My Take

By: Marina Mikheil

Compared to past assignments, I thought this letter was one of the easiest because it was
based on a topic that I already had knowledge on. I chose feminism because I have many debates
between others on the daily about this topic so it was easy for me to take a position when writing
this letter. And thats what I like about my letter, is that I feel that I really argue everything there
is to say to those opposing the topic. Although, I did struggle with putting the structure together
as in the hourglass form and so I feel that I could have improved that more. When letting
someone peer review my paper, I didnt think it was useful at all only because they were against
my topic and so they criticized my ideas rather than my writing. However, when letting multiple
people revise it, I did get some help with revisions. One that I was struggling with was finding a
specific audience to target my paper for and peer review helped me with just that. I ended up
responding to the needs of my audience through using their claims on my topic and arguing
against it in order to really make my position clear. Overall, I felt that I really supported my topic
with heavy evidence that was both logic and research which I think worked really well and
brought out my ethos.

Dear Meninsts,
Feminism- noun; the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and
economic equality to men (Dictionary). When you think of feminists, you probably wonder why
such a movement exists or what else could women want since they already received equality as
citizens and the right to vote. So typical of women to create unwanted problems and gain
attention, right? Women have to live up to so many expectations in society where theyre given
many stereotypical images that they must fulfill in order to be accepted. Even though as a
nation, weve evolved from the breadwinning decade where the only function a woman served
was to solely be a housewife and a caregiver for the family, inequality is still present today in
such places as the workplace, sports, and the media.
Women make 77 cents for every dollar a man makes, merely for the reason that women
tend to work in professions such as teaching, nursing, or secretary/assistant (The Huffington
Post). Most of those careers associate women as caregivers which is why they make such low
incomes, and if you havent noticed, theres a reason why stay-at-home moms dont get paid.
Although when comparing some of the professions men go into for example, engineering,
management, or politics; those certain professions exercise the higher power males have over
females. When you think of a politician, a male image comes to your mind because not many
women make it within that high of a rank. Which explains why we still have never had a female
president.
Theres a sociological theory called, The glass ceiling which is used to describe the
barrier that avoids women and minorities to advancement in a profession. Meaning in a maledominant workplace, a woman will never be able to rise up any higher than her male colleagues.
Hence, if you take a moment to think about the upcoming presidential election and the

candidates, how much of a chance do you think Hilary Clinton really has at winning? Besides the
fact that she represents the Democratic party and may share different views than you, what do
you see in her that doesnt make her any less capable to run a country than the other male
democrat candidates? A girl growing up should never have to limit her dreams of becoming a
leader solely because of her gender.
Moreover, for so long, sports were always biased because of the fact that men are naturally
stronger and so they are more athletic than women. Which explains why people have been
debating whether cheerleading is a sport or not. The Always like a girl commercial portraying
the stereotype of doing something like a girl shows how society views women as weak, clumsy
and that its an actual insult if somebody compares you to a girl. Women arent taken seriously in
sports as men, for example how attentive were you during the mens world cup than in the
womens? Or what about the Pacquiao vs Mayweather and Ronda Rousey vs Bethe Correia? Im
not one to watch boxing fights or any sporting events in general, but I know the names Pacquiao
and Mayweather ring more of a bell than Ronda Roussey and Bethe Correia.
Inequality is even present in college sports; Football is the most well-known sport in the
country that gets almost everyone worked up as if it was a holiday every Sunday. So you could
assume just how expensive college football games are, but what about the unisex sports and how
do their ticket prices compare for both men and women? When analyzing the prices for both men
and womens basketball games at Rutgers University, a Division I school, there seems to be a
distinction between the different price ranges. When purchasing tickets for the mens game, the
price levels vary from $12-$65 meanwhile, the tickets for the womens game vary from $10-$25
(Rutgers). You would wonder why the price ranges are so off considering they represent the same

division school. But the real reason is that nobody cares about the womens team as much as the
mens so the tickets are much cheaper.
Living in the 21st century, technology and the media take a big part in our lives. They convey
different kinds of information to the public such as news, events going on, as well topics that are
trending. Although, it can have both a positive and a negative impact when spreading
information on certain topics such as feminism. You would probably agree with how most people
on social media view feminists as man-hating and tend to give off false interpretations of what
the purpose of the feminist movement is for. For example, your known Twitter anti-feminism
page called The Meninst describes what the typical woman should do/act like and goes directly
against women by mocking them. That is a direct example of inequality because youre going
against a movement which I dont understand why, considering it also gives equality to men but
youre giving more power to the voice of man and using it in the wrong way.
So when going back to your question on why feminism exists, it exists because theres
hardworking women out there who will never be seen as superior or talented female athletes that
arent given much recognition. Theres so many instances where women are discriminated or
looked down upon but its never seen as an issue, and that is the real problem. Feminism is not
the idea that women hate on men merely to fight back or gain attention. The only thing the
movement is trying to gain is respect and equality for both sexes not just one. Addressing the
issue is the first step for wanting to achieve that equality in order for people to beware and
expand their knowledge; and we should be doing so by promoting feminism, not keeping it
down.
Sincerely,
A Feminist

Work Cited
Bassett, Laura. "Women Still Earned 77 Cents On Men's Dollar In 2012: Report." The
Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
Rutgers Basketball Single Game Tickets. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://ev12.evenue.net/cgibin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventInfo?
ticketCode=GS:RUTGERS:W16:W01:&linkID=rutgers&shopperContext=&pc=&caller=&appC
ode=&groupCode=WBB1&cgc=>.