Will Ederer

5/3/15
Period 6/Green group
Feminism Essay
Women should be afforded the legal protection of a minority group because it would support the
efforts of women to achieve equality in contemporary America and it would help protect women from
hate speech. Women should be afforded the legal protection of a minority group because of the
necessity of Affirmative Action. Affirmative Action opens opportunities for women in employment,
education, and as business owners by creating constructive programs that provide financial aid,
outreach, and training. Affirmative Action is necessary because women have not yet achieved equality
in contemporary America. According to the National Women's Law Center, there is a considerable
wage gap in many fields; in sales occupations, women only earned around 59.9%% of what men in the
same positions made, while full time women physicians only earned around 62.5% of the wages of
male physicians (Affirmative Action and What). This data demonstrates that although women can have
the same qualifications and jobs as men, they earn considerably less money. Overall, if women are
given the legal protection of a minority group, they would continue to have affirmative action, which
would help them to achieve equality in contemporary America.
Women should be afforded the legal protection of a minority group because it would help
protect women from hate speech. There are many international efforts to protect minorities from hate
speech, such as those of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the U.S has
supported (Cohen). Affording women the legal protection of a minority group would give them the
benefits of organizations like this, which would protect them from hate speech. However, this
protection should not be extended to legal pornography because it should not be considered a form of
hate speech. According to Students in Action, Hate speech is speech that offends, threatens, or insults
groups, based on race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or other traits
(Debating Hate Speech). Although there is pornography meant to keep women in their place, there is
also pornography and erotica that encourages women to get in touch with their sexuality. According to

an article in Salon Magazine, the novel-turned-movie 50 Shades of Grey is about a sexual comingof-age and allows women to relive their own sexual coming-of-age stories without being afraid of
judgment and discrimination (Dickson). This shows that not all pornography can be described hate
speech, and some pornography and erotica can be used to help women explore their own sexuality,
which is a positive thing.
Some people disagree with providing women the legal protection of a minority group, such as
Phyllis Schlafly, a prominent opponent of the Equal Rights Amendment, an amendment that would
provide gender equality under the law. Phyllis Schlafly opposed the Equal Rights Amendment because,
according to the Eagle Forum, which she is president of, ERA advocates were unable to show any way
that ERA would benefit women or end any discrimination against them... The opponents of ERA, on
the other hand, were able to show many harms that ERA would cause. Such harms included the
ending of women's exemption from military conscription and the legalization of gay marriage, among
other things (Schlafly). Susan Brownmiller, author of Against Our Will, a book about statutory rape
laws and their shortcomings, would have supported the Equal Rights Amendment, because she believed
that women were treated unfairly under law, and that the law took more measures to protect men from
being falsely accused than to protect women who were actually raped (Brownmiller). A law that would
prevent discrimination towards women, such as the Equal Rights Administration, would allow women
to be treated more fairly under law and would protect them in cases of rape.
Overall, women should be afforded the legal protection of a minority group to provide them
Affirmative Action for a more equal chance in American society. This legal protection would also
protect women from hate speech meant to keep women in their place. The Equal Rights Amendment
would also help women to achieve equality in contemporary America.

Works Cited
"Affirmative Action and What It Means for Women." National Women's Law Center. National
Women's Law Center, 2015. Web. 3 May 2015.
Brownmiller, Susan. Against Our Will. New York: Ballatine Publishing, 1975. Print.
Cohen, Tanya. "Here Is Why Its Time to Get Tough on Hate Speech in America." Thought Catalog.
Thought and Expression, n.d. Web. 3 May 2015.
"Debating Hate Speech." Student Central. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2015.
Dickson, E. J. "Why '50 Shades of Grey' Is Actually Good for Women." Salon. Salon Media Group,
2015. Web. 3 May 2015.
Schlafly, Phyllis. "A Short History of E.R.A." Eagle Forum. Eagle Forum, n.d. Web. 3 May 2015.