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Cultural movement in the 20th century
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In popular culture right now, there has been a lot of buzz about celebrity feminists. Women like Taylor Swift, Lena Dunham, and Amy Poehler are being lauded as “feminist icons” in a multitude of Internet articles which are then shared by college-aged white women who love Parks and Recreation. Terms used to describe this type of feminism include white feminism, Daisy Duke feminism, and Liz Lemonism (Calafell, Boyle). For my rhetorical intervention, I am arguing that these particular brands of celebrity feminisms are politically dangerous for the women they do not include and that they create unnecessary roadblocks for the women that are included. There are a multitude of examples of celebrity feminism. We see this in Taylor Swift’s girl power rhetoric as well as her “feud” with Nicki Minaj on Twitter, and it’s also visible in Lena Dunham’s memoir. Watered-down celebrity feminism is also present in the humor of Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. These white female celebrities ascribe to very limited feminist ideologies and this is visible in their work and social presence. It’s important to intervene in this discourse, because it actively harms women of color, working class women, differently abled women, and LGBTQ women. The research I consulted for this project resulted in me finding two overarching themes that will aid in making feminism more inclusive. …show more content…
Diaz makes an argument very similar to Calafell’s in “Postcolonial Theory and the Third Wave Agenda.” She argues that we must reject “a universal definition of womanhood – predominantly ‘middle class, white, able-bodied, and heterosexual’ – that is authored by Second Wave feminism (2003, 10). At this point, it is clear that feminism must rally around women of color, LGBTQ women, working class women, and differently-abled women. However, there can be problems with inclusiveness. Diaz
As much as men are working, so are women, but ultimately they do not face the same obstacles. For example, “Even if one subscribes to a solely economic theory of oppression, how can one ignore that over half of the world's workers are female who suffer discrimination not only in the workplace, but also at home and in all the areas sex-related abuse” (Moraga 98). This gives readers a point of view in which women are marginalized in the work place, at home, and other areas alike. Here Moraga gives historical accounts of Chicana feminists and how they used their experiences to give speeches and create theories that would be of relevance. More so, Moraga states how the U.S. passes new bills that secretly oppress the poor and people of color, which their community falls under, and more specifically, women. For instance, “The form their misogyny takes is the dissolution of government-assisted abortions for the poor, bills to limit teenage girls’ right to birth control ... These backward political moves hurt all women, but most especially the poor and "colored." (Moraga 101). This creates women to feel powerless when it comes to control one’s body and leads them to be oppressed politically. This places the government to act as a protagonist, and the style of writing Moraga places them in, shines more light to the bad they can do, especially to women of color. Moraga uses the words, “backward moves”
...some try to break away from society’s definition of the female sex appeal and create their own definitions. The reformists among these women use the oppositional knowledge they get as outsiders-within the White-American feminists’ culture, to change the perception of the Latinas who choose to suppress this knowledge. When these women share their individual perspectives in a unanimous voice, they become a self-defined community. This community is not limited by the ideals of society, rather it opposes society and creates its own definition of the female sex appeal.
In “In Living Color: Race and American Culture”, Michael Omi claims that racism still takes place in America’s contemporary society. According to Omi, media and popular culture shape a segregating ideology by giving a stereotypical representation of black people to the public, thus generating discrimination between races (Omi 115:166). In “Bad Feminist: Take One”, Roxane Gay discusses the different roles that feminism plays in our society. She argues that although some feminist authors and groups try to create a specific image of the feminist approach, there is no definition that fully describe feminism and no behaviors that can make someone a good feminist or a bad feminist (Gay 304:306). Both authors argue
Tong, Rosemarie (2009) “Multicultural, Global, and Postcolonial Feminism” & “Postmodern and Third Wave Feminism” In Feminist Thought: A More Comprehensive Introduction. Westview Press; 200-236, 270-291
DEBORAH SOLOMON, “Out of the Past, An Ur-Feminist Finds Stardom”, New York Times, Published May 3, 1998
In the month of March 2016, Women of the World Poetry Slam had Rachel Wiley, a poet and body-positive activist, present her now viral poem called “The Dozens” (Vagianos 2016). This poem was about slams white feminism as a clear indication of whiteness self-defense mechanism. In this poem Wiley included various kinds social events that have occurred in the past years and just to name two: Raven Symone on blackness and Miley Cyrus and Nicki Manji at the VMAs. White feminism continues to become more problematic as the media continues to allow it to be because whiteness makes money; however, intersectionality about race, public imagery, and actual feminism also continues to go viral as the diversity of American become more and more productive.
Hungerford, Kristen. "The Male "White" House Of Hollywood: A Feminist Critique Of What It Means To Be Presidential." Ohio Communication Journal 48. (2010): 55-75. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
The message of Lugones and Spelman in Have We Got a Theory for You! Feminist Theory, Cultural Imperialism and the Demand for “The Woman’s Voice,” is that the entire worldwide experience of women cannot be universally articulated. Blanket definition of woman is impossible due to the many characteristics of women that make the gender so diverse, specifically race and economic status in society. “The women’s voices most likely to come forth and the women’s voices mostly likely to be heard are, in the United States anyway, those of white, middle-class, heterosexual Christian women” (Lugones and Spelman 21). Since “feminist theory” has been established without encompassing the inherently different experiences of non-white/non-Anglo women “much of the theory has failed to be relevant to the lives of women who are not white or middle class” (Ibid. 21). This displacement of a large population of the world’s women from feminist theory is extremely threatening to the development of a woman’s voice, in so far as this voice is key to fighting the battles that feminism sets out to fight: the end of re...
As Third Wave feminism is currently unfolding before us, and its aims encompass a wide array of complex issues, it is often hard to describe what Third Wave feminism is. The feminist theories, mainly associated with First and Second Wave feminism attempt to describe the power imbalances that are found in society, and while doing so expose other oppressions, such as discrimination based on race or sexual orientation. As this essay attempts to place a clear definition to Third Wave feminism, feminists are concurrently trying to deconstruct old definitions and open it up for women to determine what feminism means to them. In other words, no clear definition on what is meant to be a feminist is sufficient, as the Third Wave is about equality and freedom for all citizens, regardless of sex, class, race or sexual orientation.
Many people may have an image in their head of a feminist, as a reflection of the Miss America Protest of 1968; this was the second wave of feminism, where hundreds of liberal women protested against pageant and what it stood for (Napikoski, n.d.). “The second wave was increasingly theoretical, based on a fusion of neo-Marxism and psycho-analytical theory, and began to associate the subjugation of women with broader critiques of patriarchy, capitalism, normative heterosexuality, and the woman's role as wife and mother.... ... middle of paper ... ... Beyonce ‘harms children’ and is ‘part of the problem’ with black teenage pregnancy, claims US TV host Bill O’Reilly. Retrieved from The Independent: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/beyonce-harms-children-and-is-part-of-the-problem-with-black-teenage-pregnancy-claims-us-tv-host-bill-oreilly-9302728.html Smith, L. (2014, January 14).
Hooks begins by stating that Feminism in the United States did not emerge as a result of victimized, underprivileged women who faced sexist oppression so much so they have internalized it , but in fact by bourgeois upper-class white women whose idea's of equality were far different. She begins this criticism with Betty Friedan, a leading figure in the women's movement and the author of the classic The Feminine Mystique claiming that the book ignored the difficulty and even the existence of non-white, poor women with the assumption that her concerns were harmonious wi...
Multiracial Feminism: Recasting the Chronology of Second Wave Feminism introduces ideas by Becky Thompson that contradict the “traditional” teachings of the Second Wave of feminism. She points out that the version of Second Wave feminism that gets told centers around white, middle class, US based women and the central problem being focused on and rallied against is sexism. This history of the Second Wave does not take into consideration feminist movements happening in other countries. Nor does it take into consideration the feminist activism that women of color were behind, that centered not only on sexism, but also racism, and classism as central problems as well. This is where the rise of multiracial feminism is put to the foreground and a different perspective of the Second Wave is shown.
Move over, Madonna: feminism has a new poster girl, and her name is Tina Fey! As tales of so called “feminazis” dominate the media, Fey reminds her audience that rationality is never too far away with her novel Bossypants. Throughout the text, Fey describes obstacles against femininity in her life; readers learn of her struggles grasping womanhood, the subtle sexism on the Chicago comedy circuit, and the struggles with her foray into television via Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock. Unlike most celebrities’ tales, Fey’s is not that of fame and glamour; she intersperses her thoughts on standards of beauty, dieting, and the all-too-frequently asked question of having children. Where Madonna focused on individuality and style, Fey focuses on the daily struggle of simply being a woman. It seems that feminism no longer requires a shining beacon of feminine glory to rally around; as Fey will soon prove, the struggle is no longer for unity, but equality.
Throughout the 21st century we have been immersed in a world in which is almost wholly dominated by the media. It is appropriate to say that many ideologies have been indeed challenged by the media, including the ideology of feminism, which I aim to focus on in this essay. Firstly, it is necessary to think about what the founding concepts of feminism actually are and how the ideologies of post feminism and antifeminism are using the contemporary media to question feminism. Texts such as Bridget Jones’ Diary and Desperate Housewives are fitting examples of how post feminism has penetrated through the media challenging feminism. Similarly elements of anti-feminism are evident when looking at films such as the new adaptation of Cinderella .
Gloria Anzaldúa writes in her essay ‘Speaking in Tongues: A Letter To 3rd World Women’s Writers’ that the “woman of colour is invisible both in the white male mainstream world and in the white women’s feminist word”. Anzaldúa refers to the other International feminist writers and thinkers as her “dear Hermanas”; it speaks to other International feminists thinkers as a collective branch of sisters, fighting the male patriarchy and female racism. Anzaldúa does not advocate for women of colour to stay complacent in the name of preserving the sanctity of the Feminism with a capital F. Instead her essay makes clear that “we cannot allow ourselves to be tokenized”, and as a result should use writing, in and out of academia to make ‘our’ points heard. Anzaldúa is an International Feminist, specifically as she refers to it, as a 3rd World feminist despite living and writing in the US. She is an International Feminist as she is writing in a language that is not her native Spanish. Similarly, bell hooks advocates too for what Anzaldúa is emphasising. hooks states that it is with contradiction that “white females have structured a woman’s liberation movement that is racist and excludes many non-white women” but insists that this contradiction should not “lead any woman to ignore feminist issues”. Both hooks and Anzaldúa are agreed in the continuous marginalisation of non-white female voice in Western feminism, but insist that non-white feminists must “re-appropriate the term “feminism” to focus on […] the authentic sense of the term”. What we can take from this then, is that the relationship between Western Feminism and International Feminism is virtually non-existent due to the rampant diminishing of non-white female voices and the