Lydia Mason Research Paper

Everyone can agree that sexism had its talons deep in the flesh of the American mindset during the 1800's and although this is an obvious fact, few people understand just how hostile an environment it was for a woman. Among those few, were the women living in this malicious medium. From corsets to kitchens, housekeeping to health, life was not easy for even the most well-to-do woman. Although not all women decried their situation, a strong-minded minority dropped their oven mits, put their fists in the air, and called out for a change. Equal opportunity, equal right to vote, equal pay, and all around equality is what they demanded. But feminism was not only found at suffrage rallys or Grange meetings, it made its way in to every medium,

In the year 1848 America held the first gathering dedicated to women’s rights; after decades of fighting for women’s equality, the 1920’s national election was the first for women to cast their presidential vote. The feminist movement, as a unisex advocacy, has had some successes other than voting rights, such as discrimination related to equal pay, having credit cards in their own names, terminating pregnancy, purchasing contraception or “the pill”, attending prestigious schools, becoming an astronaut or supreme court justice, and many more that have now been fixed due to this movement. So the question remains: do we still need feminism? After all, there have been many successes and several women claim they “don’t need feminism anymore”; however,

Mary Wollstonecraft’s famous book, Vindication of the Rights of Women, is “one of the earliest expressions of a feminist consciousness.” Wollstonecraft claims that women are upset mainly due to the fact that they are not receiving the education they deserve, and goes on to explain how women are notorious for being weak, and mentally unstable. She blames the education system for this since all the books are written by men, and they claim that women are barley humans and are treated as another species. She questions the eligibility of men to claim they are better than women. A useful education, in her opinion, is one that teaches students how to be strong and independent. Her directed audience is anyone who is unsure of the true definition and meaning of feminism. Wollstonecraft believes that all humans are capable of the same intelligence, no matter the gender. Her overall idea is that every individual, both male and female, deserve equality.

To this day the women’s suffrage movement ignites women in the present to keep those right burning. Alice Paul and her fellow women suffrages demonstrated through speeches, lobbying and petitioning Congressional Committees, with parades, picketing and demonstrations, and with arrest that lead to imprisonment. These women express courage that women still uphold for years after their legacy has passed on, such as the article “Women’s Strike for Equality,” by Linda Napikoski, in the demonstration that was held on August 26, 1970 on the 50th anniversary of women’s suffrage. As well as an article “Women to Protest For Equality Today,” by United Press that talks about on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the women’s suffrage and “declared war on firms that Damage the Image,” of the fair sex. Alice Paul, set the stage for inspiring women to fight for their rights everywhere across the world.

The women’s liberation movement (or feminism as it is now known) of the 1960s and 1970s touched every home, business, and school (WA, 705). The movement even touched the sports and entertainment industries, in fact, “There are few areas of contemporary life untouched by feminism” (WA, 717). The word feminism in the early 1960’s wasn’t often used and when it was it was used with condescension or hatred. However, in the late sixties that changed thanks to a new group of women. This new diverse group of women included the: young, old, heterosexual, lesbians, working class, and even the privileged. This diverse group came together and collectively created the second wave of feminism.

A bold title from a promising author was what persuaded me to pick “Still Needing the F Word” by Anna Quindlen. I am familiar with her work, her commencement speech at Mount Holyoke College being my latest read. As usual, she didn’t disappoint. Throughout this essay, her use of sardonic language cannot be ignored as she touches on deeper issues within our, contrary to popular belief, “pre-feminist” world. As she mocks the world’s oversensitivity towards the use of the “F-Word,” Feminist (if you were wondering), she analyzes the status of women’s rights in modern times through the lens of a study on female undergraduates at Duke University. Now instead of stressing to be the “perfect homemaker,” women must obsess over “being the perfect professional,”

The first rumblings of feminism began in the latter part of the eighteenth century with what was later to be called the “women’s movement.” By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the political focus of the women’s movement would center on suffrage—the political right or act of voting, and those who advocated such rights for women suffragists or suffragettes. (Klein 29) During this beginning era of feminism, it is clear that equality means one and only one thing: sameness. That is, being viewed as essentially the same as men; having the same rights, opportunities and privileges as

If I were to be someone else, or to be like someone else, I would choose to be Lydia Martin. Lydia Martin is one of the main female characters on a popular TV show, Teen Wolf. She is one of the few females in the show, and has to deal with ignorant boys a lot of the time. For this reason, I deeply relate to her, as most of my life is spent dealing with ignorant boys who I choose to spend my time with for whatever reason. She is a very strong character, with a very dominant presence in many people’s lives. It is that among many other reasons that I would wish to be like her, if I could.

Southern writer Bobbie Ann Mason was born on May 1, 1940 in Mayfield, Kentucky to her parents Wilburn and Christina Mason along with her four other siblings. It was when she was still a child that her interest in writing emerged and she began writing stories influenced by children’s mystery novels (Bobbie Ann Mason). These works would continue to influence her writing even in her later years. Bobbie Ann Mason is still alive today, and is approaching her older years of life, but she still publishes work, and travels around doing book reading and signings (Bobbie Ann Mason). Her entire life has been dedicated to writing, she attended school for it, pursued a teaching career in it, and dedicated herself full time as a writer (Bobbie Ann Mason).

During these last thirteen weeks, I have discovered a lot about myself, not only as a student, but as a feminist. Before taking this class, I knew that I wanted to be a feminist. I believed that women should stand up and exercise their rights to be equal to men on every level. Be that as it may, I lacked the education required to develop my own sense of feminism--my feminist manifesto, if you will. When approaching the topic of feminism, every person needs to ask themselves a list of questions: Who am I? Who do I want to be? What has influenced me as a person? How can I help? These are the beckoning questions we, as developing and purposeful human beings, ask ourselves every day, and these are the questions that will lead each and every person

Thesis: Gilmore argues that through community building and outreach, feminists in the 1970’s, particularly NOW members, were able to “create and sustain their identities (129)” individually as well as developed a “feminist consciousness (129)” as a community as a whole. She argues that “grassroots” movements on the local level using “rank-and-file” activists were more vital to the women’s movement than the “leaders” of the movement.

Women should be a feminist and not be afraid to embrace it. If a woman wants to identify with a bad feminist, she should be able to do just that. It is more acceptable to be a bad feminist that not one at all. Be yourself and be a bad feminist. Being an essential feminist is not what it portrays and is the negative aspect of what a feminist actually is.

Feminists were once thought to be “hairy, ugly, man-hating, angry women” (Costello, 2014), but as times changed, the idea of who these feminists really are have changed. The connotation of feminism has changed because it was originally considered a dirty word, and something you did not want to be. Today with the help of celebrities, including Beyoncé, feminism is no longer dirty, and a lot of both females and males around the world identify as a feminist.

At Troy High School, 57 percent of students do not identify as a feminist, much of this percentage claiming that feminism is irrelevant as females already have equal rights and that the fight for equal gender rights is a “thing of the past” (Troy High Feminism Survey); but do these students actually know what feminism is? Feminism is a global movement to empower women of every age, economic standing, sexuality, and culture through gender equality. Often confused with misandry, or the hate of males, feminism simply wants to make both genders equal. Misogyny, or prejudice against females, is the main bane of feminism, a force so deeply embedded in our culture that feminists have had to fight it for centuries, and continue to fight it to keep our current rights while aiming for new ones that would ultimately achieve gender equality. Everyone should be a feminist to stop misogynistic standards and to create a safer more productive future.

In today’s world of 2017, feminism is more relevant and controversial than ever, with a new, controversial president and more and more women in positions of power. However, feminism has changed and evolved since the first writers expressed their wish for more women’s rights, as do all movements. “It is time to … restore to them their lost dignity—and make them, as a part of the human species, labour by reforming themselves to reform the world,” wrote Mary Wollstonecraft in her Vindication in the Rights of Women (Wollstonecraft 49). Mary Wollstonecraft, the mother of the feminist movement wanted women to be able to be a good wife or mother through education, but today’s feminists are educated already- they want more rights for women, such