How Has Feminism Changed Over Time

In order to understand the present day feminist movement, one must understand how feminism originated and the basic definition of feminism. What comes to mind when you hear the word feminism? For many, phrases like “man-hater” and “feminazi” have become equated with feminism. However, feminism is quite simply defined as “political, economic, and social equality of

Modern feminism means equality for men and women whereas, a century ago, feminism meant that women should have the same rights as men. People are all given the same human rights, yet men and women battle for equality. Genders struggle against each other and also with each other for equality. Women strive for equality in the workplace, and to be heard without being labeled as bossy or aggressive. Women fight in our country to be equal in a position in politics. Some men hide behind society’s norms of what a man should be. Society norms say men should not show their feelings, or in any way have feminine traits or roles. Men feel they need to be aggressive instead of submissive. Some feel if they are not portrayed the "manly type" they are looked at as weak and/or not in control. Feminism is found to be viewed as man-hating, when in fact it is the belief that men and women have the same rights.

To quote Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, an influential modern feminist, in her song ‘Flawless’ she defines a feminist as “a person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes”

Feminism has not changed today, but its focus has changed. Many women today have good education and employment opportunities just like men, as the early feminist fought for them. Now, after getting all these, men are now discriminating them and at times abusing them in order to undermine their hard work and potentiality. Men are doing all they can to undermine the success women have been able to acquired, however, today’s feminism is struggling to protect women and girls from domestic violence, sexual harassment, and rape as well as discrimination.

Feminism is a very popular and controversial concept in today’s world. Feminism is a range of ideologies as well as social and political movement all aiming for a common goal to define, establish and achieve equal rights and position to women legally as well as socially. The people with these ideologies are commonly known as FEMINIST. Feminism theory is not only about understanding but also to take action. Naturally people expect women to be related to the idea of feminism and be a feminist rather than men. Men have taken part as significant cultural and political responses within each wave of feminism movements.Feminist men have also argued alongside scholars that liberation of men from the socio cultural constraints of gender roles and sexism is a significant part of feminist activism and scholarship.

Initially, the word feminist weighed heavy on my tongue, foreign and full of skepticism because at sixteen I had a fallacious view of the girls who wore the title like a homecoming crown. My APUSH class proved me wrong. The girls at my table taught me that feminism was far more than unshaven armpits and misandry as society so often reduced it to; instead I learned it to be about empowerment, the uplift of women to rightful equality. That was a value my mother instilled in me from early childhood --- that I, a woman, am invariably equal to a man so the incredulity

Feminism began way back in the early 1800’s with a realization that gender roles limited the sexes. From the very start, there have been many male feminists, even if they are not spoken of often. In the 1830’s, William Lloyd Garrison emerged as one of the first men to openly believe in women participating in the abolition movement and other political issues. During that time, it took mounds of courage for a male to stand up and say that women could do something just as well as men. Fast forward over many years of history, and even in modern day America, men are still looked at strangely when they say they are feminists. One male feminist shared on CNN.com in 2013, “My feminism is a simple belief in equality. I’m a feminist because I believe that men and women are and should be equal, but we’re not treated equally right now” (Brougher 1). He shared his ideas of all the reasons women need to be given equal rights, but

She uses the identity politics of recognition to uplift black womanhood. Beyoncé’s sixth studio album, Lemonade, released April 23, 2016, is a “56-minute narrative movie mixing music, documentary and experimental elements” (Bale, 2016) incorporated into a visual album. In Lemonade, Beyoncé uses her artistry to acknowledge the duality of how Black womanhood is positioned between the oppression of race and gender. Beyoncé’s Lemonade album showcases the racism, sexism, and socio-cultural politics that black women experience. Throughout the whole visual album, black women appear representing the past, present, and future.

word in a positive way, and think of it as a woman standing up for her gender’s rights. Other people can think of it in a negative way, as a woman who is too high strung and opinionated. The word feminist is actually a female who has opinions on the way her sex is treated. Modern feminism will be discussed, along with using some examples such as Susan B. Anthony.

It 's unfortunate that when some people hear the term feminism, they automatically place that as a negative word and it becomes something they don 't want to be associated with. It is unfortunate that people will try to avoid it however, people will still embrace the feminist politics. As feminist scholar Susan A. Mann (2012) describes, when people refuse to identify as a feminist they create the "I 'm-not-a feminist-but" syndrome. This refers to when people understand the importance of struggles with gender issues, such that include the wage gap or domestic violence, but they will still reject the notion that it may actually mean they are a feminist if they are fighting for that cause. Feminism has a simple definition, it means that women seek gender equality through political, social, and economic gain.

In his article, “Why Men Have a Problem with the Word ‘Feminism’”, author Martin Daubney explains how he doesn’t clearly like the word feminism. Though he believes in what the word stands for, equality and freedom of choice, irrespective of gender, sexuality or race, he is repulsed by the word feminists. This is because of how the word is perceived; the word feminism now tends to symbolize an aura of negativity. The reasons behind the negativity are the acts of the radical feminists. “All men are rapists”, that statement was supposedly said once but as is can’t be taken back it is all that the men tends to remember. What was supposed to be a positive message for the benefit of mankind became a word that gives people a personal bad attitude.

Up until the 1920’s, feminism was all about getting the right to vote, spreading awareness for women’s rights and increasing respect for women from men across the country. When the 19th amendment was passed, finally giving women the right to vote in all elections, federal and state, women felt even more empowered and hopeful for the future than ever before.

Sadly, the use of the word feminist had tended to bring a bitter taste in the mouth and mind in the past, however, our modern-day culture has managed to bring the true meaning of feminism to light, and

Usually I have a natural affiliation to viewing texts as a feminist, but recently this has been turned around. Masculinity is often perceived as the ideal trait for a man and this masculinity can be explored through the aspects of dominance, objectification, ownership and the space this dominance has in our society. The masculine lens puts most of its emphasis on strength and dominance, the idea of being able to control others. The epitome of a man's man can assert himself over others often by controlling physical and conscious space. This frequently violent type of masculinity has a huge influence over the feminine as well as creating a feeling of insignificance for men who do not fulfil this type. “Taking a ‘gender perspective' is often assumed to mean highlighting the roles, needs and rights of women and girls – vital to addressing persistent gender inequalities in access to power, influence, resources and security.

It is difficult to imagine living in a world without the patriarchal roles that are present in society and have been throughout history. In the article “Feminist Criticism,” by Lois Tyson, the idea of feminism and how society has affected feminism is the focus. These ideas are seen because men have more of a voice in nearly everything and the oppression of women is very common; a society set up like this can be described with the term patriarchy which is “any culture that privileges men by promoting traditional gender roles,” where men are cast as “rational, strong, protective, and decisive,” and women are cast “as emotional, weak, nurturing, and submissive” (Tyson, 1). This thought that men are strong and women weak is not uncommon in