Feminism And The United States

Women’s struggle for equality will remain relevant in the future as a global issue because every country today still struggles to obtain successful women’s equality. Women today are determined to fight for their rights, rights that are detrimental to the success of society. The struggle for women’s equality is something that has plagued women for centuries. Societies throughout history have been ruled by the iron fist of men, in royal families, the working class, and even within the households. This is something that is most common in todays underdeveloped countries, women are treated as being less than men and therefore do not deserve the same rights. This however is something that women have recognized as a problem and are unwavering in their fight to establish equal rights, whether it be in the United States or even Africa, the cry for equality is the same.

The discussion that has debates like no other is that of feminism, either you are for it or against it, but could there be more to the black and white that has been created? We live in a country that is said to have equal opportunities for all, often using this as an insignia to push our standards upon others. In order to understand and approach the topic of feminism, I have to understand what is feminism exactly and how is it perceived; just because we think we know what something is, does not mean that is how it is perceived socially.

Feminism is both an intellectual commitment and a political movement that seeks justice for women and the end of sexism in all forms. However, there are many different kinds of feminism. So some have found it useful to think of the women's movement in the US as occurring in "waves" . On the wave model, the struggle to achieve basic political rights during the period from the mid-19th century until the 1920's counts as "first wave" feminism waned between the two world wars, to be "revived" in the late 1960's and early 1970's as "second wave" feminism. The concept of 'waves' is not meant to imply that organised feminism disappeared in the

However, during this wave the economic independence for women was also a central concern because at this time, American women could not own property. The second wave, also known as the liberation movement, was in the late 1960s to early 1970s. This is when the term “feminist” emerged. Many achievements were made during this wave such as the Equal Pay Act, the Women’s Educational Equity Act, and Title IX. This helped gain gender equality in universal sports, and on an economic and educational standpoint. Although this was a successful time period for women, some argue that the movement did not speak for women of minorities. The third wave is generally dated from 1980 to present time. Third wave feminists continue to fight for many legal and institutional advances that second wave feminists aimed for. While second wave feminists commonly consisted of upper-class, heterosexual white women, the third wave feminists are more diverse (Healey 2003).

The first wave was in the United Kingdom and the United States within the nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. This time focused on the equal rights and property rights for women. Towards the end of the twentieth century, activism set their focus on gaining political power. Britain passed The Representation of the People Act 1918 allowing women that owned houses to vote over the age of thirty. The United States had women fighting for the equal rights of men and women, such as, Lucy Stone, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony. In 1919, the nineteenth amendment allowing women to vote, was believed to have ended the first wave of feminism.

Feminism is the fight for equality between the sexes. It can be dated back to the mid-19th century with women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. The first wave feminist procured the right to vote for American women. The following second and third waves built upon what the founding feminists created. The second wave of feminism was set off by the disenchantment women across America were experiencing. This disenchantment was caused by the nuclear family and the roles that the women in the 1950s were thrust into. The second wave is said to have lasted from the 1960s-1980s. Sometime after the 1980s, most likely the early to mid-1990s, third wave feminists began to rear their heads. The third wave built upon the advancements made

Although much has changed, feminists, regardless of which wave or gender they claim to belong to, still fight for the equality of women everywhere. From the 19th century to the 21st, feminism has helped shape western society. From the first wave, granting women the right to vote to the second wave were oral contraceptives were made available to women, to the third wave which help give women different colors, cultures, nationalities, and ethnicities a voice to be

The movement focused on workplace equality and sexual and reproductive freedoms. In contrast to the first feminist movement which primarily consisted of white middle class women, the second wave engaged women of all races, economic classes and political leanings. Women banded together to fight for recognition as equals. This movement created the National Organization of Women and the first National Women's conference. They also were instrumental in the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment in congress. The Equal Rights Amendment is a proposed amendment to the constitution that states that Equal Rights shall not be limited due to sex, that congress can enforce it, and that it will take effect two years after ratification. After it was passed by congress it required ratification by the states but after many legal disputes about the time limit for ratification and the creation of an opposing group of women it was stopped three states short of ratification in 1982. Efforts to pass the amendment continue

The first wave begins with the activism for basic political rights spanning from the 19th to early 20th century. The goal of this wave was to open up opportunity for women, particularly focusing on suffrage. Some classify this wave as beginning in 1848 at the Seneca Falls Convention (cite), though some scholars prefer not to name a specific “starting point” (cite). In Victorian America the “cult of domesticity” held women to strict social rules,

Even though the Constitution didn’t explicitly exclude women from voting rights, juries, or presidents, women were treated as second class citizens without sharing equal civil rights as men. Finally, after over seven decades’ activists’ dedication, women were granted the fundamental right to vote in 1920, and it is protected by the Supreme Court. The role of women in the United States has changed dramatically in the past century, and women are increasingly working as a full-timer in the paid job market rather than being dependent housewives. However, as of today, women still need to fight for equal civil rights as men because unfortunately, somehow unequal treatments still strongly remain. Underserved women are a group of female citizens who are somehow treated unjust in terms of payment, healthcare, and education opportunity.

On Twitter there is an account called Menist. This account was created to make fun of the many harshly feminist accounts on the same site.Though the account is primarily satire, there are still many groups of feminists that verbally, and occasionally physically, harass the account and those who follow it. At one point the creator of the account sold shirts that only said #MENIST. Quickly following the release many people tweeted at the account stories of people judging them or abusing them for doing nothing but wear the shirt. This level of prejudice against a group has been in America for a long time. It was touched on in “Second Inaugural Address” by Abraham Lincoln, “Declaration of Sentiments” by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and “Runagate, Runagate”

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.

Hamlet: In The Eyes of a Feminist Through examination of Hamlet under the feminist lens, socially constructed gender roles evidently play a huge role in the socioeconomic abilities of all human beings. Society’s idea of gender provides both advantages and disadvantages for people. Through close examination of the social, political, and economic context rooted deep within Hamlet, the differences between how both Ophelia’s and Hamlet’s parents treat them clearly emphasize a plethora of examples of inequality between genders. When feminism comes up in everyday conversation, many people misconstrue its intent with extreme messages such as “exclusive power for women!”

Feminism is often seen as a negative word towards women, but it actually represents the gender inequality for both men and women. In 2014, Emma Watson, a twenty-four-year-old British actress, and the UN Women Goodwill Ambassador co-hosted a special event for the UN Women’s HeForShe campaign. Before Watson was a UN Women’s Ambassador, she was known as a strong activist for women’s rights. The importance of the HeForShe campaign, which is a united movement, to spread and inform the gender equality awareness for both men and women to the public. As a speaker, Watson comes across to her audience as credible also reliable because she is a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, she also sends her message across by building a trust relationship with the

In 1776, the then First Lady of the United States was the first to raise her about women’s rights, telling her husband to “remember the ladies” in his drafting of new laws, yet it took more than 100 years for men like John Adams to actually do so. With the help of half a dozen determined, and in this case white upper-middle-class, women the first-wave feminism, which spans from the 19th century to the early 20th century, finally led to their goal after 72 years of protesting. The Nineteenth Amendment, which secured the rights for women to vote finally passed in 1920. This grand victory brought other reforms along, including reforms in the educational system,