Feminist Ethics : A Better Alternative Than Traditional Normative Ethical Theories Essay

The most prevalent and popular stereotype of the post World war II era in America is one filled with women abandoning their wartimes jobs and retreating into the home to fulfill their womanly duties. In Joanne Meyerowitz’s Beyond the Feminine Mystique: A reassessment of Postwar Mass Culture, she shows how far women departed from this one dimensional image. While Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique is reflexive and focused on the mainstream, Meyerowitz’s analysis is a broader and more inclusive exploration of media, as she draws upon multiple sources. Although Friedan effectively unveiled the thought process and reasoning behind society's belief that the message of media was to make women think that their place was to be the happy housewife, Meyerowitz expanded her media archives and found a differing message in analyzing both female responses to media and exploring their stories.

Feminism according to Lindemann as stated in the lecture notes is that feminism is fundamentally concerned with the unequal distribution of power between men and women not the the equal distribution of power. She thinks that feminism is best to understood as a set of normative values about men and women and what each is entitled to. She also feels that feminist ethicists have a role to “understand, criticize and correct how gender operates with our moral beliefs and practices. Feminist ethics also as stated in the notes is both descriptive and normative. If I had to choose whether I agree that feminism as Lindemann shows is an attractive approach to ethics I would have to say that I do. I think that is an attractive approach to ethics because

Society has long since considered women the lessor gender and one of the most highly debated topics in society through the years has been that of women’s equality. The debates began over the meaning between a man and woman’s morality and a woman’s rights and obligations in society. After the 19th Amendment was sanctioned around 1920, the ball started rolling on women’s suffrage. Modern times have brought about the union of these causes, but due to the differences between the genetic makeup and socio demographics, the battle over women’s equality issue still continues to exist. While men have always held the covenant role of the dominant sex, it was only since the end of the 19th century that the movement for women’s equality and the

Hatten, K. W. (2012). 200 Million Girls Killed in China, Where are the Feminists? Life New.com

In using the "self-in-relation" model to view oneself, the real feminine self can be reclaimed. This model of selfhood says relationships can and will change, but

One of the most influential writers Adrienne Rich once said, “She is afraid that her own truths are not good enough.” Adrienne Rich talks about women’s role and issues in her essay called “Women and Honor: Some Notes on Lying”. She describes how women during the 1977 lied about everything. They lied about their appearance, their job, their happiness, and even about their relationship. Adrienne Rich is one of the most powerful writers, who identifies herself as lesbian feminists. Her work has been acknowledged and appreciated mainly in her poems. Throughout her decades of work as a writer-activist, Rich uses essays, speeches, and conference papers, magazine, articles book reviews, and personal reflection to articulate with

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.

Annette Bair and Marilyn Friedman have opposing views on whether women have distinct moral perspectives. Like Friedman, I believe that women have no different moral perspectives than men. Some people, like Bair, think that women base their moral perspectives on merely trust and love and men base theirs on justice. Friedman points out that care and justice coincide . People use justice to decide what is appropriate in caring relationships and care is brought into account when determining what is just. Since these two moral perspectives correspond, gender does not distinguish different moral perspectives.

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

While ethics theories often focus on justice, care, an "equally valid moral perspective," is usually disregarded because of male bias. The two perspectives are often pleasant-sounding, but a need for care point of view precedence exists. While truth is evident in both these statements, the problem of distinguishing between them becomes apparent soon after. Many feminist look to psychologist Carol Gilligan's research for evidence to confirm the difference between characteristically male and female approaches to moral decision making. Her research illustrated how men almost unfailingly focus on justice when making moral decisions and women use justice and care in equal proportions in their moral judgments. While men and women take different

When posed with the question “What is woman?” it seems a daunting task to lay an umbrella statement to describe an entire gender. Upon further reflection, however, it seems that this overwhelming inability to answer the question, may in fact, be the answer to the question itself. Within the past two decades Maria Lugones and Elizabeth Spelman, Caroline Whitbeck, Geraldine Finn, and Helene Cixous have addressed the meaning of woman. There is not a concrete answer to “What is woman?” either produced by women or produced through men’s perceptions of women.

It is essential to take Feminist ethics into consideration. Feminist ethics is providing a new approach to traditional ethics. Ethics have previously been formed around male-based assumptions. This new approach does not have to reject other forms of ethics but it can simply be a supplement. It will help aide different forms of ethics to make them less dehumanizing. We can allow feminist ethics to conform our moral framework while taking the insights of other forms of ethics into consideration but still acknowledging their shortcomings. Kantian ethics shows that reasoning is important and that we as humans should know what is right or wrong, but how one reasons and how decisions are made may vary in different situations. Kant leans more toward straight set rules that lead to a set of ethics that are too ridged. Utilitarianism is a form of ethics that thinks that the consequences are what matters, but can we really what those consequences will be. This is when feminist ethics will benefit traditional ethics as a supplement. It will help separate ethics from their male-based roots and will help make it equal for all individuals by showing interest in all activities, issues, values an moral experience for everyone and not just males or one certain group. Feminism is relatable and will show concern. Feminist ethics is taking a more caring approach to traditional forms of ethics and values relationships and

Feminism as a Theory of Law As a concept, feminism is very much a modern notion within legal circles, which aims to eradicate any prejudice against women’s rights. This in a society strongly founded upon a male-orientated legal system, which historically fails to recognise the social and legal rights of women, and instead focuses upon “male-orientated theories and ideologies. ”[1] It is this patriarchy that feminists thrive to eliminate. The essence of patriarchy is emphasised by the Marxist legal theory, developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the 19th Century, which places no emphasis upon gender, and consequently belittles the feminists fight for gender equality.

When one hears the term “Feminism”, she/he may have the idea that it is the urge and

Although Western feminism started in the 1900s, yet, it didn’t reach the Islamic world until most recently, a couple of hundred years later than the West. Despite the fact that both of the feminism movements come from totally different back grounds, and they are affected by different history and culture, still, both of them aimed for women’s best interests. Muslim women were profoundly feeling aggrieved by the discrimination they have against them. They stereotypical reputation about them in the West, and their presentation in the Western media didn’t help either. They started and supported a new fight to regain themselves the equal status they were granted by Islam centuries ago. Muslim women didn’t like to be looked at as being backward and oppressed by men in a male-dominant world. According to the feminist historian Margot Badran, “Islamic feminism is a feminist discourse and practice articulated within an Islamic paradigm. Islamic feminism, which derives its understanding and mandate from the Qur 'an, seeks rights and justice for women, and for men, in the totality of their existence.” (Badran, 2001)