The women's liberation movement actually (indirectly and not entirely consciously) cost women a great deal of status.
For all of the talk of the misogyny of men during this era, Victorian women were probably among the most pedestalized on Earth, far more so than today. While it is true that men of that time period generally enforced more rigid gender roles upon women than they do today and largely limited their direct influence outside of domestic(household) affairs, the fact is that female moral and spiritual supremacy was widely accepted in society at that time.
The majority of people, from government officials to local religious leaders to average Joes, were told and in many cases generally believed that women were morally better than men, inherently "right" and just in a way men could never be. The 19th amendment was largely a direct result of these thought patterns, and women were also some of the leading voices behind prohibition.
What could an American woman in the late 19th/early 20th century expect?
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A Provider: She would not be required to embark upon a full time career. Men considered it their duty to care for their women and their families. Women were therefore free to spend time with their children (without worrying about how such time could impact their livelihood) and later indulge in whatever interests they had (political activism, early feminism, writing, etc) at their own whims.
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A Family: She was almost guaranteed to have children in whom she could invest, who would be provided for by her provider husband.
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Respect: Females in this era were considered to be more virtuous than men, and were treated accordingly as more than just sex toys.
Fast forward to the present day. What about the modern American woman?
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A Provider: She's not guaranteed this anymore. The institution of marriage that ensured her one of these guys in the past (men were shamed back then for prolonging bachelorhood) is slowly crumbling, and a lot of men are becoming increasingly suspicious of an unwilling to marry their female peers. Many decent looking women are finding quality, commitment-minded men harder to come by, and are finding themselves single for much longer than they planned or wished to be.
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A Family: This is getting harder for them to find as well as providers are becoming less common. Women have found that, for all of the liberation they have, they would still like to be mothers and maintain families the way their mothers and grandmothers did. The problem is that men are no longer "
manning up" to help them out with this, and they're increasingly having to work harder, wait longer, and pay much more (in-vitro fertilization is very, very expensive) to satisfy their natural desire to bear children.
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Respect: We're equal now. The Victorian era meme of female supremacy in moral and spiritual contexts is dead (except among some remaining religious conservatives in our nations redder states, and even some of them are getting
quite suspicious as they grow older). Women no longer receive the inherent privileges (moral supremacy, chivalry, etc) they once did. Many of them still expect it, but they are increasingly being disappointed as men provide it in lower and lower quantities going forward. You can't really blame them, either-women insisted on total equality, so why would their old privileges remain?
-Female virtue carries no weight anymore. Women demanded sexual liberation and the right to create a more "free market" approach to their own sexuality, killing off all of the old restrictions they once held. The result is more fun for them to an extent(they're free now to spend their 20's chasing the alpha males they really want rather than being shackled to the dutiful, but boring beta male and raising 2-3 kids).
The hidden consequence, however, is investment, or lack thereof. Men no longer invest in women anymore. Sex is free and cheap, so why bother? The providers who made most of the investment in women historically are slowly disappearing(changing their habits or just going ghost) because there simply is no remaining incentive to play that role anymore (and the few men who still try are just getting screwed royally). A quality guy is way better off prolonging bachelorhood and playing the field, investing relatively little and still getting plenty of sex, than he is going all in and playing the more committed role his grandfather likely did.
Men treat women like sex toys now and get away with it. In fact, many men are finding that this attitude (dismissive, disrespectful, aloof) gets them even MORE women-females are increasingly accepting these attitudes and tolerating the low investment (that's why this forum exists, after all). Like the quoted Spearhead poster stated, women have traded a more dignified older status (more moral, virtuous, generally superior in spirit and conduct) for a new status as mere sex toys. Their bodies seem to be all they have left to bargain with.
Bottomline: Its ironic.
Women today are probably valued less for the content of their character than they were in the past.
Naturally, women aren't very happy with the state of things. How they deal with it remains to be seen-I expect a bit of a rebellion within the next couple of decades. Something is going to give eventually.
Until then, enjoy the ride.