An Analysis of the State of Feminism in the United States Feminism in the UK Today

Abstract

Feminism is the attempt to reduce or eliminate patriarchy, or male rule by
birthright. While this struggle for gender equality may seem straightforward, there
are different “strains” of feminism that advocate different approaches to achieving
feminist goals. The prevailing literature surrounding the state of modern feminism
is vast —- often varying by the author’s political values, age relative to the early
women’s rights movements, and beliefs about whether or not sex-based equality
has been achieved. This paper, developed primarily from scholarly literature
about modern feminism, will integrate findings from interviews with six women
(three who are current students at Gettysburg College and three who are recent
college graduates in the workforce) about their perceptions of feminism in order
to introduce a theory of Postfeminist Dualism that aims to describe the state of
feminism today. Postfeminist Dualism posits that there exists a divide between
women who work intersectionally to reclaim the liberatory nature of traditional
feminism and those who use the principles of feminism to justify personal
advancement.