What is a feminist? Are feminist fuzzy-hair-legged lesbian women who all hate men? Or, are they just normal everyday women who believe that women deserve to have the same treatment as men? What do feminists believe in? What type of stereotypes plague feminists? Are men and women treated equally? There are many different articles that try to answer these questions. The three articles that will be talked about in the essay tries to do exactly that.
In the article, Compromising Positions, Kathleen Collins writes about how the television, especially family television shows, portray women. She believes that even still today television shows like Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, or the home improvement shows like Merge and Mix It Up, women are still portrayed as "housewives who bustle and cluck while their hapless husbands do little more than hand out spending money (Collins, par. 1)." She believes that these shows "reinforce old prejudices regarding women's emotional ties to the home rather then challenging assumptions about which gender likes what kind of living environment and why (Collins, par. 17)."
Lisa Miya-Jervis's article, Who Wants to Marry a Feminist, takes a different approach on the subject. She talks about the different stereotypes feminists have focusing on marriage. Unlike the majority of other feminists, she believes that one could marry and still keep their own identity.
The Women's Liberation Front, written by Jo Freeman, deals with the discrimination against women. She states facts about how men are available for more benefits then women are. In her article, she uses facts about how men have a better chance to get a higher paying job, a more respectable position and are more likely to get advancements easier and more frequently.
All of the articles have the same audience, women. Each article was published in different feminist magazines however; the age target was different. For example, The Moderator, was an online magazine directed toward the older generations. Bitch, directed to the younger crowd, is a magazine dealing with the feminist response to pop which prides its self by being devoted to incisive commentary on our media-driven world. Then, Ms. Magazine markets the middle age crowds and is discussed more traditional issues. However, even though each has a common interest, educating the public on the different discriminations against women, they took a different approach to do so.
“Women Rights” Hillary Rodham Clinton is a well-recognized woman in the United States. Her great contribution as secretary of State impact people’s lives. One of many remarkable speeches Hillary gave was the “The women rights speech”, in the 4th World Conference on Women Plenary Session where she uses strong words and emotions to appeal the audience. Even though the speech talks about women rights, she wants everyone, including men and children to listen and take action. Her use of ethos, logos and pathos throughout the speech made the audience believe in her words.
Feminism, the idea that women are equal to men, is a concept that has been an aspect of American society since the nineteenth century. However, while it was first constructed in 1848, feminism has not always been a widely embraced topic. It was once seen as an extremely taboo, controversial notion that could easily ruin a woman’s reputation if she were to dare speak of it. Despite this, many females put their fears of criticism aside and gained the courage to stand up for the freedoms of womankind. Two women who took the risk to write about the ideas of feminism were Mary E. Wilkins Freeman and Kate Chopin.
Kinoshita, Sharon. "Cherchez la Femme: Feminist Criticism and Marie de France's `Lai de Lanval'." Romance Notes 34.3 (1994): 263-73.
“Feminism is both an intellectual commitment and a political movement that seeks justice for women and the end of sexism in all forms” (Baptiste). Just as in the past, feminism continues to act as a controversial issue among men and women. In the 1960’s, women finally addressed workplace inequity and created woman organizations to achieve equality. In the early 1960’s, the Equal Pay Act and the Civil Rights Act set a milestone for women’s progression towards work equality. Though women have made great leaps towards true equality, women still face many challenges and continue to be categorized as the subservient gender.
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
The word “feminist” has caused turmoil wherever it is uttered. It has gained a negative connotation, and is often mistaken with misandry. While these claims may be true for a minimal number of feminists, the truth is that in order to get an accurate representation on what feminists actually believe one would have to go to the source. The two main problems with that, are that first of all, it is “not rigidly structured or led by a single figure or group”, and most importantly there is not just one kind of feminism, there are hundreds in each aspect of our life (Tavaana, 2014). The most under represented group within feminism is the kind that is in the government. Not all have the same theories, and therefore, do not have the same beliefs. However what we do know is that, whatever theory they have, or agenda they follow, they are all fierce promoters of gender equality.
Would you be able to live a life where no one notices your worth? Where you can't be who YOU want to be, because of a piece of cloth? Where you're treated as an object instead of a Woman. In the Middle East, Women have been mistreated and seen as minority for years. They have been killed, and have been victims of oppression simply for just being a woman. Since women's rights were being restricted in the Middle East, there were people who reacted in different ways. Some supported women fighting for their rights, and of course, others opposed to women's rights.
The rights of women have expanded tremendously in the United States over the years. Women 's rights are a lot more flexible. They are allowed to be independent. While these new milestones are a big step forward for woman 's rights in the United States there are still things that need to be corrected. While in other countries women 's rights have not changed at all. There are women in some countries who are denied the right to go to school. They are also not considered equal to men. I will be comparing women 's rights within marriage as well as the justice system in the United States to those of women in other countries in the justice system as well as being married in the Middle East.
Feminism is commonly thought of as a tool for educating society on the rights of women. It teaches that a woman is equal to a man in every civil and societal accord. Realizing this is not always the case, Charlotte Bunch, a noted lesbian feminist of the 1970s also defined feminism as "a way of looking at the world - a questioning of power [and] domination issues" (WIE). Many feminists attempt to bulrush the ideals of stereotypical women and push them away from those who believe in these standards. "Feminist scholars also seek to question and transform androcentric [sic] systems of thought which position the male as the norm," says Barbara McManus. They strive to find, examine, and eliminate biases in a world encumbered with intolerant men who see women as thoughtless objects and most certainly not equals. Other women announce their impressive intellect, economic well-being, and individual personalities to the people who oppose them. "A woman should always present herself and explain her forthcoming jaunts into Feminists, like Edna, howe...
Feminism is, “the advocacy of women 's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.” It is not the belief or avocation that females should have more power or influence than men. Instead, feminists promote change and eliminating patriarchy from society, “accepting everyone as an individual human being, not categorizing them as male or female” (News, 2015). They advocate people be seen as individuals rather than associating someone and their abilities with a gender. The term “feminist” often has an extreme connotation placed behind it which causes people to hesitate when considering what they may consider themselves. According to a survey held by the Huffington Post, only 20% of the Americans considered themselves
Feminism is a perspective that views gender as one of the most important bases of the structure and organization of the social world. Feminists argue that in most known societies this structure has granted women lower status and value, more limited access to valuable resources, and less autonomy and opportunity to make choices over their lives than it has granted men. (Sapiro 441)
Lindy West is a journalist who writes mainly about feminism, body image, and social justice. In one of Lindy West’s articles, What No One Else Will Tell You About Feminism, she writes about what it means to be a feminist. She uses slang and profanity to grab the audience’s attention and to make her points known. She also uses some humor to appeal to her readers. This article is based off a lot of emotion from a strongly opinionated woman with some facts. Aside from stating what feminists are, she also states what they are not. Feminist are people, man or woman, who believe that women should have the same rights as men; there are three different waves of feminist dating back to the 19th century.
Among the many subjects covered in this book are the three classes of oppression: gender, race and class in addition to the ways in which they intersect. As well as the importance of the movement being all-inclusive, advocating the idea that feminism is in fact for everybody. The author also touches upon education, parenting and violence. She begins her book with her key argument, stating that feminist theory and the movement are mainly led by high class white women who disregarded the circumstances of underprivileged non-white women.
Modern rights have remained a central, often problematic aspect of political dialogue since their inception. As such, It can be said that the conflict surrounding rights largely predates the American political system; that is not to say this disagreement is irrelevant in our debates of certain rights in American politics — in fact, it is imperative to our understanding of rights themselves and these debates concerning them. The origins and foundations of rights determine their very nature, how they are argued for or against, as well as how and to what extent they are implemented. Hence, the philosophical question about their origins is entirely relevant and to an extent imperative to our debates of rights in American politics.
For centuries women have been inferior to men and their treatment can compare the same to that of slaves. Their place in society put them at a disadvantage to men and in their own lives. They were to be subordinate to men and could not decide their own lives for themselves if married or in the chains of their father. A women’s oppression in society is still prevalent today. The authors of the Essential Feminist Reader, described the struggles of women and their place in society and called for the liberation of all women, moving towards social equality. Liberal feminists shared the same values as liberal men, but extended the liberal ideals to include women. They believed in social equality of the sexes and stressed the liberal value of individualism in women. Amongst other feminists, alternative feminists valued social equality but recognized other forces that are necessary for true equality and freedom of women. The distinguishing factors between the liberal feminists and the alternative feminists on utopian reconstruction are that liberal feminists value the ideals of autonomous, independent beings, that are judged upon their own merit and are able to participate in society as much as men. While alternative feminists value the idea of emancipation and freedom but it does not come from adopting