The Unreachable Dream

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights…”. Since the beginning of our country’s development, men have always been placed on a pedestal over women. Even the Declaration of Independence does not guarantee or give any rights to females whatsoever. Women were taught and encouraged to be submissive and to obey rules created by and in favor of men. Practices and beliefs that stem from the formation of our culture are still intact and thriving in present times. America is seen throughout the world as the promised land where everyone is given an equal opportunity to make a better life for themselves and increase their standard of living; however, women are exempt from the illusion that is the American Dream. It is implied in our society that women are able to obtain the American Dream; however, when a female comes close to this goal society scrutinizes her journey to the top. In actuality women are never truly able to achieve the American Dream.

For many women the American Dream is not a materialistic or stereotypical desire, but rather the fulfillment of their personal dreams and aspirations. Examples of this may be obtaining a quality education and being able to provide for themselves instead of being dependent on a “superior” male figure. Statistics show that “In the last 10 years, 2 million more women than men graduated from college in the United States”. This shows that overall women have equal and in many cases higher qualifications than men in the workplace. A study was done over the course of 4 years to show the pay differential between male and female doctors and the results showed that “the average male doctor earned about $221,000 in 2006- 2010, and the average female doctor earned $165,000. That worked out to about a 25 percent difference in salary…”. Considering these statistics, women should be perceived as equals and desirable employees, but men are still prioritized due to outdated beliefs that have been upheld from generation to generation. The pay differential “... collectively challenge[s] women more by limiting their incomes, making their lives more expensive and complicating money management “. Women’s lives are not only stifled by the limited amount of opportunities that are available to them, but are also made exceptionally difficult by the preset gender barriers. Overall, educational institutions and workplaces do not provide sufficient and equivalent possibilities for women to reach their full potential and achieve their American Dream.

Since the late 19th century, women have band together to fight for their rights and equality through feminism. This became a support system for the women who felt alone in the ongoing struggle towards equality. In the past year, many men have taken to social media to share their dislike for feminists and mock feminism. One example of this mockery is “The #MeninistTwitter hashtag [which] was initially started by men sharing jokes…”. Meninists are using the social media platform, Twitter, to complain about things such as proposing to a woman, having to give their significant other their jacket, and feeling uncomfortable knowing that they make more money than their female co-workers. While feminists are fighting for rights such as equal pay and the destruction of gender roles, men feel that it’s appropriate to complain about their nonsensical “issues”. The site, “Urban Dictionary is a crowdsourced online dictionary of slang words and phrases…”. The people’s definition of meninism is a mockery of feminism, thus proving that women can’t request equality without men taking it as a threat to their masculinity. The true definition of meninism from the feminist website is, “Meninism is a global organization of men that believe in and support the feminist principles of women’s political, social, and economic equality,”. While the original goal of meninism was to help support the growth of women’s rights, it has somehow become a source of negativity and mockery towards feminism. Anytime that women and success are paired together, it is automatically given a negative connotation. Like feminism, women face generalizations and criticism based on their success. For example, “ As a man gets more successful, he is better liked by men and women, and as a woman gets more successful, she is less liked by men and women”. Women will have their morality, personal affairs, and dedication critiqued and scrutinized instead of gaining support from those around them. These current day examples demonstrate futile attempts by women at the unrealistic American Dream.

Overall, women are discouraged from chasing their dreams, thus making the American dream unobtainable. Our society is taught throughout our youth that men are essentially superior to women. Due to this misconception, feminism is seen as a joke as well as a threat to masculinity and the overall well being of men. This injustice is portrayed through a large pay differential, the mockery of both feminism and meninism, and the overall disapproval of successful women. Many women wonder if the next generation of females will ever be able to reach the goal that is their American Dream.