Men have always dominated in women against everything. It is undeniable that women are capable of doing almost everything a man can do. There are plenty of other levels to measure one's capabilities, but the only true difference in our abilities is our physical strength. Equally intelligent, women have always been seen to be less than men. Is it a stereotype or a social norm? Obtaining confidence comes strictly though one's mindset. It is strange that men automatically had the idea that they are more prominent in almost every way.There has always been biased towards a certain gender even though there isn't a true reason. Women have always been seen as helpless and made for stay at home work since the beginning of time. The biological makeup of a man led them to practice aggressive jobs like hunting or fishing while women took on simpler tasks like gathering food. The division of labor started the cultural roles of men and women. Men became the leaders of the homes while women had very little power in their household.
Steinem made an interesting point in her article saying, "what would happen if suddenly, magically, men could menstruate and women could not?" The story plays on how life would contrast to how it is today. For women, it is almost unheard of when menstruation occurs. It usually isn't a topic that it brought up in conversation everyday. Men would treat this topic differently if it occurred to men instead of women. "Gifts, religious ceremonies, family dinners, and stag parties would mark the day." Menstruation would be treated as the beginning of a boy becoming a "man." Women don't have a special celebration for this at all because it is unspoken of. Men would only make this seem as an extremely positive event because of the dominance they have over women. They would make this event seem as another superiority to women. Birthing a child would also give them the idea they they have complete control. It definitely would make men assume that they have even more predominance than women for the power they have.
It wasn't till last century that women began to have fair representation. After women got the right to vote, women have been receiving comparable treatment to men. Nowadays, women have seen to be just as equal as men. More women have become single moms raising a family and took on the role of the leader of the house. As time changes, this has allowed women to show their full capabilities and be just as a leader as men. Only four-in-ten Americans say that society generally treats men and women equally (PewResearch). Even though laws are the same for men and women, sometimes men seem to get more privileges than women. Men often are known to be paid a lot more and receive a better job than women. This happens a lot more frequently than we think. Sometimes this stereotype can be proven wrong, but complete gender equality is a difficult thing to have. Time has done women well, but there is always room for more improvement. It is difficult to give everyone fair treatment, but it is always in our interest to change the stereotypes and allow everyone to get and equal chance.
