If Men Could Menstruate, The Great Lawsuit: Man versus Men. Woman versus Women

  Attention has been called to a problem that has taken a back seat to many movements throughout history and it is high time that this was rectified. Women have been oppressed throughout history, and although the oppression is not as bad today as in centuries past, it is still a problem. Women are still at a disadvantage at home, in the workplace, and in politics. The disadvantage comes not from any lack of qualification; it comes simply through prejudice.

Margaret Fuller addresses the problem of men taking advantage of the work of women in The Great Lawsuit: Man versus Men. Woman versus Women. “We will not speak of the innumerable instances in which profligate or idle men live upon the earnings of industrious wives.” This statement sums up the story Sweat told by Zora Neale Hurston. Women, such as Delia, will toil and support the family while the men, like Sykes, sit around and take advantage of their earnings.

In the workplace, women have historically been at a disadvantage. Politifact.com states that women make 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. Men earn almost 25% more money for doing the same job as women. That is not right. In politics, women are again prejudiced against. When Nancy Pelosi became the Speaker of the House, history was made. She was the first woman ever to be elected to a position that was over 200 years old. The Executive Branch has the office of First Lady. The title of this office automatically assumes that a man will be president and that his wife or appointee will assume the spot. No woman has ever been elected president, and there has never been a First Man. This has been a statistic that only aids the prejudice.

Gloria Steinem’s If Men Could Menstruate calls attention to the fact that men have rigged society to benefit themselves more so than their woman counterparts. Women bear the brunt of having a child. They carry the fetus for nine months. They give birth. They menstruate every month. Yet despite all this, society is still not equal. This piece of literature also points out that it is a perfectly correctible situation. It just requires slightly different thinking from members of society. “The truth is that, if men could menstruate, the power justifications would go on and on. If we let them.” People in society are perfectly capable of making the necessary changes to promote equality. All that remains is to make it happen.