A
left-wing movement in Western
culture originating in the 1960's that seeks socio-economic equality between
men and women.
Proponents of the movements cite years of hardship by women when they could not
access the same basic privileges as men (e.g. such as the right to vote). They argue that
even though throughout
history most human societies have been patriarchal, rapid advances in the past hundred years have made it necessary to rethink the status of women in relation to men. They cite that the extremes of living in a patriarchal
society such as domestic violence, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and discrimination against women as their primary reasons for supporting feminism.
Opponents of the movement argue that feminism has gone too far and has accomplished most of its original goals. They argue that if it proceeds any further, there is a real danger that feminism will go on to elevate the status of women and result in a generation of emasculated men. They add that feminism has
hurt gender roles and made the typical family structure unstable and caused an increase in divorces, breakups, abortions, etc.. With a surplus of women working, they argue that this has resulted in them them being away from their spouse and children and them spending less time at
home.
