
Growing up in the 1980's and 90's I was encouraged to believe that men and women were essentially equal in all areas of intelligence and leadership. As I became older and saw my friends excel in college and their careers, I noticed these same women had a hard time dating. I noticed that the majority of men preferred women that were weak and acted like babies. These men choose traits in women that were diametrically opposed to the image women were supposed to embody. Ironically, as women tore down barriers in the workforce, barriers were created in the relationships between men and women. The feminist movement is considered a "stalled revolution." Women are encouraged to be successful, but many men do not want to emotionally connect with intelligent women. For example, in magazines and television, you will see advertisers deconstruct women's bodies, highlighting specific body parts. This creates sexual objectification, dehumanizing the female mind and soul. There have been numerous studies to suggest such objectification encourages violence against women, such as rape. So the feminist movement has created two problems. It is still a struggle for women to be accepted in leadership positions and smart strong women are not as attractive for many men. The stress of fixing our own inequality issues has often encouraged women to engage in efforts oversees instead of domestically. The women's rights movement is not a completed project. Only when it is broadly acknowledged that women's rights are human rights will we feel safe and free.