INTRODUCTION
Feminism has been a topic for discussion for centuries. The notion that men and women have always been unequal has been there even before for more than a thousand years with women being at downside of the inequality stick. The presence of women in the society especially male dominated societies and the inequalities is not the temper tantrum throwing of a spoiled brat it is real issues that affect real people every day. The social worker uses different theories in order to assess situations individuals find themselves in and those theories are what inform the social worker on what action to take or what options does the social worker’s clients have and how to carry out those actions, the possible outcomes of the decision taken..
…show more content…
Social work and feminism both focus on the value of social justice and the value the worth and dignity of the person. (Robbins SP, 2012). The feminist social worker focuses on how men and women relate in a patriarchal system. It shows how the intersection of race, sexual identity and the distribution of resources can exclude or include women. But in most cases it is the exclusion.
This means that feminism does not look only at the rights of women but seeks equal rights for all and that feminism theory can be used to guide the social worker in the decision making process.
AFRICAN
…show more content…
Those that say feminism is not relevant in Africa argue that it does not take into consideration the peculiarities of the black females and men of color even though it was meant to challenge oppression of all women. (Ebunoluwa, 2009). Feminism in Africa is not part of the third wave like other scholars suggest and it cannot be defined by one or several movements that can work in the western and there is no distinction like the western people that showed the difference with waves but rather it can be measured by political eras and the eras are colonial, pre-colonial and post-colonial Africa. (Embassy of Botswana)These periods marked the start of the liberation struggles and feminism in different countries for example in Botswana the Boers wanted to colonize Botswana but there were three chiefs that took the initiative to Stop this by seeking protection from Britain. They later gained independence in 1966. It is different for every country. This is just to show that all the countries are different in culture, history
Feminist theory, in particular, has influenced my sense of social justice and helped me discover my personal sense of social activism. Feminism, by definition, is a social justice movement. Its four main philosophies (liberal feminism, cultural feminism, radical feminism, and socialist feminism), as explained by Jones-Smith (2012) focus on equality. Of the four philosophies, I was very interested in social feminism. Socialist feminist has a goal of “change in institutional and social relationships” (Jones-Smith, 2012, p.365). I relate strongly to this philosophy as I believe that in order to attain social justice, change must be made at an institutional and political level. This philosophy has largely influenced my definition of social justice in the field of
Feminism is one of the most prominent areas in contemporary sociology. By linking sociological theory and political reform, feminists aim to end inequalities between men and women in both public and private environments. Feminist theory is where things such as gender, class, and race meet. Emphasis is placed on masculine versus feminine
Social Workers are very important to everyday life. They are the ones that help people in need when they have nobody else to turn too. Also, they provide resources and better understanding of predicaments that you could be experiencing. I will reflect on how the class has affected me, my own experiences and how some theories have connected to my life experiences, and lastly, if the class helped toward my major. This class is important for someone that wants to become a social worker and wants to learn about the different theories used. Also, learning about me during this process of completing this class is fun and a way to see if the social work profession is right for me. There was many theories explained throughout this class but many will not be said because it wasn’t the main points that I was trying to get across. There are two tools that are used that can help a social worker organize a client’s life: Bubble map and Briefcase exercise. There are so many different ways a social worker can help a client deal with their problems and come up with a solution. It is up to that social worker to identify the client’s problem and see what theory fits.
Feminism can simply be defined as a range of movements and ideologies in which share a common ground in terms of defining, establishing and achieving equal opportunities to that of males, in regards to economic, cultural and social rights. It is a critique of male supremacy with efforts in changing this to end the social oppression of women. (Hooks, 2000)
In the article, “Social Work and Social Reform: An Arena of Struggle” Abramovitz analysis and acknowledges the social work profession and the barriers throughout its existence. M. Abramovitz addresses the significance of social work in the history of activism in the 20th century and the interference to social reform and political prevalence of the profession. The author Mimi Abramovitz has a firm belief that the struggle with social work is the relationship between social work and social reform. This relationship reflects the internal and external politics involved with social work.
Most of the current social work clients and workers are women. This gender is also over-represented among women, which implies that women continue to face considerable issues in the modern society despite the changes in the traditional role of men and women in the society. Social welfare policy are usually developed and implemented to confront various issues in the society including the plight of women. However, recent statistics demonstrate that social welfare policy does not always meet women’s needs effectively. This is regardless of the fact that sexism and heterosexism play a crucial role is shaping social welfare policy. Therefore, it is important to develop effective social welfare policy
Feminist therapy dates back to the 1960’s, and is derived from the realities that lie outside, beneath, and at variance from the visions of the dominant patriarchal mainstream (Brown, n.d). Feminist therapy incorporates a worldview that no one should be constrained to stereotypical roles on the basis of their gender. As well as creating a setting where clients can work towards their own empowerment, as well as learn how to relate to others in ways that are responsible, healthy, and caring (Corey, 2013).
Feminism, in its simplest definition, is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. (Webster) Feminists fight for equality for women to men socially, politically, and economically. At the peak of feminist discourse is equality for men and women in education and in employment. However, feminism also focuses on more than issues regarding the rights of women in relation to men. Issues of gender equality and women’s right to control their sexuality are also at the core of feminist theory. A key argument made by many feminists is how women have very little control over their sexuality, mainly being defined and controlled by men. T...
There has always been inequality in society. Whether it is between genders or races it has always been a major problem and played important roles in everyday lives. As time has gone on, groups have been created in hope of ending these inequalities and creating a more peaceful society. In some ways feminism has done amazing things in creating more equal rights for women. Though there are still major problems that need to be worked on and feminism seems to not be working as well anymore. Due to the extreme gender inequality that exists we must create a feminist mindset where in society ignores labels, embrace more than just the “essential feminist”, and relieves people of societal pressures.
Feminist Theory is an aspect of considering feminism as having been based on socio-phenomenon issues rather than biological or scientific. It appreciates gender inequality, analyzes the societal roles played by feminists in a bid to promote the interests, issues and rights of women in the society. It is also based on the assumption that women play subsidiary roles in the society. The whole idea of feminism has however experienced hurdles in the form of stereotyping by the wider society. This paper tries to examine some of the effects of stereotypes that feminism goes through, what other philosophers say and the way forward towards ending stereotyping.
Feminism is the advocacy for women’s rights based on the social, political, and economic inequality of the sexes and genders. The movement dates back to the 1830s in the United States. It has developed through the years to be something much bigger than what it intended to be. What started out as a fight for living wages and safer working conditions for women, transformed into a movement fighting for women’s suffrage. From there, so much blossomed it was more than just equality for the sexes. It was more than just something that white middle class women participated in. From resisting beauty standards and fighting against rape culture, empowered women everywhere are coming together to make a difference for the future women of the world.
Feminist theory helps to analyze gender inequality and its themes which are discrimination, sexual objectification, oppression, stereotyping and so on.
Social work may have been an important aspect of society since the dawn of time, but we are not able to precisely pinpoint its roots. It appears that the groundwork for Social Work was laid around the Industrial Revolution by evangelical Christians and has impacted society ever since. Modern day Social Work is very important to other government agencies and serves as kind of a middleman when it comes to improving the well-being of members of society. Social Workers play a key role in keeping members of the nation healthy and cared for.
The social work profession is defined as “a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people (ISFW, ‘Global Definition of Social Work’, 2016).” The definition may be true about the profession but it is more in depth than just that. To me, the profession’s primary focus is to help others through life as much as we can while letting them make their own choices and guiding them. In society, social workers are utilized in many different nonprofit and government roles. They serve the community in many different ways from monitoring parent visits to helping people through mental illnesses. Human beings are so complex and things that happen
Even though society has distorted the ideals feminism was founded upon, some of the remaining true roots still hold true. While women are gaining equal opportunities in society, they need to not diminish the importance of working together with men to form a functional society. The widespread idea of quotas needs to be analyzed. People should be accepted into college or hired for a job because they are the most qualified, not because of their sex. Society has demented feminism as a harmful dogma because it has been an excuse, almost a cop-out by women who do not want to work for their acceptance. Both men and women need to realize the necessity that exists for each other to make society work.