I’m going to write about a cultural theory and that is feminist theory. It has been around for many decades. To begin with, the feminist theory or feminism is support of equality for women and men. For many years, women have attempted for gaining equality with men. They have been held back and their opportunities taken away from them because of the fact that they were women. Even though all feminists aim for gender equality, there are different ways to approach this theory. (Kimberly Moffitt) They want to be treated equally as the men. Some of the basic feminist ideas and approaches to attaining gender equality as mentioned by Moffitt; feminists believe in working to increase equality, They also believe in expanding human choice, eliminating gender stratification, ending sexual violence and promoting sexual freedom. Their goal is to show the …show more content…
Men think that women should only do the basics like cooking, cleaning, and having children. For example, Women in Saudi Arabia are treated as lifelong dependents, under the guardianship of a male relative. Denied of the right to drive a car or get along with men publicly, they are cramped to strictly segregated lives on pain of severe punishment according to The Faminist eZine. Also, they cannot compete in sports and cannot practice several occupations. Women were not involved in politics or the government, or even had voting rights. In Saudi, they also allow girls to get married as childs because their parents are the ones who will decide the spouse for their girls. One of a story is about a girl who is 12 years old married to an 80 year old man. (Writer) Women their do not have a choice on who to marry and their father or other male guardian will decide on when and who they should marry. If you are a male, you are 100% dominant than any female. Women are presumed to be modest and to stay within the household unless accompanied by male family
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
Saudi Arabia is commonly known for its strict moral values and customs regarding religion and women. Gender discrimination is a global conflict but it is prevalently seen in Saudi Arabia. Gender discrimination is so poignant in Saudi Arabia because there are strict sets of moral guidelines and ideologies that Saudi Arabian culture implements on its people. Although Saudi Arabian men impose restrictions on women for the sake of upholding their cultural beliefs and family’s honor, there is no doubt that Saudi Arabian culture is male dominated and holds misogynistic views on women, but progress is being made.
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)
The first religion and its views on women that will be discussed in this essay is Islam. Islam is a religions founded in Saudi Arabia almost two thousand years ago, by the prophet Muhammad. In fact, Muhammad dedicated much attention towards women in the Koran, the holy book of Islam. However, even though much was dedicated to women in the Koran, it was not dedicated to them in the sense of equality. Women in Islamic culture were apparently much lower on the totem pole than men, "The men are made responsible for the women, since God endowed them with certain qualities, and made them the bread earners...If you experience opposition from the women, you shall first talk to them, then [you may use such negative incentives as] deserting them in bed, then you may beat them (129)." Excerpt...
In the book, Women in the Middle East, a Saudi Arabian proverb states, "A girl possesses nothing but a veil and a tomb" (Harik and Marston 83). The key words, "veil" and "tomb" lend evidence to the fact that many Middle Eastern women lack identity symbolized by the “veil” and lack the right of ownership except for their veil and the tomb. This statement further enforces the notion that many women in the Middle East are expected to serve and tolerate the oppression of the men in their lives throughout their lives on this earth. Moreover, it confirms that many of these women do not get the opportunity to obtain education, join the work force, and even participate in the political affairs of the country. This arrangement further helps the Middle Eastern men to view women as their properties, servants, or even as slaves. Ultimately, there are three main reasons why Middle Eastern men engage in the act of oppressing their women.
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...
Liberal feminists believe that oppression and inequality must be justified. In other words, any inequality between genders must be explained and justified, in order for it to be accepted by the liberal feminists. According to our textbook, the liberal feminism originated from the social contract theories. Such theories state that all forms of social domination or authority must be justified, according to the textbook. Liberal feminists hold a view that every member of the society should be equal. They also insist that the violent forms of oppression should be controlled throughout the society, for they find domestic violence and violence against women to an unjustifiable form of oppression. They also argue that the development of an individual is usually forced into a gender "channel", where members of different sex groups are gradually taught and instructed to follow a certain particular gender pattern.
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.
Women in Saudi Arabia are given no identity, starting with their births and ending with their death. Both accounts are neither recorded nor written down. "Neither our births nor our deaths are made official in any public record. Although births of male children are documented in family or tribal records, none are maintained anywhere for females (pg.23)". Along with no recognition of two of the most important events in life, they are forced to cover their beautiful faces with cloth called veils and abacas, once their menstrual cycle begins. "Of course, at the time of each females menses and subsequent veiling, the cutoff from any males other than father and brothers was sudden and complete (pg.30)." Veils were also away of depriving Saudi women of the many beauties of life and nature. Once veiled, life became dark and some what gloomy. "The air tasted stale and dry as it filtered through the thin gauzy cloth. The sky was no longer blue, the glow of the sun had dimmed; my heart plunged to my stomach when I realized that from that moment outside my own home I would not experience life as it really is in all it's color. The world suddenly seemed a d...
Feminist theory looks beyond the common male based perspectives and focuses on women’s perspectives and their roles within society. The feminist theory is still relevant in today’s society. In fact, feminism and the feminist theory will be relevant for as long as there is inequality in this world. For example, according to the United States Department of Labor, women still make 78 cents for every dollar men make, on average, in every career field. Additionally, violence against women is still a prevalent problem today. For instance, one in three women are victims of physical and sexual violence often committed by intimate partners. These statistics are higher in countries where women are treated and seen as property of their husbands. Lastly, reproductive rights are an important step to creating equality. Laws need to protect the rights of women to have freedom over their bodies in the way that men have control over
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.
Now a strong issue that the population has when they hear the word feminism is that they naturally lead to the stereotype of feminism, which is called cultural feminism. Cultural feminism is a point of view that is reinforced by the essentialist strains of feminism positing that women are naturally, biologically different, and often better than men. But pe...
Feminism is the movement towards women’s equality. It fights for equal rights in the social, political, cultural and economical aspects for women. Feminism also fights for equal opportunity for women in employment and education. A feminist is someone who advocates their support for women’s rights but is not restricted to only women; anyone who supports women’s rights and equality are feminists, including men. Feminism is not only about the females, it fights for gender equality for all. Feminist movements, or Women’s movements, campaign for reforms in household issues with domestic violence, political issues with equal pay, employment and maternity leave, and reproduction rights. All feminism movements fight for equal rights, but it cannot be conquered or be made known all at once. First wave feminism was mostly about women’s suffrage and political equality in general. Second wave feminism went more in depth about the social and cultural inequalities.
For centuries, women struggle to obtain equality with men. They are invisible and not given opportunities because of their gender. Feminism is the matter of consideration in social, political, and economic equality of the sexes. The feminist movement has been the key to give the rights to women who have been stricken of their equality and privileges that men had fail to give them. It is believed that women have every right to be equal with men and feminism is achieving this gradually. Feminism is favorable to the men, women, and their families because it gives an equal opportunity in life
Cultural feminism was first coined by Brooke Williams in 1975 during the end of the Second Wave of Feminism, but was at first called radical feminism and then separated to be called cultural feminism (Echols 35). The two became separated because radical feminist stressed patriarchy and lack of female rights, while cultural feminism embraces the differences of men and women (Echols 36). According to Alice Echols, cultural feminism can be achieved within patriarchal societies because they focus on male behavior and away from biology and the stricter of male supremacy like radical feminism does (page 36). Cultural feminist try to improve human relationships in the world by making an effort to develop a better value system without thinking that characterizes are biological and unchanging (Mantilla 4). By acknowledging that women’s characteristics are superior to some of men’s characteristics, then we as a society can hold responsibly to women being emulated of their values and characteristics. Cultural feminism focuses on the ideology of female nature or the core that is assigned by feminist to revalidate the female’s attributes that make females attributes undervalued (Alcoff 3). A goal of cultural feminist is to try to create and maintain healthy relationships and environments that are free of masculinity values (Alcoff 3). Alcoff says that people think being a woman is a bad thing. This is a result of the Feminist theory, as defined as by Webster Dictionary is “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes and the organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests”