Equating Feminism and Equality I remember the unique feeling that came with checking out books from my elementary school’s library. I was giddy from the moment I heard the beep of the library’s computer telling me that the books were in my possession. For the rest of the week, I’d stay awake until the late hours of night, straining my eyes until the words distorted into furry lines and I fell asleep with the spine of a book balanced on my nose and the smell of words spread across my face. The treasured stories of Shel Silverstein, Kate DiCamillo, and the others who added weight to my backpack affected my life far more than I realized at the time. Language has been an important component of my growing up; I have filled journals with entries …show more content…
Lakoff wants women to speak up and end sexist language in our society. I agree with her and believe that the language that is used to describe women is one of the reasons sexism is so prominent. How are women going to have power in society if they are constantly being reduced by words and the beliefs that go along with them? Lakoff says, “Women’s language is that pleasant (dainty?), euphemistic never-aggressive way of talking we learned as little girls” (359). I find it disturbing and extremely unfortunate that women are taught to be nothing more than a mere accessory at a young age when they don’t have the capability to disagree with or question the ideas that are implanted in …show more content…
The people who are set on declaring that there is absolute equality around them are either ignoring or unaware of the tragic facts. Men are able to avoid accountability for their actions quite frequently and are held at a far different standard than women. A phrase that comes to mind is the famous “boys will be boys” expression. This language reinforces the idea that it is in the nature of men to be uncivilized and harmful. It is expected that they won’t control themselves. This behavior should not be acceptable because there is no reason men should be expected to be less mature and considerate than women. In an article by Jackson Katz, The Price Women Pay for Boys Being Boys, Katz talks about a group of boys who knew their friend planned on filming a girl during sex without her knowledge, yet did nothing to stop it. Reflecting on this incident, he says, “They 've grown up immersed in a popular and pornographic culture where the sexual degradation of women is so common as to seem unremarkable. In that sense it shouldn 't surprise us that they didn 't even stop to think about how humiliated she would feel” (Katz). I cannot stress enough how relevant this is in every woman’s life. Discrimination, harassment, sexualization, and dehumanization are problems that women constantly face in their lives. Feminism is meant to empower women; it is about recognizing every gender as equal. Yet,
“Se Habla Español,” is written by a Latin author, Tanya Barrientos; and Amy Tan, a Chinese author, wrote “Mother Tongue”. In both literate narratives the authors write about their experiences with language and how it impacted their lives. In This essay we will be discussing the similarities as well as the differences in the stories and the authors of “Se Habla Español” and “Mother Tongue”. We will discuss how both authors use a play on words in their titles, how language has impacted their lives, how struggling with language has made them feel emotionally, and how both authors dealt with these issues.
In early nineteen centuries, Women helped shape the course of the American Revolution in numerous ways. However, national and state constitutions included little mention of women. Under the constitution, women did not have right to vote and were not allowed hold office. Judith Sargent Murray, a feminist writer, was one of the most prominent women of the Revolutionary era. She strived for the right and recognition of women from the society of her period. In the feminist essay, “On the Equality of Sexes,” Murray posed the argument of spiritual and intellectual equality between men and women.
Language is an important part of who we are. It influences the way we think and behave on a great scale. However, sometimes it is forced upon us to go in different directions just so we can physically and mentally feel as if we belong to the society in which we live in. Just as we see in Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” and Richard Rodriguez’s “A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood”, both authors faced some challenges along the way by coping with two different languages, while still trying to achieve the social position which they desired.
The Scarlet Letter can easily be seen as an early feminist piece of work. Nathaniel Hawthorne created a story that exemplifies Hester as a strong female character living with her choices, whether they were good or bad, and also as the protagonist. He also presents the daughter of Hester, Pearl, as an intelligent female, especially for her age. He goes on to prove man as imperfect through both the characters of Dimmesdale and of Chillingworth. With the situation that all the characters face, Hawthorne establishes the female as the triumphant one, accomplishing something that, during Nathaniel Hawthorne’s time, authors did not attempt.
Feminism, as defined in the dictionary, is “the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.” This doesn’t mean that women are just a bit tired of earning 75% that a man does for the same job. This means that women are standing up for themselves and are trying to achieve rights that they should already have. We were all brought into this world by a woman, but they are still not a man’s equal. Why is that? Is it too much to ask for to not be raped or killed or cast aside simply because of gender? Why is it that there are men out there that believe feminism is a scourge upon this earth that must be wiped out? They feel that their power over women is being threatened.
This situation goes for not only women but men as well. From an early age, both boys and girls should be taught humanity, in terms of how both men and women should be treated. Unfortunately, this rarely occurs and generations of boys and girls grow up thinking that this is the way of the world. Therefore, the vicious cycle of unfair practices is still going on to this day with little to no advancements.
The word feminism is sometimes misinterpreted and associated with female superiority and hatred of men, although most people probably agree that feminism can mean the desire for social and economic parity. There is so much baggage surrounding this term that clarification of what feminism is and is not, is essential. Indeed, the way feminism has developed has not been pretty. “Feminism over the years have [sic] evolved away from its noble purpose of creating awareness and defending women rights to creating new ridiculous ‘belief systems.’...feminism has become more like a medium for angry women to vent their hatred and frustration towards man”(“Feminism is Chauvinism”). This definition goes completely against the true meaning of what feminism entails. Feminism can be defined as a fundamental respect for others and the desire for equality between men and women.
Catharine MacKinnon, in her book Feminism Unmodified, takes a unique approach to the problem of gender inequality in America. She claims that pornography defines the way in which America’s patriarchal society perpetuates male dominance, and attacks traditional liberal methods that defend pornography on the basis of the first amendment’s right to free speech. According to MacKinnon, pornography is not an example of speech but rather an act. She proposes that this act discriminates against women as a class, and therefore violates their civil rights and should be outlawed. MacKinnon’s critics may think her argument is excessively radical, and contemporary society may not embrace the changes she suggests. However, even if she is deliberately provocative Catharine MacKinnon’s message is worthwhile: The American male power structure dominates women and must be changed. Establishing sexual equity in this power structure would be a major step in the struggle for gender equality within American communities.
...rms of power and source of pride in society. Emphasizing sexism in language and rising the concern with words can be a vital feminist strategy to provoke social change (Weatherall, 2002). Language can produce a false imagination and represents women and men unequally, as if members of one sex were somehow less wholly human, less complex, and has fewer rights than members of the other sex. Sexist language also characterizes serotypes of women and men, sometimes to the disadvantage of both, but more often to the disadvantage of women. (Wareing & Thomas, 2012). As a result, it is necessary that individuals have the right to define, and to redefine as their lives unfold, their own gender identities, without regard to genitalia, assigned birth sex, or initial gender role. Language about women is not a nonaligned or an insignificant issue but profoundly a political one.
Everyone is capable of wanting equality for all people. Women are not the only people to strive for gender equality for woman. Many men want to see all people treated equally but do not feel confident enough to talk about it. Many women who call themselves feminists tend to blame men for the position woman are in today, excluding them, and essentially doing nothing to help us as a society progress to equality. This only feeds into the well known stereotype of feminism. When referring to men in this society, Serano say’s, “It is difficult for men to move through a world in which they are non-consensually viewed as predators” (417). Society takes this general view as men being t fault for how women are treated today and making it hard for many men to join women in the fight for equality. This is not to say all men are supportive of woman, unfortunately, there are still men in the world that believe women can not do a job as well or better than a man, but to believe all men are like this would be inequitable. When contemplating whether to include men in feminism we must remember the main reason for feminism, which Roxane Gay reminds us when she says, “So much responsibility keeps getting piled on the shoulders of a movement whose primary purpose is to achieve equality, in all realms, between men and woman” (173). So why not let men join the movement? Woman must move past this idea that men are to blame
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a Nigerian author who has received numerous awards and distinctions. Her main argument is that everyone should be a feminist not because of our gender, but because it is what is right. Adichie has been featured in Beyonce’s song, “Flawless”, spreading awareness to the idea of feminism. “We Should All Be Feminists” is a book about her experiences in Nigeria, where men are more powerful than women. The intended audience of the passage is each and every person residing in heavily patriarchal societies. Hesr thesis is “we should all be feminists”.
Even though we now live in a modern society where equality is valued, patriarchy is still very apparent and it stimulates women to be passive due to the assumption of male superiority and places women as the primary victims in the argument culture (Ortner 531). The stereotypes that women and men have are encouraged by men because it gives them the advantage to reason and validate their actions using those stereotypes. In the article “Too Soon for Post-Feminism: The Ongoing Life of Patriarchy in Neoliberal America”, written by Sherry B. Ortner, who is an anthropologist, touched upon this topic that even though our country right now is developing to strive for equality, especially gender, we still have not reached it yet. Ortner reveals the abundance
Since the beginning of time, women have always been seen as things purely for the pleasure and benefit of men. Women have always been objectified. Objectification is seeing and treating a person as if they did not have thoughts and feelings, as if they had the status of an object.{1} Only in recent years have they begun to be seen as individuals of equal intelligence and ability. You may think, ”Women have had equal rights for a while. I do not see how this is a problem.” It may not seem like women were given their rights recently, but in our history, women have been treated objectively for thousands of years, even dating back to biblical times. Still, even when women have the same rights, opportunities, and responsibility as men, women can be found almost everywhere being treated as though they were incompetent and lesser human beings.{4}
Feminism has not changed today, but its focus has changed. Many women today have good education and employment opportunities just like men, as the early feminist fought for them. Now, after getting all these, men are now discriminating them and at times abusing them in order to undermine their hard work and potentiality. Men are doing all they can to undermine the success women have been able to acquired, however, today’s feminism is struggling to protect women and girls from domestic violence, sexual harassment, and rape as well as discrimination.
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.