These laws don’t wear capes or scream headlines—they quietly control lives anyway.
The idea that women are free and equal under modern law doesn’t hold up when you actually read the rules. Across courts, state lines, and medical offices, there’s still an unnerving pattern: laws written or upheld by men that quietly shape the bodies, futures, and freedoms of younger women.
It’s not about being dramatic. It’s about calling it what it is. Legal systems still bend toward control, and the consequences don’t look outdated—they look like everyday life.
1. Abortion bans erase bodily autonomy state by state.
Across huge parts of the U.S., abortion is now either banned outright or so restricted it’s functionally impossible to access. For Gen Z and millennial women, this isn’t theory—it’s daily reality. The right to decide when or whether to become a parent has been handed over to state legislatures, many still overwhelmingly male. Travel costs, wait periods, misinformation, and surveillance of apps all create a legal minefield around what should be private healthcare. It’s not just about terminating a pregnancy—it’s about stripping agency and turning a personal decision into a legal gamble with your body on the line.
2. Parental consent laws force minors into dangerous corners.
In many states, teenagers must get parental consent to access reproductive healthcare—especially abortion. That sounds simple, unless the parents are abusive, absent, or just unwilling. These laws assume families are safe havens, which isn’t always true. They trap scared girls in impossible situations and can force them to carry pregnancies against their will. Judicial bypasses exist in theory, but navigating courts without support is overwhelming, especially for someone under 18. These laws don’t protect teens—they preserve adult control and moral panic at the expense of actual lives and futures.
3. Dress code rules target girls far more than boys.
It starts early, and it’s everywhere—rules about skirt lengths, shoulder straps, bra straps, even the fit of jeans. School dress codes overwhelmingly target girls, sending the message that their bodies are distracting, inappropriate, or responsible for boys’ behavior. These rules are often vague, inconsistently enforced, and rooted in outdated ideas about modesty and control. For Gen Z girls raised online and offline, it’s exhausting. They grow up policing their own appearance while watching boys get a pass. It’s not just a fashion issue—it’s a training ground for shame and silence.
4. Workplace grooming policies still dictate women’s appearance.
Even in supposedly progressive offices, dress codes often require women to look a certain way to be taken seriously. Makeup is “professional.” Heels are expected. Hair must be “neat,” which often means Eurocentric. These policies aren’t just outdated—they’re coded expectations that link femininity to competence. Gen Z and millennial women walk a constant tightrope: look polished, but not too sexy; confident, but not too masculine. Men, by contrast, throw on a button-up and move on. It’s a subtle control mechanism, enforced not by lawbooks, but by HR handbooks—and the consequences for defiance are real.
5. Marital rape loopholes still exist in some legal systems.
It’s 2025, and in several states, laws still fail to fully criminalize marital rape. In others, outdated statutes once treated consent as a permanent part of marriage—an unrevokable contract. While many of these laws are slowly changing, the damage lingers. Survivors often struggle to get charges taken seriously, especially if the assault happened within a relationship. These legal blind spots protect perpetrators under the illusion of domestic privacy and continue to suggest that marriage includes ownership. For women navigating relationships, it’s a chilling reminder that even the law can overlook abuse if it happens behind closed doors.
6. Wage gap laws lack teeth—and companies know it.
Equal pay has been law for decades, but enforcement is so weak it’s barely a suggestion. Most companies don’t have to disclose salaries, and retaliation for asking coworkers about pay is common. This creates a culture where women, especially women of color, are chronically underpaid and often unaware of it. Gen Z and millennial women enter the workforce already behind, and without transparency or accountability, there’s no clear way to catch up. Companies profit off silence. Laws exist, technically—but without enforcement, they just dress up a broken system in legalese.
7. Maternity leave laws are wildly outdated or nonexistent.
The U.S. is one of the only developed countries with no federally mandated paid maternity leave. Most new mothers get six to twelve unpaid weeks—if they qualify at all. For younger women building careers or working freelance, the message is clear: you’re on your own. Returning to work exhausted, healing, and overwhelmed becomes the norm, not the exception. This isn’t about time off—it’s about valuing women’s labor, health, and ability to parent without economic punishment. Without legal protection, motherhood becomes a personal sacrifice instead of a shared societal responsibility.
8. Anti-trans laws restrict gender freedom across the board.
Anti-trans legislation doesn’t just hurt trans people—it signals that gender expression must follow rigid, outdated rules. These laws, often pushed by conservative male lawmakers, limit healthcare access, restrict pronoun use, and enforce binary dress codes in schools and workplaces. For Gen Z and millennial women, many of whom challenge traditional gender norms, these laws create a chilling effect. They reinforce narrow definitions of what womanhood “should” look like, and punish anyone who doesn’t fit. The legal system becomes a gatekeeper of identity—less about justice, more about policing expression in its most personal form.