Bell hooks defines feminism as a “movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression”. Nowhere in the definition does it state that feminists are ugly, man hating, lesbians. So why’s it that so many peoples preconceived idea of a feminist, is that they are something they really aren’t. I’d like to breakdown why it that so many people are negatively affected by feminist stereotypes. I will be drawing information and ideas from our text book “Gender and Women’s studies in Canada” more specifically the readings; Top ten stereo types , Feminism is for everybody, and you’re a hardcore feminist, I swear. I’m going to break down the three stereotypes feminist are man hater, ugly lesbians; why they exist, how they keep the feminist movement …show more content…
Not all feminists are lesbians and not all lesbians are feminists. Well there are feminist who prefer the company of other females there are plenty who prefer the company of men. The media is depicting feminists as a band of women coming together to abolish all men completely, because they have found companionship with another female and men are no longer needed. There is some confusion with the feminist movement and the gay rights movement and there are many lesbian activists involved in both movements fighting for equal rights. Lesbianism is a personal option and it doesn’t mean that all lesbians are feminists there a plenty of misogynist lesbians that don’t even consider themselves and their partners equal. Feminism is threatening to men and they are grasping at anything they can to try and belittle the movement, but its working. Women fear being unfeminine and being to self-reliant, because society says that women need men to survive. We just need to accept people for who they are gay, straight, black, white, male, female and any other differences between us, we are all human and we are all different and should be entitled to our own personal choices. But we should all be treated equal, with no sexism or oppression, men should be able to stay home with their kids and women should be able to be the bread winners, with no judgment …show more content…
“Ugly stays with you. Its powerful and that’s why the stereo type is so perfect, The easiest way to keep women, especially young women away from feminism is to threaten them with the Ugly stick” ( Jessica Velenti). Jessica hit the nail on the head, I don’t like being called ugly no woman does, we all want to be pretty and desired. When someone says oh all feminists are ugly, women are thinking; I really don’t want to be considered part of that ugly group of women, so I’ll just stay away from it. Women are sensitive, and the way the media depicts beauty already is hard enough to live up to let along joining a group of people who are all “stereotyped as ugly. There is a wonderful movement going around on the internet #feministsareugly where beautiful women of every race are fighting back against this stereotype. Some women are dressed to the 9’s and have a full face of make up while some are more au natural. To me its women standing up and saying we are beautiful if even we don’t fit in your patriarchal beauty standards, which is so important and a great way to fight back and show that the faces of feminism aren’t ugly they are diverse and beautiful. “Part of me gets so angry at younger women who are nervous about feminism because they’re afraid that boys won’t like them. Part of me wants to say “yeah someone’s going to call you a lesbian. Someone’s going to say you’re a fat ugly dyke. Suck it up” (Jessica Valenti). Jessica again has it right on; why
The feminism movement is often looked at in a negative light and women, especially, don’t even know what
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.
The image that is usually placed with feminism is that of a rabid, bra-burning, lesbian running around disclaiming the patriarchy. It could be that of a mid-century housewife complaining about how her only career choices are between teacher and secretary, or even of a woman with a sash and banner walking in front of the White House; preaching about her right to vote. However, this isn't necessarily the case. Ever since the rise of the internet, in the late 20th Century, feminism has had a revival causing it to grow in popularity and spread across forums everywhere. Women are joining this “third wave” movement to bring an end to the societal injustices that still plague the gender today (qtd. in Haslanger et al.). Feminism currently represents much more than it did in its infantile stage, having evolved to include relevant issues that affect every woman in today’s subordinating world. Issues such as rape culture, slut shaming, abortion and the wage gap have all been adapted into the feminist agenda with the hope that, as a united force, women could bring change to a misogynist society. The bra burning days are over, and feminism is on a rise, bringing light to issues that need to be addressed.
When stereotypes about women are thrown down on paper many women (usually called feminist) take offense to them. They don't believe women are the weaker sex, or think the man is the worker of the household. They don't believe a male should put women on a pedestal, they just want to be equal. They starve for equality and criticize those with different perspectives on how it should be
American Stereotypes of Canada The following paper will analyze the discussion generated from our Focus Group session, which covered American stereotypes Canadians portrayed in their media. The topic an interesting one to Canadians and rather enlightening to you because of your American upbringing was chosen based on what we observed during the Olympic coverage. We noticed that the Americans covered the events only when their athletes were participating or would abandon a broadcast of an event when it was clear the American athlete was not in contention for a medal to watch something a little more interesting. However, when an event has a dedicated audience such as figure skating, and the judging scandal took place, it was the American audience that stood up for their neighbours to the north. Since in the eyes of the United States we are "weak, mild and timid".
A feminist is defined as someone who believes in the social, economic, and political equality between men and women in society. However, in recent years, there are new understandings of the feminist movement. The idea of a feminist is often misconstrued as a woman who lives for herself, a woman who despises all men. A lady who refuses to shave their legs or partake in “female stereotypical” grooming to emphasize her standpoint. Though, the argument of this paper is what is the reason behind the misrepresentation of feminism, and where did it come from? Author and columnist, Roxanne Gay brings this question into light in her article entitled "The Bad Feminist Manifesto". In her, essay, Gay responds to the notion that a feminist is a person that acts, and displays certain characteristics to promote the equality of the sexes. In her piece, she mentions "I got into my head that a feminist was a certain kind of women. I bought into grossly inaccurate myths about who feminists are – militant, perfect in their politics and person, man-hating, humourless". Gay discusses the preconceived idea of how a feminist
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
Society has shaped these negative stigmas around feminists, which contain grains of truth, but can be easily be shattered when looked at from a universal perspective. I feel compelled to survey my surroundings anytime I am asked this question because I don’t want have views shaped of me due to the societal view and stigmas of feminist. So, every time I am asked this question, my answers do evolve and change depending on the situation I am facing. I would like for people to understand the universality of a feminist instead of drawing on these myths society has created. Most feminists are not angry; we do not hate on men, nor do we want to be like men, but rather would like to fight to have the same rights and opportunities that are awarded to men. I remember that sheer moment of slight panic even when I was asked this question at the beginning of this class. I wasn’t sure how to answer because I didn’t want to spark opinions which were only not my true belief. This emotional connotation associated with the term feminist that is present in our society has not only worked against feminists, but actually manipulated the true meaning of the subject. With the expansion of feminism in our society, these myths are ones I believe need to be changed instead of being used as a means of discrediting feminism. There are a multitude of ways to promote the growth of feminism, but without the removal of these negative stigmas, as a society, we are not able to move past these obstacles and on to an improved
To begin with, according to many philosophers, it would be wise to argue that stereotyping on feminism especially by men is not based on their biological make up but rather on their culture. Culture has imparted in men some unique beliefs in specific thoughts, feeling and behavior towards women as whole and feminists in particular. This notion has however been criticized by angry women philosophers like Jean Grimshaw who argue that just being borne a man is not a sufficient enough reason to criticize women feminists.
Throughout the years, history has tried to examine how gender roles have changed over time and views of how women should be have changed. However there are many examples of current stereotypes of women that linger in today's society.
As a woman, these so-called "feminists" appall me. Independence and success are possible for any person, regardless of gender. But to obtain it, you must take initiative as a human being—with all your personal strengths and weaknesses. But to some feminists, a whole new perspective is taken. When they represent the ideals of women in general, in reality, the only persons they are representing are "excuse makers". The irony in their whole pledge against prejudices is the approach they take. In en effort to not admit biological differences between the sexes, they demand the opportunity to partake in anything. Th...
The term “feminism” tends to have a negative connotation in today’s culture. Feminism is now focusing on female dominance and male disrespect. Women are fighting for equality, yet using personal bias to define equality, claiming identical rights for all will produce an equal culture. The mainstream feminist movement is using this corrupted view of equality to force rights of women. Contrary to popular belief, true feminism fights for true equality for women, as well as other people groups. The false view of feminism causes women to distort gender roles, dishonor themselves, and degrade men.
For starters, don't misunderstand feminism to be something we women use to have an abuse of power and trying to dominate the men in the society. Feminism is all about women being treated equally to men which hasn't been achieved yet because we are still underpaid in the work place, we are still slaves in many parts of the world and the rate of violence on women is higher than ever. Hence the name 'feminism' because we are still trying to get to the place where women are treated equal to men. I don't know how many men will consider everything I wrote today as a 'femi-nazi' rant and will try to understand where women stand today in the 21st century. There might be a few obnoxious men and women who will try to put each gender at war against each other, but please try not to let them blind you.
First we need to examine the cases where this is present. Less obvious stereotypes are those of women. Women?s roles in society have changed throughout the times. Are the...
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.