Feminist Theory Of Feminism

The entire Women’s Movement in the United States has been quite extensive. It can be traced back to 1848, when the first women’s rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. After two days of discussions, 100 men and women signed the Declaration of Sentiments. Drafted by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, this document called for equal treatment of women and men under the law and voting rights for women. This gathering set the agenda for the rest of the Women’s Movement long ago (Imbornoni). Over the next 100 years, many women played a part in supporting equal treatment for women, most notably leading to the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which allowed women the right to vote.

The campaign for women’s suffrage began in earnest in the decades before the Civil War. During the 1820s and 30s. American women were beginning to question what historians called the “Cult of True Womanhood.” Historians believed that the only “true” woman was a pious, submissive wife and mother concerned exclusively with home and family ("The Fight for Women’s Suffrage." par 2). An important motivator to opposing this way of thinking was The Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. A group of activist, manly women, gathered in New York to discuss the problems of

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

During the late 1700s, women were not seen as being equal to men. They were imaged as one who stayed at home and took care of the kids. No one ever imagined a woman voting. Some women actually supported the fight in allowing blacks to vote. During the time the 15th amendment passed, many women who supported Women’s Suffrage were disappointed in which they were excluded in the idea of allowing “everyone” to vote. Before the Civil War, the movement for Women’s Suffrage started to pick up steam, but had become lost due to the interruption of the Civil War. One of the acts that stood out the most for Women’s Suffrage was the Seneca Falls Conference in 1848. This was organized by two American activists, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. They were the first to organize a conference to address Women’s rights and issues, and with sixty- eight women and thirty two men, they signed “The Declaration of Sentiments”, a document that was similar to the Declaration of Independence, but directed towards women’s rights. Getting suffrage for women was not an easy campaign. During 1890- 1919, many states were in a mix on their decision on suffrage for women. Some agreed with equal suffrage, others partial, and the rest wanted no suffrage at all for females as displayed in Document 6. Women’s Suffrage finally became a reality when it was ratified as an amendment (19th) in

Women were seen as inferior to men and thus their rights were disregarded. This thought of male supremacy was pushed to its end once knowledge was brought to women’s rights during the Seneca Falls Conference of 1848. During this conference, awareness was raised on the fact that women were equal to men. Once society was notified of women’s equal rights, they became aware of the way women’s rights were withheld from them by men. Women were not permitted to practice their rights which were granted to them by birth.

The exact beginning of feminism cannot be known as it was a movement sparked in many parts of the United States by women that had finally reached the threshold of their patience with their maltreatment. Many believe feminism did not truly begin until the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, but women had been resisting their lack of control far before then. Since the technical emergence of feminism in 1848, the goals of those women and men who have been and still are fighting have developed and adapted to fit into the societal norms of each respective time period.

In July 1848 the Seneca Falls convention, the first women’s rights convention in the United States, is what sparked the Suffrage Movement. During the Seneca Falls convention women talked about the social, civil and religious conditions that women have to deal with. The Suffrage movement is a group of women that decided to come together and fight for the right to vote. This paper will talk about what sparked first wave feminism and the events along the way to get where they are today.

The women 's suffrage movement, the time when women fought for their rights, began in the year 1848 and continued on all the way through the 1860s. Although women in the new republic had important roles in the family, the house, and other obligations, they were excluded from most rights. These rights included political and legal rights. Due to their gender, they have been held back because they did not have as much opportunities as the men did. The new republic made alterations in the roles of women by disparaging them in society. During this era, men received a higher status than women. Because women were forced to follow laws without being allowed to state their opinions, they tried to resist laws, fight for their freedom and strive to gain equality with men. This leads to feminism, the belief in political, social, and economic equality between men and women. It is the feminist efforts that have successfully tried to give rights that men had, to women who have been denied those rights. Upon the deprivation of those rights, the Seneca Falls convention and the Declaration of Sentiments helped women gain the privileges and opportunities to accomplish the task of equality that they have been striving for.

For centuries women were seen as weak and inferior to males.They never received the same respect as men; for many years women had accepted their role in society without any objections. Until, they figured out if they wanted to reform their social and political status they would have to speak up. Their movement started as early as the 1820’s after the “Cult of True Womanhood”, the image that a woman was not a true woman if she was not submissive in her role as a mother or wife, became seen as a main value system in society. Angered by this woman's started the campaign for their rights, like the right to divorce and the right to vote (History). In July of 1848 a number of people met in Seneca Falls, New York for the first women’s rights event (History, Art & Archives). Women’s

Feminist theory aims to understand the nature of gender inequality and focuses on gender politics, power relations and sexuality. Feminist political activism campaigns on issues such as reproductive rights, domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, sexual harassment, discrimination and sexual violence. Themes explored in feminism include discrimination, stereotyping, objectification, sexual objectification, oppression and

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

Feminist analysis recognizes the different levels of social power given to both genders that has transformed by increasing women’s power in social dominance even against everyone who still in this day try to limit women. Donald Hall, author of Literary and Cultural Theory believes, “ Language, institutions, and social power structures have reflected patriarchal interest throughout much of history; this has had a profound impact on women’s ability to express themselves and the equality of their lives. ”(202). Which gives us the ability to examine the way Feminism and Feminist analysis. It is important because both genders should be treated equally, no matter what the situation is.

According to women sociologist Martineau, feminist sociology has focused on power relationships and inequalities between men and women.How can the condition faced by women be addressed,(Little, 2014, p .31). Marx’s critique of capitalism and the feminist of patriarchy for example led to very interesting insights into how structures of power and inequality work, but from a point of view that sees only the most revolutionary transformation of society as a solution,(Little, 2014 , p. 32).

Feminist conflict theory is concerned with the role and status of women in society, particularly within the context of analyzing gender

In the beginning, the emergence of feminist sociology was to give voice to a marginalized group, women, in the academia of sociology to question the relations of ruling in patriarchal societies. However, feminist theorizing in mainstream sociology is as equally as problematic as theorizing from a male’s standpoint found in primitive sociological works. Since its emergence, feminist sociology served the “interests of white, middle class, heterosexual women,” thus, not only reproducing the identity of “women” constructed in patriarchal societies, but in which also create a new form of domination and oppression over individuals that does not portray characteristics of true “womanhood.”