Emma Watson Westernized Woman

The main arguments of Mohanty, Liederman, and Sen have similarities and differences. First, Mohanty’s main argument emphasizes the issue of white Western women belittling those of other cultures and ethnicities within the feminist movement. By asserting a universal notion of womanhood, these white Western women show ethnocentric universality through their ignorance of how the meaning of femininity, oppression, and liberation in the women’s movement vary in ethnic and cultural contexts (Mohanty, 1984, p. 335). By using a mindset that ignores ethnic differences, they therefore falsely construct and analyze “third world women,” believing that these women desperately need help to advance in society. Mohanty argues that in order for a feminist movement to advance, women must discontinue a paternalistic method of marginalizing women of different ethnicities to recognize the varied meanings of femininity, oppression, and liberation and enhance their solidarity and effectiveness as a whole group. This ethnocentrism is also present in Liederman’s

IV: Feminist scholarship extensively details how the very tools that allow us to interpret the world can also constitute and reinforce inequalities of power. We are given over form the beginning to structures such as language, identity, law, nation and privilege (among many others) that implicate us in processes of exclusion, devaluation, and commodification. Drawing upon at least one reading from classes 15-21, one from classes 22-27 and another from before the midterm, discuss methods of undermining or subverting this inevitable complicity to forge room for resistance.

I know in some places of the world women are oppressed and mistreated, but it’s not like that everywhere. We see this mistreatment in “A Girl in the River” where Saba doesn’t get much of a say in her future, she has no rights and she is forced to do things she doesn’t want. Sadly we can see this mistreatment in the world today, mostly in women, but we can see it in men as well, but we see it more in women because men are those in “power”. We see that men have all the opportunities in the world, but once a woman steps out of line and wants a chance at that greatness, she’s mistreated. A woman doesn’t always have a

Marilyn Frye has universal definition of oppression as being “a system of interrelated barriers and forces which reduce, immobilize, and mold people who belong to a certain group and effect their subordination to another group” (7). Feminists are working to dismantle the restrictive powers to create equivalent opportunities for all people. On paper, it seems black and white because everyone is working together towards the same goal of equality. On the ground, the divisions of gray can be seen between the vast variety of methods and opinion. As the tension builds, there are two main camps formed: The Western feminist and the Non-Western feminist. (While I personally object to this terminology because of its Eurocentrism, I have yet to find alternatives that encompass the same meaning so it will have to stay standing as imperialist as it is.) Both sets of activists have different roles within these current predicaments facing the unjust treatment of women. Western feminists find themselves in a stalemate of passing critical judgement on another culture or standing aside and letting the injustice continue. Non-Western feminists are working against the oppression in their society as well as the overreaching Western feminists before they can make their voices heard. Therefore, my argument is that Western feminism needs be revised into becoming the megaphone for Non-Western feminist issues. That way ideas from people on the ground are not disregarded and those on the outside who

The problematic issues that men has raised is more concerned with maintaining power and privilege over women than it is about equality. To claim that women are the favoured and the privileged ones is a ludicrous statement as represented in “Peggy Orenstein's 1994 text 'Schoolgirls' [in which includes] an anecdote which observed that, for many men and boys, equality is perceived as a loss” (Ford par. 14). In reality, whenever the gender equality is established in a society, either the male or female must give up some of their former privileges (Ford par. 14). As for 'female privileges,’ (Ford par. 14) it is subjective as to what one perceives as a privilege and others as a right. The perception of privileges is diversified considering that “in some places, it is considered a privilege that girls even be allowed to live” (Ford par. 14). Women’s gain in “privileges” and feminist campaigns is by all means not a way to oppress men. Those are the rights women are entitled to which they were not given in the past and a way to feel secure that the female voice is being heard alongside with the men’s. Male activist’s primary intention to speak out to women’s increasing dominance in society as demonstrated in their “agenda, [shows that it] is not to restore 'human rights' for all but to re-establish the dominance that has historically been enjoyed by men both legally and

Solnit’s choice of topic and the context surrounding it stem from her knowledge of the extent of the issue and the overarching repercussions that could result. She acknowledges that there are other topics that she would prefer to devote her time to, “but this affects everything else” (530). Through her topic choice and her selection of details, Solnit seeks to reveal the depth of the inequality throughout society. In order to do this, one of the first strategies that Solnit employs is to use examples from all around the globe. She writes this essay under the assumption that the audience is largely uninformed about the sheer extent of violence against women, and is working to remedy that situation. By pointing out the ways in which other countries routinely and systematically discriminate against women, Solnit places under scrutiny the idea that women’s rights are no longer an issue in the United States. Additionally, by presenting her audience with an abundance of headlines and examples of this discrimination, she further validates her argument and purpose of shedding light onto the issue. One other way in which the context of Solnit’s essay advances her purpose is through her creation of ties between the women’s rights movement and the

At the United Nations campaign launch of “HeforShe” on September 20, 2014, Emma Watson stated in her influential speech that, “Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive. Both men and women should feel free to be strong…It is time that we all perceive gender on a spectrum not as two opposing sets of ideals” (Duca 2014). Similarly to Emma Watson, there are countless women in our generation who strongly believe in feminism and preach about what they truly believe in. However, some women are trapped in controlled societies where they face oppression and struggle to get their voice heard on what is right and wrong. This particular society can be strikingly demonstrated in Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale. It is crucial for women to have fundamental human rights to express themselves in our society today because there cannot be any more injustice; due to the fact that women are not safe, must stand up for themselves and are incapable when it comes to certain circumstances.

Feminism and gender inequality are not just issues that women face in the US, but the entire world. Comparatively, women in the US are actually treated much better than women of other countries, such as those in the Middle East, where women have no rights and are seen as property. Talk about objectification! Transnational feminism takes a look at the same women’s issues that we have in the US and how they affect women in other countries. Transnational feminism also takes into account the various cultural difference that might also affect these issues and create other issues that women of different origins might face. Likewise, these cultural differences also affect the social construction of gender and maintain gender inequality. For example, Asian and African countries still abide by the very traditional patriarch lifestyle, in which the men are the “breadwinners” and women do the housework and take care of the children. Because many of these countries have corrupt governments, women remain having no rights due to the fear of punishment they would receive for trying to combat these issues. It is hard to fight for rights when some countries don’t even consider women as humans, but this is where transnational feminists come in. They fight for equal rights for all women, regardless of their ethnicity, race, sexuality, size, age, etc. because women are worthy of fair treatment and shouldn’t have to prove that.

Women’s history is a history of oppression. Throughout time, women have faced systematic domination, which has ultimately informed women’s identities and shaped their roles in society. However, the oppression of women is not uniform and different groups of women have experienced sexist oppression to different degrees and in vastly different ways. This is largely due to intersectionality, which is the idea that the convergence and interaction of various oppressed aspects of one’s identity uniquely affect individuals and social systems. As Kimberlé Crenshaw discusses in “Intersectionality and Identity Politics: Learning from Violence Against Women of Color”, women of color are situated in such a way that they belong to at least two subjugated groups. Their particular position exemplifies intersectionality because they are victims of overlapping patterns of sexism and racism, leaving them completely marginalized. Furthermore, intersectionality highlights the interconnectedness and multiplicity of oppression in society. In her essay “’Intersectionality’ is a Big Fancy Word for My Life”, Mia Mingus explains how the oppressed can also contribute to oppression. This concept in culmination with discrepancies in discrimination within communities leads to a fraught and complex dynamic that has lasting impacts. Societies must recognize intersectionality in women’ history in order to fully comprehend and rectify the oppression of today.

All around the world women are crying out, claiming "that it is no longer acceptable to discuss women's rights as separate form human rights," (Hillary Clinton -- Tumulty, 1997). The abuses females endure are found everywhere in places like Senegal, Bangladesh, and Berjing, China. Abortion, denial of political rights, and suppression of speech (Tumulty) are forces upon women daily. But feminism has taken a strong hold of the women around the world, giving them hope for equal rights in the future. "Our community could see we were a society of strong willed women," prides Faustima Nunez, a resident of Chica, "and we are no

The first assumption argues that “western” feminist discourses emphasize that all women are bound together by a shared oppression and are powerless (53-54). Mohanty systemically explores this theory through an in depth analysis of five categories in which women of the third world are traditionally presented as homogenous victims by “western” feminist. The first two categories, women as victims of male violence and women as universal dependents, arguably offer the most straightforward deconstruction of the gendered body of knowledge that is power. Women, especially women of the third world, are all seen as victims of male violence and control (54). All women are defined as powerless, and all men are defined as powerful (55). Similarly, all women are defined as powerless dependents in the second category. Mohanty argues, “this is because descriptive gender differences are transformed into the divisions between men and women” (55). This division possesses a privileged position as the explanation for the oppression of women (56). Therefore, women are seen as a powerless group no matter what the historical or cultural situation because they are deemed so prior to any analysis (56).

Feminism, in theory, binds women from all over the world. They come together to protect their rights as equal human beings. For such a long time, men have dominated over women, looking down upon them and perceiving them as lesser beings. Feminism has allowed women from all cultures and races, to come together to fight for their rights. However, nothing is ever as simple as one may hope. Feminism constitutes women from all over the world, making it difficult from time to time to understand and empathize with each other due to different cultures, races and religions. Teresa de Lauretis (2014) says that “the identity as a woman of color is one not given but acquired, attained, and developed out of the specific historical experience”.

The HeForShe speech given by Emma Watson on Saturday, September 20, 2014 at the UN was about gender equality and how it’s a problem that everyone should be concerned about.

Emma Watson, best known as a leading actress in the Harry Potter series, gave a speech titled “Gender equality is your issue too” during a HeForShe campaign at the United Nations headquarters in New York City during on September 20, 2014, in attempt to raise awareness about gender inequality. Throughout the speech, Watson attempted to persuade the audience in joining the HeForShe campaign by providing examples of those who have been subject to the burdens of gender inequality – however, this speech could be considered problematic due to Watson’s lack of credibility and failure to include all types of people in our society.

Women. This word creates an image- an image of a mother, a sister, a daughter. Women are of the basics part of life, they are essential not only to society, but to the human species. Therefore, women should be treated with equal importance and given the same rights regardless of gender. Society has come a long way since 1920 and giving women the right to vote. However, there a parts of the world where women are treated unequally in respect of men and are fighting for that equality- a basic human right. Women especially in the developing world struggle with unjust inequalities. Common abuses that claim women are sex trafficking and forced prostitution; gender-based violence, including honor killings and mass rape; and maternal mortality. Reportage and storytelling of these horrible abuses are combined in the nonfiction book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, where Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn argue that the oppression of women is the worst current global issue that calls for change.