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Summary and Response Paper As defined by Hannah Sternberg in her article Conservative Feminism is Not an Oxymoron, “feminism is ‘the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.’” While this is the dictionary definition, Sternberg believes that liberals have transformed the meaning of the word to promote their own agenda and have unjustly deviated from true feminism. She is sick of being ridiculed for being a female conservative, and she firmly believes conservatives should have as much claim to feminism as liberals do. Although I can understand where Sternberg’s resentment is coming from, I think that she focuses more on attacking liberals rather than discussing how being a female conservative “is not an oxymoron”, …show more content…
There are extremists that skew the true meaning of a movement all the time, but they should not be the ones who define what it is. It is not fair to make generalizations about a group, like assuming all feminists are liberals. All feminists are human beings, and they just want the equality and ability to make choices like all human beings deserve. Sternberg argues against the need for feminism by saying, “What could be more empowering that the simple declaration that all people, women and men, are entitled to the respect of their basic human dignity?”, but the problem with that thought is the Declaration of Independence declared that all MEN were created equal. When this document was written, the only people that were considered equal were wealthy, white, males. African Americans and women were excluded, and while that has vastly changed today, it does not take away from the fact that women were not always seen as equal, and they still are not to everyone. Just like African Americans today still struggle with racism, women still struggle with sexism, and anyone who tries to deny it is denying the
Feminisms Matter: Debates, Theories, Activism, is a book that analyzes gender studies and theories among the ages and relates it to towards the issues that occur in everyday life. Chapter four of the text is seen to draw heavily on the issue of intersectionality and how it creates binary categories that defy the complexities of human beings . Society integrates many identities that work to categorize people into certain groups. These certain groups is what dictate the actions and view of the people within. However, this outdated use of segregating people is the main problem in terms of in terms of intersectionality as it is a form of discrimination . Victoria L. Bromley, the author of Feminism Matter, discusses the use of intersectionality
“I have no idea what a feminist is although I have heard the term before,” said Stewart. I told her not to feel bad because I did not know the meaning of the term until I took the class and gave her bell hooks’ definition. Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression. Although they do not have to be an activist, they should be pro-choice. “With that being said I don’t consider myself a feminist but I am pro-choice. I give advice and let others learn from experience. A person is going to do what they want so I don’t push my opinion off on others.” While others have a clue to what a feminist is but do not fully understand their purpose. “I think a feminist is someone who wants more equal rights for women but take it to the extreme,” said Nia. I explained to her that a feminist does not have to be an extreme activist. Her response was “I still don’t consider myself a feminist because I don’t really care about trying to make a change for women’s rights. I think it’s as good as it is going to get,” said
There are countless examples of women standing up for themselves, protesting injustices, and empowering others. The idea also works the other way and influences behavior of people threatened by the idea of feminism. These people refer to themselves as either anti-feminists or meninists. A prime example of feminism in the real world is the protests at the early release of the Stanford rapist. This man raped an unconscious woman behind a dumpster and was sentenced to six months in jail. He served three of those months and is now on probation for a year. This is a classic example of how the justice system tends to blame the victim while favoring the attacker. Over one hundred women’s rights protestors gathered hours after his release demanding for the judge to be recalled. Because these women were calling for political reform, they would be considered liberal
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.
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.
In the essay “The Failure of Feminism,” by Phyllis Chesler, that was first published by The Chronical of Higher Education on February 24, 2006. The author emphasizes how “feminism may not be existent anymore (Chesler, 2006).” Chesler describes the word feminism itself, and how others may interpret the word. “The Failure of Feminism shows how feminism has evolved over time.
“Feminism”, as defined today, is “1: the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes,” and “2: organized activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests.”2 Many critics claim that feminism has been active longer than the word itself has existed.3 The word, “feminist” was not in true use until the late 1800s and early 1900s, but activism for women’s rights was alive and well a...
"People who are liberal thinkers have been enslaved by these poseurs, these racketeers, people who are pretending to be liberal but who are in fact just naïve politically. I have been congratulated by women...who are so sick of being bullied by these sanctimonious puritans who call themselves feminists." --Camille Paglia
The movement to extend equal rights to women is the main goal of feminism, which is a great thing. However, the media portrays feminism in a much more negative light. Media often portrays feminism as crazy women who view men in a negative light, that want more rights than men. In turn, a negative response comes out of this misinterpretation, even causing people to even identify themselves as “anti-feminist”. A sad reality in todays world caused by various aspects. One of the major reasons feminism is seen in a negative light is because some women claim they are feminists, however are strongly misguided on exactly what the principles of feminism entail. Many women consider themselves to be feminists, but will actually end up attacking men, which in turn causes feminism to be associated in a negative manor or even be considered a hate group. This ends up being very counterproductive, making no progress toward the ultimate goal of feminism which is simply to reach equality in various aspects of society. Another example of a hate group being counterproductive for a movement is the “Black lives matter” movement. This movement stemmed from the ultimate goal to reach equal rights between races, but has turned in to a hate group which advocated the exact opposite. Seeing the group in which the movements goal is to attaint equal rights with as the enemy is the
The term feminist is seen with a negative connotation because people use it as an insult against women in an effort to make them seem irrational and unfair, but in reality it is the exact opposite of that. Feminism is defined as the “belief in or advocacy of women’s social, political, and economic rights, especially with regard to equality of the sexes.” (Feminism). There is no reason that there should be a negative connotation to this belief or participation in advancing this belief, yet there is. This battle and struggle for equal rights has been going on for a very long time, but it really took off in the 1920s. The 19th amendment and The New Woman really helps to show how quickly women and their rights progressed in the United States. Many
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”.
“Emancipation of women had made them lose mystery” –Grace Kelly, this was a quote said from a woman’s mouth, this was not only Grace’s opinion but the percentage of women being against feminism is increasing. Stop Fem-Splaining: What ‘Women Against Feminism’ Gets Right is an article wrote by Cathy Young published on Www.time.com which is an website for the news and articles, the article was published on July 14,2014. The article is taking about the Women Against feminist meme that has been up in 2014 through social medias and TV shows, the issue had many perspectives from the different kind of sexes, some women believe in the equality between men and women, that
In the book Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center written by bell hooks, an African-American author, social activist and feminist first published in 1984 the author explains what she believes are the core principles of feminism. Throughout the book the author examines the early feminist theory and goes on to criticize it saying that it did not aim for a systematic change also that the movement has the potential to improve the lives of both men and women immensely. In the book the author investigates the performance of African-American women in the movement and what is needed to drive the movement towards ending oppression of all kinds.
The term feminism has a lot of misunderstanding and confusion many people think that the term Feminism or being Feminist is only for women . what they don't know is that Feminism is the belief in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes. So many people don't understand what feminism is and where the word originated form so they think of it as a stereotypes. As to where they believe that women want to take control of everything and push mens way. Which it not truth for any means and the word for Feminism is for everyone. Setting in my history class i remember my teacher going over feminism and tell us the people that called them self feminist. I remember that we didn't really get in depth about what being feminism is and what