Feminist Feminism

When one closes their eyes and hears the word feminist, one can imagine seeing a mob full of women marching down the street burning their brassieres while chanting anti-male chants, while holding signs that sheds light on the unfair treatment women were exposed to for several decades. On the other hand, if one closes their eyes, and hears the word feminine, one can imagine seeing either a dainty female looking sweet and innocent, something like a princess, or a lady with “tasteful” sex appeal. These images along with other images associated with femininity and feminist comes from how the media, new papers, and stories portray them. Looking on the surface, they seem quite the opposite in nature. In Claire Miye Stanford’s essay “You’ve Got the Wrong Song: Nashville and Country Music Feminism” Stanford poses a question, “Can a show that is so ostensibly interested in the ‘feminine’…also be feminist?” (Stanford 277). At first glance, one would disagree, but more TV shows are portraying their leading women as a feminine feminist. Shows like Nashville, Insecure, and Orange is the New Black are breaking the boundaries and changing the views on what the new feminine feminist looks like.

Early feminism was typically focused only on white women, likely because racism was still extremely prominent at the time feminism began emerging. It was not until Kimberlé Crenshaw introduced the term “intersectionality” in 1989 that feminism started to look at oppressed group’s needs (Nash, 2008, 2). Intersectionality is a way of thinking that acknowledges that when a person has identities that belong to more than one oppressed group, it impacts their quality of life more negatively. In this paper, I will argue that intersectionality is important in the discussion of feminist theories and activism because it ensures that feminism is for all women, not just a select group of them. Intersectionality has changed the way the feminist movement handles the overlapping of different identities, which has helped feminist theorists understand the experiences of women of colour much more clearly. While intersectionality has a very important role in the conversation and practice of feminism, there are certainly critiques of the concept that should be brought up. These critiques, however, can offer a way to improve the study of intersectionality.

My favourite constellation is Orion (the hunter). I chose this constellation because I am very interested in Greek mythology (which is where the story of this constellation comes from), and I often see this constellation in the night sky. Orion can be found throughout the world and is on the celestial equator. It is one of the most well-known constellations in the sky. Orion is most clearly visible from February to November. This constellation is comprised mainly of 7 stars - three make up Orion's belt, two make up his feet, and two make up his shoulders. Alnilam, Mintaka and Alnitak are the three stars in Orion's belt, Betelgeuse is his right shoulder, Bellatrix is his left shoulder, Rigel is his left foot and Saiph is his right foot.

Simone de Beauvoir defines the lived experience of women as one of “otherness,” and from this stems the oppression of women. De Beauvoir explains the lived experiences of women when she states that “he is the Subject; he is the Absolute. She is the other.” The man constitutes himself at the “subject” and the “absolute,” both descriptors place complete emphasis and importance on the man, the women are only relevant in their existence as the “other.” Since women are presently regulated to the category of the other, “humanity is male, and man defines women, not in herself, but in relation to himself; she is not considered an autonomous being.” Without a form of autonomy women have no basis for understanding themselves as women. If women must identify themselves through men, there is no way to escape a society in which men are the center of society and women are merely peripheral beings that conflate themselves to the wills and wishes of the more relevant man.

How can we effect change in the world when only half of it is invited to feel welcome to participate in the conversation ( Watson, 2014). In the feminist perspective, which is an extension of feminism, there is support of equality for both women and men. Feminism is a belief that women and men have equal rights and opportunities. There are many different branches in the feminist perspective, one of the most interesting one is intersectional feminism. Intersectional feminism believes that experiences of class, gender, and race can not be adequately understood unless we understand that women of different races have different experiences.

From Evelyn Fox Keller with her book, A feeling for the Organism to Judith Butler with Gender Trouble and Sarah Harding with her revolutionary work on standpoint theory, the role of gender in science and society in general, has been poked and prodded over the years without any fruitful agreements across disciplines. For the most part, the theories proposed have contributed heavily to feminist epistemology. With oppression and marginalization at the center point of the issues concerning gender and science, in this paper, I will try to shift the conversation slightly to address trust and its epistemic role in science. By understanding the definitions provided by feminist scholars such as Harding and Haslanger, the relation between trust, gender

Feminist’s perspectives of the welfare state and women’s involvements have been used to contest gender inequalities. Conversely, there are numerous feminist approaches depending on each political ideology; this essay will identify various feminist viewpoints. In order to determine Feminisms impact on the welfare system, a comparison of pre- war and post- war ideology of how society viewed women’s role as within the political system. According to Pamela Abbott and Claire Wallace (1997) pre-war concept of men and women’s roles were grounded in the notion that ‘men were considered as providers, women were naturally the dependent of the husband’, ‘Women’s contribution was as a wife and mother, there was little expectation for women to contribute

I consider myself a feminist as I believe in equality of the genders, something we haven't achieved yet in any part of the world. I believe in the rights of women who live in less civil conditions than me and who are unable to vote, or have no access to abortion clinics. I believe in the rights of women who live in similar conditions like me but still face gender inequalities whether they be minor or not. I do believe in the feminist cause and movement even if mainstream feminism is something many shy away from.

“Feminist battled for decades to… wrest power from men, Congratulations men, you won.” After comments like this how do you not ask yourself if there is still a need for a feminist movement throughout the country? Although it is now 2015, women still must put up a fight for equality. Males and females are constantly being compared in society. Especially at work, whether it is by earning less, or being subjected to an unfavorable environment, women are still seen as inferior to men, even if it is not directly portrayed. This is a problem that has been ongoing since time began, movements for women to gain equality have been occurring for nearly two centuries. However, the goals set by women like, Mary Wollstonecraft, Jane Adams, and Betty Friedan still have yet to be fully accomplished. Now more than ever there is a strong need for a feminist moment, and with stronger women than ever, it can be accomplished once and for all.

What is feminism? That is the question that most people find asking themselves after hearing it in the media, whether it be a petition for a law or women calling out male figures for being sexist, before we go on let 's ask ourselves a couple of questions. Are women any lesser than any man? No, most people would say that the women and the men are both equal in any aspect, in matter of fact here 's another one, do you think any man or woman have the capability of being a successful doctor? More than likely the answer is yes. Well, now let 's get into what feminism is, feminism is the belief that women are being oppressed by laws and men, additionally their motive is to make “gender equality”, but is it really though? It would seem that feminism is no more than a group of people that get together and blow suggested acts of oppression out of proportion, the questions just asked above disproved that. Feminists are extremists that will find the tiniest difference between gender to further their beliefs , for example feminists will make an argument about how in children toy departments will “segregate” boys and girls from having different sections in stores, not to mention this is an argument that they have actually made on multiple occasions. Feminists will find anything to make women appear as though they are oppressed, furthermore they will take situations that women are in and they will make the women victimized. For example a man works all

De Beauvoir’s “Woman as Other” lays out an elaborate argument on gender inequality; using the term “other” to establish woman’s alternate, lesser important role throughout her work, the author dissects and examines from its origin the female’s secondary position in society in contrast to man. Indeed, from the beginning of recorded history, the duality of man, by definition, positions woman at the opposing end of the spectrum in relation to her male counterpart. Even by today’s modern and accepting standards, the female suffers under the brand of being the sub-standard half of the duality equation; compared to her male opponent, women are paid lower wages, have fewer and limited expression of rights, achieve lower

FEMINISM Introduction to Sociology  Feminism Belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes. The movement organized around this belief. Feminism Feminist Theory is an outgrowth of the general movement to empower women worldwide.

The feminist movement began shortly after the rights of man were established, and continues today. Thanks to the work of Marry Wollstonecraft, Susan B. Antony, and other influential women the gap in gender equality has been greatly reduced. America was one of the first countries where this gap was lessened, with women gaining the right to vote in 1920. This inspired figures in other countries such as Simone de Beauvoir of France to fight for equality.

Although written in 1913, O Pioneers! contained many feminist ideas for that time period. In the novel, Alexandra symbolised feminism. “O Pioneers! was her literary breakthrough: in it she returned to the Nebraska cornfields of her childhood and invented a character new to American fiction, a strong, creative woman who is not rebuked for her independent-mindedness.” (O’Brien 1) She was a model for other women in the early 1900s, and she proved that a woman does not need men to become successful. Alexandra was not married for the majority of her life, she ran a farm completely on her own, and she made independent decisions. These characteristics made her a strong and independent woman.

The women that march around burning bras, hating men, and denying to shave their body hair. A perfect definition for a feminist, right? Wrong. If you do not agree with feminism, it could possibly be because everything you know about it is wrong. According to a poll conducted by PerryUndem in 2015, a research and communications firm, 85 percent of Americans believe in “equality for women.” Yet, only 18 percent of respondents identified as a feminist. Evidently, it is a belief that is wildly misunderstood and learning more about it could change one’s perception of the world completely. The basic assumption shared by all feminists is that women suffer certain injustices on account of their sex. Feminists stress the importance of gender divisions in society and it simply portrays these divisions as working to the overall advantage of men. Although feminists are united with their common desire for sexual justice and their concern for women’s welfare, there is a range spectrum of feminist views that many are uneducated on. Many do not know that anyone can be a feminist regardless of age, religion, or gender.