Lesbian feminism, in itself, is a response to the second wave of feminism. The second wave of feminism was responsible for making gender discrimination visible, encouraging women to take government/political positions, and also contributed to procreative rights. Lesbian feminism emphasized on focusing their energy away from men and more into other women. The paper, The Woman Identified Woman, by Radicalesbians describes lesbianism, like male homosexuality, as a category of behavior possible only in a sexist society characterized by rigid sex roles and dominated by male supremacy. By being a lesbian, it robs men from the opportunity to enforce those sexist roles in the household. Lesbian is a label invented by the Man to throw at any woman who …show more content…
As a lesbian woman, they are usually subjected to not only low wage jobs (such as nurses, child care workers, secretaries, etc.), but continuous abuse and discrimination if she does not hide her lifestyle from her employers. The woman who rejects men at work is mocked, being called ‘dried up’ or a lesbian (as an insult) (Rich, 133). Her career depends on her accepting this discrimination, while also attributing to the womanly stereotype by dressed and appearing feminine. The internalization of this discrimination and role of womanhood will slowly turn into self-hate, and that self-hate sometimes turns into shrill defensiveness and relentlessness to turn the situation around. As long as one clings to the idea of “being a woman,” they will have conflict and lose their sense of self over time (Radicalesbians, 3). The idea of supporting other woman through this feminist revolution was a very important part of lesbianism, they wanted to ensure that the energies of this movement will flow towards other women and not backwards towards men.
As a political movement, lesbians were insistent on becoming more visible to closeted or self-imprisoned women who were too scared to come out and become part of the movement. Clarke, in her paper, Lesbianism: An Act of Resistance, states that the only power that men have over other women, is his heterosexuality. If he is unable to take control of a woman, i.e. a lesbian, his patriarchal power decreases
In Vicki L. Eaklor’s Queer America, the experiences of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender people in the years since the 1970s gay liberation movement are described as a time of transformation and growth. The antigay movement, threatened, now more than ever, created numerous challenges and obstacles that are still prevalent today. Many of the important changes made associated with the movement were introduced through queer and queer allied individuals and groups involved in politics. Small victories such as the revision of the anti discrimination statement to include “sexual orientation”, new propositions regarding the Equal Rights Amendment and legalized abortion, were met in turn with growing animosity and resistance from individuals and groups opposed to liberal and
It is often found that the stereotypical “butch” and “femme” pairing are more visible than other lesbian relationships. However, this does not mean that they do not exist. The ever-growing popularity of the lesbian social sphere has symbolized both difficulties and effects of identifying with such a label. The label or identity itself, though distinctly separating lesbians from “normal” heterosexuals begins to exhibit pre-existing conflict experienced by gay males: “there’s always been something wrong (Aldrich, 38).” This quote implies the conditioned and ingrained belief that homosexuality’s “taboo” existence was more than just wrong, but distasteful and something that society should look down upon for being an “abnormality.” Sometimes, this social reality for lesbians made it hard for them to “come out the closet” and be visible. This experience is exemplified as “The repressed lesbian has a harder time of it, for she is less aware of her abnormality (Aldrich, 41).” Additionally, to be able to clearly and accurately identify “the lesbian is to meet the many women she is at close range; to see her against her various backgrounds, hear her sundry voices, and familiarize yourself with the diverse facades of her several lives (Aldrich, 42).” Here, the presence of the “double life” is demonstrated to further analyze the lack of privileges that the lesbian community had, including the social aspect of their
lesbianism and sex between two women. As one may see from the book, the Islamic
In this essay, Gay deconstructs the stereotypical view of a feminist, by showing that you can be a feminist, even if you’re not in the small box the rest of the world thinks you should be in, in order to qualify as a ‘feminist’. Throughout the essay, Gay uses several quotes and stories from other women who are either afraid to say that they’re feminists, or don’t quite understand you don’t have to be in the limiting ‘box’, even though in their moral beliefs and actions, these sourced women are, in fact, feminists. According to Gay, if we didn’t have this stereotype, then maybe more women with diverse lives and views would be able to ‘come out’ as
Hoagland, S. L. (1988). Lesbian ethics :Toward new value (1st ed.). Palo Alto, Calif.: Institute of Lesbian Studies
The 1950s is an era remembered for the Cold War, communism, and June Cleaver. Most historians, if asked about this period, will mention the ‘Red Scare’ and the fight to stop the pervasive reach of communism in post-war America. Feminists will immediately talk about the idea of June Cleaver and the detrimental effect this perfect housewife had on the women’s movement after the massive employment of women during the Second World War. Often forgotten and missing from the pages of history are the millions of women who were ostracized and discriminated against based upon their sexuality. These women lost federal jobs, their military careers came to a halt, and, in some cases, blacklisted from applying for civilian jobs. Lesbians in this era were ostracized by society and endured unending discrimination from the government and police. In the face of this tremendous cultural pressure these women carved their own communities and lives out on the edges of the social order. The ‘Lavender Scare’ of the 1950s bred anti-gay legislation that led to horrific discrimination against lesbians and the development of a lesbian subculture. This period is currently referred to as the ‘Red Scare’ and known for the discrimination and harsh treatment of communists; It should be known as the ‘Lavender Scare’ and known for the immense persecution faced by female homosexuals in this period of history.
The respondents have managed to ignore the negativity and they have been able to finally see their worth. Gender inequality is present through stereotyping in the workplace, that is why gay and lesbian should be more mature in understanding the negative people around them. Instead of putting themselves into misery because of what they hear, they should have in their mind that good things will happen to help their skills and abilities to excel.
Second wave feminism has proved to have an intense effect on the western societies. The second wave essay on feminism focuses on a wide range of issues of women such as workplace discrimination, women education, reproduction and many others. Second wave feminists can be grouped into integrationists and radical feminists. The essay explains the differences between these two groups, the role of women in the society and the benchmarks women have set up regarding gender equality. Women have replaced the old scenario in which women were treated as objects of male desires and needs and led to independent and equal participation along with men (Beauvoir, 1952).
However, the stigma of openly sexual women was not eliminated therefore marking down women's sexual freedom because of the stigma they carry in society.In conclusion, chapter by chapter hooks highlights how feminist theory repeatedly excluded non-white and working class women by ignoring white supremacy as a racial problem and by disregarding the highly psychological impact of class in their political and social status all while, in the case of black women, facing three classes of oppression in a racist, sexist and capitalist state. Throughout the book the author defines feminism, the meaning of sisterhood, what feminism is to men in addition to brushing upon power, work, violence and education. Although I found some elements of this book problematic hooks' critiques of feminist theory and the movement are well-presented, piercingly direct and remain relevant.
In addition, being lesbian, gay, bisexual or queer: LGBTQ, during the 1960’s is view as a crime and a mental illness and totally immoral in the United States. Amber faces oppression at work as well by her union representative. One time her boss was flirting with her and asking her to sleep with him, however, she told him that she was not sexually attracted to men and then she went to the union to let them know that her boss was disrespecting her, but the union representative told her that it was none of his business. The only reason why the union does not care about Amber's complaints is because she is a lesbian. It is an outrage that a human being must resist an inhuman injustice by being attracted to someone of the same sex. Amber got another job where they used to say they did not care about anyone’s sexuality, however, she got fired from that job after she appeared with her girlfriend at a party where her coworkers invited her. Both she and her girlfriend were “beat up, or left with anonymous nasty notes and ugly homophobic pictures in our lockers...” Amber got involved into political to fight against oppression and prejudice for the LGBTQ because “the cost of being both
According to the article by Tara Prince-Hughes, the identification “lesbian” refers to a woman’s sexual orientation and desire. However, identifying as an “invert” refers to a woman’s masculine gender orientation. Stephen Gordon struggles throughout the book to find a way of expressing and understanding her inversion. For Stephen, she is aware of her instinctual masculinity but being at such a young age she is completely confused by it. Growing up with masculine behaviors and the desire for a masculine ap...
As Tamsin Wilton explains in her piece, “Which One’s the Man? The Heterosexualisation of Lesbian Sex,” society has fronted that heterosexuality, or desire for the opposite sex, is the norm. However, the reason behind why this is the case is left out. Rather, Wilton claims that “heterosexual desire is [an] eroticised power difference [because] heterosexual desire originates in the power relationship between men and women” (161). This social struggle for power forces the majority of individuals into male-female based relationships because most women are unable to overcome the oppressive cycle society has led them into. Whereas heterosexual relationships are made up of the male (the oppressor) and the female (the victim who is unable to fight against the oppressor), homosexual relationships involve two or more individuals that have been freed from their oppressor-oppressed roles.
Similar to the various waves of feminism movements in the past, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender
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...
Gender and sexuality can be comprehended through social science. Social science is “the study of human society and of individual relationships in and to society” (free dictionary, 2009). The study of social science deals with different aspects of society such as politics, economics, and the social aspects of society. Gender identity is closely interlinked with social science as it is based on an identity of an individual in the society. Sexuality is “the condition of being characterized and distinguished by sex” (free dictionary, 2009). There are different gender identities such as male, female, gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual that exists all around the world. There is inequality in gender identities and dominance of a male regardless of which sexuality they fall under. The males are superior over the females and gays superior over the lesbians, however it different depending on the place and circumstances. This paper will look at the gender roles and stereotypes, social policy, and homosexuality from a modern and a traditional society perspective. The three different areas will be compared by the two different societies to understand how much changes has occurred and whether or not anything has really changed. In general a traditional society is more conservative where as a modern society is fundamentally liberal. This is to say that a traditional society lists certain roles depending on the gender and there are stereotypes that are connected with the genders. One must obey the one that is dominant and make decisions. On the other hand, a modern society is lenient, It accepts the individual’s identity and sexuality. There is no inequality and everyone in the society is to be seen as individuals not a part of a family unit...