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Feminism in the 19th century essay
Feminism in the 1800s
Feminism effects on women in society
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the culture of patriarchal and gender equality stereotypes. Often the freedom of women was seen as freedom from marital bonds. It can be noted that already in the second half of the 19th century, the idea of the liberation of women by labour was generally supported by society. But there was a problem - women did not have sufficient skills for work. Thus, an urgent need was created for women to receive a special education. The women’s movement for emancipation in the nineteenth century was dedicated to the fight for higher education.
Criticising the family and marriage and the lack of any alternative, the first feminists laid the basis for the transformation of female attitudes and awareness in the world. Gradually attempts began to transform the traditional gender stereotypes from patriarchal to gender equality. The emergence of feminism was legitimate due to social and economic changes and changes associated with the growth of female attempts to determine their place in a changing world. Under the influence of the ideas of feminism the concept emerged of "sex/gender" having a place in society and affecting production and culture as a whole.
Gender as a distinction in cultural assessments structured the public consciousness in a way that raises androcentrism and sexism (Chodorow, 1999). Gender as a politico-economic distinction
The European feminist tradition identifies with a society which seeks to transform the radical patriarchal stereotypes toward the equality to all people. Feminism becomes an indicator of not only the development of female identity, but the motivating factor to rethink the interaction of human life and the influence of gender on its structure. The gender is inseparably linked with the social, cultural, economic and political structures of
As mentioned above, women’s role were unjust to the roles and freedoms of the men, so an advanced education for women was a strongly debated subject at the beginning of the nineteenth century (McElligott 1). The thought of a higher chance of education for women was looked down upon, in the early decades of the nineteenth century (The American Pageant 327). It was established that a women’s role took part inside the household. “Training in needlecraft seemed more important than training in algebra” (327). Tending to a family and household chores brought out the opinion that education was not necessary for women (McElligott 1). Men were more physically and mentally intellectual than women so it was their duty to be the educated ones and the ones with the more important roles. Women were not allowed to go any further than grammar school in the early part of the 1800’s (Westward Expansion 1). If they wanted to further their education beyond grammar, it had to be done on their own time because women were said to be weak minded, academically challenged and could n...
One need only look as far as the literature of the 1890's to see that women's issues influenced the thinking of many intellectuals. The discourse of the period is obsessed with the proper roles for women, debate about suffrage, and considerations of what to do with all the "odd women" who couldn't find husbands. As early as 1860 census data indicated that more and more women were remaining single and unmarried (Showalter viii). In an essay written for The Edinburgh Review Harriet Martineau argued that because there were not enough husbands to go around, girls should be educated and trained to be self-supporting (Showalter ix). By the end of the century the numbers of unmarried women lacking economic support reached crisis proportions. This event, as much or more than any other, precipitated the feminist movement of the late nineteenth an...
In the household codes of the New Testament the traditional patriarchal social order is reaffirmed, not simply for secular society, but for Christian community. The concept that children are to obey their parents, wives their husbands and slaves their masters is restated in no fewer than five places in the New Testament: Ephesians, Colossians, 1 Timothy, Titus, and 1 Peter. Conversely all subjugated persons can be viewed as relations of wives to husbands, children to father, and servants to masters. Patriarchalism refers to the total structure of society in all theses types of relations of domination and subjugation; sons to father, wives to husband, and slaves to masters. Also, there is delegated domination and subjugation within the paternal
Feminism is a group of movements and ideologies that have a common goal: the political, economic and social equality of the sexes ("Feminism," 2015). Historians have debated the origin of feminism (Rampton, 2015). Did it begin with the greek poetess Sappho? Or with the french author, Christine de Pizan, who is regarded as the the first woman to take up her pen in defense of her sex (Beauvoir, 1953, p. 105)? Women throughout history have challenged society's attitudes when it comes to the female gender and their contributions overtime have made a great impact for women all around the world today. It was around the eighteenth century when Mary Wollstonecraft, often distinguished as the first feminist philosopher, advocated for the same respect and rights for the female sex. However, it was not until the late nineteenth century, that the feminist movement, or rather a series of movements, emerged.
Recently the concerns of women around their equality in society has become a hotly debated topic in the public spot light. Much of the debate concerns women and the ingrained sexism that permeates most cultures. Many women's activists feel that this ingrained sexism has widened the gap between men and women in a political, social, and economic sense. And for the most part they do have strong evidence to support these claims. Women have suffered through millennia of male dominated societies where treatment of women has been, and in some cases still is, inhuman. Women are treated like subhuman creatures that have only exist to be used for procreate and to be subjugated by men for household use. It has only been very recently that women have become recognized as equals in the eyes of men. Equals in the sense that they have the same political and social rights as males. While the situation has improved, women still have to deal with a male oriented world. Often women in the workplace are thought of as inferior and as a liability. This can be due to concerns about maternity leave, or women with poor leadership skills. But also in part it is due because of the patriarchy that controls all aspects and dynamics of the culture, family, politics, and economy. Even developed countries like The United Kingdom, United States, Germany, and France, could be classified as a patriarchies. These countries may not agree with this notion because of expansive, but not complete changes, that have gradually equalized women in society. However, there are developed countries that openly express a patriarchy and have enacted little societal changes to bring equality to women. Japan is one such country, and t...
Feminist Theory is an aspect of considering feminism as having been based on socio-phenomenon issues rather than biological or scientific. It appreciates gender inequality, analyzes the societal roles played by feminists in a bid to promote the interests, issues and rights of women in the society. It is also based on the assumption that women play subsidiary roles in the society. The whole idea of feminism has however experienced hurdles in the form of stereotyping by the wider society. This paper tries to examine some of the effects of stereotypes that feminism goes through, what other philosophers say and the way forward towards ending stereotyping.
In a society where equality is constantly fought over, there are bound to be disputes. Feminism, the movement to create empowerment and equal rights for women, has been criticized by those who argue who, what, and how feminism should be fought with. Many conservative feminists believe that succumbing to men’s pleasure is never the answer, whereas “lipstick” feminists believe that they should be able to use all of their essence in order to establish equality. However, society needs both women and men equally. Feminism shouldn’t focus on how women reach that equality, but rather to reach that point of equality in the first place; with anything they got.
Feminism is a perspective that views gender as one of the most important bases of the structure and organization of the social world. Feminists argue that in most known societies this structure has granted women lower status and value, more limited access to valuable resources, and less autonomy and opportunity to make choices over their lives than it has granted men. (Sapiro 441)
For centuries, women have struggled to find their place in society. Women have always been seen as physically and intellectually inferior to men, and society’s stereotypes are the reason for it. Society standards are telling women how to act and how to look, and these stereotypes have an immense effect on how we expect women to be. The Europeans were no exception to this. Before the Victorian era, women were viewed as being lesser than and not quite matching up to men. However, the Victorian era brought about great change for the women’s movement. The Victorian era was detrimental to the evolution of women’s education, basic rights, and perception that developed a new way of thinking for all of Europe.
The feminist movement in the United States and abroad was a political and social movement that pursued the establishment of equality for women. The movement changed the lives of many women and created a profound effect on American society during the twentieth century. Throughout the first two decades of the century, women 's groups in the United States operated together to win women 's suffrage, concluding in the approval of a constitutional amendment in 1920 that guaranteed women the right to vote. During the late twentieth century, women 's organizations would once again group together, this time to verbalize and advocate for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Feminists also influenced literature during this time period. Novels regarding feminist beliefs started to appear, such as Betty Freidan’s “The Feminine Mystique” (1963), which is considered to impact the start of the second wave of feminism. Other forms of literature were starting to express these opinions as well. Lorraine Hansberry’s play, “A Raisin in the Sun” is a key example of sexual and political inequality shown in literature, and depicts a mother
For centuries, women struggle to obtain equality with men. They are invisible and not given opportunities because of their gender. Feminism is the matter of consideration in social, political, and economic equality of the sexes. The feminist movement has been the key to give the rights to women who have been stricken of their equality and privileges that men had fail to give them. It is believed that women have every right to be equal with men and feminism is achieving this gradually. Feminism is favorable to the men, women, and their families because it gives an equal opportunity in life
In the Victorian Period receiving an education was an act of unconformity. Women were to be pure, domestic, and submissive and these traits could not be achieved through education. The education of women was thought to disrupt the social balance of time, but in the Victorian Period women were educated because they were mothers of men. They wanted women to teach their children so they had to be educated. Women were stripped of their rights and dignity, but they were finally free to break through the co...
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.
Over time, feminism has gained a negative label in the society. The society, especially men view feminism as women’s fight for superiority over men. In addition, they view feminist as people who are whining, and complaining women who have hatred towards men. There is a lot of misinterpretation and ignorance on the feminism cause, but it is there to remain and fight against the rights and comfort of women in the society. Feminism has changed the world and made women happier; therefore, it should not be viewed negatively in the society.
One can hardly talk of a single united feminism, but rather, manifold feminisms. The US feminist movement ‘s main global struggle has been to enable ‘womankind’ to fully lead her existence and live her humanity by standing against the injustices of the dominant patriarchy and sexist discrimination . Throughout history, the dominant mainstream Feminism ( with capital F) tends to have been related to conform to the aspiration of the educated middle-class heterosexual white women who have traditionally been given unequal power to widen their significance--but the movement has lately had more ramifications. Currently, there are different kinds of feminism whose disagreements stem from fundamental intrinsic understanding of what feminism, sexism or phallocentrism mean. Each trend views it from a different perspective as in accordance with its motives or concerns. Nonetheless, they share common claims as to “the body, class and work, disability, the family, globalization, human rights, popular culture, race and racism, reproduction, science, the self, sex work, and sexuality.”