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Feminism
Throughout history, women around the globe have been struggling to gain rights that are equal to men in the society. Women have been struggling to obtain respect, equality, and the same rights men have in the society. However, this has been difficult to them because of patriarchy, an ideology whereby, men are always considered to be superior to women, and have the right to control women. This thought has spread widely among the social structures of the society around the globe and this made it difficult for women to achieve their dreams of feminism. Nonetheless, through the feminist movements, women were able to get some equal rights to men, and are still struggling to get the rights most men take for granted. According to Butler, the struggle became even harder for women with color especially, while dealing with racism and sexism (102). In order to fight and achieve these rights, and fight patriarchy, feminism as well as feminist theory was born. However, the history of feminism has many possible origins, but the most plausible explanation of its origin is the desire for reform in women’s lives.
Feminism is a theory or philosophy whereby women are to be equal economically, socially, and politically to men. It is a philosophy where women and their values and contributions are valued. In addition, it can also be described as a revolution whereby, men and women are to be equal without any boundaries. Women want to be respected by men in the society, and given a chance to explore their potentiality without any limitation and conditions whatsoever. Feminists are people who view the world as being equal regardless of age, gender, class and economic status. Feminism is a term that explains the struggle of women to gain equal...
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...97. Print.
Collins, Patricia Hill. Black Feminist Thought. Boston, MA: Unwin Hyman, 1990, Print.
Freedman, Estelle No Turning Back: The History of Feminism and the Future of Women, New York: Ballantine Books, 2002. Print.
Cott, Nancy F. "What's In a Name? The Limits of ‘Social Feminism’; or, Expanding the Vocabulary of Women's History". Journal of American History 76 (1989): 809–829. Print.
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Kelly, Joan Women, History & Theory The Essays of Joan Kelly. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. 1984. Print.
Butler, Judith. "Feminism in Any Other Name". Differences 6.2–3 (1992): 30. Print.
Friedan, Betty. The Feminine Mystique. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010. Print.
Kim E Nielsen. "Book Review of Belle Moskowitz: Feminine Politics and the Exercise of Power in the Age of Alfred E. Smith, and: No Place for a Woman: A Life of Senator Margaret Chase Smith, and: Barbara Jordan: American Hero." Feminist Formations, Fall 2001, 205.
“Women’s Liberation.” International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr. 2nd ed. Vol. 9. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 112-116.U.S. History in Context. Web. 21 Jan. 2014.
Shaw, Susan M., and Janet Lee. Women's Voices, Feminist Visions: Classic and Contemporary Readings. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print.
Moran, Mickey. “1930s, America- Feminist Void?” Loyno. Department of History, 1988. Web. 11 May. 2014.
Shaw, Susan M., and Janet Lee. Women's voices, feminist visions: classic and contemporary readings. 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.
Yuval-Davis. Who's Afraid of Feminism? Ed. Ann Oakley and Juliet Mitchell. New York: The New Press, 1997.
Hewitt, Nancy. "Beyond the Search for Sisterhood: American Women's History in the 1980's."Social History. Vol. 10: No. 3 (1985): 299-321
MacLean, Nancy. A. The American Women's Movement, 1945-2000. A Brief History with Documents. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, a.k.a.
Bender, David L. The Women's Rights Movement, Opposing Viewpoints: Greenhaven Press, Inc., San Diego 1996
Grimke, Sojourner. On Women’s Rights. in Interpreting the American Past, ed. Luke Stowell Norfolk: Old Dominion University, 2013
Nussbaum, Felicity. “Risky Business: Feminism Now and Then.” Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature 26.1 (Spring 2007): 81-86. JSTOR. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
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...
Dixon, M. (1977). The Rise and Demise of Women's Liberation: A Class Analysis. Marlene Dixon Archive , Retrieved April 12, 2014, from the Chicago Women's Liberation Union database.
Throughout history, women have remained subordinate to men. Subjected to the patriarchal system that favored male perspectives, women struggled against having considerably less freedom, rights, and having the burdens society placed on them that had been so ingrained the culture. This is the standpoint the feminists took, and for almost 160 years they have been challenging the “unjust distribution of power in all human relations” starting with the struggle for equality between men and women, and linking that to “struggles for social, racial, political, environmental, and economic justice”(Besel 530 and 531). Feminism, as a complex movement with many different branches, has and will continue to be incredibly influential in changing lives.
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.