...Feminism is the “theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes” (Merriam-Webster). Feminism is combatting all of the notions and systems of oppression against women, such as the Glass Ceiling, to advocate in the ideas and validity of women. Most advocates of Feminism have become Feminist critics. Feminist critics are more “concerned with the ways in which literature [, or roles in society,] reinforce or undermine the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women” (The OWL at Purdue 2010). Feminist critics call their practice, reading through “Feminist Lens”, which is the idea of reading literature and “striving to expose the explicit and implicit misogyny in male writing about women” (Richter 2016). The Feminist lens are feminist critics way to expose the negative perceptions of women that is expressed by...
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...Abigail Slekis Mr. Jacobs Research Paper May 24, 2016 Betty Friedan and the Women’s Rights Movement For many years, women in the United States were trapped within a strict set of social norms: they were expected to marry young and have children, not attend college, and quit their jobs in order to care for their children. It was not until the mid-1800s that women began to break away from this norm, but even then they were cautious not to disrupt society’s rules. Betty Friedan, a graduate of the University of California Berkeley and Smith College, was a key revolutionary whose involvement became a turning point in the women’s rights movement. Born Elizabeth Naomi Goldstein, Friedan was the daughter of former journalist Miriam Goldstein and...
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...INTRODUCTION This study is conducted to determine the physical image of women portrayed by Filipino beauty commercials. A feministic view of these commercials is applied in trying to show the ideal image they present which influences the decisions and perceptions of women. Specifically, the researchers are defining how it has shaped the outlook of women towards beauty with regards to the physical aspects. The methods used to achieve results were documentary analysis and interviews. Through interviews, the researchers were able to generate information based on perceptions of selected individuals with expertise on feminism and visual communication. The documentary analysis deals with the examination of sample commercials which are part of the research scope. CHAPTER I THE RESEARCH AND ITS BACKGROUND This chapter contains the background of the study with a short introduction of the whole research and the reasons why the researchers chose the topic. It also contains the specific problems of the study as well as the theoretical and conceptual frameworks which were the foundation of the research. The limitations and scope are also provided in this chapter. It also contains the significance of the study to different people affected by the research and the definition of terms as to how they were used in the study. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY As people tend to watch television, we also tend to encounter the commercials that come along with watching. According to a study conducted...
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...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 and meanings of feminism to Wollstonecraft. They all commonly convey significance...
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...Why did the Women’s Liberation Movement Emerge in the late 1960’s? Discuss with reference to Britain and the United States of America. In a decade where the whole world was experiencing revolutions due to social discontent, this increased the desire, of women, in the late 1960’s to ‘confront existing structures of oppression,’ giving the impetus for the emergence of the Women’s Liberation Movement. Caine argues the emergence of the movement bought a ‘new tone,’ when discussing women’s oppression. Rather than focusing directly on women’s suffrage, this was a political movement demanding ‘rapid and radical change,’ in an ever increasing ambience of liberalisation. Upon inception, it is vital to highlight one can account different reasons for the emergence of the movement in Britain and America, as different domestic situations led to different reasons for the emergence of a more radical form of feminism. This essay, together with a multiplicity of historians, will consider the importance of World War II and the Civil Rights Movement, and the impact they had on the emergence of the Women’s Liberation Movement. Linked to this is the ever apparent discrimination women faced and increasing desires to change this, coupled with developments of new opportunities, demonstrated by the aforementioned world events. Additionally, the impact of literature such as Betty Friedan’s, The Feminine Mystique, needs to be considered. Whilst all the factors play an important role in contributing...
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...Introduction Islam and feminism are often related together in most of discussion as there are some people blame Islam for not giving freedom to women and some other people used to establish human’s right according to Islam especially for feminist properties. Feminism is defined as both a political view and a theory where the subject of analysis centres on gender and provided a platform for women to claim equality, rights and justice. Feminism in basis concerned on four foremost, which are to clarify the origins and reasons of gender inequality, describe the operation and ingenuity of this situation, portrays effective approaches to either beget full equality between genders or possibly improve the impacts of continuous inequality and envision...
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...The ideal “Bush-Woman“ in Henry Lawson‘s The Drover‘s Wife Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1 2. Australia - a Land for Men 2 3. Women in Australia 2 3.1 The “Bush-Woman“ in “The Drover‘s Wife“ 2 3.2 The role of Australian Women 2 3.3 Australian Feminism 2 4.Conclusion 2 5.Bibliography 3 6. Declaration of Authenticity 1. Introduction “[...] she fought a bad bullock that besieged the house for a day“ (Lawson 6). This would probably be a challenge for a man not for a woman. But in Henry Lawson‘s point of view this and fighting snakes and diseases are things women in the Australian bush are capable of doing as presented in The Drover‘s Wife. Henry Lawson (1867-1922) is the finest author and poet in Australia's colonial period and had a big focus on the Australian bush and life. He is famous for his works such as The Drover‘s Wife which got first published 1892 in The Bulletin - an Australian magazine of great importance. In his short story The Drover‘s Wife Lawson presents a mother with her children in a dangerous living situation in the Australian bush, “Lawson‘s story created the archetype of the pioneer bush-woman, a heroic mother left on her own by the drover husband, resigned to her fate, battling against the elements and winning“ (Carrera-Suarez...
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...which turns out to be anything but for women. The policies imposed in the criminal justice system affect men and women in extremely dissimilar manners. I plan to examine how gender intersects with the understanding of crime and the criminal justice system. Gender plays a significant role in understanding who commits what types of crimes, why they do so, who is most often victimized, and how the criminal justice system responds to these victims and offenders. In order to understand the current state of women and the way in which gender relates to crime and criminal justice, it is first necessary to provide a comprehensive analysis of the historical evolution of women in the criminal justice system and the affect that the different waves of feminism have had on policies and practices towards women in this system. I plan to argue that the criminal justice system is another form of patriarchal control, a sexist organization which creates conflict between the private sphere of a woman's life and the public. This control extends far beyond the just incarcerated women, it affects all women. Despite the fact that there have been changes to certain policies and prison regulations, though made with resistance, none of the changes have been for the better. By looking at past and present situations as well as the differing feminist perspectives on the justice system, I hope to offer ways and opinions on how to improve this system and allow women to equally balance their life in the public sphere...
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...My paper will focus on how Alice Walker’s The Color Purple questions the notions of gender. In the article “Feminism” Carolyn Perry states that “Feminism differs from the women’s movement in that it moves beyond the political and economic issues at heart of the women’s movement…, such as tearing down the hierarchical structure of sex and gender roles and changing the way people view men, women, and gender”(255). She believed that it wasn’t a such thing as “a women’s place”(255). In The Color Purple Alice Walker shows us that women can over come oppression and become stronger if they believe they can. Unlike Celie in The Color Purple, Alice Malsenior Walker had a fairly happy childhood. She was the last of eight children born by her parents. She began 1st grade at the age of four and was very successful. She was very happy with her life “…until an accident (a brother shot her with a BB gun) blinded her in one eye and made her feel ugly”(Taylor2614). After the accident her grades began to fall because she was unhappy and the children at her school began tease her. After having surgery on her eye, She regained her confidence and graduated valedictorian of her class. The Color Purple took place in a time where women believed that the man was in charge. Back then women weren’t allowed to express their opinions. In the first sentence of The Color Purple, Walker shows us how Celie’s stepfather would rape her and threaten her to do what he wanted. “You better not never tell no...
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...Chapter1 Introduction Feminism is not one unitary concept; it is instead diverse and multifaceted grouping of ideas and indeed, action. The basis of all strands of the concept may be stated as that it concerns itself with women’s inferior position in society sand with the discrimination encountered by women because of their sex. “Feminism is a doctrine suggesting that women are systematically disadvantaged in the modern society and advocating equal opportunities for men and women.”(The Penguin Dictionary of Sociology, second Ed). The term includes many loose like liberal feminism, Marxist and socialist feminism, radical feminism. Liberal feminists work for equal rights for women within the framework of the liberal state; they did not question the structure –economic or political-of the state but they demand the rights and privileges given by the state should be equally shared by man and women. Marxist and socialist feminists’ link gender inequality and women’s oppression to the capitalist system. Women suffer a double exploitation as women and as members of the working class. Radical feminists disregard all questions of political and economic dispensation to concentrate on the roots of the problem. The central root of the problem is the system of patriarchy which leads to all kinds of discrimination against and devaluation of women. Politico-economic questions are not the roots but only auxiliaries. The concept of gender is the real villain and has to be demolished. Lately...
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...just with your body but with your head. It’s that kind of space in which we find ourselves lost. What a lost person needs is a map of the territory, with his own position marked on it so he can see where he is in relation to everything else. Literature is not only a mirror; it is also a map, a geography of the mid. Our literature is one such map, if we can learn to read it as our literature, as the product of who and where we have been. We need such a map desperately; we need to know about here, because here is where we live. For the members of a country or culture, shared knowledge of their place, their here, is not a luxury but a necessity. Without that knowledge we will not survive.” Margaret Atwood, Survival As Atwood’s statement demonstrates, Canadian literature is concerned with place and displacement, and with the development of an effective identifying relationship between self and environs. Canada’s literature whether written in English or French reflects three main parts of Canadian experience. First, Canadian writers often emphasize the effects of climate and geography on the life and work of their people. Second, frontier’s life is part of Canada’s experience that appears frequently in its literature; Third, Canada’s position in the world profoundly affects many Canadian writers. French Canadians often feel surrounded by their English speaking neighbors. They have made a determined effort to preserve their own institutions and culture. But English...
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...people have only analyzed literature through a feminist lens and neglected the womanist aspect of literature, often claiming that the text is feminist when it is truly a womanist novel. The fictional novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, has this effect on the general public. This novel is about a woman named Janie, who goes through life trying to find herself and love in 1930’s Florida. At a young age, Janie is forced to marry an older man named Logan Killicks, whom she does not love. Not soon after they are married, Janie decides to leave Mr. Killicks and run away with a man named Joe Starks. For years after, Janie lives in an abusive...
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...that the form of a piece of literature will echo or somehow illuminate its content. b. These two very similar approaches to literature involve a close reading of the text itself. Formalist and New Critics look only at the language and elements of the text, and disregard the context in which the text was written or received. c. The main thing to consider when approaching a work of literature from the formalist or new critic's point of view is to analyze how all the elements of the piece (plot, point of view, character, tone and style, symbolism, setting and theme) work together to create a certain effect on the reader. d. A formalist or new critic perspective demands lots of evidence from the primary source. When interpreting a text using this approach, you'll need to identify quotes and specific references that support your ideas about what the text is "saying" to the reader. 2. Marxism e. According to Marxists, and to other scholars in fact, literature reflects those social institutions out of which it emerges and is itself a social institution with a particular ideological function. Literature reflects class struggle and materialism: think how often the quest for wealth traditionally defines characters. So Marxists generally view literature "not as works created in accordance with timeless artistic criteria, but as 'products' of the economic and ideological determinants specific to that era" (Abrams 149). Literature reflects an author's own class...
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...Still Enduring: Equity Feminism for the Next Generation Webster defines feminism as both "the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes" and "organized activity on the behalf of women's rights and interests" (Webster 418). Equality of the sexes (in terms of rights) and the furthering of women's rights are seemingly positive aspirations; yet people tend to describe feminism using negative terms, and feminism today has acquired a bad reputation. "Radical" and "extremists" are adjectives commonly applied to feminism as a whole, when, in truth, feminists who adopt extreme positions constitute the minority. Moreover, these "gender feminists," or "militant feminists," as many call them, although they receive the most public attention because of their aggressive tactics and high visibility, alienate people in broadcasting their views. Their goal, to create a "sentimental priesthood" that will achieve collective power and retribution as oppressed "victims" of a white-male supremacy, seems unreasonable (Himmelfarb 20). In contrast, "equity feminists," or "academic feminists," embrace the basic principles of feminism. They celebrate women's achievements, work for the individual rights of all women, and, as Christina Hoff Sommers aptly says, "want for women what they want for everyone, equal protection under the law" (Himmelfarb 20). Though not all feminists agree on how to reach this goal, most argue for a reasonable, realistic, and positive method. By contrasting...
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...In the story, Catherine is depicted as wild, although by today's standards, her personality may be considered more lively or rambunctious than uncontrollable. Her relationship with Heathcliff would, by most be considered good and healthy until the expectations of society ruin it. Catherine, though in love with Heathcliff, feels she cannot marry him because of his position. She instead marries Edgar Linton, and her relationship with Heathcliff becomes potent. The main tie in to feminism would be that without the burdens placed on women by society, Catherine could have lived happily with Heathcliff. To further emphasize this point, when Catherine's daughter Cathy is in a similar position as her mother, except having been lowered in social status, she is able to marry Hareton for love. ................................................................................................................................ Feminism can be seen in the character of Iabella Linton, The steps she takes to get away from Heathcliffs cruelty and unjust behaviour can be seen as remarkable for a woman in that period as fleeing an unhappy marriage was illeagal and she could risk being captured and punished by the law. She also refused to be known under the name Iabella Heathcliff and when aked by the inhabinent of wuthering heights what is your name she replies "I was Isabella Linton" she relises the consquence of her mistake she has made by marrying Heathcliff. She is also disowned by her brother...
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