Essay about Feminism and Changing Perceptions of Motherhood

One of the most traditional roles to be assumed as women, is to embrace the role of motherhood, but as of the 21st century, many women are deciding to do both, facing criticism for doing both or one of the either (The Glass Ceiling Effect*).

This chapter is dedicated to making sense of argumentation. With that said, the most intriguing portion of this chapter was the section that deals with feminisms within argumentation. It is brought to the reader’s attention that the word feminisms is plural for a reason, meaning that there is more than one feminism that deserves to be addressed. To be more specific, the three areas that feminisms cover are discussed in this chapter. First, the feminist approach critiques what would be considered traditional methods of communication. This concept really caused me to think about the gender roles that our society places on people with communication. Second, feminist theory suggests that we as humans communicate, and process argumentation, differently

In an ideal world, people would know what they stood for, created works that were completely original, and treated everyone with respect, dignity, and authenticity. Roxane Gay’s “Bad Feminist: Take One” ruminates on the authenticity of feminist identity constructed on principles of “essential feminism.” Ultimately, Gay arrives at the conclusion that narrowly constructed and rigidly defined fundamentals or “essentials” of feminism conflict with the complexities of womanhood and lead to an inauthentic (and unacceptable) identity. Gay advocates that gender must be considered and embraced in context of other narratives (race, ability, sexuality).

Since the beginning of the 1800's, women had been fighting for the rights that they wanted. Women should be able to vote, control their own property and income, and they should have access to higher education and professional jobs. Women also had many roles in society. Women had very important parts in jobs as they took up more responsibilities. Girls, young ladies, and women of all ages were working harder to bring home income. Most women thought the pay and the conditions were unfair. These arguments grew as women fought more and more for social equality.

In the 1960s to 1970s, a feminist movement began and sparked a change in attitudes towards women in familial roles and pushed against gender inequality. This movement’s effects trickled down to the opinions and actions of people in the later 1970s to mid-1980s. The period saw a decline in the backing of the traditional family wife role for women and greater acceptance for women finding employment (Mason, K.O., Lu, Y., 1988). However, the change also encountered backlash, with the growth of employed mothers came concerns of the negative effects on the children and their relationship with the mother (Mason, K.O., Lu, Y., 1988). This triggered an inconsistent time for family structure. The nineties saw

Thanks largely to the gains made by feminist movements throughout the 20th century, contemporary media images provide a new reimagining of femininity and feminism. This new interpretation of femininity offers a narrative where choice aspects of the previous feminine ideal, such as beauty, are retained while the negative characteristics of gender roles, such as weakness, are eschewed. In other words, this “girl power” discourse suggests that girls can be as powerful as men, but they can do it all while wearing a skirt. In Feminism Inc., Emilie Zaslow examines the influence the media’s promotion of girl power discourse has on the processes through which teenage girls construct their gender identities.

Not only are woman subjected to society norms based on their personality characteristics, but also on their life choices and “domestic responsibilities” questions arise for woman like “who will care for you children and husband”. Montague Kern and Paige P. Edley state that women will continue to be “criticized for abandoning their traditional family roles” (1). This topic is not something that is brought up to their male counterparts. I don’t believe I have ever heard a man be questioned on who was going to assume the responsibility of raising their children. So until society genuinely accepts that raising children and other domestic issues are shared endeavors, then women will continue to face this barrier. (Robson, 208)

At its very core, the feminist movement aims to create gender equality. However on the individual level, feminism becomes a lot more nuanced, as feminists come from many different backgrounds, have many different experiences, and identify themselves in many different ways. Feminism is a movement for everyone, not just women, as it also addresses many other issues as a result of intersecting identities. Although gender equality seems like a logical enough goal, many people are afraid to identify specifically as feminists, even if they agree with the concept. Much of the hesitancy to self-identify as a feminist comes from the plethora of negative stereotypes that surround the word. These stereotypes are not only harmful to the movement as a whole, but to the people who believe in the message but don’t get involved because they fear the social repercussions. Were it not for the negativity associated with feminism that blocks its true goal, more people would be likely to identify as feminists.

For decades, women have been striving to gain equality with men. Equality in terms of social, political and economic. They have been held back and their opportunities were taken away just because of the fact that they were females. This led to the evolution of Feminist Movement. I believe that women have every right to be equal with men and Feminism is slowly accomplishing this. But, under the shade of Feminism, few women take undue advantage of their sex. A radical approach to Feminism is what is termed as Feminazism. A Feminazi is basically a person who uses the cause of Feminism for ill-jobs based on gender disputes. A Feminazi is a sexist person who believes in female dominance. Feminazi is a derogatory term used to describe either feminists who are perceived as extreme or radical or women who are perceived to seek superiority over men, rather than equality.

How can assumptions about gender and registers of gender difference, as well as nature/culture dichotomies, inform meaning and the production of geographical knowledge.

The changes that occurred in gender relations at the turn of the twentieth century were a factor in the emergence of modernism. The first wave of the Feminist Movement began during this period with the New Woman as its protagonist. The New Woman was a figure that was independent, relatively sexually liberated and educated. Many women no longer lived their lives according to the Victorian ideal required for them and it became more acceptable for women to be seen unaccompanied outdoors and working in certain types of employment. The new woman was perceived as being a treat to men and after the First World War the independence that women enjoyed received a repercussion as women were once again put inside the home and were and were

We live in a world where we are criticized for practically everything, from what we wear, how we act, to the decisions we make. Being a parent comes with many criticisms, such as how you raise your child, what you feed your child, or how much attention is given to the child. More controversy lies on working mothers mainly due to the growing concerns for the child’s well-being. It is important to see the negative aspects of being a working mother as well as the positive outcomes.

Here are the review of a journal titled “Cultural Relativist and Feminist Critiques of International Human Rights – Friends or Foes” the journal mostly discussed on both perspective, from the Cultural Relativism perspective and also from the Feminist perspective on International Human rights. Even though this journal emphasizing more and seeking for the similarities from the perspective of Cultural Relativist and Feminist but we can see from the journal that how those perspective from both side which are Cultural Relativist and Feminist have a contradiction with each other even though they criticizing the same actors which is the International Human.

Today woman has made great strides toward establishing her equality and worth in the eyes of her male counterpart. But although she may have broken many barriers and achieved great accomplishments, there are still some deep rooted issues which continue to affect her in a most insidious manner. One of the issues that women face in the United States is teen pregnancy which is still an enormous problem that needs to be addressed. The rates are still higher than they were only a decade ago. Becoming a parent permanently and profoundly alters a teenager 's life. Most of the girls forget about their dreams of happy marriage, and become mothers at very early age. College is almost always out of the question, graduating High School becomes a goal most teenage moms don 't achieve. Young girls having babies isn 't new, as a matter of fact, teenage parenthood was higher in the 1950 then it is today, but things were different. Most of the girls were eighteen or nineteen and many of them already married. Only a few of single mothers actually kept their babies. Today many mothers are fifteen or sixteen years old. Some are even as young as twelve. Fathers contribute little or nothing to the care of the baby; therefore it 's even harder for the mother. All of a sudden the girl is thrown into the world of responsibilities and duties, where the baby 's needs come before her own. She is expected to balance her school or a job with the full time task of raising a baby. Her world

During this last century societal views towards women have drastically changed, from being looked at as a homemaker, to a businesswoman, to a mother, and now a working mother. One thing that hasn’t changed through the years is how women are critiqued for what they do and how they do it. If a woman takes care of the house she’s lazy and doesn't use her potential. If a women works in the office more than she’s at home she doesn’t connect with her family enough. The latest judgement women are facing: are working mothers better mothers. Today, women are being put against each other to be viewed as the “better mother” just by looking at their profession.