This piece was written in response to the Prospector’s issue five staff editorial, “Feminism club worthy, needed.”
 
By Mason Schweinzger, guest writer
To begin with, feminism is incredibly misguided in modern society, but it hasn’t always been this way. Up until about 10-15 years ago, women’s inequality was an issue needing to be addressed. Feminism was a great movement that fought for civil rights by creating laws to protect women against discrimination. The movement was very successful and women gradually gained equality in American society. However, even though equality had been achieved, feminists did not and have not slowed. As a result, laws, rights and opportunities are still being created to advantage women of the US over men. Feminists have pushed women passed the point of equality, and we are beginning to see a growing number of men becoming disadvantaged and discriminated.
Feminism in America today has become a bandwagon movement for people who believe they are helping the greater good; in reality, the majority of the followers have no idea what they are standing for. Feminism still holds the definition of “the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.” The definition in itself is contradictory to the movement. It literally states that the goal of feminism is to bring themselves to the same status of men. This in itself standardizes both genders and — because of feminism — gives the impression that women are inferior and must be brought up to the level of men.
Furthermore, many argue that modern feminism does indeed mean the advocation for equality for both men and women. Such a false statement is what lulls many “feminists” to join the group with these good intentions. Once again, feminism proves to be hypocritical in what the movement actually represents. Much as the true definition states, feminism does not protect the civil rights of males or create regulations that prevent discrimination of American men. One outcome of this is that men are becoming more and more disadvantaged in most political, social, and economic aspects of society. There are countless sources of evidence that support this case, but they are completely shrouded in the innumerable, infectious and inaccurate articles created by the media that incorrectly portray gender issues of modern American society.
Just about every fact and statistic created to explain gender inequality can be easily defused with a little bit of research and logic. For example. the wage gap: this mythical statistic used to prove discrimination is the biggest joke of feminism. No established professional economists takes this statistic seriously, and neither should you. It is one of many pieces of bait that feminists use to draw more support from an uneducated audience. Besides money doesn’t mean happiness or equality! More examples of feminism facts include “rape culture” and “sexual violence.” For one, rape is not a gender inequality issue, and rape is not celebrated or encouraged anywhere; in fact, it is a felony in the U.S. Moreover, it has been found that men suffer from equal, if not more, domestic sexual violence in America. As you can see, feminism bases its arguments in very foggy waters.
Here is where I have a problem with PHSFeminism. The club itself ploys students to join the movement on the basis that they are supporting equality. While many people support the group, the majority of them have no idea what they are standing for. This can be easily observed by reading some of the signs students created that have been posted on the group’s Twitter page. These students are in many ways victims to the continuation of this unjust movement. Likewise, it is unfair to enforce these biases on uneducated and young people who have not yet formulated their own opinions. So, similar to most feminist groups, PHSFeminism is creating a social acceptance of the norm that we need to help women become “equal” because men are superior. This is not right!
After taking this into all of this into account, it is easy to see how men are disadvantaged now, as a result of the feminist movement. As a high school student, I have come across many experiences during my education that have made me the victim. Nearly every experience — from school groups, sports, and activities to college applications and scholarships — has given women great advantages over myself. Groups like “Women in STEM,” among others, create female-only opportunities to further education in STEM. Can you imagine a “Men in STEM” group? Neither should exist. In addition, as an undergrad applicant, it has become strikingly obvious that it is advantageous to be a female when applying to colleges and universities. In fact, a recent study showed that women receive four times the amount of scholarship opportunities that men do. Regardless, it is a shame that this has become the norm of “advocating for equality,” and I hope this opens up the eyes for scholars of tomorrow. I support equal rights for all (women and men).
For more information, google Christina Hoff Sommers and/or Milo Yiannopoulos and their views on feminism. Most of all, create your own opinion on the subject. Be a leader not a follower!