Feminism is a movement that has been around since the 1800s, giving women the right to vote, fight in the army, and have jobs. Many people believe that feminism is a terrible thing. Feminism is defined in the Dictionary as “the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.” The definition simply means: a person in favor of making men and women equal. If you believe in the equality of women and the destruction of patriarchy, then you are a feminist. Patriarchy is defined as “a system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it.” Feminists are also very involved in working with the LGBTQ culture (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, and Queer) and people of other race, making sure that they get the same rights as everyone else. Feminism is …show more content…
slowly growing in pop-culture. Celebrities like Beyoncé Knowles, Amy Poehler, and Tina Fey, consider themselves feminists. However, there has been feminism in pop-culture for decades. Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter in the early 20th century, who is best known for her self-portraits and use of vibrant colors. When Frida was just 18 years old, she was in a bus accident and got seriously injured. Recovering from multiple broken bones in her spine, collarbone, and ribs, she spent most of her time lying down in bed. (fridakahlo.com) In recovery, she started to paint lying down in bed because she could no longer stand as a result of the accident. (Waller Rogers) She mostly painted self-portraits, many of which embrace her body hair. The Riot Grrrl movement dominated the 80s and 90s and made it possible for females to be taken seriously in music, art, poetry and film. Riot Grrrl is a genre of underground music that involves hardcore punk music with lyrics that deal with topics such as rape, domestic violence, patriarchy, sexuality, and female empowerment. “White Boy” – Bikini Kill “I don't think it's a problem 'cause Most of the girls ask for it Uh huh, how did they ask for it? The way they act, the way they I, I can't say they way they dress because That's their own personal choice Some of these dumb hoes, Those slut rocker bitches walking down the street, They're asking for it, they may deny it but it's true. (Kill) Lay me spread eagle out on your hill, yeah Then right a book bout how I wanted to die It's hard to talk with your dick in my mouth I will try to scream in pain a little nicer next time White boy, don't laugh, don't cry, just die! I'm so sorry if I'm alienating some of you Your whole fucking culture alienates me I cannot scream from pain down here on my knees I'm so sorry that I think! White boy, don't laugh, don't cry, just die!” Riot Grrrl bands are mostly all female members.
The movement took off with the fanzine “Bikini Kill” made by Kathleen Hanna and Tobi Vail, which would eventually become the name of their band, along with the addition of band members. (Hanna, Gordon and Jett) Grrrl zines started to become more popular, along with the music. Bands like Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, L7, Babes In Toyland, Hole, and The Breeders, were starting to play with bigger bands like Nirvana, Sonic Youth, and The Melvins. The Riot Grrrl movement helped show that women can rock just as hard, if not harder, than men.
Kurt Cobain, lead singer and guitarist of Nirvana, was a feminist himself, and was also very good friends with Kathleen Hanna. She was responsible for coming up with the name “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, one of Nirvana’s most well known songs. Tobi Vail, Kurt’s girlfriend at the time, and drummer for Bikini Kill, wore Teen Spirit deodorant. As a joke Kathleen spray-painted “Kurt smells like teen spirit” on the wall of his bedroom, and Kurt mistook it for him being the voice of teenage rebellion. (Hanna, Gordon and
Jett) More recently, actress Emma Watson, best known as Hermoine Granger from the Harry Potter movies, came out to the UN announcing that she is a feminist and proposed ideas that she felt should be in the works. She promoted the foundation HeForShe, which she stated “is a solidarity movement for gender equality that brings together one half of humanity in support of the other of humanity, for the entirety of humanity.” Feminism has been around for centuries, however not many people like to associate themselves with that word. The people who do are the ones who make a statement: that there is no line that separates what men can do and what women can’t do. We are all equal; we are all people, so let’s start acting like it.
‘We need to start a girl riot’ are the words Jen Smith, activist and co-conceiver of the term ‘Riot Grrrl’, wrote in a letter to lead singer of her band ‘Bratmobile’, Allison Wolfe in 1991 (Barton 2017). Some of the bands who are principally associated with the ‘Riot Grrrl’ movement include Emily’s Sassy Lime, Heavens to Betsy, Huggy Bear and Team Dresch (Appell, Hemphill 2006) however, it was arguably the radical combination of ‘Bikini Kill’
Riot Grrrl began in 1991, when a group of women in Washington, D.C., held a meeting to discuss sexism in the punk scene. Inspired by recent antiracist riots, the women decided they wanted to start a “girl riot” against a society that oppressed women and their experiences.
Before diving into Cobain’s musical rebellion, it is important to be briefed on his background to understand his reason, his ability to relate to teens, as well as his essence, of resistance. Cobain grew up in the small down of Aberdeen, Washington where his parents raised him until their divorce when Cobain was only eight. After the divorce, Cobain was shuffled between family members and he soon started exhibiting signs of rebellion-such as his use of drugs- that he later expressed through his music (Spirit Interviews). In high school, Cobain was seen as an outcast because he couldn’t fit the masculine jock persona. Cobain even reflected on his inability to relate to...
As with any trend, grunge began to lose its followers within a relatively short period of time, or perhaps it simply became excepted to the extent that its label changed from “fad” to “mainstream“. Grunge, much like most trends or fashions, relied upon commercialization to exist as such. When newness fades, replacements are sought and new titles created that are designed to draw popularity to address the apparent human need to represent uniqueness, but at the same time fulfill a desire to be accepted by others with similar likes and dislikes. If one (1) views history with regard to fads, it may be observed that fads do not exist unless there is mass-marketing of a concept or series of events to attain the popular interest of people.
“Feminism”, as defined today, is “1: the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes,” and “2: organized activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests.”2 Many critics claim that feminism has been active longer than the word itself has existed.3 The word, “feminist” was not in true use until the late 1800s and early 1900s, but activism for women’s rights was alive and well a...
Feminism is the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. In simple terms, it is the ideology of women being equal to men and it is often misinterpreted as the belief of women being above them. Feminists believe in diminishing patriarchy which is a system of society and or government in which men are considered more powerful than women. When people are against feminism they are supporting sexism which is why it is important to educate ourselves on the matter and to understand why we need it.
The American rock band Nirvana impacted American culture and society by paving the way for the punk rock subculture into mainstream corporate America. Punk rock music stems from the rock genre but has its own agenda. The crux of punk rock is that it is a movement of the counterculture against the norms of society. Punk rock in itself is made up of a subculture of people who rejected the tameness of rock and roll music during the 1970s. (Masar, 2006, p. 8). The music stresses anti-establishment and anti-authoritarian ideas in its lyrics as well as scorns political idealism in American society. Before Nirvana unintentionally made punk rock a multi-million dollar commercialized genre of music, underground rock paved the way for the punk rock genre by creating core values that punk rockers drew upon.
The late 1970s gave birth to a punk culture that further distended into an evolution of the genre during the mid-1980s, particularly in Seattle, USA. A punk inspired movement called grunge became internationally recognized after Nirvana’s debut release album ‘Nevermind’, in 1995. Grunge gained a mass recognition for its punk ideology, attire and music, which stemmed further away, and was in itself a rejection to the mainstream metal and pop boom in the music industry of that time. Grunge incorporated a fusion of cultural and social threads that linked themes like feminism, liberalism, anti-authoritarianism, wry post-modernism, and not least a love of dirty, abrasive music; grunge reconciled all these into a seminal whole. (Standard grunge definition, Internet source)
In the isolated city of Seattle during the mid 1980's a new sound and attitude was developing. Although it didn't yet have a coined term it would later become know as Grunge, "originally a tounge-in cheek term for the pungent guitar noise propagated by the cultish independent label Sub Pop" ("Grunge"). This mix of 70's metal and early 80's punk blasted into mainstream America and brought the hard rock sound of the 70's back to life, but the sudden, unexpected and to some unwanted, fame and popularity would prove to much for it and like so many pop culture movements before, it would fade away under the pressure("History").
This DB has been interesting. The more I read, the more interesting the topic of feminism became. There are so many views and it is not as cut and dry as it first appeared. I started by looking up the definition of feminism. Webster’s dictionary has the definition as 3 things: the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes; the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities; and the organized activity in support of women's rights and interests.
Feminism, in its simplest definition, is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. (Webster) Feminists fight for equality for women to men socially, politically, and economically. At the peak of feminist discourse is equality for men and women in education and in employment. However, feminism also focuses on more than issues regarding the rights of women in relation to men. Issues of gender equality and women’s right to control their sexuality are also at the core of feminist theory. A key argument made by many feminists is how women have very little control over their sexuality, mainly being defined and controlled by men. T...
What is feminism anyway? Feminism cannot be tied down to a single definition because not all feminists believe in the same thing, they all have their own different set of beliefs. Feminist literary theory according to Lois Tyson (1999, p. 81) examines the ways in which literature reinforces or undermines the economic, political, social and psychological oppression of women. This song speaks about the inequality of women. In the first line of the first verse, it says ‘You have got the words to change a nation but you are biting your tongue’, this clearly describes patriarchy. Patriarchy, is the syst...
The word feminism is sometimes misinterpreted and associated with female superiority and hatred of men, although most people probably agree that feminism can mean the desire for social and economic parity. There is so much baggage surrounding this term that clarification of what feminism is and is not, is essential. Indeed, the way feminism has developed has not been pretty. “Feminism over the years have [sic] evolved away from its noble purpose of creating awareness and defending women rights to creating new ridiculous ‘belief systems.’...feminism has become more like a medium for angry women to vent their hatred and frustration towards man”(“Feminism is Chauvinism”). This definition goes completely against the true meaning of what feminism entails. Feminism can be defined as a fundamental respect for others and the desire for equality between men and women.
Feminism is defined as the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. It began as an organized activity on behalf of women?s rights and interests. This concept was developed to help women earn a place in a predominantly male society. Unfortunately over the years, the intentions of feminism have become distorted, not only by anti-feminists, but also by the feminists themselves. The principle of equality for women and men has turned into a fight in which feminists wish to be better than men. Feminism has been twisted and misunderstood so much that it has become a harmful idea.
The term feminism has a lot of misunderstanding and confusion many people think that the term Feminism or being Feminist is only for women . what they don't know is that Feminism is the belief in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes. So many people don't understand what feminism is and where the word originated form so they think of it as a stereotypes. As to where they believe that women want to take control of everything and push mens way. Which it not truth for any means and the word for Feminism is for everyone. Setting in my history class i remember my teacher going over feminism and tell us the people that called them self feminist. I remember that we didn't really get in depth about what being feminism is and what