very prominent leader in the anti-womens rights
movements. She has written that she is against the ERA and any other legislative documents
supportive of womens rights because she thinks that the ERA would actually have taken away
some of women's rights The amendment would require women to be drafted into military
combat any time men were conscripted, abolish the presumption that the husband should support
his wife and take away Social Security benefits for wives and widows, (LAtimes.com) and
many other negative results. When comparing the old ERA to the new strides towards womens
rights in the Constitution, Schlafly says that the current plan to revive the amendment is so
outrageously dishonest [and] that it's a wonder anybody could argue it with a straight face. No
matter its new name, the same text that has been voted down, again and again, will again be
rejected by the American people (LAtimes.com).

Wilson Rigler
Green Group
Pornography and sex in entertainment have been incredibly sensitive topics from the very
beginning of obscenity laws. Even though no causal link between exposure to sexually explicit
material and anti-social or violent behavior has ever been scientifically established, (aclu.org)
many believe that the consumption of pornography is used as a platform to degrade women.
There are claims that suggest that porn has caused changes in behavior, such as potential marital
rape, however this is in no way degrading the womens social status. The women portrayed in
adult films have been reported to have made young women suffer diminished self-esteem
(Washington Post, Llc.) however there is no direct link saying that this is the intention of obscene
video and film.
In comparison to the womens rights of the past, vast improvements have been made.
Women are still facing discrimination in the work force, are earning less than men, and are
assumed to have feminine qualities. Although there is no amendment in the constitution to
affirm the equality of men and women (and for that matter any other sex or gender) in the
Constitution of the United States, but progress is being made despite all of the anti-ERA and
anti-womens rights supporters.