The First Steps of Feminism in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O'Connor“A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O'Connor, shows a family trip to Florida that ends with an unexpected death at the end of the story. In the progression of this story, O'Connor presented the women as naïve with graceful images. Women are presented as the weaker sex while men are given greater importance and powerful roles. In this regard this story can be seen as a feminist point of view. Feminism is the self-awareness among women regarding women's rights based on political, social, and economic equality with men (Thompson 18). Feminist criticism offers a unique understanding of Flannery O'Connor's short story A Good Man is Hard to Find because it reflects the powerless, nameless, and dependent position of women in male-dominant society. Males and females were treated differently in terms of gender still later in the year. 1955, when this story was first published. People lived with the mentality that men were given a high position in society. Perhaps this was the cause of the same mentality, the male characters in the story do not treat women as their equals. Gender discrimination has deep roots in history and still existed in 1955. In this regard, there was an article published in the New York Times dated February 16, 2013 by Stephanie Coontz titled “Why Gender Equality Stuck”; writes, “In 1963, most Americans did not yet believe that gender equality was possible or even desirable.” For this reason it can be concluded that gender discrimination was present in 1955 when women were considered solely responsible for childcare, household chores and were powerless regarding their social position. Men, on the other hand, held a high social and economic status...... middle of paper ......and New York Times, February 16, 2013. Web. April 24, 2014..Michaelson, Evalyn Jacobson and Leigh, M Aaland. “Masculinity, femininity and androgyny”. Ethos 4.2 (1976): 251-270. JSTOR. Network. April 27. 2014. Schilb, John and John Clifford, ed. Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. Print.Thompson D. Radical Feminism Today [e-book]. London: SAGE; 2001. Available from: eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), Ipswich, MA. April 5, 2014. Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory: An Easy-to-Use Guide. Florence, United States: Routledge, 9. Print.Ward, Dawn and Jack Balswick. “Strong Men and Virtuous Women: A Content Analysis of Sex Role Stereotypes.” The Pacific Sociological Review 21.1 (1978): 45-53. JSTOR. Network. April 27. 2014.