Feminism Is One Of The Most Important Social Themes

According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, feminism is defined as the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism is a major part of the short story, “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, which is a story that portrays women’s lack of freedom in the1800s. Women had no rights, and had to cater to all of their husband’s needs. The main character in “The Story of an Hour” is a woman who suffers from heart trouble, named Mrs. Mallard. When Mrs. Mallard was told about her husband’s death, she was initially emotional, but because of her husband’s death she reaped freedom and became swept away with joy. The story is ironic because Mrs. Mallard learns her husband was not dead, and instead of exulting

Feminist social theory ought to challenge the ideals of Classical social theory embodied by the work of authors, such Marx, Durkheim, Weber and Simmel. Such traditional values tend to exclude women from their social analysis of the modern world, as women were considered non social agents. In support of this, Durkheim claim that men were product of society, whereas women belonged to nature, (Harrington: 2005, p.236). Thus, feminist social theory embrace post-enlightenment principles, focusing on values associated to “difference”,”particularism” and “specificity” (Harrington: 2005, p. 233). In order to do so, Feminist social theory has been feed by feminist theories which have similar concern about the study of social world, as both

Feminists from Rose Scott - an important figure in the women’s suffrage campaign and who devoted her life to improving the condition of women, to Beyoncé – pushing for women’s rights through the media and music industry, have greatly aided in shaping and transforming the structures of feminism today.

The World Peace Movement protested war, weapons and violence (PBS.org) and wanted safety for all, like the way the Women’s Music Movement wanted a safe place in music for women. Also, Holly Near came from that movement to the Women’s Music Movement after struggling to find songs to perform during peaceful protests that “felt right coming out of her mouth”, which she did not find with songs that were written by men (Mosbacher, 2002). The Labour Movement fought for fair pay, sensible hours and proper work conditions (History.com), something else feminists strived for. The Civil Rights Movement challenged racial equality and freedom (History.com), something also being challenged by women—especially black feminists—like Sweet Honey and the Rock (Mosbacher, 2002). These existing movements already faced struggles similar to those faced by Second Wave Feminists fighting for gender equality and equal rights for lesbians. These movements produce passionate emotional responses that can be expressed musically such as how lesbian women made desperate pleas for equality in their songs. For example, in Mary Watkins’ song “No Hiding Place” she softly croons “There’s no one else to judge when love is really love” (Mosbacher, 2002).

The Merriam-Webster definition of feminism is “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.” In the past century, gender roles have been challenged because of feminism. The very idea has completely flipped households, workplaces, and the general community and changed it for the better. A plethora of women’s movements were initiated in the 1960’s, and it gave people a look at how powerful women are when we stand united. Feminism has gained many followers in the past thirty to forty years as more people are becoming aware of conflicts pertaining to discrimination. However, there are many that were hesitant both in the 1960’s and in the present day, but for very different reasons. Nevertheless, persistence seems to be a beacon in women’s rights movements, thanks to very strong and level-headed role models.

Cheris Kramarae describes it best. “Feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings.” The play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is written in a time when women were inferior to men. Once married, the women were called Goody followed by their surname, stripping them of their identity. They held positions of servants and housewives, while the men held positions of high authority. The female characters in the The Crucible are archetypical weak women in society, not to be trusted with power and held up to a myriad of double standards.

Starting in the golden age of 1950, a Broadway musical's critical judgement depended on how well the show’s elements were formally integrated. Meaning the outlook of the plot in relation to the music, lyrics and characterization of gender roles. Gender is a fundamental element of Broadway musical theatre, constitutional to the musical’s architecture. It is essential as a building block for characters, music/lyrics, and stage settings. Broadway musical is a popular art, in which conveys social issues in the female gender from the representations of women in the 1950's to today. The Broadway musical participates in a larger conversation about gender and sexuality because it is a commercial, profit-seeking, artistic commodity, entertainment form, and cultural product. Broadway musical is a mainstream form that needs to relate to middle-class audiences’ desires and expectations, one might expect only social issues and stereotypical representations of women. The female gender stereotypes are represented in Broadway musicals portrayed by the character's roles. As time went by, the portrayal of the female characters in musicals changed because of the representation that women in today receives. Thus, these musicals explore social issues of the day, including women’s rights and changing roles in U.S. culture, sometimes directly and sometime obliquely. Therefore, the Broadway musical venerates female performers and provides substantial roles for women.

Feminists have fought for equality between men and women. They have raised awareness for all those women being degraded not only by society but by their families because everyone believes that it is the right thing to do, they did not know any other way and it took strong, independent women to open the eyes of society. Authors such as Kate Chopin and Charlotte Perkins Gilman communicated the struggle women went through and the agony they had to live with knowing that they were no one to society but a birth giver and a person to keep a man company and make him look good to society. The authors protagonists have rebelled and challenged the roles given to them in hopes to free themselves from the chains no one realized were there. Those chains were influenced by many things, but the most significant one being the social status men had to hold and the importance of caring what people had to say. Men had to ‘form’ their wives into women acceptable for society. This lead to women violating social laws and breaking everything they were ever told to do. In the end women till this day fight for equality in hopes to one day end patriarchy as a

Picture a child sitting in front of a television watching the Wizard of Oz. To them, it is an assortment of magical beings, a land filled with wonderful places, with varieties of different colors. They do not picture it as something with far more meaning than just a plain fairytale. On the other hand, gender/feminist critics have been able to analyze the Wizard of Oz as well as Wicked, in order to find a more elaborate meaning behind the story itself. They have discussed what lies behind the story when it comes to the issue of sexism and masculinity towards the book itself as well as the characters. There are many concepts as well that help to further explain feminism and gender criticism. The four concepts that will be discussed

Feminism is most commonly defined as movements, ideologies, and social beliefs with goals to establish and achieve political, economic, personal, and social equality of sexes. A feminist would be described as someone who is a supporter of feminism. The earliest traces of a feminist movement throughout the world can be traced back to the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. Although some may argue that equality of the sexes has yet to be achieved, women have more rights than they did in the past, especially during the seventeenth century. Arthur Miller wrote the play called “The Crucible” in 1953 but the play was set during the 1690’s in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. During this time period, the women’s rights movement was not a thing and women had very little rights. The people who had full rights at this time were the white men. They were superior to women and the women had to do what was asked of them. Women were confined to a patriarchal system that kept them from holding any individualistic importance An essential part of this play was the existence of feminism because the girls of the play were important characters throughout. This was contrary what was normal during this time because were most often in the shadows and the opinions of women generally were not listened to. Arthur Miller’s decision to incorporate feminism in the play carries a lot of significance because the entire play revolves around the feminist young girls of the story. In doing

Feminism nowadays and back then, which is called first wave feminism, was never a localized movement. The issues tackled by feminism transcend racial, social and geographical distinction. It is not surprising then that a play put on by women with a political agenda would be a collaboration rather than a play by a single person. It has to be all-encompassing. Women in Ottawa and Montreal have to be able to relate to it as much as Toronto women who bla bla.

There are many different definitions of feminism. Some people regard feminism as the idea that women deserve the same amount of respect that men deserve. There are the other schools of feminist thought that hold women superior to men. Yet another believes that the gender roles controlling women are artificially created and not innate knowledge, and thus men and women are equals with only history the determining factor and how gender equality is established. There are clear feminist overtones in Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel. Esquivel pointes to a more radical definition of feminism in Like Water for Chocolate. The story focuses on mostly female characters that assume the gender roles typically associated with men. Esquivel

Gender is one of the biggest ways we judge someone in our world today. Being a girl is typically a sign of being weak, powerless, and not as important. If a man was called a girl, it means they are being childish, or stupid about a certain situation. On the reverse, being a man comes with many expectations of power and strength as well as just being the bigger, better person. They say boys learn how to be a man from none other than his father, or a father figure none the less. People stick on stereotypes for being both a girl and a boy. Gender even depicts things like being in a rock band, or playing sports. Most girls who are in rock bands are considered childish, almost as if they are playing around and are not any good. Just like boys who do not play sports are known to be sissy and weak. The groups society puts people in do not even make sense half the time, seeing as, for example, there are many sports that are for girls rather than boys. Although gender roles do play an important part in how we treat people, we should not judge people based on their gender. Pearson writes in a way that makes gender constrict and define the characters. Stereotyping someone based on their gender is an awful way to get to know someone.

Feminism and feminist social theory unlike other theoretical perspectives is woman-centered and inter-disciplinary, hence promotes methods of achieving social justice. The feminism and feminist social theory takes into consideration three questions, what of the women? Why is the present social world as it is today? Additionally, how can the social world be changed to make it more just for the women and all people alike? In recent developments, feminist theorists have begun questioning the differences between women. The areas under question include race, ethnicity, class, age intersect, and gender. In summation, the feminist theory involves the concern with giving women world over voice, and highlighting how they have contributed to the

The social role which I feel that I occupy and that I am going to focus on in this essay is the one of a women in this society. I believe I have been socialized into this role for numerous reasons. Throughout this paper I will explain how I think I have been socialized into this role.