This essay will explore how the Ted Talk by Michael Kimmel titled “why gender equality for women is good for everyone men-included”, raises concepts comparable to Radical feminist ideas on the rule of law in society’s recent history and present day. I Will begin by briefly summarizing the content of the ted talk, i will then go on to give an outline of Feminism and how from this Radical Feminism was born. Finally i will consider how the content of the talk links into ideas put forward by radical feminists, on how our politics, society and laws affect women.
In his talk Michael Kimmel aims to recruit men into the idea of gender equality for women. Claiming that “it’s good for men too”. He talks about the Feminist movement that was in operation
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We can clearly state that Michael Kimmel express’s sentiments in his talk that can be defined as Feminist. Does he go further and take a radical view or are his thoughts more liberal. Well Kimmel suggest that “he is recruiting men to support gender equality” this comment demonstrates how elements of feminism are touched upon, and this could be considered in line with Radical Feminist views if the support given by these men was to help in the dismantling and subsequent rebuilding of the system they live under. Some Radical Feminist do not even agree with the inclusion of men at all in the movement stating that the movement is “by women and for women”. This could be because of the belief that men and women see the world differently. Men and Women act differently when “responding to problems” or “responding to people”. This would appear to suggest that Kimmel’s call to arms for men is a contradiction to the Radical Feminist movement.These men will not respond to the issues like women. For a movement that is “by and for women” men taking part would not be a help but a hindrance. Not all writers agree that Radical Feminist are opposed to men. Jone Johnson Lewis states “Radical feminism opposes patriarchy, not men. To equate radical feminism to man-hating is to assume that patriarchy and men are inseparable, philosophically and …show more content…
It is good for the kind of lives we want to live”. He asserts that this is possible if we live more equally together, particularly when it comes to sharing work commonly seen as women’s work “when men share housework and childcare, their children do better in school”...”When men share housework and childcare, their wives are happier”. It is this focus on a traditional family dynamic that contradicts Radical Feminist ideology. For some radical feminist’s what we consider the nucleated family is yet another example of patriarchal dominance of women. This can be seen in writing by Radical Feminist throughout their movement. “Male and female writers attacked “the common assumption that every household should be hetrosexual”Many Radical Feminist promote the idea of lesbian and gay relationships as opposed to the traditional view. Most Radical Feminist are strong advocates of a women's rights over her own body stating that the “person is political” a slogan first used in the 1960’s to demonstrate how women's personal experiences of domestic slavery, oppression and violence were just as much political issues as any other
In the Ted Talk, “My stroke of insight”, the speaker Jill Bolte Taylor, a neuroanatomist had undergone a stroke affecting her left hemisphere. During this process she was able to experience her brain deteriorating slowly and she was able to study it. She explains how she wanted to become a brain researcher because of her brother’s brain condition, schizophrenia. During the TedTalk she also explained her whole experience, including what it felt like, her emotions, and the world around her while having a stroke as well as the difficulties that she had encountered. Jill explains this experience as a tremendous gift.
“Feminism is both an intellectual commitment and a political movement that seeks justice for women and the end of sexism in all forms” (Baptiste). Just as in the past, feminism continues to act as a controversial issue among men and women. In the 1960’s, women finally addressed workplace inequity and created woman organizations to achieve equality. In the early 1960’s, the Equal Pay Act and the Civil Rights Act set a milestone for women’s progression towards work equality. Though women have made great leaps towards true equality, women still face many challenges and continue to be categorized as the subservient gender.
‘Women and men are different. Equal treatment of men and women does not result in equal outcomes.’ (Corsten Report, 16: 2007) According to Covington and Bloom (2003) numerous feminist writers have demonstrated and documented the patriarchal nature of our society and the variety of ways in which the patriarchal values serve masculine needs. ‘Despite claims to the contrary, masculinist epistemologies are built upon values that promote masculine needs and desires, making all others invisible’ (Kaschak, 11: 1992).
Feminism is the movement for removing inequalities from society. Women imbued with a spirit of radicalism understand that a liberal feminist attitude, despite the seeming slowness of change that accompanies it, may transform a community more rapidly than a revolutionary approach that alienates those to be convinced and, thus, extinguishes the possibility of improvement. (Weaver 49) Feminists confront the problems of their society in hopes of altering society to be equal.
Patriarchy creates a social division. It is often used to describe the power between a male and a woman. This idea is important in Radical Feminism. Seen as the root of female oppression, Radical Feminists recognize that patriarchy is everywhere. Radical feminist came about because they were not happy with the course of action taken by the first wave of feminists. Radical feminists wanted a revolution, not just reform; they wanted to do things their way as opposed to following “the system”. So they came up with their own theories that fit their way of thinking and often were at odds with the reformer feminists...
Along with receiving support from other minority groups, they also receive support from militant anti-racist white feminists as well. An idea multiracial feminism expanded on was the phrase “Personal is Political”, which means issues that seem personal (abortion, abuse, employment, etc.). are actually political issues (Thompson, 59). Multiracial feminism made the point to expand on that phrase and, according to Anne Braden, expand it to “The Personal is Political and The Political is Personal” (Thompson, 59). This expansion of the phrase is important to the anti-racist white supporters of women of color.
Feminism can simply be defined as a range of movements and ideologies in which share a common ground in terms of defining, establishing and achieving equal opportunities to that of males, in regards to economic, cultural and social rights. It is a critique of male supremacy with efforts in changing this to end the social oppression of women. (Hooks, 2000)
In just a few decades The Women’s Liberation Movement has changed typical gender roles that once were never challenged or questioned. As women, those of us who identified as feminist have rebelled against the status quo and redefined what it means to be a strong and powerful woman. But at...
Feminist political ideology focuses on understanding and changing political philosophies for the betterment of women. Studying how the philosophies are constructed and what makes them unjust, this field constantly generates new ideas on how these philosophies need to be fundamentally reconstructed. Liberal feminism, for example, was built around promoting economic and political equality for women. By arguing the older concepts of the split between public and private realms as a way to politically protect male domination of women as “natural”, and ideas about a women’s place in the household, came evidence that supported legal cases leading “to the criminalization in the United States of spousal rape” (qtd. in McAfee). Another completely different approach is radical feminism, which advocates a separation from the whole system, perceiving that the sexual relations between male and female as the basis of gender inequality and female subordination (qtd. in McAfee). Democratic femin...
The term “feminism” tends to have a negative connotation in today’s culture. Feminism is now focusing on female dominance and male disrespect. Women are fighting for equality, yet using personal bias to define equality, claiming identical rights for all will produce an equal culture. The mainstream feminist movement is using this corrupted view of equality to force rights of women. Contrary to popular belief, true feminism fights for true equality for women, as well as other people groups. The false view of feminism causes women to distort gender roles, dishonor themselves, and degrade men.
In 1915, the piece “Feminism for Men” argued that, if men were to be free, women had to be equal. A century later, society has not fully embraced this concept. Scholar, Michael Kimmel, argues that there is sufficient data to support the idea that gender equality is good for everyone. His essential arguments are that gender equality is necessary for men to get the lives they really want and that women cannot achieve full empowerment if men are not engaged in the process. Kimmel provides data which demonstrate that gender equality benefits not only individuals in society but its institutions as well. Countries with gender equality report being happier. Companies with gender equality also achieve greater success, and gender inequality is actually
The preceding was what feminists and historians want us believe, however, this is not always the case and quite possibly, it has never been the case. For some reason feminism became an international phenomenon. The feminist theory is fairly comparable to this explanation and determinedly claims that the basic structure of society is patriarchal, or male-dominated. The purpose of this paper is to prove that society has changed for women, but women have not changed for society. Women of today have not fought for anything, but they have simply protested their demands and expected society to cater them. This will continue to be true for as long as society takes sympathy upon women and their "needs."
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
In 2013 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie delivered a speech for a Ted Talk based on a very controversial issue, gender inequality. A year later, in 2014, Ngozi was inspired to transform her speech into the book, “We Should All Be Feminist”. The book was all transcripted by her Ted Talk in 2013. In this novel, Ngozi ultimately argues about gender inequality, and how individuals are compressed to live by social expectations or stereotypes, and fights against the negative interpretation that individuals have of feminism.