Feminism

Feminism is a sociological theory that analyzes the roles that women and men play in society. Feminism can be defined as the belief of unequal rights between men and women. Women are not always treated equally and this sparks many concerns in our society. There are 2 different theories that will be focused on in this paper, gender-inequality theory and gender oppression. The differences between these two still lead up to the way women are treated in a community or the way men have acted towards them throughout history. Gender-inequality focuses mainly on how social situations are unequal between men and women, thus that men are treated at a higher level than women in several different situations. There are many different reasons why men and women are treated differently. Traditionally, the women are expected to be the stay at home moms, who clean and cook for the family. While the men on the other hand work on a daily basis and bring income into the household. Thus saying that women are inferior to the man by not being able to make their own job decision. Men are looked to as smarter, masculine, better decision makers than women. For example, there has never been a female president of the United States. That is proof that women are unequal to men and to this day it is still a concern in our society. Women do not receive the same work opportunities as men, and are recognized by only needed to have children, stay at home, and simply clean and cook for the

“Feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings.” ― Cheris Kramarae. Feminism, as defined by merriam-webster’s collegiate dictionary,[2] is “the theory of political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.” A ‘Feminist’ is someone who

Power, in its relation to gender, is the main focus of the feminism. Many inequalities exist in society today between men and women at both the micro and macro level. The idea that men and women should be equal in all respects, including economically, politically, and socially equal is at the core of the feminist theory. Generally, feminism describes a society where women are treated differently from men just because they are women. This differential treatment puts women at a disadvantage where they become subordinate to men. With regards to sexuality, men enjoy the power to define the meaning of sexuality, even for women. By sexualizing hierarchy and defining their domination over women as pleasure, men limit the way women are allowed to experience and express their sexuality.

A new idea and theory that also arose from the 1960’s came known as feminism, which was that all women should have the same equality as men in society.

Women began to make the first steps to expose society to these issues and began the empowerment movement of feminism. Throughout time, the inequality between genders has improved and the stereotypical housewife idea has diminished however, gender roles have not. Many feminists use the term patriarchy referring to the power of the fathers, where older men are in powerful positions and to describe a male dominant society. However, women are still fighting for equality today, in the home, in the work place, between relationships and in societies overall function. Women are unequally paid, or not given the same opportunities a man would, specifically a white male. Women of color also have a more difficult time breaking this stereotype, inequality and societies perception of women, sexually and emotionally. Throughout the many decades of women fighting for equality changes have emerged among the waves of feminism, we will take a closer look through the lens of my families three generations of women including, my grandmother, my mother and

Feminism is the belief that women should have economic political and social equality with men. This term also refers to a political movement that works to gain equality within a male and female relationship. In a male and female relationship both the roles of the male and female should be equal. Equal in many ways ten one: they should trust each other, share responsibilities, listen to one another, respect each other, and of course love one another equally.

The idea of feminism grew through a variety of movements, theories and philosophies. Feminism motivates the experiences of women through social, political and academic situations. Through social movements, feminism focuses on the documentation of gender inequality and changes in the social representation of women. Some argue that genders are social constructs and research the construction of sexuality and develop alternative models for studying social relations. In regards to politics, the feminist political activism campaigns on issues such as reproductive rights, violence within a domestic partnership, maternity leave, equal pay, sexual harassment, discrimination and sexual violence. Common themes that explores feminism include

Feminism has become such a forbidden, misunderstood word nowadays. "I’m not a feminist but I believe in equal rights," is a phrase that has become all too common, often times said by those who think feminism just works towards superiority of women. Feminism itself sparks debate regarding whether or not the movement is even necessary or appropriate. Most people who don't believe in feminism, otherwise known as 'anti-feminists,' justify this because they think that working for overall equality is more important than working for women's rights. However, among the many 'isms' and movements that exist today, it is extremely relevant to have a separate movement for women. It's time for everybody to realize that feminism cannot and will not be replaced or covered up by equalism or humanism in an attempt to justify the rejection of feminism. Every movement is different.

In general, the feminist is pure struggle of women in various aspects of getting to the same status as men. The women fight for their rights, status, dignity and empowerment of feminism . Since the 16th century, emerging leaders and the organizations that claim to the rights of women but initially only for political purposes only. Similarly, the United States declared "all men are created equal” and believe that a female demon that should be avoided, not least in terms of religious, political and social women looked down upon and treated as lower class ( Harding, 1987). As such case, the woman began to rise up for their rights after discovering that they had long oppressed and their rights taken away. Feminist methodology refers to the method, and research methods used to understand the voices of women , eradication of the concept of bias that occurs between men and women (Harding, 1987).

When I was young, I always wondered why girls get to wear pink, purple, and flowery outfits while boys are given blue and gray ones, or why the man’s surname is adopted by the woman upon marriage and not the other way around. Gender roles are the acceptable and expected behaviors of men and women and these ‘rules’ of behavior were passed from generation to generation. Over the length of time, this mentality eventually led to the birth of feminism which is the belief in the social, economic, and political equality of the sexes as the dictionary defines it.It has ranged from letting women work in the late 20th century to not needing a husband just to get a credit card in the modern times. A feminist is someone, regardless of gender and age, who do not acknowledge sexism by recognizing both men and women with full equality and humanity.

There are many periods of feminism as well as feminist theories. The first wave of feminism occurred in the late 1800s; this focused on officially mandated inequalities, and primarily on gaining women’s suffrage. In the mid-1960s the second wave took place; this incorporated the “sociological imagination” during this time a phase was adopted and used widely, “The political is personal.” The focus of this wave was on abortion, birth control, and overall reproductive rights of women. The last wave or third wave started in the 1990s and still exists today. This current wave is challenging the two-gender system. This is also the first time

Men, women, boy, girl, or anyone in society can be feminist. Furthermore, feminism can be portrayed as a movement. An upheaval that involves men and women who desire the world to be equivalent and exclusive of limitations. These restrictions or boundaries are identified as discrimination and prejudice against age, sex, sexual orientation, marital position and financial status. A set priority that masculinity will continue to uphold the power and importance socially, politically and economically than femininity because feminist’s views society as unequal.

Feminism: the word that strikes fear into everyone’s heart. When you think of a woman labeled a feminist, what do you picture? If you answered a man-hating lesbian, who is a hostile, cruel and Nazi-like woman’s rights activist, then you are wrong. Way wrong. Feminism, by definition, is “the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities; the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes” (Watson 1). In other words, feminism is not solely about gaining equal rights for women, but also gaining equal rights for men. Feminism is a misunderstood, but still very important, aspect of modern-day society. Without feminists and feminism, equal gender rights, both for males and females, will never be accomplished.

Throughout the history of the world, the position, rights and treatment of women has always been one of the ‘’unimportant’’ issues and has been not given the attention needed by others all over the world. Even though there has been progress made today, many women still feel oppressed even in the most developed countries. This oppression derives from the lack of education, religious affiliation and the typical stereotypes, which portray men as the ones in charge and women as the weak part of the chain of our societies.

the time.” (Williams, par. 1) However, through philosophical theory, patriarchalism as a construction of society started to diminish through women’s rights movements as it pertained many feminist theories. Similarly, patriarchy is a social construction much like gender roles. Social constructionism is the idea that social systems and awareness created a social norm within the system, rather than holding a vital truth on their own, highlighting how some cultures produce and perpetuate gender roles. In today’s society, we separate biological sex from gender, however, this was only lately, before this sex and gender were considered to be one entity. An early women 's rights leader challenged existing