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The impact of the women's rights movements
The role of women in the middle ages
The impact of the women's rights movements
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The two authors of anti-woman rhetoric who were most often targeted were Fernando de Rojas and Luis de Lucena. However, is important to note that the defenses did not directly respond as often to Alfonso Martínez de Toledo who also wrote a defamation of women titled Arcipreste de Talavera o Corbacho (1438). Martinez de Toledo stresses spiritual salvation in his denigration of women and uses Christian doctrine to justify his stance. This contrast in reactions to the various defamations reinforces the idea that the writers who used Christian doctrine to defame or defend women were favored. Therefore, it is no surprise that defenders of women established their moral and noble character through their advocating in favor of women through Christian
For Kingston, The Woman Warrior signifies more than five chapters of talk-stories synthesized together. Within each chapter of the memoirs, Kingston engraves the method in which she undertook to discover her discrete voice. The culture clash between her mother and Kingston accumulated her struggles and insecurities, resulting in Kingston’s climax during her tirade. However, what Kingston accentuates the most is that the a breakthrough from silence requires one to reject a society’s
Ulrich had a well explanation for her slogan on "well-behaved women." She supports her slogan by bringing up certain women stereotypes that have been going on throughout history. She uses these stereotypes to explain how certain people view on women.
Women’s Brains deals with the abuse of scientific data in order to “prove” negative social analyses with prejudiced groups such as women, blacks, and poor people. Evolutionary biologist Stephen Gould points out the flaws in the scientific methods of various scientists and correctly asserts that many scientists incorrectly used anthropometric data to support social analyses that degrade prejudiced groups.
Women’s rights pioneer, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, in her speech, The Destructive Male, expresses her feelings about Women's suffrage in 1868, and brought to light the misconception that women are not equal to man and imply that men bring more destruction than restoration.
Over the course of time, the roles of men and women have changed dramatically. As women have increasingly gained more social recognition, they have also earned more significant roles in society. This change is clearly reflected in many works of literature, one of the most representative of which is Plautus's 191 B.C. drama Pseudolus, in which we meet the prostitute Phoenicium. Although the motivation behind nearly every action in the play, she is glimpsed only briefly, never speaks directly, and earns little respect from the male characters surrounding her, a situation that roughly parallels a woman's role in Roman society of that period. Women of the time, in other words, were to be seen and not heard. Their sole purpose was to please or to benefit men. As time passed, though, women earned more responsibility, allowing them to become stronger and hold more influence. The women who inspired Lope de Vega's early seventeenth-century drama Fuente Ovejuna, for instance, rose up against not only the male officials of their tiny village, but the cruel (male) dictator busy oppressing so much of Spain as a whole. The roles women play in literature have evolved correspondingly, and, by comparing The Epic of Gilgamesh, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and The Wife of Bath's Prologue, we can see that fictional women have just as increasingly as their real-word counterparts used gender differences as weapons against men.
On September 5, 1995, Hillary Clinton delivered an influential speech at The Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. Clinton expresses general concern over escalating violence toward women, in other word’s gendercide. “Gendercide refers to the systematic elimination of a specific gender group, normally female. It’s most common in India, China, and other regions in Southeast Asia” (GirlsKind Foundation). Crimes, such as bride trafficking, infanticide, abandonment, and dowry related murder; often take place within private households, going unnoticed and not even acknowledged. “Tragically, women are most often the ones whose human rights are violated. Even now, in the late 20th century, the rape of women continues to be used as an instrument of armed conflict Women and children make up a large majority of the world’s refugees” (Clinton 3). By addressing her speech in Beijing, where gendercide is prevalent, Hillary expressed her objective effectively not just the United Nations, but to audiences across the world. Clinton effectively delivered her speech by portraying her purpose for women to achieve equality and better opportunities, with ethical appeals, emotional appeals, and logical appeals.
Ortiz, Judith Cofer. "The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named María." [Latin Deli: Prose and Poetry, 1993.] The McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues across the Disciplines. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. 11th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill , 2011. 365-369. Print. 11 Nov. 2013
Anna Julia Cooper’s, Womanhood a Vital Element in the Regeneration and Progress, an excerpt from A Voice from the South, discusses the state of race and gender in America with an emphasis on African American women of the south. She contributes a number of things to the destitute state African American woman became accustom to and believe education and elevation of the black woman would change not only the state of the African American community but the nation as well. Cooper’s analysis is based around three concepts, the merging of the Barbaric with Christianity, the Feudal system, and the regeneration of the black woman.
When I observe literature works of Medieval and Renaissance period, a man success is determine by the roles of women. I heard a famous quote say "behind a great man there is a amazing woman". As I examine literature works, in the Medieval time of "Sir Gawain and Green Knight "and the Renaissance period of The Faerie Queene of Book I. We have two extraordinary Christian like figures Sir Gawain and Red Crosse who represent Christianity in their respectably time period . Both men endured several tests and have sinned against God. While these men were in the mist of their downfall, they had significant woman who guided them along way to find Christ again. I will view the roles of women like Lady Bertilak of Sir Gawain and Una of the Red Crosse
She argued that male historians had given a false impression of the role of women in history and she endeavored to rebalance those scales by portraying a very positive view of women and their achievements. Christine used stories not only of the women of her day but went back into antiquity to illustrate the undeniable virtue of women, defending them from male attacks on the female sex in general and also to establish a sense of self-esteem in her female audience. She used three allegorical women to help her construct The City of Ladies: Reason, Rectitude, and Justice. Her City was a home for virtuous women; a place that would withstand and defend them against all attacks by the misogynist male writers. Christine’s women, the foundation of the city, were virtuous and valiant scholars, artists, wives, warriors, and saints. Stories of their achievements and accomplishments came from their portrayals in the Bible, in history and also mythology. They each had a place in her city with a duty to stand strong and
Women were often subjects of intense focus in ancient literary works. In Sarah Pomeroy’s introduction of her text Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves, she writes, “Women pervade nearly every genre of classical literature, yet often the bias of the author distorts the information” (x). It is evident in literature that the social roles of women were more restricted than the roles of men. And since the majority of early literature was written by men, misogyny tends to taint much of it. The female characters are usually given negative traits of deception, temptation, selfishness, and seduction. Women were controlled, contained, and exploited. In early literature, women are seen as objects of possession, forces deadly to men, cunning, passive, shameful, and often less honorable than men. Literature reflects the societal beliefs and attitudes of an era and the consistency of these beliefs and attitudes toward women and the roles women play has endured through the centuries in literature. Women begin at a disadvantage according to these societal definitions. In a world run by competing men, women were viewed as property—prizes of contests, booty of battle and the more power men had over these possessions the more prestigious the man. When reading ancient literature one finds that women are often not only prizes, but they were responsible for luring or seducing men into damnation by using their feminine traits.
Objectivity towards women has always been rooted to sexuality. Men and women are distinctly different in many aspects not just sexually, however knowing this has placed objectivity on both sexes more specifically women. The knowledge of differences can be transferred into further opinions and judgments which can lead to discrimination, sexual bias, and inequality against women.
Women in general are more affected by the stigma of having contracted any sexually transmitted disease due to the fact that women are looked down upon more often than men are if they are viewed as promiscuous by their society. The overall theme concerning HIV stigma related to gender, is that women face more mental health disparities compared to males. Women even find it harder to leave an abusive relationship if their partner knows of their HIV status. Women with HIV are more likely to end up in a physically or mentally abusive, intimate relationship (Logie et.al 2011). Stigma is associated with mental illness and women with mental illness are especially more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors (Collins, Unger, and Armbrister 2008).
Marked by a growing British Empire, extended suffrage, and scientific advances, the Victorian period is characterized as a time of social and political change. These advancements and reforms proved to be influential in encouraging the debate of societal roles that had previously been held without question. This era resolved itself to determine the nature and proper role of women in British society; or, to use the phrase favored by the Victorians, to resolve “The Woman Question.” A number of prominent writers used their texts to explore this question, including H. Rider Haggard in his novel She. Throughout this novel, Haggard positions the feminine persona as unlearned and one to be distrusted. When females, of either prominent or minor roles, claim social or sexual independence in She they are condemned for their choices, and pay the consequences with their lives. For Haggard, the answer to “The Woman Question” is simple: there is no place for the independent woman.
Feminism is not only a theory but it is also a cultural movement for change and equality. Feminism has been defined as ‘the advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of equality of sexes’.1 Feminism offers representation to all kinds of women, highlights the inequality within society regarding women and challenges these inequalities. Feminism has changed along side the changing position of women in today’s modern society and emerging from these changes are new theories such as post feminism and antifeminism. In this essay I will discuss how both antifeminism and post feminism has challenged the founding concepts of feminism in today’s modern society. I will highlight my points through contemporary media examples such as the work of Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga.