Feminist Roots
The evolution of feminism has grown in waves of three and most developed in the second wave of feminism (Scanlon, 2009). The second wave is defined by several movements of freedom from oppression and inequality in both formal and informal sanctions (Sayers, 2012). This second wave defined the right for equal treatment under the law for women and also gave them the right to control their own minds and bodies (Scanlon, 2009). With this grasp of power and freedom over one's body came the women's liberation to strive for greater equality in the United States (Coleman, 2009). The video below demonstrates one of the biggest turning points in the second wave of feminism. In this video is a speech from one of the most renowned feminists in our culture besides Gloria Steinem. There is a clear opposition present in this video but there is also a dominant force pushing against hegemony. Hegemony needs not only a dominant culture but a counter culture to survive. The second wave laid the foundation for the future waves to build on and to evolve from and the issue of equal pay is as important now as it was then.
This video represents the current wage gap as a real world comparison between fact and fiction. The clip begins to show the disparity between men and women at 7:35. The fact that we need to fight over whether or not we should give women fair pay is a problem in and of itself. This shows how the current hegemony is controlling who gets paid fairly and who does not. This wage gap is not a manufactured crisis, this crisis has been apparent since before the start of the second wave.
The gender wage gap of today is marked by opposition by male economists like the one presented in the video (Sayers, 2012). Women are expected to stay at home with the children and do all of the mind numbing chores that is asked of her and not expected to work outside of the home (Sayers, 2012). Women are saddled with raising children because women are the ones having the children and because they are "better equipped" to handle the task (Sayers, 2012). The reason for that gap in income between a man and a woman is because of marriage and the duties a wife must perform within that marriage (Sayers, 2012). Men are expected to work and bring home the bacon but is that a true fact or is that what hegemony has equipped us with? The real crux of this disparity comes from whether or not we question why women are better at raising children and why men have to "bring home the bacon" (Sayers, 2012).