Women 's Impact On Women

Since their inception in the 19th century, women’s colleges in the United States have faced significant challenges and undergone a multitude of transformations in their pursuit to educate women (Kratzok, 2010; Thelin, 2004; Turpin, 2010). In recent years, economic hardship has forced many women’s colleges to reexamine their identity and initial purpose, as rising costs and dwindling enrollments have led a majority to co-educate or close their doors entirely (Hursh & Wall, 2011; Kratzok, 2010). The fierce competition for students in today’s higher education climate has hit women’s institutions particularly hard, as once there were over three hundred women’s colleges and only about seventy presently remain (Women’s College Coalition, 2001). Though women make up the majority of undergraduate students (Turpin, 2010), the future of these small, private women’s colleges seems uncertain (Langdon & Giovengo, 2003). However, by examining their contentious historical beginnings to their evolution in the 21st century, one can determine the pivotal role women’s colleges still play in the United States higher education system.

The idea of childbirth has been viewed in three peculiar ways: a social natural occurrence, as a passage to an early death, and in present times a medical procedure needed when having children. In the seventieth and eighteenth century childbirth was seen as a social celebration conducted by midwives, while in the nineteenth century fear of death arose due to an increase of maternal mortality rates. This time period also served as a transition time between the elimination of the midwife and the emergence of the physician. The transition was due to attitude changes and knowledge understanding. During the twentieth century, medical knowledge expanded and thus the idea of childbirth was medicalized into a medical procedure needed to have healthy children. Childbirth once seen as a natural phenomenon was now an event that needed medical attention by health facilitators at institutions of health. The ideas around childbirth developed based on the knowledge, cultural setting, mortality rates, and professionals available at the time. Based on these ideas it is easy to see how social and behavioral aspects influenced childbirth throughout the seventeenth, eighteenth, ninetieth and twentieth centuries. In addition, the communities’ views on childbirth were influenced by the development of public health infrastructure, public health policy advancement and how well public officials were able to disseminate information.

It is important to understand the process of medicalization and how childbirth has undergone that process. According to Riessman in the medicalization article, he defined medicalization as a process in which ‘medical practice becomes a vehicle for eliminating or controlling problematic experiences that are defined as deviant, for the purpose of securing adherence to social norms’ (Brubaker and Dillaway 2009). This meaning that medical intervention becomes an instrumental tool to control what is seen as deviant experiences with the intention of creating a norm for society. The professionalization of medicine and science shows a history of efforts in attempting to control populations and solve what was thought to be social problems (Brubaker and Dillaway 2009). Therefore,

While it does make sense that some women place a higher importance on care and emotions, I don’t think impartiality and justice should be entirely disregarded. Neither do I think virtues are more specific to one gender over the other. However, gender roles changes do provide a non-traditional view of the moral and social issues that have affected women, which may in turn lead to a change in

Women are now tasked with trying to maintain a balance between a natural and medical childbirth, all while losing and reclaiming control. As Walsh (2010) describes, this type of struggle or rather, ‘dichotomized thinking,’ concerning natural and medical childbirth, leads women feeling a sense of uncertainty and stress. Specifically, within western society, women are losing trust in the birthing process and losing their expectations of experiencing a natural birth (Reiger: 2006). The medical model, popular culture, media, and social influences from family or friends, have instilled a belief in which birth is a process to be feared. The fear of birth is perpetuated by medical professionals questioning women’s abilities to give birth on their

Existing literature contends that physicians and those in the medical field feel the need to actively "manage" labor and delivery for fear of this "pathological potential" (Arney 1982; Oakley 1993). It has been hypothesized by many authors that women who seek to manage or control their own labors must birth outside of the hospital and have a midwife in attendance”(pg53). in order for a women to have the most control over her birth it is believed that she shouldn’t do it in a hospital because medicalization has turned something that was at one point seen to be human nature into this practice or act that has to have a strict process or outcome. According to brubaker and dillaway "decision-making power and responsibility for her state pass from her to hospital personnel and the physician in charge"(pg. 54). Once a mother is admitted in to a hospital it’s like all her power is gone and she has relinquished it to the medical professional, like final say in how he birthing experience will go belongs to the doctor. The transfer of control from the mom to her medical provider is seen as normal as if that’s how its been done for forever and in America it is a cultural norm. according to brubaker and dillaway the natural birthing experience is different, “very rarely does a birthing woman hand total control of the birth experience over to medical practitioners in these latter two settings”(pg. 54). A mother has more control over her birthing experience in a birthing center and even more control over the experience when it’s an at home

Childbirth is one of the most beautiful and natural occurrences in the world. From the beginning of the world’s creation, women have carried and delivered babies. The evolution of childbirth has taken many drastic turns throughout history. Births have started to be seen as medical procedures, rather than a beautiful, innate experience between a mother and her unborn child. Women are being torn away from the idea that a natural birth is normal, or even realistic. More women each day fear the idea of birthing a child naturally and ask for medicine before they even go into labor. All births, no matter what kind, are beautiful, empowering, and take great strength and endurance. However, this essay will be my persuasive argument on my opinion as

Advertisements in today’s beauty and style magazines typically portray women in a negative manner. It has become rare to open a women’s magazine and see a women featured in an empowering advertisement or one that might boost women’s self-esteem. Instead, we see women portrayed as sexual objects, or the supermom if you will, generally put beneath men. For example, during the mad-man era many advertisements were released portraying women as nothing but good for cooking,cleaning, or ironing clothes. Advertisements such as these not only create a negative image but give young girls a certain impression that if you look like this you’ll be noticed and appreciated for your beauty and body and not for what you stand for or believe in.This can

As generations have passed, we as a civilization have achieved so many great accomplishments. We have abolished slavery, we 've discovered methods of curing crippling diseases, and also have made technological advances that helped the world today. Although we have made great changes in many different ways, we still live by the same rules that have been laid out for us thousands of years ago. The rules that men are the ones who should be in higher standing, while the women cater to their needs. The codes that women have to follow supposedly have a “cost and reward” effect, which means that they would need to pay the cost of having the majority of their life dedicated to pleasing society and in hopes that a reward of acceptance would be given, although the cost mostly outweighs the reward. Although it 's been that way since the start of civilization, there are the few exceptions of women who have denied this way of living and have chosen to change the course of their lives. Such women as Joan of Arc, Rosa Parks, and Amelia Earhart, just a few examples of women who have denied the roles that society has given them and chose their own way of living. Women are the ones who are at a major disadvantage when it comes to achieving their goals in a world made for men, and it 's accepted the way that it is. The sources that cover this topic are articles’ “Becoming Members of Society: Learning The Social Meanings of Gender” by Aaron H. Devor and “Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt:

The strong bonds that developed between women were helpful for Southern women when they were expecting as it gave them a support group with who they could express their anxieties and seek advice. Also, if the parturient woman was in need of assistance and lacked female family members she could turn to her friends for help. For women living in rural areas such female support was much harder to come by and its absence was keenly felt.

The authors’ positions in feminism also changes how they suggest a man can and should use his male privilege, which affects the conversations and how feminism moves forward. As alluded to earlier, profeminist men understand and sympathize with women’s movements and agree with their vision. Because they support feminism, Kimmel and Buchbinder educate and mobilize men to support feminism. They do this by addressing men and men’s movements while simultaneously pointing out the flaws and issues within these movements, such as the confusion the entitlement and some of the misguided hatred and blame. Kimmel and Buchbinder use their male privilege and higher education to speak about men’s issues, however, these authors do not seek to relinquish their privileges. They speak from positions of power to men and women who seem to have less of it. They want to get rid of some of the burdens of hegemonic masculinity such lack of emotions, isolation, and weak relationships, without the label of feminism. From this position, women are still the ones working in and through feminism while these profeminist men gather support, empower, and encourage and still reap the benefits of “more solid relationships with our friends, our children, our partners, and our wives” (Kimmel 107). This doesn’t seem particularly fair, and these profeminist men may not be taking their position far enough to truly work for and inspire change. On the other hand, Neal places himself within feminism and surrenders his

Throughout the years, women’s lives have been impacted by different systems of oppression and the objectification that occurs in these systems. Unfortunately, these experiences have impacted women’s lives in many ways, which have not only made history but have produced consequences that women today have to face in their day to day lives. Not only were women used and seen as properties and commodities, but society made some of their experiences to be remembered and carried on by other women throughout history in a negative way. Butler, Goldman, Perkins Gilman and Hartmann explore women in the areas of prostitution, disease, economic status and medical treatment to prove that women are being treated as property in both the role of house wife and prostitute which has a significantly negative impact on a woman’s well-being.

Through histories progression in the 1970’s, women have had very limited chances, if any, through time towards their Intelligence worth and educations claim. Adrienne Rich’s delivered speech in 1977 at the assembly of Douglas College Entitled “Claiming an Education” aggressively approached towards female students by urging them to change their mindset, breaking free off taboo, sexist stereotypes, and the feminine inferiority mindset, even though her speech was geared towards women, any gender, especially forms of students could learn from her speech. Women’s education failures to shape their own lives and sacrificing college time towards the transformation of their future, should be overcome by challenging and overcoming the subjective dominant man in Society by accepting responsibility and accountability by taking the 2 sided contract seriously, claiming an education rather receiving one and gearing themselves being taken seriously.

Feminism by definition is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. So feminism has a dictionary definition, but when it comes to feminists and feminism there are so many different personal definitions that people and groups hold. Feminism has been around for quite a while. There is evidence of women fighting for their equality for the past twenty-four centuries. If you’re looking for an actual date you might be out of luck. What can be said from The Oxford English Dictionary is that the first appearance of “feminist” occurred in 1894 and 1895 for “feminism”. That’s a good one hundred and twenty years on record of women fighting for their rights. Thought those one hundred and twenty (or more) years the span of feminism has become so expansive, that to truly give it a definition would be nearly impossible.

Women’s fashion has been tremendously changing throughout the history. Women belonging from different ethnic group had different fashion, even the women belonging from same ethnic group followed different fashion depending on their race, cast, status or religion. Different clothing styles have impacted the women in different ways; in different eras the character of women has been determined by their clothing style. Similarly, clothing patterns of women in United States kept changing throughout the time. Fashion has been reformed throughout the ages. Change in fashion has reshaped the personalities of women. Particularly in nineteenth century, fashion played a significant role in enforcing the existing definition of femininity, it had a notable effect on women’s health; however, the reformation of the fashion redefined femininity.