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Essays about diversity
Essays about diversity
Essays about diversity
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“It’s necessary to understand how gender, race, ethnicity, and class are not separate systems of oppression. These systems interact with each other and shape how a person experiences power or oppression,” explains legal scholar, Patricia Hill Collins (Hobbs & Rice, 2013, p. 61-2). This statement indicates that intersectionality is an important concept in regards to feminism because one’s experiences are influenced by all aspects of their identity, not just one, since they are all intertwined. Feminism to me means that everyone in any society, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, social or economic status, ableism, race, or ethnicity should have equal opportunities that include, but are not limited to, social and cultural rights, political rights, and economic rights. Therefore, I would describe myself as a feminist because I believe that how one identifies themselves should not have an effect in the way that they are treated in a society; similarly, it is important for a society to understand the difficulties that the oppressed population face in their daily lives and recognize their role in improving the issue of inequality.
Perhaps this mindset was due to the fact that I had lived a sheltered life on a military base during my childhood, surrounded by predominantly white neighbours, never having witnessed an act of racism because there were not many minorities around, an act of social or economic discrimination because we all had the same economic status, or an act of homophobia because no one was openly gay in my old neighbourhood. I had always believed that everyone had the same opportunities because I had never known of anyone to be
This conversation actually took place during my first semester of college. However, being quite accustomed to the questions that I am frequently asked about the place I call home, this conversation somehow made me more upset than usual. This conversation made me realize just how blind society can be towards other groups in society. Different stereotypes are placed on groups for various reasons-race, sex, occupations, and geographical locations-just to name a few. The last of these four different classifications is the one that distinguishes me from most of society. Growing up in Appalachia has made me a minority (different from the rest of society), and also plagued me with many stereotypes. Everyone in society has heard the stereotypes. However, I would like to focus on the how's and why's of them. How they came to be. Why society does perceive...
The ideology of feminism is that women should be treated as potential intellectual equals and social equals to men. Feminism also, by its nature, embraces the belief that all people are entitled to freedom and liberty within reason-including equal civil rights-and that discrimination should not be made based on gender, sexual orientation, skin color, ethnicity, religion, culture, or life style. Feminists -and all persons interested in civil equality and intellectuality are dedicated to fighting the ignorance that says people are controlled by and limited to their biology, Elizabeth Blackwell is considered an important
With the strong belief and desire to have equality for all people, feminists shape our society in ways to which they fight for the betterment of humans. “Feminist” is a genderless and raceless noun, meaning anyone can be a feminist if they please. Feminism is performed and executed differently amongst varying communities—such as white, black, or brown communities. There are no written procedures one must do or go through to become a part of feminism. The only requirements for feminism are having the personal want for equality, and the personal preference to be labeled as a feminist. Many times, people think of feminism to be a movement in which women try to become superior to men. Along with this, being called a “feminist” to some is frowned upon and seen as a form of domination. These thoughts tend to be due to the lack of understanding feminism. What many people believe to be the hatred for men and the
What is intersectional feminism? Intersectional feminism is a fight for social justice that includes more factors than gender. This is important because there is no one-size-fits-all type of feminism. There are a variety of things that contribute to oppression. For example, white cisgender middle class person faces different discriminations than that of a transgender disabled black person.
Women are given a set of expectations, roles, and limitations within institutions run by men that have long been embedded into society and feminism seeks to change the unproportionate power which would ultimately lead to a more equally represented body of people. Feminism is a tool that can aid women in abolishing all the connotations that come with gender. In One Is Not Born A Woman, Monique Wittig argues that "To refuse to be a woman...does not mean that one has to become a man," to refuse to conform to the ideal images of women, and to break free from the social constraints, stereotypes, controlling images, expectations, and oppression from social institutions does not mean becoming a man. Feminists aren 't aiming to make everyone a man, it does not aim to "bring down" men or favor women, its goal is to liberate all oppressed groups because the privileges exclusive to men "should be considered as the entitlement of everyone" according to Peggy McIntosh in White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. Feminism today is very important because it is not longer exclusive, and advocates for fairness for all (people of all ethnicities, any race, any religion, any social class, community, sexuality, etc). Instead of excluding people with different identities or
Largely throughout the history of the United States of America, women have been intimately oppressed by their spouses in collusion with a patriarchal society. The Realist literary period saw no exception to this oppression of women. The Realist period, which lasted approximately from 1865-1910, involved many injustices on women, women’s rights, and equality. Males were supreme to females throughout this period, and women were denied many basic freedoms, including the right to vote. Women were regarded as frail, unequal, and inferior. However, the marginalization of women in this period did not go without protest. Women began to have an active voice on issues pertaining to their own rights as the end of the Realist period neared. Headways into women’s rights were made in this period around the turn of the century. “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gillman chronicles the oppression and deteriorating sanity of Jane, who is being confined in a room by her physician and husband. This story is critical in telling of the oppression and subordination of women to their husbands throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin depicts a frail woman, who dies after a fright from her husband, who she believed was dead. The Awakening by Kate Chopin details the life of Edna Pontellier, who seeks individualism and life away from the control of men. Edna Pontellier assists in representing the audible and vociferous women’s rights movement that arose towards the end of the 19th century. American women in the Realist literary period encountered three elements that defined their societal status: oppression, inequality, and activism.
Feminist and feminism is just one more example about inequality. While feminism simply is about the equality of all genders, it is often used as an insult. People often connect it with the stereotype of angry, man hating lesbians that do not shave. A lot of people also do not see the purpose of feminism, since they do believe that all genders are treated equally due to their own privilege like explained before. However, there is also a group of people believing that female feminists want to turn the current situation around and want to be treated better than men and want to be the privileged ones. Yet, with that accusation men actually admit that they are privileged and that all genders are not treated
Leprince de Beaumon. “Beauty and the Beast.” Folk & Fairy Tales. Matin Hallett and Barbrar Karasek. Canada: Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication, 2009.
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...
By understanding oppression, you understand feminism. When you question why your path is blocked with barriers that have nothing to do with individual talent or merit, handicap or failure, but by on being in the membership in some category; that is oppression. (Frye). You have to look at how the barrier fits with others and who benefits or is harmed in its work. The barrier is constructed and maintained by men, for the benefit of men. Evelyn Cunningham states “Women are the only oppressed group in our society that lives in intimate association with their oppressors” (Rawlings, 2009). Oppression in people occurs when their options are reduced to very few and all are exposed to penalty, censure or deprivation. Women have been placed in a categ...
For many years, a political, culture, or economic movement aimed at establishing equal rights and legal protection for women. Feminism involves political and physiological theories concerned with issues of gender difference. Feminism seeks to achieve equality and social rights for women in all key areas, which includes education, personal economic, employment, and cultural sphere of human endeavors. Women's rights is an issue that not many people cover, but affects every woman's lives. There are both pros and cons to this issue. Men, social media, and people’s perspectives are all relating to this issue.
Since its inception, and for the two centuries that followed, feminism has been engaged in what might be seen as a critical endorsement of Enlightenment principles of universal rights, equality, and individual freedoms. Universal principles of citizenship were generally considered fairer and more inclusive, having been developed in opposition to particularist rights such as those invested in castes, estates, or ethnic groups. While feminists have long sought to expose what in recent debates has been identified as the ‘false universalism’ of an exclusionary, androcentric liberalism, this critique informed a strategy that sought not to dispense with universalism but to ensure that it was consistently applied. Along with other disadvantaged social groups, women have demanded recognition as moral and juridical equals, and have deployed egalitarian arguments to advance claims on the rights associated with citizenship. However, while they claimed that they had the same entitlements to justice and political representation as men, they also insisted that women's ‘difference’ be recognized as...
Feminism has always been a colorful word with a wide variety of meanings, interpretations, and connotations. Unfortunately, these definitions and connotations are sometimes depicted in negative and wrong ways. Feminism is not wearing pants and shunning pink and being mean and poo-pooing child-rearing and hating men. It is not about scoffing at those that choose to stay at home with children or judging other women for their own choices. It is not about relying on stereotypes or assumptions about what the word 'woman' should or should not be. Most importantly, feminism is not a universal, one-size-fits-all term, simply because there are so many women living such differing experiences around the world. Rather, feminism is “the organized activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests” (Radacic). It is the belief that women should have the right to choose to live whatever lifestyle they desire, and the notion that women and men should be considered equals in every aspect of life. Depending on who a person asks, feminism can mean any number of things. When, where, and even how a woman is raised greatly influences and often times, alters, her view and personal definition of feminism and gender equality.
Feminism is defined clinically as the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. By a less medical definition, feminism is a philosophy in which women and their contributions are respected. It is based on political, social, and economical equality for women ,and men in a few instances. Feminists can be anyone in the population regardless of sex, gender, or ethnicity.
Equal rights doesn’t mean equal rights for just races, but genders as well. A person can not be a supporter of equal rights for black and white people, but not a supporter of women not having the equal rights of men. In order for someone to be a feminist they have to support all genders, races, and ideas. A Feminist is a man, woman, child, elderly person, criminal, teacher, student, and every other individual who feels equal rights and opportunities for all is fair and just. A feminist is someone who wants true opportunity for all, feminists are the people who are trying to push our society to further successes because when we focus on just men working on tasks and challenges we leave about half of the population out of the opportunity to solve the problem, this is horrible because together we can go farther than with just men the more bodies working on a task the more productive it becomes and the chance of a successful completion