Women In Today's Feminist Movement

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.

When thinking about feminism in today’s society we tend to direct our minds and thoughts to a more radical and powerful train of thought. Feminism has been going on for centuries, with two main ideologies at the forefront; liberal and cultural feminism. Someone who identifies as a liberal feminist is someone who believes that women and men are a like and equal in most respects and deserve equal roles and opportunities (Wood & Fixmer-Oraiz, 2017, p. 58). And cultural feminism is someone who identifies as someone who believes that men and women are fundamentally differently; you have different rights, role and opportunities (Wood & Fixmer-Oraiz, 2017, p. 58). The women’s rights movement can be understood and broken down into three “waves”.

Lingering inequalities and other social trends from previous decades brought forth the modern feminist movement in the 1960s. These feminists campaigned for gender equality with causes such as equal pay for equal work, abortion rights, and social parity. In 1963, author Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique, which contained reports from a study conducted on female college graduates during the 1950s and early 1960s, which uncovered that most women labelled themselves exclusively as mothers and housewives, and were unsatisfied with the roles forced upon them. Friedan argued fervently that women needed to discover their own identities outside the roles of a wife and mother. Many believe that the arguments made in The Feminine Mystique marked the start of the modern feminist movement (Loveday, 1)

Reforms, they once spread across the growing America and tried to change things that people deemed wrong, or outdated. Reforms were movements, typically radical ones in nature, that aimed to create new rights for people that did not currently have any. They spanned centuries and many came into effect. Women's suffrage, the labor reform, and the immigration reform are three movements that still affect people today and have tremendously changed America from what it could have been.

Feminism exists to give everyone the same opportunities and basic rights typically granted solely to straight, wealthy white males. Modern and early feminists alike fought for these rights and “while acknowledging these limitations (sexual orientation, race, and personality), both groups of peace workers recognized the significance of building identities for their respective communities through embracing principles of nonviolence and respect for diversity” (Pois). Feminism is a movement for those who are not born with everything handed to them, and for those who are forced to fight for everything they have. Anyone placed in a lesser position, seen as not meeting the expectations set before them, or otherwise disprivileged is represented through feminism. Feminists from each generation have aided in the development of women’s rights to create a better world for themselves and those around them.

On the other hand, white feminists only have to focus on sexism and can better raise their issues to the public; while the white women’s movement is gaining national attention, the black feminist movement is stigmatized and scrutinized. In order to be liberated, the Collective believes that the black feminist movement must disrupt the entire patriarchal and “political-economic systems of capitalism,” which, in turn, would free many other minority populations (Combahee 1982). Through this statement, the Collective emphasizes that their liberation would be benefitting to

specifically addresses how white feminists often overlook the experiences specific to Black women and how in the Black community, Black feminism is considered a “betrayal of our common interests as a people” (119).

White women, considered the “pure” race during this period, were expected to follow one specific path: get married in their early 20s, immediately start a family and have kids, and devote their whole lives to serve their husbands and kids. The American Feminist Movement started in 1962 when Betty Friedan wrote The Feminine Mystique , a book that captured the frustration of a generation of college educated housewives, mostly white middle class women in that time period, who felt trapped. In this book, Friedan describes women’s unhappiness as “the problem with no name” . Middle class educated women felt depressed because they ignored the necessity to pursue their goals, misled into thinking that serving their families was the highest and only aspiration they should have. The movement focused originally on eliminating inequality in the workplace and giving equal opportunities to both sexes.

White feminism put the practices and viewpoints of white, middle-class women at the focus of all feminist issues (Sholock, 2012).

The harsh relationship between women of color and white women has proven to be one of the main issues feminism has to confront. Intersectionality plays a role, which is both onerous to avoid and to address, since privilege is not easy to recognize. Internal biases also influence the fact that women from different races can’t unite. However, even though there are discrepancies between white feminists and feminists of color, a united, single feminist movement is possible in order to have a stronger movement and achieve the goals feminism aims for. In a question-answer session with Pat Mitchell published in TED, Madeleine Albright, who was the first American female Secretary of State, said: “There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women". That is what feminism should be about: support. But support is useless when it lacks understanding. Feminists, of all races, have to understand the struggles other women have to confront, by understanding those hardships internal biases will be easier to identify, therefore to address. As feminism has evolved, solidarity within the movement has grown; this proves there is a possibility of women uniting in one movement no matter their race.

Feminism can be defined as the belief that women and men should have equal rights. This is an incredibly simple premise in theory; however, as soon as one starts to unpack exactly what it would take for equality of the sexes many other inter-related issues arise. One of the main issues is that there are many different types of oppression including, but not limited to, gender, race, sexuality, sexual orientation, ethnicity and socio-economic background. All of these factors and more must be taken into consideration when discussing systemic privilege and oppression. This essay will mainly be focused on American feminism and there will be particular care paid to how first wave feminism treated and seemingly forgot about women of color in its quest for recognition.

I chose this topic mainly because of interest. When thinking about the idea of feminism aside from all stereotypes one would think the struggle for women's rights. The idea sounds unified in saying and one would assume most women were involved. For a long time the women's movement applied to just white upper class females. I found a source on extremist women, which focused on the powerful ideas of white supremacy. This article was geared toward white women, and the goal trying to be achieved was equal status as men in the work place, and no rights for minorities. Not surprisingly many of these participants were in the Ku Klux Klan. What is funny to me is that while these women are making this "powerful"

In her book Separate Roads to Feminism: Black, Chicana, and White Feminist Movements in America’s Second Wave Benita Roth argued against the traditional approach to feminism in the United States. These approaches tend to ignore the complexity of the feminist movement and to marginalize the contributions of feminists of color. As a result, Roth specifically looked at the time period of the 1960s and 1970s and argued that the modern feminist movement in the United States during that time consisted of distinct feminist organizations that developed among radical white women and women of color, and these organizations were separated along racial and ethnic lines. In addition, these organizations collaborated and confronted each other because of the diverse needs and interests of its members. In her book she specifically looks at three distinct feminist movements: White feminism, Black feminism, and Chicana feminism.

My herstory starts here at the University when I enrolled in my first Women's Studies course. While receiving feminist knowledge, I realized that many of the systems of oppression focused on those against white middle class women such as white middle-class feminist theory, the negative impacts of the Civil Rights movement on the 1st and 2nd wave, etc. without a comprehensive focus on black feminism, transnational feminism, womanism, and other types of feminism. As any college student, I wanted to learn more because my feminism is affected not only by an intersection of race and gender, but also to class. I seek to offer my knowledge to help those who suffer from white privilege withdrawal and ensure that the voices of all marginalized groups

The manifestation of the feminist movement within the twenty-first century has been the result of a variety of factors. The feminist movement embodies a global phenomenon that recognizes the independence of a strong female figure that is able to contribute equally to society. These protections are necessary because “millions of women throughout the world live in conditions of abject deprivation of, and attacks against, their fundamental human rights for no other reason than that they are women.” Despite recurring women’s human rights violations throughout history, a whisper of change is stirring, the belief that everyone deserves to have equal rights, and equal protection under the law is starting to attract popular attention. For instance, ever so slightly gender roles are adapting to recognize that “women’s roles have changed dramatically. Mothers can no longer be classified as carers or homemakers and fathers solely as providers.” As women continue to push for equality around the world it becomes clear that various issues still present a significant obstacle that prevents true gender equality to exist. For instance, Australian popular culture depicts a fairly masculine image, this image has helped condition various gender stereotypes that have been cemented into the cultures’ social and behavioural mentality. Until recently, it has seemed that Australian popular culture has seemingly ostracized the feminine persona. However, acknowledging several global and domestic