Feminism Is Not Be Viewed As A Harmful Ideology

Feminism is a theory which begs to understand the nature of gender equality in theoretical or philosophical situations. It would be examined on how the genders work in society, social systems and structures

As the century immediately following the American Revolution, the 19th century experienced a rise in feminism as it harbored the first feminist movement in America. Although some women chose to embrace their “roots” by retaining their domestic sphere of influence, many women began to show discontent with the limited number of rights women held. Soon enough, the fight for women’s rights resulted in women gaining more prominence in society.

Women have historically had a rocky relationship with governmental, cultural, religious, and social rights. The Women’s Rights movement has been in effect since approximately 1792, with the publication of the first feminist work, “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, by British writer Mary Wollstonecraft” (“Women’s Rights Movement”). While social changes have occurred and more progressive laws have been put into place throughout the years, there is still not equality between the sexes. Additionally, gender roles in different countries differ greatly. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the major causes and concerns of the Women’s Rights movements throughout the decades, as well as denote the differences between more progressive societies and their less accepting counterparts.

Feminism is a very popular and controversial concept in today’s world. Feminism is a range of ideologies as well as social and political movement all aiming for a common goal to define, establish and achieve equal rights and position to women legally as well as socially. The people with these ideologies are commonly known as FEMINIST. Feminism theory is not only about understanding but also to take action. Naturally people expect women to be related to the idea of feminism and be a feminist rather than men. Men have taken part as significant cultural and political responses within each wave of feminism movements.Feminist men have also argued alongside scholars that liberation of men from the socio cultural constraints of gender roles and sexism is a significant part of feminist activism and scholarship.

Throughout the history of the world women have often been subjected to fewer rights and to a lower social class than that of men. In most societies the traditional role of the woman was the role of wife, mother, and caretaker. Women endured this type of prejudiced behavior since the dawn of time until the first women’s movements began to develop during the 1800’s in the United States and Europe. These women’s movements are often referred to as feminist movements or feminism. The development of feminism in the 1800’s was a very crucial part of history because women began the long road of gaining women’s rights with the Seneca Falls Convention, the founding of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and the first National Women’s

Feminism has become an ugly word. Some say it does not even live up to its definition anymore. However, the definition remains unchanged in the pages of history. Webster’s Third New International Dictionary’s definition of Feminism reads, “The theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.” If one digs deep into this definition, beyond the surface of society’s view on feminism today, one can see that feminism would benefit both sexes. The true ideals of feminism break down gender roles, thus benefitting men, women and future generations.

In his article, “Why Men Have a Problem with the Word ‘Feminism’”, author Martin Daubney explains how he doesn’t clearly like the word feminism. Though he believes in what the word stands for, equality and freedom of choice, irrespective of gender, sexuality or race, he is repulsed by the word feminists. This is because of how the word is perceived; the word feminism now tends to symbolize an aura of negativity. The reasons behind the negativity are the acts of the radical feminists. “All men are rapists”, that statement was supposedly said once but as is can’t be taken back it is all that the men tends to remember. What was supposed to be a positive message for the benefit of mankind became a word that gives people a personal bad attitude.

The definition of feminism is very elusive. Maybe because of its ever-changing historical meaning, it’s not for certain whether there is any coherence to the term feminism or if there is a definition that will live up to the movement’s variety of adherents and ideas. In the book “No Turning Back,” author Estelle Freedman gives an accurate four-part definition of the very active movement: “Feminism is a belief that women and men are inherently part of equal worth. Because most societies privilege men as a group, social movements are necessary to achieve equality between women and men, with the understanding that gender always intersects with other social hierarchies” (Freedman 7).

For the record, feminism by definition is: ‘the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.’ It is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes. (Watson 1)

The challenging and discordant opinions regarding gender equality have origins in various schools of thought, across time and place. Modern feminism heavily borrow from these old ideas and expounds upon them. Feminist worldwide are renowned for the action they must continually take that challenges the negative societal and stereotypical norms

Without having an acceptable amount of knowledge about feminism, many individuals may think that it focuses exclusively on promoting the superiority of women over men, however feminism’s main focus is to understand the inequality amongst both genders. Most individuals may think feminists are only women supporters, however they advocate for equal rights amongst both genders. Feminism is devoted to empowering women, influencing them to push for equality, and improving the conditions of their lifestyles. The feminist theory is a theory that supports feminism. The goals of the feminist theory are to generate options for social change and appraise the status quo.

The idea of “Feminism” is seen in the eyes of many as “women who want to be more masculine” whenever its true meaning is just women who want equality and the same respect and opportunities that men have. This belief has been built up over time through many different perspectives which is why it had turned into the negative idea of what it is. This idea of “Feminism” affected the social hierarchy and system where people were categorized based upon their sex and the social impact it made created and resolved multiple social issues. The idea of “Feminism” impacted the interactions between men and women and the morals of society and through this created power in women as well introduce a long needed new peace amongst the sexes.

In the ancient world, little efforts were made to protect the rights of women in the society. In most societies, the nature and capabilities of women were disregarded. Women were not accorded the right to own property, right to vote, access to higher education and suffrage. These are some of the fundamental rights enjoyed by men in the society. In a bid to advocate and campaign for these rights, feminism was born. By definition, feminism is social and political movements which unified women around a number of issues which affected them. Spearheaded by feminists, these movements campaigned for women’s rights highlighted above among others. They have worked towards promoting historical changes for women’s rights and their autonomy as well

Not identifying as a feminist, I have become oblivious to some of the things that go on where thousands of women fight for on my behalf. I have identified myself as a non feminist and believe in the things that I have always been taught. Yet, there is many in my life who have identified themselves to be feminism or follow in the beliefs of feminism. With this subject being one that everyone already has their opinion about; we have no use trying to argue it, despite who is right or wrong on the topic. If and when it does pop up in conversation, I keep my two cents to myself because, in all honesty, I truly know nothing about feminism. In this paper, I hope to advance my knowledge of feminism to understand to a

The aim of this essay is to present some very important aspects of feminism as an ideology and its importance in today 's world. It is commonly believed, that feminism is no longer needed and should be considered as successfully completed movement. However, there are many misinterpretations of this ideology, which should be corrected in order to fully understand its prime postulates. The knowledge of the history of this ideology and correct understanding can also significantly influence our opinion and explain how it evolved and changed over the centuries. Moreover, there is a need to understand that feminism is not a fight between women and men, it has much bigger impact and involves fight for equality in general.