Feminism for me has come to be the recognition of oppression and privilege. What one does with this knowledge of oppression and privilege is that person’s version of feminism. After reading Tong (2009) on various feminist theories, I have come to see the different feminist theories in a continuum of the feminist movement. Therefore, these theories cannot be boxed into clear-cut categories that share nothing in common with each other. I will attempt to formulate my own feminist theory using the previous works of feminist scholars as my foundation. In order to explain the application of this theory, I will illuminate a feminist issue. Further, I will present ways to tackle the problem and provide limitations of my theory. My feminist theory …show more content…
Through colonization and globalization this system of domination seeks to convert the more egalitarian societies. An example of this spread of domination is the white settler’s attitude towards conquering and taming the nature, which was forcefully embedded in the Native American culture. I am interested in exploring how the foundation of the issue, which is tied to women’s sexuality, plays out in the colonial context. To examine this, I will look at the institution of marriage and prove that it is a form of patriarchal colonization of women. When I talk about colonization of women, the colonizer is not the “western world” but patriarchy. However, to make connections with colonization, I frequently use the example of White-Western colonizers (Europe) against the dark skinned “Third World” dwellers (Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania). Although marriage, wedding ceremonies, and other rituals related to marriage varies from culture and/or geographic location, for sake of simplicity I will look at a marriage system of monogamy between a man and a woman for life. In this system they are expected to procreate and stay together as a nuclear family. This is close to the “Western” system of marriage, which is seeping into many other cultures through forces of capitalism and cultural hegemony. There are subtle messages that girls at a young age get about getting married. Simone de Beauvoir wrote in the Second Sex “Marriage
Chapter 1, Sexual Violence as a Tool of Genocide, discusses the history of and gives us an introduction to genocide. The author talks about the treatment of bodies, in particular Native bodies, and how colonial thought and theory regards Native people as inherently “rapable” and “violable,” a colonial conviction that stretches past the physical bodies of Natives, to Native independence and lands as well. She explains that patriarchy is the foundation by which power is established over Native women's bodies because hierarchal, patriarchal authority and control systems of society are seldom found within native societies. Europeans, on the other hand, have long depended on these methods to suppress and infuse fear into their people.
It can be argued that one of the most important aspects of culture are marriages. The union of two people to symbolize the propagation of a system of belief and ideas passed down which become inherent to their identity. Almost every culture has some type of marriage ritual in which unite two different families and create an integral bond. Yet the similarities in the placed importance of marriage traditions are not the same across the board, and their traditions also differ as well. Each culture or group of people have different marriage customs, and do not share the same meaning of what a marriage is or what it holds in society. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how American marriage culture is different from Arab or Chinese. The paper
Marriage is described as two people as partners in a personal relationship. There are two typical ideas of marriage that we know today. The first one that comes to mind is the one we all know, based on love, but there is another one that some may not even know of and its arranged marriages. Arranged marriage is not typically in our culture we know but in different cultures arranged marriages are their normal marriage. Throughout this essay, I will discuss the importance of realizing cultural diversity and how we apply the perspectives we gain from cross-cultural comparison to our own experience using central concepts about marriage to compare and contrast marriage in several cultures.
Marriage practices vary across cultures. Every culture has its own way of conducting marriage according to their traditions and customs. Most cultures share common customs and practices, while some cultures have unique practices. Marriage refers to a social union agreed upon by the couples to unit as spouses. The union of couples implies sexual relations, permanence in union, and procreation. This research paper focuses on comparing marriage practices in American and Indian culture. There is significant difference between the two cultures in marriage practices.
In this essay I will explore the different schools of feminism such as Marxist, liberal and radical feminism, who share the view that women are oppressed in a patriarchal society but differ in opinion on who benefits from the inequalities. Each school of feminism has their own understanding of family roles and relationships which I will assess through this essay.
women was an effective way to assimilate them and change their gender roles. An analysis of the
In choosing for this research project I have decided to challenge the ethical problem of the shortcomings of feminism. There has been much debate over feminism, the questioning of its purpose, its design, its inclusiveness, it is stance on other matters that connect to it. In a quest in finding the shortcomings, and bringing them to light. Using other essays as sources I plan to make this bibliography a journey into the scope not just feminism, but the history of feminism, intersectional feminism, the wage gap, and what defines a feminist. We will take into account of all aspects of feminism and how authors of some essays included have offered their
Women are often confined to a set of ideals and expectations because of one simple fact: they are women. Many of the women who contributed to this book have faced gender stereotyping and discrimination. Instead of allowing traditional social norms to confine them to an unwanted lifestyle, they challenged these conventional ideals, risking failure and facing condemnation from strangers as well as people close to them. People often associate feminism with negativity and pessimism. In “Feminism is a Dirty Word,” Cindy Simon Rosenthal talks about how people refuse to define themselves as a “feminist.” However, the movement does not advocate for women’s special privileges. Feminism celebrates social equality and supports the utilization of all talents.
The modern definition of feminism: “an ideology that, in its most basic form, directly opposes sexism by supporting gender equality and portraying women and men as equal.” (Finsterbusch 59). This definition was the early direction towards treating women like human beings rather than a housebound body, and this is why feminism should not be viewed as a harmful ideology. By exemplifying the importance of the ideology of feminism, by refuting those who claim that women have used feminism to exploit their personal wants and desires, and by presenting women’s first hand encounters of inequality, case studies, sound arguments and documented research one will be persuaded that the ideology of feminism is not discrimination towards men, but rather an encouragement for a woman’s rights and equality.
I had never really thought about what it meant to be a feminist, it was just a role I had unquestionably assumed as I consider myself to be an advocate of women empowerment. After last week’s readings, I began to question what exactly does being a feminist entails, and why the label carries very different meanings and connotations to different people. There is a common misconception that feminists are radicals, seeking to be superior to men. This is rooted in the fact that women today do not face the same struggles as its predecessors; namely, the inability to vote, work, study, and own property, to name a few. It is true that I have more rights and privileges than women such as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Sojourner Truth,
The role of the European woman in the colonial world was consistently complex and often varied. Their role was complex because the filled two roles, a physical role; a role which they directly carried out in the physical realm of the colonial world. This role included being a wife, daughter, missionary, nurse, and even that explore and writer in the rare instance. The second role that colonial women played in the colonial world was one not one of their choosing as Scott Cook explains, “ All [women], however were subject to the legal and customary codes of conduct of a colonial milieu largely set by the male colonizers”. These legal and customary understandings were mainly based around the colonial males understanding of the colonial woman’s sexuality and the sexuality of the colonized male. European women were seen as both the “ ‘bearers of the race, the vessels of their culture, and the ‘angels of the household”. They were also seen as objects of the colonized males lust, and as themselves being overly sexualized and at risk of succumbing to their urges. It was this second role, which served to hinder the access and impact of European women in the colonial world. Their role as a sexualized object, to be protected by their male counterparts was not one of their choosing and prevented them from gaining full access to the colonial realm.
Feminism and feminist social theory unlike other theoretical perspectives is woman-centered and inter-disciplinary, hence promotes methods of achieving social justice. The feminism and feminist social theory takes into consideration three questions, what of the women? Why is the present social world as it is today? Additionally, how can the social world be changed to make it more just for the women and all people alike? In recent developments, feminist theorists have begun questioning the differences between women. The areas under question include race, ethnicity, class, age intersect, and gender. In summation, the feminist theory involves the concern with giving women world over voice, and highlighting how they have contributed to the
Feminist perspective developed with the ideology that women face large amounts of inequalities in a patriarchal society. They aimed to address and rid the social world of this oppression of women by men. According to Bishop, (2015) “oppression occurs when one group of people use different forms of power to keep another group down in order to exploit them. The oppressor uses the power; the oppressed are exploited” (p. 133-134). Oppression must be by individual experience and not grouped into being the same for all. This includes understanding the original ideology of feminist theory being critiqued as only considering the experiences of middle class, white women. That black women, of lower class experienced oppression much different from the other women. Women are oppressed, thus has to be understood in a different construct that women are similar in some sources, experience of oppression but also experience oppression very differently from one individual to another. Feminist theories have further been expanded do its continuation throughout society and decades to encompass many more issues and arenas than just men and women relationships. Now it seeks to understand and address oppression based on culture, race, class, etc and not only for women but for all. Therefore, Bishop (2014) outlines five components that seem common to all forms of oppression and serve to maintain its presence in society.
The women are actually so scared to be alone with a man that this tradition is not questioned. This tradition is considered the most important event in a girls life, if there is blood on the cloth it will no longer matter what anyone may say about the girl. It is also important because the girls virginity is inseparable from her family's honor. This tradition also speaks to the honor of the man's family. If the man acts quickly and unafraid he will be praised. The author states" Given this group investment in the bride's virginity, the central rite of the wedding becomes a drama of suspense and relief that must powerfully shape people's experiences of sexuality as something that belongs to the many, and especially to one's family". This article clearly shows how culture can shape sexuality which in turns shapes gender identity. It is evident that the man's virginity was not of any concern, demonstrating a double standard. Men are given more liberties in this community. However with such stake riding on their own virginity women are in a since forced to comply.
The word feminism is defined as a broad political agenda which implies a commitment to equality between the sexes and a commitment to gender as a focus of concern and to analytic approaches that reflect women’s concrete experiences. Feminists such as Katherine Bartlett define it as ‘a family of different perspectives or frameworks used to analyse the actual, and the desirable relationship between law and gender.’ However, it is not just equality of the sexes being sought by feminists but more specifically, rejection of patriarchy and the liberation of women. Under the concept of patriarchy, feminists refer it to the ‘domination and subordination of females by males.’ The existing cultural, social, economic and legal