Feminist approaches and perspectives on gender
The two articles by Reed (1999) troubling boys and disturbing discourses and by Ringrose (2007) gender and education. Both of these articles highlight how gender plays a role in education. For example, it shows how girls outplay boys in exams.
Feminist believe that society is dominated by males as in the past women have been disadvantaged in the society and men had power. In schools girls studied subjects like cookery that helped them to become a good housewife and a mother (Trueman, 2015). Feminist believed that this was wrong and changes were needed. All the feminist theories focused on the differences between men and women and how problems can be solved. Feminist believe that education can help
…show more content…
Although, cookery is still being taught in schools but it 's aimed at boys and girls. This shows that girls are being treated equally.
In the article by Reed (1999) it shows that there is a massive gap between GCSE grades of girls and boys. For example, in 1995 48.1% girls achieved GCSE grades A*-C whereas 39% boys achieved A*-C grade. This shows how well girls performed in all of the subjects that were aimed at boys. Emotions can affect boys from performing well in their exams. This is because anxiety and stress can affect the way a child thinks, this is why when children often misread the question (Education Scotland, n.d.). This might be the reason why some boys underachieve in exams. This shows that emotions play a role in the way the child learns so to be successful it is important to be in
…show more content…
They say that there are inequalities in the school curriculum and show that school is like a patriarchal society where there is gender differences when it comes to subject choices (Cook, 2008). Despite girls performing better than boys in their studies they are still experiencing male dominated culture in the classrooms. However, the liberal feminist fight against the patriarchal systems is by establishing legislations like the Equal Rights Amendments that can help girls to be treated equal as boys. Feminist were successful in identifying gender inequalities in education and they were able to make changes to. For example, today there are more women who have achieved higher grades in their GCSE and A-levels compared to the men and more women are off to university than men. However, there is an issue of why boys are underachieving than girls. In the Ringrose article it states that due to cultures like drugs boys might be underachieving as they might not be into education instead they want to be a cool boy. However, Francis argues that not all girls are performing well and not all boys are underachieving (Francis, 2006). In this article it shows that a middle class boy performs better than a working class girl. If boys are underachieving then gender cannot be blamed for it instead there can be other factors that can affect their performance such as ethnicity and class (Curtis & Pettigrew,
He discusses the differences between boys’ and girls’ behavior in academics, “girls suppress ambition, boys inflate it” (432). Kimmel believes that girls do better in some academic areas, and males do better in others. He provides a logical explanation for rising test scores of girls compared to boys. Kimmel states, “Girls are more likely to undervalue their abilities, especially in the more traditionally “masculine” educational arenas such as math and science. Only the most able and most secure girls take courses in those fields.
Sadker, Myra, David Sadker, and Susan Klein. "The Issue of Gender in Elementary and Secondary Education." Review of Research in Education 17 (1991): 269. JSTOR. Web. 14 Mar. 2012.
Because young boys are more active they often are disciplined, while girls are often quieter and naturally become a teacher’s favorite. This causes problems because classrooms naturally become more attuned to a girl’s style of learning, leaving young boys behind in the classroom from an early age. “Boy Problems” by Ann Hulbert goes into detail over the increasing “gender educational disparity.” Hulbert gives the reader useful information about how and why men are falling behind and the increasing gender differences in education. When fixing a problem one must first realize the problem exists. Now that the problem has come to light, action must be
Women have been oppressed solely due to their sex. This is noticeable in the education system where females are treated differently than males. Although we have improved drastically in the last few years in recognizing that women deserve the same privileges as men do, there are still many obstacles to overcome. Weber (2010) gives an example of this through a person experience of hers. She had noticed that even though more girls enroll in school, quality in education is still compromised.
She compares to the mournful emotions of the audience of describing the difference of students that are “highly successful” and the “disillusioned” students. The highly successful students are the students that work hard and have good grades. The disillusioned students are the opposite that have little contact with teachers and do not care for what grade they are given. The issue of emotion that comes from these two is there is always going to be students that do not try hard enough to succeed in having a better education for themselves. More of the higher percentage are girls that are successful and boys are not so successful. She explains that because of this higher percentage, that the highly successful students will get more attention from teachers, parents, and
Imagine living in a time when your only role is to get married, bear children, and take care of your house and husband. Adrienne Rich proposes an ulterior idea in her essay “Taking Women Students Seriously” Women should not only question the gender standards but discuss the gender norms that society has created; by discussion and attention to the matter we can eliminate it all together. Women are not represented in school curriculums enough and have a large misrepresentation in society. Rich draws attention to: What women have working against them in education, how women are perceived in the world by the media and advertising, and the gender roles that society pressures young children to contort to. By striking up a discussion
But in some content we can also held schools liable for nurturing the women when they are girls. In school girls are always well behaved and mannered. They are always rewarded for their good grades and well behaved attitude. But when it comes to boys they are always shown as aggressive in nature. They are often punished for their mischievous attitudes in class which still never let boys stop their naughtiness. But, if girls behaved in the same way as boys they are always reminded about their gender characteristics as soft and being decent by nature.. As in the article ‘’The Confidence Gap ‘’ the writer mention us that “Girls seem to be more easily socialized, “They get a lot of praise for being perfect’’ (Kathy). In the above lines Kathy wants to tell that due to being perfect and well-mannered in the school girls often avoid in taking risk boys who are more challenging in schools as they are more used to scolding and punishment. It was a decade ago when the feminism movement started to ensure that women also received the same equality. Though women are participating in every tasks and field that men do. But still one can see that when women takes a greater power than men in the area such as business, sports and politics women are pulled down by the man . They think that women are weaker gender and they should not be
Even after these prejudices were overcome, the education system still maintained sexism in both obvious and subtle ways. Books rein...
Feminism is the movement towards women’s equality. It fights for equal rights in the social, political, cultural and economical aspects for women. Feminism also fights for equal opportunity for women in employment and education. A feminist is someone who advocates their support for women’s rights but is not restricted to only women; anyone who supports women’s rights and equality are feminists, including men. Feminism is not only about the females, it fights for gender equality for all. Feminist movements, or Women’s movements, campaign for reforms in household issues with domestic violence, political issues with equal pay, employment and maternity leave, and reproduction rights. All feminism movements fight for equal rights, but it cannot be conquered or be made known all at once. First wave feminism was mostly about women’s suffrage and political equality in general. Second wave feminism went more in depth about the social and cultural inequalities.
In an online article titled "What is Feminist Theory" by Erwin Z, he writes about what the feminist theory is. The feminist theory, in simple terms, is a theory on the rights for women and equality for all genders. The theory involves the study of women's roles in society including their privileges, interests, rights, and concerns. It turns out that there were many different feminist theories that were released as early as 1792. Many of these publications featured limited privileges and rights of women due to wrong perceptions against them. The feminist theory can be applied to several disciplines, one being language. The feminist theory also points out the world's bias on women's bodies. According to history, men were associated with the brain while women were associated with the body.
Feminist epistemology involves the study the theory of knowledge i.e. epistemology from q feminist standpoint; the disadvantage faced by women through knowledge and justification. It is usually said to be concerned with how our knowledge is influenced by gender through justification and inquiry. Feminist’s epistemology is ideally based on the fact that by the perspective of a certain theory is affected upon by the knowledge pertaining the theory. The themes which characterize feminist epistemology are not unique it on only, since the themes are also found in the filed science studies and social epistemology. However, feminist epistemology is distinct from both science studies and social epistemology in that, for reconstructing and analysis, gender is characterize used. However, feminists have always argued gender rather than being determined
Michael Levin, a professor of philosophy and author of the book Feminism and Freedom, faults feminism for trying to impose an inappropriate equality on men and women that conflicts basic biological differences between the sexes (Levin, Taking Sides, 42). Women are not the same as men, neither physically nor psychologically. In the past, men tended to be the stronger more powerful gender, while women have traditionally been viewed as the weaker, more feeble one. The untrue assumption that men and women are the same in their ways of thinking and physical capabilities leads to the failure of the feminist message. Their agenda of eliminating all observable differences between men and women is doomed to fail and will inflict more pain than gain in the process. Recognizing the differences between the sexes and allowing each to do what they are strongest at will in the long run make society stronger, more efficient, and more effective.
“A feminist is one who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes” (Adichie, 2013). Feminism is not the belief that one’s sexual orientation or one’s power is superior over another. The very meaning of feminism demonstrates a complete resistance to this belief. Throughout the years, a range of categories of feminism philosophy have developed. They consist of goals in objectives, methodologies, and affiliations. Many feminists distinguish themselves with many branches of women 's activist thought. The three forms of feminism that this essay will consider are liberal feminism, socialist feminism, and radical feminism. This essay will argue that liberal feminism is the most valid theory of feminism as liberal feminist’s
The war of gender equality has been in existence throughout history and it is only until recently that it is being taken seriously. It was not until the 19th and 20th centuries that women have pushed to make their rights on the same level as men. Through the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities, Feminism was formed around this time and those involved with it have changed history since they first started. Feminism has been through three waves, each with their own set of goals and ideas they had wished to accomplish throughout those times. In spite of this, there are those who oppose their views and feel as if the feminists have accomplished nothing. Even if discrimination of women still exists, feminists have come close to accomplishing their goal of equal rights between genders through the passing of women’s suffrage, equal education opportunities, and equal pay.
Throughout the 19th century, feminism played a huge role in society and women’s everyday lifestyle. Women had been living in a very restrictive society, and soon became tired of being told how they could and couldn’t live their lives. Soon, they all realized that they didn’t have to take it anymore, and as a whole they had enough power to make a change. That is when feminism started to change women’s roles in society. Before, women had little to no rights, while men, on the other hand, had all the rights. The feminist movement helped earn women the right to vote, but even then it wasn’t enough to get accepted into the workforce. They were given the strength to fight by the journey for equality and social justice. There has been known to be