Discrimination Issues Against Women in America - Essay Example

Societies would use young girls or women to form a union between two powerful families through marriage and the marriage would be used to signify the bond between the families even if the young girl that was being married was doing so forcefully and unwillingly. However nowadays especially in America women have been given the mandate to marry when they feel like doing so (Tandon, 45). This shows how far women have come to be liberated and to be responsible for their marital choices and decisions.

Arranged marriage was also very rampant in the past where women were forced to marry husbands chosen for them by their parents and whom they did not love. Nowadays however women are given the freedom to marry whoever they choose and so they are free to marry whom they love hence introducing the concept of love in marriages. Unlike in the old days, women nowadays are not considered as the man’s property or as economic assets. They are allowed to marry who they want and love (Coontz, 56).

Time has seen the rising status of the woman in marriage whereby in the current modern society in America women have a significant influence and say in their marriages and are allowed to marry at whatever age they please and they are also free to leave unsatisfying unions whenever they please. They are also free to establish certain rules that should be followed by them and their husbands within the marriage.

Despite the revolution in the status of women in the current society, certain issues were affecting them negatively in the old days that have not been fully resolved.

Polygamy is one of these issues since it is being practiced secretly by some people in America despite it being outlawed and it shows how the status of women in the current society is still being somehow undermined. Men marrying many wives secretly are enough proof that women are still being undermined in some societies and not being taken seriously.

Just like in the old days even today in America the notion of marriage has not changed very much since many women are being forced to endure the state of a bad marriage rather than celebrate it. It has been discovered that even today bride price is being paid for women in marriages hence portraying the woman like some property that is on sale. Even up to nowadays marriages are being portrayed as business deals hence undermining the social status of women.

In America, some marriage rules that apply to male-female marriages do not apply to gay marriages were by the female partner may have some rights which may not be applied to the male partner of gay marriage and vice versa hence showing that women are still being discriminated against and not fully equal to men (Nelson, 54).

Gender equality has always been a major issue since time immemorial and it mostly affected women who were always the victims of gender discrimination thus raising some conflicts in society. However, time has seen some changes with this issue in that nowadays more and more women are being given equal chances in life and hence raising their social status in society.