Ruth Sidel states, "Over this quarter-century there has been very little change." (Satris 54) Why has the society been so stagnant? Several factors could have contributed to this. The author states that women in the modern society are still viewed as sex objects. Women are pressured to have sex, which Sidel states is a "treacherous mine field." (Sidel 55) The advertisements urging women to conform to a certain model of appearance are aired continuously; periodicals feature unrealistic body images that the society imposes on women. Feminist groups attempt to dispel these images as well as move society closer to the ideal of equality between men and women. At times, some people due to radical ideas expressed by some feminists dismiss the idea of feminism. Published literature on the subject includes radical utopian views by some women that picture the ideal society as man-free, reproducing artificially. These women are viewed as radical lesbian man-haters and present a distorted view on feminism and feminists.
There is another aspect of feminism and parenting, where a two-parent household is not a realistic one. In many poverty-stricken households, the mother most often is raising a child by herself. There is no competition between spouses in relation to who gets to be the stay at home one. Welfare mothers have the task of realizing their full potential. It is hard for them to put their personal experience in perspective. They have the chore of distinguishing between their personal experiences, which in the poverty level could be quite different from the ideals that feminists would like for them to be. Underprivileged single mothers struggle to make the ends meet and have little time and/or minimal knowledge to plan their careers. These women in the low-income demographic areas often get pregnant younger and are deprived of these choices. The focus in these types of family is to make the ends meet, while trapped in an economic hamster wheel.
