...How Relevant Feminism Actually Is Salah Eddine Youssef Kadadou American University of Sharjah How Relevant Feminism Actually Is When looking at any population, the simplest way to start categorizing organisms of any species is according to sex; male or female. If you disregard the biological and physiological differences, how would you tell them apart? Amongst animals, males and females have different roles. A lioness for example does most of the work while the lion only serves as the protector in case of predators. This difference in roles is seen throughout the animal kingdom with the exception of humans. As humans, we have decided that both men and women should have the same roles in society with regards to everything, or at least this is what feminism preaches, or does it? Feminism is a tricky matter to discuss because if you do not know how this movement started, you would look at modern day feminism and instantly be put off by what you see. Webster defines feminism as: 1.: the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities, 2.: organized activity in support of women's rights and interests. The original purpose or goal of feminism was to present women with the same opportunities and rights that men had and as hard as it is to believe, it still is. Therefore, if this is truly still the case, then feminism is still relevant even in modern day societies. On the one hand, feminism is still widely recognized as a movement with true intentions...
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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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...Inequalities in women’s soccer (Women’s National Soccer Team; successful but not equal) Thesis: Although women’s soccer has come along way, as a result of Title IX, gender discrimination is still seen in women’s professional’s sports today. Over the last year, issues about pay, field conditions, and even feminism have surfaced as a result of this summers Women’s World Cup. I. Introduction a. Quote “I don’t want to be considered a great female athlete, I want to be a great athlete”. The idea of a professional female athlete is a fairly new concept that has only developed in the last century. b. Women’s soccer in relatively new to the U.S., however, the sport has been revolutionized by the tremendous success of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer...
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...West began when her family came into the spotlight due to Kim’s father, Robert, having been involved in the O.J. Simpson trial. The trial can “…be credited for launching the entire Kardashian family’s fame…” (Stephenson); however, Kim told Oprah during an interview that she credits her own fame for her leaked sex tape with ex-boyfriend Ray J (Hayes). Her fame might just be infamy, but needless to say, it keeps her name in the tabloids. Kim Kardashian West’s infamy can be seen as feminism, but that does not actually make her a feminist. For starters, one might wonder what constitutes calling Kim a feminist. About every surface of Kim’s skin can be found on any social media outlet, and the men are not the only one’s who love it. Kim, on any given day, can have a nude photo shoot or just post a nude photo of herself on twitter or Instagram if for no other reason than her just wanting to. Ariel Winter said of one of Kim’s rather racy and controversial Instagram posts:...
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...every parent with a male child. The decline in college attendance means many will needlessly miss out on success in life. The loss of educated workers also means the country will be less able to compete economically. The social implications—women having a hard time finding equally educated mates—are already beginning to play out." USA Today cited some possible culprits for the increasing distaste young men are showing for college, pointing provisionally to our high schools, suggesting that perhaps "female teachers in elementary and middle schools, where male teachers are scarce, naturally enforce a girl-friendly environment that rewards students who can sit quietly—not a strong point for many boys, who earn poor grades and fall behind." One reader countered that in fact, "schedules, curriculum, social politics and teachingmethods have gone overboard to benefit girls" and other officially designated "protected groups"—which essentially amounts to anyone other than white males. In subsequent days, letter writers aptly noted that if such an imbalance cut the other way—if women were turning out to be under-represented at U.S. collegesit would result in a national uproar, including presidential fact-fmding commissions, multimillion dollar study grants from non-profit foundations, and calls for affirmative action. To no one's surprise, the decline of the male on campus has...
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...The Hunger Games: Action-film feminism is catching fire Lisa Schwarzbaum Burning up Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen is both strong and vulnerable – a new kind of action heroine who has powered The Hunger Games: Catching fire to a $158m US debut. (Lionsgate) Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen is a new type of female action film icon, and moviegoers should be very excited about that, writes Lisa Schwarzbaum. As Catching Fire ignites on movie screens around the world, this is what we know about the 21st Century heroine called Katniss Everdeen: she is strong but also soft. She is brave but she has doubts. She is a phenomenal fictional creation, yet is real enough that moviegoers can draw inspiration from her values, her resourcefulness, and her very human inner conflicts. And she is played by Jennifer Lawrence, who appears not only to be handling her current duties as Hollywood’s finest model of well-adjusted millennial female stardom but doing so with charm. Everdeen and Lawrence: golden girls both. Personified in Lawrence’s lithe movements and cool, focused gaze, Katniss is a brave, resourceful and independent-minded fighter; but she is also a troubled and vulnerably guilt-ridden human being. Nina Jacobson, the producer of the Hunger Games film franchise, puts it this way: “She is a singular heroine in that the burden of survival weighs on her. She has a ton of survivor’s guilt. And she keeps surviving.” Girl on fire It is strange that behaving like a well-adjusted...
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...Feminism and Crime Name: Course: Instructor: Institution: Date of Submission: Introduction Feminism is the belief that men and women are of equal worth and should be treated equally despite the gender. Feminism has evolved from the years. The current generation, Generation Y has a different perspective of females than the former generations. There have been three major waves of feminism evolution. The first wave was in the 1800s, women were not allowed to vote or participate in any public or political opinions. During this time, women demanded their right to vote. The second wave of feminism developed in the 1960s where females of certain marginalized groups (working class women, blacks and prisoners) felt they weren't being treated equally and fairly like men and upper-class women. The civil rights activist fought very much for their rights during this time. However, not a lot resulted during this wave which led to the third wave of feminism evolution. The third wave developed to improve the second wave short comings. This is the new generation of feminists who know their rights and what gender equality is. Society generally favored men hence the need for social movements towards females rights to be heard. Feminism and Criminology Feminist criminology evolved during the time women were being judged on their gender rather than the type they committed. Gender inequality is basically due to men trying to control women and their sexuality. Feminists insist...
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...founded Feministe as her personal blog to use in exploring feminist theory. Since then, Feminste has grown into a network of about five main authors and many guest bloggers. Feministe features a broad range of topics in order to “foster a dynamic, robust, progressive and inclusive feminist community,” according to the mission statement. This blog reaches a large audience; the twitter account @feministe has 23.7K followers, but they did not gain a following by taking the easy way. Many Feministe posts thoroughly examine events and people and the way they affect women around the world, and they are not always nice. Even their tagline, “In defense of the sanctimonious women’s studies set,” is a sarcastic response to a male blogger dismissing feminism. Along with the regular posts, Feministe has threads engaging their audience like, “shameless self-promotion Sunday” where the blog followers can post their own stories, “signal-bosting” threads where bloggers can post links and share other articles, and “spillover” threads for more discussion on a certain topic in the comments section. The latest post, a response to the report on Rolling Stone’s handling of the University of Virginia rape story, was very eye opening and provided a different perspective. In November, Rolling Stone released a story about a rape on the UVA campus. The victim, called Jackie, wished to remain anonymous and also did not release the name of her rapist. However, she did name the fraternity of her accused rapist...
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...their funding is being cut and there will no longer be a girls’ soccer team. To continue to play the sport she loves, Viola pretends to be her twin brother Sebastian, played by James Kirk, while he is skipping school in London. She does this so that she can try out for a spot on the boy’s soccer team at her rival school. She made the team and was part Illyria’s second string line up and her plan was working flawlessly, until she caught feelings for her roommate Duke, played by Channing Tatum. Duke is a striker on the soccer team as well. She has to hide her feelings to keep her true identity a secret and not blow her cover. Sadly, Duke is in love with “Sebastian’s” stunningly beautiful lab partner Olivia, played by Laura Ramsey. Olivia, however, is in love with “Sebastian”, Viola in disguise, which Duke is not very happy about. Duke agrees to help “Sebastian” with soccer outside of practice if “he” can help him get Olivia to like him. Working with Duke helps Viola make the first string. Olivia...
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...Aviva Hurvitz 24 November 2015 Feminism and the Media Representation of Women in the 1970’s Major social change happens when enough people strongly believe in it. The media influences public opinion and thus has the ability to support or destroy these social change movements. In the 1970’s, the second wave feminist movement was attempting to create wide spread social change. Its leading organization, the National Organization for Women (NOW), was focused on dismantling workplace inequality, such as denial of access to better jobs and salary inequity, and protecting women’s rights, such as stopping domestic violence. They attempted to do this through creating legislation and changing public opinion. The media’s representation of women overall at this time counteracted these goals. By creating a derogatory picture of the “feminist”, the media made her unsympathetic to the public. Rather than creating support for the core goals of the feminist movement, the media focused on more controversial topics, specifically gay rights. This negative media coverage of the women’s movement hurt its ability to implement meaningful legislation, such as the Equal Rights Amendment. The way in which print media degraded women, demonized feminists, and connected feminism to controversial topics damaged the progress of second wave feminism in the 1970’s. The definition of a feminist is a person who believes in the social, economic, and political equality of the sexes (Miriam Webster...
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...Good afternoon. I am Anh and welcome to the Media watch seminar. On today's seminar, we will be investigating into the life of a singer and actress, who has recently been engaged to Liam Hemsworth and has made her comeback with a positive image, Miley Cyrus. Does “Hannah Montana” ring a bell to you? It sure does to any teenage girl as Miley Cyrus once used to be American sweetheart playing Hannah Montana in the eponymous Disney series with her squeaky-clean image in the media. After leaving her Disney cocoon for a while, she still makes her appearance in the public as a singer, however, whatever the identities that the media have constructed her as, Miley Cyrus is nowhere near the same squeaky-clean girl she used to be. The 23-year-old pop...
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...“Barbie” Society has placed immense pressure on girls and women of all ages. The definition of Beauty has been altered over the years and the expectation of what beauty looks like is now sickly represented by a materialistic object, a Barbie Doll. Although not every individual conforms to expecting this modern representation of beauty, society as a whole has placed pressure on girls and women to strive to look this way. The consequences of not having this appearance are often brutal. Girls are deemed as ugly, unpopular, and are frequently disrespected by their peers or most often by men. Contemporary poet Marge Piercy published a narrative poem titled “Barbie Doll.” The Four stanzas provide the reader with a brief tale of a nameless “girlchild” (1) whose life, markedly influenced by others’ opinions, comes to a sad and premature end. Piercy captures the stereotypes and pressure on girls’ lives and the effects it has on them. She creates this overall effect with her use of characterization throughout the poem. “This girlchild was born as usual,” the poem begins (1). As a child she is given ostensibly appropriate gifts that expose her to feminism. She receives miniature home appliances, dolls, and makeup. The expectation is set at a very early age for her to later conform to society’s view of a doll playing pretty girl. Later, “in the magic of puberty,” (1) a schoolmate comments unflatteringly on her appearance, noting her “great big nose and fat legs” (1). From the second stanza...
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...cream bars, and sex. The ad portrays the “female body” as a highly sexualized object. In the photo, there is a woman who clearly looks like she has an orgasim, but who looks like this when they are having ice cream?! The ad says, “Mini size Maximum Pleasure” on it, sending a message that they are selling sex with their product. I definitely do not find this ad empowering because I know that I would never eat my ice cream like this, and can not believe an ice cream industry would sell their products in such an unprofessional way. 10. D) There are a variety of political and feminist issues of the image of the young hispanic girl who spoke at the Women’s March in Washington D.C. She spoke her heart out with her articulate and inspiring speech. Women are resisting and challenging injustices by marching and protesting causing an action feminist praxis. This young girl speaks for every generation, above and below her. She is so empowering to the current movement that is going on worldwide and will definitely be remembered in history because of her powerful voice that will never be forgotten. Part 5: Movements, Resistance and...
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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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...following questions about the relationship between your topic, the print media industry, and American society. Provide specific examples and cite at least three professional publications or articles. 1. How has the print media industry historically treated your selected topic (feminism or public education)? How does the print media industry treat that topic today? Historically, print media was the primary way to get the message out for the feminist movement. In the 1960’s newspapers job opportunities were based on gender and magazines that featured articles geared toward women were about household and beauty tips. “Media increasingly reinforced stereotypes of feminists as confrontational, aggressive, unfeminine, man-haters, bitter, angry, infertile, lesbian, and asexual.” (Bradley, 2005) Time magazine promoted Kate Millet as the face of womens liberation only to out her for being bisexual therby discrediting her as well as the movement. Things have changed since then as print media today has shown full support to the topic by publishing work from feminist and there are print media that are specifically for that type of market. Patricia Bradley. Mass Media and the Shaping of American Feminism, 1963-1975. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2005 2. How...
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