What 's The First Thing You Think Of When You Hear The Word

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

Ever since the beginning of history, women have been discriminated because of their gender. They were not allowed to attend school much of the time, couldn 't vote, couldn 't possess anything and couldn’t even work for themselves. Such denial of freedom has made females seem weak and unequipped for making their own decisions. Kids start to take in their sex roles at an extremely young age. Boys must identify what men do, what they like, and even how they think and feel. The girls do the same as they take in the parts for the women.

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.

The definition of feminism is very elusive. Maybe because of its ever-changing historical meaning, it’s not for certain whether there is any coherence to the term feminism or if there is a definition that will live up to the movement’s variety of adherents and ideas. In the book “No Turning Back,” author Estelle Freedman gives an accurate four-part definition of the very active movement: “Feminism is a belief that women and men are inherently part of equal worth. Because most societies privilege men as a group, social movements are necessary to achieve equality between women and men, with the understanding that gender always intersects with other social hierarchies” (Freedman 7).

Feminism. The word, depending on the person, could leave a sweet or sour taste. It means, simply, “The advocacy of women 's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men”(oxforddictionaries.com). But the connotation varies, from the aggressive to the convincing. When the eight-letter word pops into someone 's brain, they might picture powerful modern and inspiring figures, like Malala Yousafzai, the youngest person, male or female, to receive a nobel peace prize, or Emma Watson, an actress in Hollywood protesting wage gaps. But the negative connotation is much more widely known. According to theyoungpost.com, “in a recent poll in the UK carried out by YouGov, only 19% of the public were willing to identify themselves as feminists, but 81% believe women should be treated equally to men”. Those are the same thing right? No, not in the public’s eyes. “A lot of people confuse the core of feminism with the values of being ‘male haters’ and female superiority”, said an article in the Mancunion, Britain’s largest student newspaper. How did it ever fall so far? Feminism didn’t have this rough of a public meaning back when the word was used for the first time. According to The Oxford dictionary, the word feminist came from the french word féministe, and came about in the 19th century. America’s powerful fight for today’s women 's rights began in the late 1840’s. Lead by none other than strong, independant

Society has established roles in which differentiate men and women, by focusing on how they, as individuals, should portray different characteristics. This allows for the opportunity of mislead perceptions, by the displays of gender in an unequal manner. If a man shows any characteristics that only a woman should have, he may be seen as weaker or maybe even deviant. This is true for a woman too, as that if she portrays too much aggression or competitive characteristics, she may be too manly, instead of fulfilling what should be her more nurturing role. Both men and women seem to face gender inequality, not just one more than the other. They both can face criticism, unequal treatment and stereotypes based on whether they choose to follow the exact way society has classified the gender “norms.” Although society has created these labels, it solely comes down to the individual on whether or not they choose to be deviant against them completely, in some ways, or simply not at all.

Gender has been a big issue in society. Sex is biological, and it is through sex that gender is produced (which according to West and Zimmerman, “gender, we said, was an achieved status: that which is constructed through psychological, cultural, and social mean” (West and Zimmerman 1987, 125) - in other words, it is the categorization of both sex to act in a certain and acceptable way by the society, also known as norms) and can be recreated through human interaction and social life. All of this is being constructed by our environment; Inequality is being formed through identity. Everything all begins from when we are born. In society, it is believed that boys are tough while the women are believed to be soft and nurturing. There

There is a heavy stigma surrounding the word “feminism”, saying it out loud evokes emotional responses from many people. During my conversations, I received many casual responses to feminism, or rather the traditional, “I believe in equality” response. I also received some negative responses from people that did not approve with modern day feminism, or believed that we had already achieved equality. And finally, I received some very strong — yet positive — responses to feminism, however, these people explained that feminism itself is on a downward spiral.

In today’s society, it’s common to hear the word “feminism” being thrown around. Whether it’s on social media, or in regular conversation. There’s an abundance of people in the United States and abroad that call themselves feminists. Feminists claim to support “equality” and that it is in fact a movement towards women's rights. However, what started out was a woman’s movement, is now a movement that appears to put woman above men. Quite the opposite of equality, if you ask me.

We are constantly being bombarded by the social constructs of gender. In advertisements women are portrayed as beautiful, fragile and dainty, where as men are seen as powerful, strong and masculine. These subliminal messages, along with the more blatant ones from peers, teachers, media, and parents, serve to reinforce gender stereotypes, roles and labels. In addition, they further alienate those who do not conform to these norms.

Does society perceive the word, “Feminist” as the newest F-word? Despite the movement’s true advocacy, individuals often correlate the feminist movement with negative views and stereotypes. These stigmas often leave people afraid or sometimes angry at the movement, which will ultimately neglect the campaign’s goals. Stereotypes regarding feminism must be eliminated, but to address this issue, people must first know the true definition of feminism, identify the differences between the truth and the stigmas, and ____

Feminism is defined as “the advocacy of women’s right on the grounds of political, social, or economic equality to men.” Inspired by other, similar movements, women began their own push for equal rights and helped to improve the lives of many other Americans around them. However, feminism is more than the basic dictionary definition. Feminism is a movement that has greatly changed and has a different meaning to people of every race, age, background, and even gender.

Before reading, the text “We Should All Be Feminist” my views towards “feminism” was to some extent not part of my knowledge. I have heard of it before from politicians and news story headlines, on how feminist women would go out and protest to the streets for job rights, or to demand a better paid for the female gender. At the end of the day, ¬I had my own definition of what I thought about “feminism” just in case I was to be ask in the future. The definition I came up with was “a woman that hopes for equality to the female gender all over the world.” Personally, I was not sure if that was the “right” definition for the word “feminism,” but that is how I saw it in my own perspective, throughout my short understanding years. From there my only

Many people have misconceptions about what feminism is. I believe that if they were to fully understand what feminism really is, with all its complexities, then everyone should be a feminist. Unfortunately, people often relate the word, feminism, with many negative connotations. For example, people will say “Feminists are radical women who believe men are inferior to them, and that their agenda is more important.” The first thing you need to know is that, feminism in its simplest definition is the want for social, economic, and political equality of the sexes.

Feminism. The f-word. This word has many different connotations. The dictionary definition of feminism is the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men (dictionary.com). The simpler, more stereotypical, definition is policies that are pro-women and anti-men. Before this class all I ever heard, was that the stereotypical feminist is a woman who hates all men and everything about men. She probably does not shave (ever) and she is most likely an angry lesbian. Those are just a few misconceptions. This may be true for some feminists, but not all. Feminism is an evolving movement. Feminism strives for equality for all not superiority for women. This view is also shared in both “Feminism is for everybody” by bell hooks and “Men and Feminism” by Shira Tarrant.