We have a seen a string of political movements that strive to grant equality to historically disenfranchised groups like blacks, women, and gays. Though commentator have applauded the efforts of such groups, others have criticized and expressed opposition because of the counterproductivity that some of these efforts have brought.

Such as is the case of the feminist movement in the United States. Split into three distinctive "eras", it sought to establish equality in the workforce as well as expand reproductive rights for women. On the movement's long term affects on society, some political commentators have pinpointed several aspects of the feminist movement that have been counterproductive and have engrained more double standards in a politically driven society. Some of the biggest issues are domestic violence and divorce. A vast, vast majority of domestic violence support groups only cater to women, when statistics show that men are just as likely to become victims of domestic violence as women. In the case of divorce, women are often given unfair advantages in court rulings, and in the majority of divorce cases involving custodial rights and the like, judges often rule in favor of women rather than men.

Affirmative action has been assail by numerous critics for its discriminatory practices, ironic to the objectives that it strives to achieve. Numerous court cases have arose and been subjected to the Supreme Court; one of the most well-known cases is the Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), which involved an aspiring nurse looking to enroll in the University of California at Davis' nursing program. Although there were a few "minority" seats left by the time apply was over, the school declined to give her any of the seats, insisting on perscribing to the then recently-implemented affirmative action policy. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of Bakke.

Do you think some aspects of equality movements have been counterproductive in the long term? Do you disagree, and think that equality movements have not brought about any negative affects? Why, or why not?

Mad this flopped

This is a hollow victory for divorced mothers considering what marriage and divorce do to women in general. In ideal cases, married men are able to accrue years of uninterrupted working experience that create good rapports with their employers, which in turn gives them the skill sets needed for future job prospects and, thus, the tools to be successful and competitive post-divorce.

Women, who often have to take years off their jobs or at least shift focus from their higher career goals to take care of young children (if they're not simply quitting their jobs to stay at home), aren't often guaranteed the same positions after they're ready/able to work again, if they are guaranteed jobs at all. And if a newly divorced mom wasn't working when she was married, it's so hard for her to find an occupation to maintain anything resembling her former financial status. She doesn't have the benefit of uninterrupted work experience or, in many cases, the skills employers are looking for.

Men are also more likely to get remarried after a divorce. Single, financially stable, middle-aged men are attractive to many women, and it's not uncommon for men to "marry up," i.e., finding people 10+ years younger to remarry because they like building bigger families with more virile/attractive women. Their ex-wives can't find similarly successful men nearly as easily... and they're less likely to seek remarriage in the first place, simply because American marriage benefits men much more than women. Which brings us back to our point: feminism is necessary. Inequality is real.

Even if these movements have brought "negative effects," they're far from counterproductive. The negative aspects of equality movements are short-term sacrifices that the already-privileged majority has to endure for everybody's long-term gain.

well, yeah it probably did some damage, but most of the stuff mentioned (like the stuff about domestic violence) can't really be linked to the (women's) rights movements...

I think you're right. Its like we took ten steps forward and two back. There wouldn't be true equality, because of society, our culture.

The thing you mentioned about women, and divorce and domestic violence can be attributed to societal norms. Like women are expect to be stay at home, while the man provides. Even though this isn't true today, it's ingrained in our being to have the woman live comfortably because she can't provide for herself. An out of date thought, but its still how many think. Also with domestic violence, men are always seeing as having the upper hand or being the dominant figure in a heterosexual relationship.

Not necessarily, and affirmative action is a good example of that. The concept of affirmative action has become counterproductive because there are very few racial boundaries left in the public. These racial and gender quotas are actually alienating another group of people, intentional or not.

I'm not attributing the irony to feminism. I just brought it up as an example to back up an argument.