Feminist Essays

  • Feminist Theory

    2695 Words  | 6 Pages

    relations between genders and how both male and female become classified as distinct groups rather than a team united as one. The preceding was what feminists and historians want us believe, however, this is not always the case and quite possibly, it has never been the case. For some reason feminism became an international phenomenon. The feminist theory is fairly comparable to this explanation and determinedly claims that the basic structure of society is patriarchal, or male-dominated. The purpose

  • Feminist Theology

    531 Words  | 2 Pages

    belong to the rigid social order of the orthodox church, look like in the twentieth-first century?” When modern feminist theologians look at the text of the scriptures, they are quick to point out neglected aspects of the Word and are quick to challenge the "patriarchal" worldviews and assumptions that many consider to be biblical, but may indeed only be cultural. Evangelical feminists who uphold the integrity of the biblical text as the Word of God have done much to cause the Church to reexamine

  • Feminist Thinking

    4662 Words  | 10 Pages

    Feminist Thinking It has been said that not everything worth reading is a philosophical argument., and I agree. A glance through the shelves of bookstores, news stands, and libraries will incline one away from the idea that all valuable reading is philosophy. Thoughts back upon experiences that have touched one’s life undoubtedly will include an important novel or story and confirm the original statement. It is also fair to say that people approach literature and philosophy with different expectations

  • Feminist Criticism

    975 Words  | 2 Pages

    Feminist Criticism Contemporary feminist criticism focuses on various specified topics such as women’s biographical writings, lesbian and literature, and the role of film and the media in portraying feminine gender. It is no longer easily separated into categorical goals by nationalities or land boundaries. Instead, feminist criticism is now characterized according to whether the category of "woman" is the major focus, or whether gender identity is defined by sexual and other identities as well

  • Feminist Foundations

    2630 Words  | 6 Pages

    Feminist Foundations As the feminist movement has progressed through several generations it has shifted quite a bit in its general approach and theory. Contemporary writers such as Baumgardner and Richards, and Henry have illustrated a generational shift away from structurally aimed actions, and towards individual acts of subversion and small political actions (Baumgardner and Richards 126-202). This current course is very similar to the direction of other highly organic movements such as sustained

  • The Global Feminist and the Transnational Feminist

    1217 Words  | 3 Pages

    and further discussed. Grewal participates in this discourse in her article “'Women's Rights as Human Rights': Feminist Practices, Global Feminism, and Human Rights Regimes in Transnationality”. This paper shall analyze and discuss how Grewal applies previous theoretical concepts related to feminist discourse in order to offer a Transnationalist Feminist critique to the Global Feminist notion of Women's Rights as Human Rights. First and foremost, what are the concepts of Global feminism and Transnational

  • Feminists, Stereotypes and Stereotyping in the Media

    1325 Words  | 3 Pages

    Feminists and Media Stereotypes The media portrays feminists in unflattering ways. Largely because of the media portrayal, the word 'feminist' usually evokes images of crass, butch, men-hating, very masculine women. Many women believe in the feminist doctrine, but they would never consider themselves as a feminist because they cannot relate to the images of crass, butch, men-hating, masculine women.  In fact, it has only been within the past year that I've been able to accept the fact that I

  • Feminists vs. Playboy Playmates

    2635 Words  | 6 Pages

    Feminists vs. Playboy Playmates Naked women have been in the front of feminist's minds for several decades. Especially when they are pictured in soft-pornography magazine Playboy. Feminists for years have been yelling that Playboy is harmful to both men and women. Males around the country have countered that there is nothing wrong with their Playboy, it is merely a harmless vice. The problem I see with Playboy is not that it demeans women or subjugates them, and its not that it leads to

  • Antigone – The First Feminist

    553 Words  | 2 Pages

    Antigone – The First Feminist How old is feminism, and who was the first feminist? Although no one can say for sure the exact date on which the feminist movement started, most of it is attributed to the past two centuries. However, women who are feminists have been around much longer. In Sophocles’s Antigone, the main character (Antigone) acts as a protofeminist by defying the authority of a patriarchal society and taking action according to what she believes is right in her heart. She even

  • FEMINIST CRITISM OF THE STONE CARVERS

    605 Words  | 2 Pages

    The feminist approach of the Stone Carvers allows us to look at Klara’s role as a spinster in a new perspective. It allows us to analyze the role of a woman in the first half of the twentieth century. A woman’s role in the early twentieth century still revolved around serving the male members of one’s family. Klara was tied to the traditional role of a female. She would have chores as well as having to make supper for her father, grand father and sometimes Eamon. Klara was more independence than

  • A Feminist in Action in The Yellow Wallpaper

    1794 Words  | 4 Pages

    diagnosed by her husband, a physician.   Going beyond this surface level, the reader sees the narrator as a developing feminist, struggling with the societal values of the time.  As a woman writer in the late nineteenth century, Gilman herself felt the adverse effects of the male-centric society, and consequently, placed many allusions to her own personal struggles as a feminist in her writing.  Throughout the story, the narrator undergoes a psychological journey that correlates with the advancement

  • Expanding Feminist Activism

    1277 Words  | 3 Pages

    Expanding Feminist Activism I chose this topic mainly because of interest. When thinking about the idea of feminism aside from all stereotypes one would think the struggle for women's rights. The idea sounds unified in saying and one would assume most women were involved. For a long time the women's movement applied to just white upper class females. I found a source on extremist women, which focused on the powerful ideas of white supremacy. This article was geared toward white women, and the

  • The Feminist Movement: The Waves Of The Feminist Movement

    1688 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout the waves of liberal feminism, there is a new characteristic to be associated with the feminist group. In the first waves, it’s white, married, wealthy women who fit the criteria to be a feminist. The first wave begins in 1900 and ends around 1920, during the times of the Suffragettes. This wave began to introduce the inequalities between men and women, especially relating to voting and education. The second wave began to rise in 1950 which introduced reproductive rights, entitlement

  • Feminist Theory

    1180 Words  | 3 Pages

    Analyzing the History and Effects Feminist sociology focuses on examining and understanding gender in its relation to power within society as well as individuals. The fundamental principle of feminist sociology is the idea that in most societies, women have been oppressed and that men have been more dominant throughout history. Feminist theory directly relates to feminist sociology. According to the Introduction to Sociology 2e textbook, “feminist theory is a type of conflict theory that examines

  • Feminist Theory - There is No One Definition of Woman

    1399 Words  | 3 Pages

    Feminist Theory - There is No One Definition of Woman When posed with the question “What is woman?” it seems a daunting task to lay an umbrella statement to describe an entire gender. Upon further reflection, however, it seems that this overwhelming inability to answer the question, may in fact, be the answer to the question itself. Within the past two decades Maria Lugones and Elizabeth Spelman, Caroline Whitbeck, Geraldine Finn, and Helene Cixous have addressed the meaning of woman. There

  • A Midsummer Night’s Dream - The Feminist Subtext

    1900 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Feminist Subtext of A Midsummer Night's Dream Shakespeare's works have persistently influenced humanity for the past four hundred years. Quotations from his plays are used in many other works of literature and some common phrases have even become integrated into the English language. Most high schoolers have been unsuccessful in avoidance of him and college students are rarely afforded the luxury of choice when it comes to studying the bard. Many aspects of Shakespeare's works have been

  • The Feminist Theory

    891 Words  | 2 Pages

    Feminists rely chiefly on the contention that the traditional analysis of world politics is fundamentally gendered. Gender-sensitive analysis begins with the premise that societal institutions are made by humans and are therefore changeable by humans. Feminists systematically deconstruct the notions traditionally held by realists and taken for granted as how the world works. Gender-sensitive analysis takes many factors into consideration that the realist does not. As history dictates, the world

  • Sophocles’ Oedipus Cycle – Antigone, as a Feminist

    1375 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sophocles’ Oedipus Cycle – Antigone, as a Feminist Throughout history, women have always stood in the shadows of men. In many cultures, the role of women has always been to be seen and not heard. As one of the first feminists in world literature, the character Antigone, of Sophocles’ Oedipus Cycle, displays fine characteristics of a great female leader in order to stand up against male dominance for her religious, political, and personal beliefs. When the king denies her brother, Polynices,

  • Hellen Nellie Mcclung: A Canadian Feminist

    1507 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hellen Nellie McClung: A Canadian Feminist Helen "Nellie" Laetitia Mooney was born October 20, 1873 in a log cabin on Garafraxa Road, two kilometers from Chatsworth, Ontario. She and her family moved to Manitoba when she was six years old. One of Nellie's best influences was her mother. Her family's influence was no doubt the reason she became an activist. Her mother thought that every child had the right to an education, and her whole family encouraged her to learn all she could. (9, Wright) Nellie

  • Chaucer's Canterbury Tales - Wife of Bath - Feminist or Anti-feminist?

    1439 Words  | 3 Pages

    behaving by the anti-feminist writers, it is not impossible that the Wife of Bath's Prologue could be considered a vehicle for the anti-feminist message under the guise of a seeming "feminist" exterior, since her confession is frequently self-incriminating (e.g. her treatment of her husbands, her tendency to "swere and lyen") and demonstrates the truth of the claims made by the anti-feminists even while she is disparaging them and making them look bad -- as in her claim that anti-feminist writers (specifically