Feminism is not for all women
The narrator agrees at the beginning of the book that feminism was supposed to be a movement created by women for women, no matter their social background or race. Ironically, however, as the narrator points out, this was far from being the reality. What happened instead was that feminism was useful to white women while oppressing the women of color.
Men as inferior
The definition of feminism claims that is a movement that strives to make women and men equal so that they have the same rights, opportunities, and representation in society. This idea changed in modern times and the narrator points out that feminism has transformed, into an idea that, ironically, wants to oppress the male population.
Taking decisions for women
Reproductive rights and abortion rights are mentioned on numerous occasions by the narrator as well as the laws that govern these areas. While these subjects affect women directly, the laws they have to obey were passed by men and are enforced by men. This aspect is an ironic one for the narrator because, as she points out, men have little to no knowledge about the matters at hand and as such should not be allowed to pass such laws.
Religion makes women free
Gay presents some of the old ideas regarding women and it is interesting to see that these ideas that oppress women have their origins in religion, mainly Christianity and Islam. The people of the past did not saw religion as oppressing but saw it, in an ironic way, as freeing, especially for women.
Educated
Up until the end of the 20th century, girls, in general, were not educated. Young girls were seen as future mothers but apart from perpetuating the human race, they did not have any real economic or practical value. In general, girls and women were seen as less intelligent when compared with their male counterparts, and educating them was seen as a waste of resources and time. The narrator points out that nowadays, the tables have, ironically, shifted. In comparison with the male population, a larger percentage of girls receive a higher education and fields such as medicine that in the past were male-dominated are now female-dominated.
