...I Am a Feminist As long as women’s natural body hair is called disgusting and inappropriate while men’s isn’t, I am a feminist. As long as I can’t watch an episode of a popular sitcom without having to sit through multiple sexist comments or “jokes”, I am a feminist. As long as women have to face the rational fear of being sexually assaulted every time they walk home past dark while men don’t, I am a feminist. As long as misogyny exists in any country in this world, I am a feminist. As long as women are being raped, then stoned to death or forced to marry their rapist, I am a feminist. As long as companies promote men to manager when there are women who are equally as or better qualified, because they find that men look more authoritative, I am a feminist. As long as women (her choice of clothes, her friendly nature, her weakness, her choice to drink alcohol) get blamed when men rape them, I am a feminist. As long women’s opinions on online social networks are dismissed with phrases like “tits or gtfo”, “get back to the kitchen”, “are you pms’ing?”, I am a feminist. As long as dressing like a women is degrading for men and as long as men are insulted with phrases like “you throw like a woman”, clearly implying that being like a woman is shameful, I am a feminist. As long as both men are women are expected to work, but taking care of children and the household are still largely considered a woman’s job, I am a feminist. As long as boys and girls are treated differently...
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...Should Mary Wollstonecraft and Hannah More be defined as feminists? Like any ideology, there is not a defining answer as to what feminism means. The Oxford English Dictionary defines feminism as the “advocacy of equality of the sexes and the establishment of the political, social, and economic rights of the female sex”. The term ‘feminist’ itself has been used in the United Kingdom since the 1880s but it’s philosophy had been dated back centuries before. Since then it’s meaning has evolved into different branches from radical feminism to liberal feminism for example, and is used on a political platform. It is fact that both Mary Wollstonecraft and Hannah More are examples of women who philosophised about women’s rights and their place in society. They both produced published works discussing women in society focused upon educational reform, and many have debated the extent to which they should be considered feminists. However, although their views contradicted each other, based on the modern day definition of feminism, both Wollstonecraft and More should be considered feminists for numerous reasons. Firstly, it is indisputable that Mary Wollstonecraft was a feminist and even as far to be considered as the “founder of western feminism”. In Wollstonecraft’s writings, a new female value is consciously introduced and effectively infused into a movement across the late eighteenth century. There are many books that focus on Wollstonecraft’s thought alone as they all depict the influences...
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...decision-making and livelihood not because of their biological differences or sex, which is natural but because of their gender differences which is a social construct. “Sex is considered a fact - one is born with either male or female genitalia. Gender is considered a social construction - it grants meaning to the fact of sex. Conversely, it could be said that only after specific meanings came to be attached to the sexes, did sex differences become pertinent” (Geetha, 2002: 10). Gender based discriminations and exploitations are widespread and the socio-culturally defined characteristics, aptitudes, abilities, desires, personality traits, roles, responsibilities and behavioral patterns of men and women contribute to the inequalities and hierarchies in society. Gender differences are man made and they get legitimised in a patriarchal society. This paper attempts to link the theoretical dimensions of patriarchy with its empirical experiences to engage in the ongoing debates and discussion on “patriarchy” which manifests itself in various forms of discriminations, inequalities, hierarchies, inferior status and position of women in society. Thus it is important to understand patriarchy in terms of its multiplicity, complexities and dynamics. What is Patriarchy? Patriarchy literally means rule of the father in a male-dominated family. It is a social...
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...Just Begun” to inform readers about two big myths of feminism and to prove both myths false. Steinem also used two key elements of Women’s Studies and feminism throughout the article, liberal feminism and the intersectionality. The use of these elements helped execute her purpose of the article in a clear and understandable way. Gloria Steinem used this article to persuade readers that the myths about feminism are not true. She used facts throughout the article to convince readers, but also to inform them. According to Steinem (2014), the myths that feminism is only for White middle-class women and that we live in a time where racism and sexism are extinct, so we no longer need feminists or the feminist movement are the two worst myths about feminism (p. 27). The second myth, feminists and the feminist movement are no longer useful because racism...
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...violence or the threat of it to force sexual intercourse or other types of sexual penetration perpetrated upon a persons will, it does not discriminate against age, race, ethnicity, or gender so males are not excluded but it is usually a women. However, the definitions of rape vary and the definition has changed frequently over the past 30 years, mostly after the feminist movement (Chasteen, 2001). Ever since the colonial period, the way sexual assault and women’s sexuality is seen have changed dramatically. Back then, women or girls held the reputation of their families, as they were seen as the center of the family and were valued and respected for their sexual purity. If a woman had sex outside of marriage, willing to or even against her will, she was seen and a fallen woman that brought shame and was often blamed for her own victimization because sexual intercourse was acceptable only within marriage (Patrica & John, 1992). With the 1960’s feminist movement people have been trying to change that perspective. Rape has been around for a long time and it happens everywhere around the globe, it is a major social issue and crime of violence that often leaves the victims life shattered. In this essay I’ll be comparing rape in two major countries, which are India and the United States of America. I chose these two countries because I wanted to compare rape in a developed...
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...This is supported by Murdock (Functionalist) who believes there are 4 functions to the family, one being the sexual function, which states that family prevents disruption to society by limiting sexuality to monogamous relationships, therefore preventing any conflict that may arise from sexual desire. This suggests that Marxists believe that society created the idea of family in order for men to feel confident they are passing down their property to their biological offspring. In addition, Marxist Feminists believe that society is controlled by men and the ruling-class; and that family encourages the working-class to continue working for capitalists. Marxist feminists believe men control women due to their financial power, as a result of the inequalities within the economic unit. Benston claims women are used to producing and rearing cheap labour for employers. Also, childcare provided is unpaid and wives may also help husbands work at no costs. This suggests that Marxist Feminists believe family only...
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...popular. Since then, Edna Pontellier’s “awakening” has been viewed in a positive light by many modern feminist critics and described as an “intellectual and social” maturation or liberation of the self. However, while some of the symbols in which Edna’s “awakening”, overall progression, and personality may seem to exemplify and commendatory of classic feministic ideals and qualities—of freedom, independence, and equality, —a great many of them portray Edna and her egocentric doings as little more than selfish delusions causing her to lose a valuable, if conventional, life. Ultimately, the perverse behavior and deviant disposition exhibited by Edna—especially considering the standards of the time period she lived in—belie the very femininity attributed to her and, in my opinion, is the very antithesis of feminism. The term ‘feminism’ has many different uses and its meanings are often contested and changed throughout history. In the mid-to-late 1800’s, the time period in which the novel is set, feminism was used to refer to the “qualities of a woman”. Thus, with this definition and the context of the novel in mind, the analysis of Edna’s “qualities of a woman” becomes easier. Conventional women in this time period were expected to present themselves in the most proper manner, especially in the way that they dressed. Their clothing was an indication of modesty, decorum and indicated purity and wholesomeness, as proper women were often “clad always in white with elbow sleeves… with starched...
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...The Western approach to the Global South nations’ religious practice of Female Genital Mutilation. Despite the enormous impact of globalization on multiple aspects of life in countries around the world and the cultural homogenization, the First and the Third worlds’ mentalities remain extremely different. The distinction between both worlds sometimes leads to serious controversies. With the dominance of the European model of gender equality and the lack of understanding due to cultural differences, Western representatives tend to criticize the traditions like female genital mutilation (FGM). Their main concern is that women in the countries of the Global South are oppressed by these practices. Thus, Western feminists are unable to get past...
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...think of someone who goes through physical and mental torture to earn a piece of bread? If for survival you need money and its cost was bad reputation status of second grade citizen, constant violence and persecution not just physically but mentally too, presenting your life to incurable diseases, destroying your present and hereafter what would you do, is it a fair deal? 2012 Submitted by: Bakhtawar jamil 12/31/2012 Table of Contents ACCOUNT2 WHAT IS PROSTITUTION?2 PROSTITUTUION THEN AND NOW3 REASONS OF PROSTITUTION WITH EYE OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE4 CONCLUSION6 BIBLIOGRAPHY7 Account: Prostitution from ages have been linked with money as its key definition states it to be exchange of sexual act for payment.in the present era the rise in many social issues such as number of patient with HIVAIDS, increased divorce rates, loosing of virginity, increase in number of suicide attempts and usage of drugs and all of these having their strings attached to prostitution made me write this paper. In this paper I will try to define that what actually prostitution is and the myths related to it, how it has evolved over time not only how its available but the way it has been treated by societies, then I’ll try to analyze what different people think its causes are how they think of prostitution as an institution and then the most...
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...oldest profession in the world, it is also one of the most stigmatized forms of work amongst other positions in the sex industry. Radical feminists argue that any type of sex work is “inherently exploitative to women in a patriarchal society” (Brooks 2010, pg. 70). It is argued that women are subjected to the control of men and thus, preventing them from exerting their agency. Instead, women are victimized and controlled by the desire of the heterosexual male (Brooks 2010, pg. 71). However, the arguments of radical feminists fail to address the racial hierarchies present in the sex industry that pose as a barrier for women of colour in many aspects (Brooks 2010, pg., 71). So, the questions I seek...
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...to also acclaim the diverse interpretations one can come up with of a text written well over a century ago. The story talks about a woman who is diagnosed with "temporary nervous depression—a slight hysterical tendency" (Gilman 1) and thus is sentenced by her physician to a rest cure. Following her husband’s and doctor’s orders, her suffering grows worse and worse and signs of depression, anxiety and dissociation manifest, quite the opposite of what was supposed to happen. Having the ability to scare and horrify the reader, this unique story had been considered as a classic in Gothic literature. However, it has recently been perceived as an early indictment of the patriarchal social structure and therefore has become a classic in feminist literature. There are many signs of Gothic elements and feminist ideas presented via symbolism, and one of the most prominent figures presented in the story is the house. In this paper, I will provide an illustration on how the...
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...Kin Kang Dr. Tredennick English 330 12/20/13 Cymbeline as Mother When reading through Shakespeare’s tragicomedy, Cymbeline, I tended to want to find the archetypal vices in the heros of the play. Among the most honorable characters: Posthumous, Imogen, Guiderius, and Arviragus, we find that only Posthumous seems to have the only recognizable character flaw in bargaining off his wife for gold. In almost all respects, the children of Cymbeline are perfect characters within the Elizabethan patriarchal ideal. The three of them have an incomplete parentage in the play, having an absent mother, and being displaced in the case of the boys. With the role of motherhood being so very important to child-development, the question becomes: how did these perfect characters get this way without the essential role of the mother? Of course in the heavily misogynistic society, the mother plays the part of enemy even in parenting, as the female body and character is something that must be conquered in order to successfully rear virtuous sons. In this play, this challenge is sidestepped by Cymbeline’s claim to motherhood. In Cymbeline, Shakespeare creates a familial fantasy within which the role of the mother is fully excised from the gender play of traditional Elizabethan parenthood, fostering purely masculine childrearing. Cymbeline takes on the role of the mother, embodying a purer space for child development that rids itself of the female body: the source of contamination to the ideal...
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...change brought many prosperous beginnings, a time for capitalism, a time for opportunities. However, with them came a time of conflict and turmoil for the poor, the immigrants, and the ostracized—women. In society a woman was classified as the maiden, the nurturer, the Madonna, the sex goddess, the witch, or the whore. In the novel Ragtime, E.L. Doctorow portrays these different types of women as Mameh, Mother, Evelyn Nesbit, and Emma Goldman. Doctorow uses fictional characters along with real historical characters to paint a colorful and vivid picture of these times, to portray the social class distinctions, the morality of women, and the many undergoing changes of this era. Like an hour glass figure the social classes were very distinct among women; there were the rich, the poor, and a few in between. The women of higher social status, the wealthy were embedded with the idea that sexual purity was a must in order to get married. It was considered a stain in a family’s reputation for a woman to have premarital sex and worse promiscuous sex. The importance of reputation is clearly illustrated in Ragtime. “Runaway women died in the rigors of ecstasy. Stories were hushed up and reporters paid off by rich families” (Doctorow 4). To women of wealth marriage was their goal, and their reputation was the only thing they had. In contrast to the wealthy, the poor were not worried as much about their reputation, but more on hunger and struggling to survive. “Thousands [of women] toiled...
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...movement of (Eurocentric) feminism has been superglued to its privilege ever since the term “féminisme” was first coined in 1837 (source). Marked by its relentless, unapologetic, prioritization of the voices of middle-class, cisgender, heterosexual, white women over the experiences of queer women, women of color (third world women) , transgendered women; the movement has become an obstacle for equal rights in the broader sense. While “white” feminism is absolutely vital today and has produced outstanding achievements for women in the Western world, the byproducts of its undeniable privilege has been detrimental, to say the least, to women of third world countries in particular. Western feminism, whether intentional by the individual white feminist or not, has operated on the presumption that all women around the world are equally oppressed (define oppression identically) and seek the same ‘liberations’ as each other (Mohanty 1984 ). For example, the concept of family and the role women around the world carry in the family structure is regularly brought up for debate in Western feminism, but seldom do we witness a conversation that is free of the intention to define the identities of these third world women (in the family construct) (Amos & Parmar ). Family holds a different weight in every culture, therefore by seeking to define the role of the third world woman, Western values are automatically imposed and are considered the “ideal”. This approach, by default, forces the third world...
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...Social acceptance or freedom, love or lust, these conflicts arise in The Awakening by Kate Chopin as Edna Pontellier struggles with her internal conflicts. In a time where women are expected to be subordinates, Edna begins to defy the standards and her oppressive husband. The first set of foils include Robert and Alcee, or love and lust respectively. In addition, compliance and individualism are exemplified by two polar characters: Adèle Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz. These women act as foils and provide references to the reader in understanding Edna’s awakening. On one hand, Adèle epitomizes the ideal woman of the nineteenth century, but Reisz represents the feminist movement; Robert and Alcee also develop as foils that impact Edna. Which...
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