Feminism
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Feminism is the theory that men and women should be equal, politically, economically, and socially. There are many different types of feminism and each have a profound impact on someone’s view of society. The first is cultural feminism, which is the theory that there are fundamental personality differences between men and women, and that women’s differences are special. This theory supports the idea that there are biological differences between men and women and sexism can be overcome by embracing the “women’s way.” The second type is individualist or libertarian feminist. This feminism is based upon libertarian philosophies, with the focus on autonomy, rights, liberty, independence, and diversity.
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These women are having an influence on today’s government. Because women are working and continuing the responsibilities of the household and child care, they are now beginning to voice demands for programs such as affirmative action, equal pay, pregnancy disability payments, and abortion rights. According to Einstein, the New Right is composed of a “conservative middle class majority, citizens concerned about high taxes and inflation, small business people angry at governmental control, born- again Christians concerned about sex in television and movies, supporters of the right to life, who are against federal funding of abortion, and middle class Americans tired of Big Government.”
The New Right feels that women are being forced to enter the work force because of the high taxes and inflation caused by the continuous growth of the welfare state. Women leaving the home are destructive to the family unit. The family structure is believed to be necessary to the “moral fabric of society and economic vitality. (Einstein, 1984) There has been a transfer of family functions from the family to “doctors, psychiatrists, child development experts, spokesmen for the juvenile courts and marriage counselors (Einstein, 1984). Since the mother has become more “absent” from the household, authority and responsibilities have been shifted to the state figures previously listed. Juvenile delinquency, teen pregnancy and teenage drug abuse have
Their political agenda expanded to issues concerning sexual, reproductive and economic matters. The seed was planted that women have the potential to contribute just as much if not more than men.”
The period 1940-1975 represented a time of trouble within the United States and overseas. As World War II ended in 1945, many Cold war conflicts erupted shortly after that, increasing social controversy among teenagers, minorities and especially women. During this time period, gender inequality was ongoing in many aspects of life. Women were tired of constantly staying home engaging in domestic activities and were dissatisfied in their roles as “housewives”. The rise of the women’s rights movement was spurred by the growth of women joining the workforce, resentment of being treated as inferior to men, and the rise of unity among women.
As part of the larger movement for equal rights, this feminist mobilization focused on a broad spectrum of economic, political, and cultural dimensions of the distribution of power that entailed the discrimination of women. Political struggles targeted the stigmatization of women as caregivers and the devalorization of this role in relation to that of the male breadwinner, a mainstream culture of sexism permeating all spheres of life and cutting across income and educational levels, as well as women’s unequal access to and unequal positioning within the labor market. (Azmanova 751)
The roles of women in society have changed a lot since the 1800’s. While in the 1800’s women were viewed as housewives, now it is more common to see something such as single working mothers or a household where the wife is the primary “bread winner”. Today’s women have been provided with the opportunity to get educated, started joining the workforce, and even gained the right to vote. Gaining these rights was not an easy task and it took a lot of hard work and dedication to get them. Even though women have been given these opportunities, women’s rights is still a big and controversial topic in today’s society.
Introduction Republican Motherhood was the idea that by educating women, we would create more intelligent and virtuous citizens, and that this concept would eventually close the equality gap between men and women creating success of the new American republic. The concept of republican motherhood contributed to raising future citizens and taking care of husbands by influencing the role of women in legal standing, women’s education, and economic opportunities. Links said that historians agreed that “republican motherhood,” was “ideology that blended the domestic and public spheres. Women would stay at home to provide the best possible atmosphere for republican husbands and to inculcate proper principles in republican sons. They would, in
During World War II and shortly after, millions of American women experienced new freedom as they lived and worked in the public sphere due to the federal government’s campaign to recruit them to produce goods for the war effort. This new rhetoric directly differed from traditional ideology of republican motherhood and paternalism in which the man is the head of the household, works in the public sphere, and women live in the private sphere instilling virtue into the children while maintaining the household. With the United States’ immediate entrance into the Cold War following World War II, came a dramatic right shift in American politics and rhetoric. This included a return to republic motherhood in which political discussions and the media, through shows like “Father Knows Best”, encouraged women to express their patriotism by staying at home and raising families. Naturally, this right shift led to the continuance of discrimination based on gender. The National Organization of Women (NOW), an organization of the New Left, challenged such discrimination. The organization’s 1966 Statement of Purpose states, “The time has come for a new movement toward true equality for all women in America, and toward a fully equal partnership of the sexes, as part of the world-wide revolution of human rights now taking place within and beyond our national borders… The time has come to
Republican Motherhood was a movement toward equality of the sexes in the time of Revolutionary America. This movement was sparked by a famous quote made by Thomas Jefferson, “All men are created equal.” Although sparking a movement for equality the statement was intended to only mean the male gender. This truth of the statement becomes clear when we analyze the results of this movement.
Post revolution ideals of the world were drastically altered by the emergence of the first republican government and the virtues it espoused; this cultivated Republican Motherhood, the idea that in this new society, men had to grow to be citizens with republican morals and it was the woman’s responsibility to become an educated, rational and virtual being to enforce these ideals upon children in order to foster a republican society. This eventually led to the Cult of Domesticity that abandoned the principles of republicanism and gave further a purpose for women to remain in the household and manage domestic activities. This northern middle class movement was in part gratifying to women as they were viewed through a lense of extended parity and purpose, though it also hindered the displayal of independent intelligence. Although this antebellum movement was partially degrading, it did bring about discussion of women’s suffrage and their hand in abolitionist and temperance movements for the first time. Responses to this varied, from radical ideas of feminism to submissive acceptance of their new separate sphere resulting in a wide shift in middle class conflicts of a woman’s place in a family as well as a family’s place in society. These radical ideals though, did not transfer to the south, lower classes or slaves; these working classes found their place in factory work and slaves, especially slave women, held next to no rights at all.
Feminism is a body of social theory and political movement primarily based on and motivated by the experiences of women. While generally providing a critique of social relations, many proponents of feminism also focus on analyzing gender inequality and the promotion of women's rights, interests, and issues.
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.
In the aftermath of World War II, the lives of the women have changed dramatically. Women spoke their minds out and wanted to be heard. World War II brought them a new outlook on how they should live their lives. It encouraged women organize social movements such as boycotts and public marches pushing for their human rights and protect them against discrimination. Alongside, they formed their own organization representing them against the federal government like the NOW or National Organization for Women. Through the years, women have been struggling to fight for equal rights and unfortunately still exist even at the present in some areas. Yes, women’s status was not like what they used to back then, where their
Feminism by definition means the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social and economic equality to men. But many a time’s people restrict the boundary of these forgetting the very important element of diversity of women living in different places and in varied situations.
For many years society has embraced the idea that the difference between men and women were biologically determined. Thou through traditions, media, and peers we act accordingly to how others view us. Each individual has pressure placed upon them based on their gender. Our sex is determined by genetics while our gender is programmed by social customs. Some theories interpret that a women is tender and a loving mother while on the other hand men are aggressive hunters and are the dominant one of the family. People who support this theory seems to believe that men and women are happier when fulfilling the roles nature determined for them. Women are to be nurturing and men are to be providers by
Feminism is the movement that promotes equality for men and women in political, economic and social issues. Feminists believe that women are oppressed due to their sex based on the dominant ideology of patriarchy. Going against social norms of patriarchy will result in liberation for women, men, minorities, and gays. There are many different types of Feminism, which includes Liberal, Radical, and Social Feminism. Liberal feminism is reformist who believes in the viability of the present system, which includes education and employment. These types of feminists believe that oppression exists because of the way in which men and women are socialized, which supports patriarchy and keeps men in power
"People who are liberal thinkers have been enslaved by these poseurs, these racketeers, people who are pretending to be liberal but who are in fact just naïve politically. I have been congratulated by women...who are so sick of being bullied by these sanctimonious puritans who call themselves feminists." --Camille Paglia