...I will be explaining the following: radical feminism; marxist feminism; hegemonic masculinity;gender;homophobia;misogyny; rape culture; and Heterosexism. I have focused on these six terms because they highlight how sexuality and gender are categorized culturally and in our Western Capitalist society, causing women to be oppressed. I have focused on the previously mentioned feminist theories because they focus on a male dominated society that encourages unrealistic gender stereotypes. Also, these theories explain how women experience discrimination and unfair disadvantages. Radical Feminism Radical Feminism relates to the idea that women are being dominated in a male driven patriarchal society. Oppression of women has been engrained into the structure of society is reinforced through areas like motherhood,family, the state. Radical feminism indicates that we live in patriarchal society that sexualizes women and never allows them to be an authority figure. It affects women on a global scale and continues to build a prioritized system that continuously gives men dominant power and control. Women cannot seek help through the system because it is biased and controls women’s sexuality. Social dominance allows privileges to be given out according to gender and basically states women should not be in control of their own bodies and men are connected to power. Women are prone to unjust treatment and every aspect of their lives in shaped around male dominance. Women are put in a...
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...The purpose of this paper is to explain the following terms in detail: radical feminism; socialist feminism; rape; masculinities; violence; sexual harassment; biology is not destiny; and negative feminist stereotypes. I have chosen to discuss the two feminist theories that were previously mentioned due to the fact that they both focus heavily on the oppression of men in society, as well as the evident gender division between the sexes. I have chosen to focus on the six concepts that were previously mentioned because they focus on how women are oppressed, and mistreated in society. Radical Feminism Radical feminism supports the idea that patriarchy is the main form of oppression women face. The goal of radical feminism is the elimination of patriarchy. From a radical feminist perspective, women are oppressed in three main ways or areas: the state, the nuclear family, and through reproduction and mothering. Radical feminism also suggests that the lack of control women have over their own bodies and own reproduction is central to oppression. Radical feminists aim towards eliminating sexual, as well as physical violence against women (Calixte et al., 2009). The significance of radical feminism is that it focuses on what is seen as the major oppressors in our culture. Moreover, radical feminism opens our eyes to male dominance and how it has been highly normalized. It alerts us to how ‘normal’ or common images from pornography reduce women to sexual objects. Moreover, it makes...
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...Liberal Feminism In today’s society, women are greatly advancing politically and economically due to the contributions of liberal feminists that began in the mid to late 20th century. Liberal feminists believe that gender differences should not be derived from biology and therefore, men and women should be treated equally and have equal rights under the law and in the workplace. However, there are a few limitations to liberal feminism including denigrating women traits such as empathy and nurturing in order to increase women’s social status in society. One major achievement that liberal feminism has achieved is getting gender equality for women in the workplace and education, written in the civil rights laws in the United States. In the workplace, women have always faced discrimination by men through hiring, promotion and lower salaries. Liberal feminism has been trying to break these obstacles to help women find an easier passage to occupations that are usually conquered by men. The concepts of gate keeping, glass ceiling and gendered job queues are what liberal feminism have been fighting against to insure that women receive the same occupations, wages and benefits as men do. Affirmative Action was created to rectify the gender, racial and ethnical imbalance in the workplace which also helped women exceed without discrimination. Not only has liberal feminism advanced women with general occupations, but also with government positions. Liberal feminists have been encouraging...
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...Feminism Feminism implies a group of likeminded individuals who are united by their ideologies and their purpose which is to identify, implement and protect the status of women with regard to their political, social, economic and cultural rights. Members of such groups are persuaded that the womenfolk ought to have same opportunities in employment and education as their male counterparts. The study of the roles of women in society and space women have generally occupied in society is known as feminist theory. This theory has its roots in the Feminist movements. There are various forms of feminism depending on the functions and its attempt to explain the nature of the relationships between the men and women. Such include Liberal Feminism, Radical Feminism, Marxist and Socialist Feminism, Eco-Feminism, Cultural Feminism (Hannam p589). Liberal feminism is a type of feminism that operates or is actively undertaken in any conventional society so as to incorporate women into the structure of that society. It started after the American Revolution and was pioneered by Mary Wollstonecraft and Abigail Adams with its main focus being to campaign for equality for women (Fisanick p757).Radical Feminism is that type of feminism that is attributed with having given rise to many of the other form of feminism. These radicals as they came to be known started this pressure group in the year 1967-1968 after the civil rights and peace movements ended. They didn’t just desire to achieve social change...
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...Feminist Theories Liberal / Reformist Feminism * Concerned with civil rights and freedom of individuals * They believe that all human beings should have equal rights * Reformism is the progress towards equal rights and freedoms through gradual reforms * They feel that laws against sex discrimination will lead towards a rise in equal rights * Also they feel that changes in culture will help equality, e.g. stereotypes being abolished Sex and Gender * Like Ann Oakley liberal feminists find a difference between sex and gender; * Sex refers to biological differences * Gender refers to culturally constructed differences between masculine and feminine roles * While sex differences are fixed, gender is different for different cultures, this is the part Liberal feminists want to change * Want to promote equality in education and the media * Take political action to introduce anti-discriminatory laws * Liberal feminist criticise the Funtionalist views of Parsons, regarding the Instrumental and Expressive roles * They feel that men and women are equally capable of performing either role, however society is constructed to tell us which role to adhere to * Liberal feminists do have a consensus view on society – they accept that there are conflicts between men and women but argue that it’s a product of outdated attitudes Evaluation of liberal feminism * Experiments conducted by liberal feminists have produced evidence legitimising...
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...Stances on Rape ------------------------------------------------- Causes, Activism and Prevention [Author] Abstract Understanding the many different studies and work done by feminists regarding rape and sexual violence. Table of Contents Introduction…………………………………………………………….3 Anti-Rape Movement………………………………………………4 Feminist Perspective…………………………..…………………..7 Amelioration Vs. Backlash……………………………………...9 Conclusion………………………………………………………….…11 Bibliography……………………………………………….…………12 Introduction The definition of rape has been something of dispute for the last number of years. Rape usually is understood to involve some sort of sexual penetration of a person by force or without consent. Rape is committed more by males, usually on a female. In the last three decades, feminist have worked and studied rape with the collective agenda to work towards changing rape in a social and legal manor. Feminist thought and activism have challenges the myth that rape is rape, showing that it is a common experience among girls and women. Although feminists have different theories on why rape occurs, and how to eliminate it, they share the notion that rape is wrong and work towards learning and teaching about rape prevention. This paper will touch on the anti-rape movement, the feminist perspective, and different hypothesis in learning about the different feminist theories of rape. Anti-Rape Movement Feminists have been working for decades towards raising awareness and changing the perspective of rape and...
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...Feminism is the belief that women should be treated as both potentially intellectual and socially equal to men. It embraces the thought that all people are entitled to freedom and liberty within reason; including equal civil rights and the discrimination that should not be made based on gender, sexual orientation, skin color, ethnicity, religion, or culture. Feminist movements have campaigned and continue to campaign for women's rights, including the right to vote, to hold public office, to work, to earn fair wages, to own property, education, and to have equal rights within marriage. Feminists have also worked to promote bodily independence, integrity, to protect women from rape, sexual harassment, and domestic violence. Feminism underlies five major concepts. First, we have patriarchy which is the authority of men in society and the oppression of women for men’s gain. Second, discrimination that leads to the unequal treatment that women receive. Third, we have gender stereotypes which are negative misconceptions about women. Forth, economic dependency; where women are forced to quit their job in order to take care of their household responsibilities. Fifth, emotional work; where women are predicted to do the majority of emotional care of their family. As feminism started to rise, it encountered three waves. The first wave of feminism took place in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, where it emerged out of an environment of urban industrialism and...
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...Assess the contribution of feminist perspectives to our understanding of society. (33 marks) Feminism is a set of ideologies used to advance the cause of women’s equality and to end the sexist theory and practice of social oppression. It is a structuralist theory which is made up of several versions, but they all argue that society is patriarchal. The types of feminism I will be reviewing are liberal feminism, radical feminism, marxist feminism, and difference feminism. Aside from all agreeing that society is patriarchal, these versions of feminism disagree on two levels; the extent of patriarchy in society and also what needs to be done to create gender equality. Firstly, liberal feminism. Liberal feminists believe all humans should be treated equally; however they believe that women aren’t treated equally to men in society. Liberal feminists suggest that to create greater gender equality laws that are unfavourable to women need to be changed in order to present women with greater opportunities. Oakley distinguishes between sex and gender, referring to sex as the biological differences between males and females such as their reproductive role, whereas she refers to gender as culturally constructed differences between masculine and feminine roles and identities assigned to males and females. Liberal feminists therefore disagree with the functionalist Parsons who believed that males and females perform the roles they are biologically suited to do, contrarily believing...
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...Kiana Rivera ENG 101/1:00 Shafer FEMINISM IS THE RADICAL NOTION THAT WOMEN ARE PEOPLE Bra-burning and man-hating extremists, feminists are branded as insane, radical women who want to establish a matriarchy. While some feminists are angry and some hate men, not all feminists do. Actually, according to Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner in The F-Word: Feminism in Jeopardy, feminism “simply means the belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.” (Feminism, Oppoising Viewpoints, pg 14) We only ever hear of the negative associated with feminism. When anti-feminist people are asked questions, most don’t understand why they believe that feminism is wrong and extreme; they do not understand why it is so vitally important, and why, even in 2013, it is still a relevant issue. Although there's a lot of information about feminism out there, much of it is judgmental, misinformed, or quite simply false. Women should have equal rights as men, and taking a stand to achieve this ideal with feminism is what’s slowly accomplishing this goal. According to the online Merriam-Webster dictionary, feminism is “the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities; organized activity in support of women's rights and interests.” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, pg 1) In an article by Rachel Fudge, published in 2005 she brings up a very valid point on the issue of feminism and the many years that is has been around: “Despite 150 years of activism in pursuit of women's...
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...Liberal Feminism and Radical Feminism The goal of feminism as both a social movement and political movement is to make women and men equal not only culturally, but socially and legally. Even though there are various types of feminism that focus on different goals and issues, the ultimate end to feminism is abolishing gender inequality that has negative effects on women in our society. The issues and goals that a feminist may have are dependent on the social organization or the type of economic structure that is present. However, an ultimate end (a goal, achievement and/or accomplishment) would have to be social equality between men and women. This would mean the elimination of bias and discrimination towards women and the elimination of all forms of established hierarchy, whether it’s mandatory or enforced. The two types of feminist theories I have chose to compare are liberal feminism and radical feminism. Even though they seem to aim for the same objectives, in the following paragraphs, I will compare and prove that they are very different in the sense that liberal feminism is form of reform feminism and radical feminism is a form of resistance feminism. They are both strategically different, and they have different ideas and beliefs that are almost the opposite of each other, which revolve around the reasons of why gender inequality exists, why women are oppressed, and why gender inequality won’t be easily abolished. The differences between radical and liberal feminism...
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...Counter-productive New Age Feminism Luis Miguel G. Foronda English 23: Writing Across the Disciplines Melissa Anne Penaflor September 3, 2015 Feminism has played a vital role in improving the quality of life of women and its significance can be seen in the classic waves of feminism. The first wave of feminism was successful in establishing political equality among males and females with women’s suffrage being one of the milestones of that movement. It was through this movement that women and men were seen as political equals. The second wave deals more on establishing the sexual rights of women; its aim was to de-sexualize and de-objectify women and treat them as more than domesticated human beings (DuBois, 1971). But with the rise of the modern age comes the age of New Feminism, a feminism where a woman’s point of view is being emphasized (Sommers, 1994). Since the New Feminism puts an emphasis on the woman, modern feminists often disregard the standpoint of men, putting to naught the objective of Old Feminism, which is equality. Modern feminists have even reached a point of quarreling with women who don’t share their own viewpoint of feminism. The problem presents itself here because the rise of New Wave feminism is cultivating a culture of counter-productivity due to its sexist, ironic nature and its nature of anti-equality. But this idea of counter-productivity is not shared among these feminists, which is why it is important that we hear their side as well. Modern feminism, or gender...
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...threatened suicide did they relent (Women and Human Rights). There are many ignorant people of both genders that do not understand the importance of feminism and gender equality. Feminism is the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men. Recently, in a class we were asked to raise our hand if we considered ourselves a feminist. I was the only one out of about 20 people that raised their hand. This only proves how misinformed the general population is about this issue. Feminists and activists for gender equality are not seen as they truly are. Gender equality is believing that men and women deserve the same respect, and that is something that has been stripped from women everywhere. I believe that women should be able to stand up for their beliefs freely, be equal to men, and that the general population should know what feminism is and how important it is. The Consequence of Beliefs Feminists receive mistreatment every day, all over the world for standing up for the rights of women. In October 2014, Utah State University received a letter stating that if they did not cancel their event featuring feminist speaker Anita Sarkessian a “Montreal Massacre style attack will be carried out” (Feminist Speaker Receives Death Threats). The Canadian Blogger has received a number of death, rape and bombing threats. A female activist cannot spread the truth about an outstanding issue in today’s society without being threatened. How many woman...
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...criminal justice system, saw feminist perspectives challenge the theories, concepts and assumptions of those involved in the study of crime (Bryant, 2014). This essay begins by firstly providing a brief description and its origins, how feminist theories causes crime, how its theory defines crime, the multiple feminist perspectives within feminism and how feminist criminology attempts to combat crime. It will then discuss the relevance and how feminist theory influences the criminal justice system, such as women’s role as professionals, as well as women as offenders and victims (Schram & Tibbetts 2013, p. 285). Finally, this essay will examine the applicability to Australian society by exploring if the suggested causes of crime apply to Australian society. It will lastly draw on the criticisms of feminist criminology and how the different types of feminist perspectives lessons the relevance of this theory in Australian society. Outlining the theory Feminist criminology first developed in the 1960’s and 1970’s which was closely associated with the emergence of the Second Wave of Feminism (White, Haines & Asquith 2012, p. 143). The Second Wave of Feminism saw the advent of many issues such as social, political and material inequalities (White, Haines & Asquith 2012, p. 143). Because men were mostly privileged as a group by society, the development of feminist criminology emphasised and raised concerns of the problem of discrimination of females in the study if crime (White, Haines &...
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...Assess the views that the family allows men to control and oppress women?(20 marks) Feminism is what culture is like for women just because they are women compared to what life is like for men. In society women get treated differently to men as men are seen as more superior, however this only happens in some cultures and these cultures are prejudice towards women. There are 4 key theories that I will talk about in this essay, they all argue different beliefs about feminism and how the family allows men to control and oppress women. Firstly, Radical feminism, they believe that a patriarchal society is the cause of conflict. They also promote lesbianism and separatism. Theorists like Rich, Brownmiller and Firestone all believe differently about Radical feminism. Rich believes in heterosexual relationships however he also thinks that they don’t satisfy the women. Brownmiller believes that women are secluded by society as they fear violence and rape. Lastly Firestone believes that women are unequal due to the factor of child birth. This shows that men are the decision makers and are the ones who have the power within the family. Patriarchy seems to divide rights, privileges and power by gender. Resulting in oppressing women and privileging men. The limitations of this theory are that it assumes all women are the same and men are evil, however this may not be the case as some women may have a more dominant role. Lesbianism is not a good family type to raise children, nuclear is...
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...Patriarchy is best defined as control by men. The opposite is matriarchy which means women are in charge and the head of families. Obviously, the culture of the United States and most other countries is patriarchal. Men have the power and control the women. If you don't believe that consider the basics of how our society functions. Women constantly must fight for their rights and sometimes they struggle just to survive without the power and domination of men threatening them. Whether an individual woman wants to conquer patriarchy will come from her desire to be independent and defined outside the context of men. Look to most world leaders to see how powerful patriarchy is. Women are certainly as capable as men to be President of the United States, yet they are not and probably won't be any time soon. Men have been in that role for so long that our country probably does not believe it is possible. Consider who is typically at the head of a company or leaders in local governments. While certainly more women are fulfilling these roles, it is a constant struggle for the ones who are able to achieve that success with men having much more power just by their biological nature. Men have not had to fight for their place in society like women have. It has been an expectation that they will become leaders because that is what patriarchy is about. Much of patriarchy also has its roots in Christianity. Religions which believe the Bible or other religious text often follow it faithfully...
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