I do not agree that the collection, The Worlds Wife, is “nothing but
feminist propaganda”. I must agree that there are a lot of poems
within the collection that are feminist in some way or another but
there are also others that don’t really show a feeling of feminist
propaganda at all. ‘Propaganda’ means “Information given to show
something or someone in a biased way” and ‘Feminist’ means “Women are
better than men and so can do everything better than they can” and
therefore ‘Feminist Propaganda’ means “the spread of information about
how women are greater than men”. This collection does show the
empowerment of women throughout the selected poems because of the
switch from famous male characters to their female counterparts.
“Mrs Quasimodo”, “Queen Herod”, “The Kray Sisters” and “Little Red
Cap” are feminist poems because in all of these poems the women become
better off by the end of the poem and show that men are useless.
However poems like “Mrs Faust”, “Anne Hathaway”, “Mrs Midas” and “The
Devil’s Wife” are not seen to be so strongly linked in with “feminist
propaganda”, true they are opposites of their famous male counterparts
but they do not seem to have messages of feminism within them.
“Mrs Quasimodo” is seen to have a very feminist view built into it,
Duffy has used Mrs Quasimodo to show feminist views but also uses her
to show her feelings about social presence such as betrayal within
marriage; this view of social presence is however seen to be more
important than the view of feminism. In the poem “Mrs Quasimodo”
Duffy uses the bells as an aide to show the feminist views, like when
Mrs Quasimodo is drawn to the bells but not by the man who rings them:
“He swung an epithalamium for me”, “We ha...
... middle of paper ...
...d to Gold and so he has to
move out into a caravan. This poem is not about female superiority at
all; it is just about how the man does something reckless and doesn’t
think about the consequences.
“The Devil’s Wife” is about the moors murders. This poem defiantly
doesn’t support the theory that The Worlds Wife is nothing but
feminist propaganda. There is a strong mirror image of the actual
events that occurred. Duffy wouldn’t say that what Mira Hindley did
was good in any way, shape or form. This is purely about what
happened in the moors murders and the result of it, the title itself
shows that The Devils Wife is evil in itself.
This proves that The Worlds Wife isn’t just a collection of feminist
propaganda, it does have other levels too, and it is just that this
view of feminism is very strong within the poems and so people just
focus of this view.
In Feminism Matter: Debates, Theories, Activism, author Victoria L. Bromley not only begins to delve into what it means to be a feminist in today’s society, but also provides the critical background knowledge required to be able fully understand modern feminism. A key factor in understanding any social justice movement is comprehending the difference between subjective knowledge and objective knowledge. Subjective knowledge is knowledge that “...is informed by the person or subject who is speaking” (Bromley, 38). To elaborate, subjective knowledge is derived from an individual’s experience, which often leads to opinions. Opinions are a prime example of subjective knowledge, however it is indisputable that opinions are influenced by bias for
In L. Frank Baum’s second Oz novel, The Marvelous Land of Oz, he includes a prominent philosophical theme of feminism. During his novel, conflicts arise among powerful male figures, such as the Scarecrow King, and oppressed females, including those in General Jurjur’s Army, that demonstrate the inequality between the two genders. However, Baum’s incorporation of a strong sense of feminism is present to illustrate independent females longing for the establishment of an equal status quo in society. The overall solution to injustice treatment of women is present in Baum’s plot twist that ended with a highly liked, powerful female ruler over the Land of Oz.
In the book, The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood writes about an alternate universe about America that illustrates our worst fears. Some of the fears depicted in the book can be seen in the world today, such as the distaste for abortion and the mentality that men are supposed to have more power than women. These issues are not only known as social issues but also feminist issues. Feminism is the belief that women and men should be treated equally socially, politically, and economically. This book shows how these issues could get worse in our society. The author uses Offred, the protagonist in the story, to show how the world could change for the worst. Offred, a handmaid in The Handmaid 's Tale, showed how men and society had control over
The Handmaid’s Tale is a feminism novel written by Canadian, Margret Atwood in 1986. The novel is set in the future of the United States, that no longer exists; and the futuristic Republic of Gilead is in control. The protagonist/narrator is Offred, a handmaid whose job is to lie on her back once a month to try to conceive from the commander. Offred and the other handmaids are allowed to leave their commander’s house once a day to go to the food market, where the signs are pictures instead of words because women are not allowed to read. This wake of independency makes Offred and the other handmaids think of escaping, and when Offred thinks about it the first person that comes to mind is her lesbian best friend from college, Moria. Moira is vivacious, rebellious and deliberately outrageous. The role in Republic of Gilead leads Moira to her feministic actions, and in contrast, it leads her to the handmaids from hope to hopelessness In accordance with the novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood symbolizes Moria as unconfirmed, seditious, courageous, and defeated.
Mary Wollstonecraft was the spear head of feminism in early England. She brought thoughts and arguments against societal norms into the minds of many that her book, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, became household knowledge throughout the United States. Her writings and radical ideas gave her the nickname of the Mother of Feminism of the early feminist movement. Likewise, Karl Marx published his Communist Manifesto in England. His writing aroused many thoughts focused on the class norms that existed throughout the world. Both, the Communist Manifesto and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, fight the exploitation of their respective classes and cause.
The contribution of the feminist standpoint in IR theory definitely sparks discussion and debate bringing forth new perspectives which demand to be heard and considered from the more ‘orthodox’ IR theories, previously privileged assumptions and preconceived ideas. This grand entry for the feminists was towards the denouement of the Cold War in the 1980’s , Kirkpatrick; influential US ambassador of the UN during that period was noted to have said that she felt like a “mouse in a man’s world”. Is this still the case with women worldwide and particularly in the West? Tickner’s groundbreaking work set the foundation and key to early feminist IR. Whilst simultaneously interrogating the core issues in mainstream IR, particularly in peace and security, contingent on feminist bases for gendered grasp of issues that have defined it. In this essay we will firstly try to identify and comment on the emergence of feminism within IR in the 80’s. Secondly, we will pin-point and analyze which contributions were of the greatest importance, predominantly via Tickner and Keohane. Finally we will look at the impact and importance of the different types of feminist theories and whether or not they have achieved at enriching our understanding of IR theory.
Ecofeminism deals with ecological and feminist analyses and movements. It shows the relationship between women and nature in the view of historically, human-earth, patriarchal social structures and world views interconnected with oppression of women and nature. Feminist analysis mainly focused on Liberal, Marxist or Socialist, Cultural, Radical, Post-colonialist and Post-modernist approaches. Political ideology of feminism makes an effort to make women a self-conscious category, and it gives a power to generate a rational sensible attitude towards women, an approach to view the women in their own positions as well as own perspectives. Eco-feminist movements look for non-violent solutions to world problems. They always consider that feminine
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.
The Scarlet Letter can easily be seen as an early feminist piece of work. Nathaniel Hawthorne created a story that exemplifies Hester as a strong female character living with her choices, whether they were good or bad, and also as the protagonist. He also presents the daughter of Hester, Pearl, as an intelligent female, especially for her age. He goes on to prove man as imperfect through both the characters of Dimmesdale and of Chillingworth. With the situation that all the characters face, Hawthorne establishes the female as the triumphant one, accomplishing something that, during Nathaniel Hawthorne’s time, authors did not attempt.
“Emancipation of women had made them lose mystery” –Grace Kelly, this was a quote said from a woman’s mouth, this was not only Grace’s opinion but the percentage of women being against feminism is increasing. Stop Fem-Splaining: What ‘Women Against Feminism’ Gets Right is an article wrote by Cathy Young published on Www.time.com which is an website for the news and articles, the article was published on July 14,2014. The article is taking about the Women Against feminist meme that has been up in 2014 through social medias and TV shows, the issue had many perspectives from the different kind of sexes, some women believe in the equality between men and women, that
Geoffrey Chaucer’s poem, The Canterbury Tales, contains a character that is read by some as “the epitome of the modern feminist,... takes on the men at their own game of name-dropping, and refuses to be silenced by the patriarchal powers that be” (Evans, Ruth, and Johnson 1). The Wife of Bath contains all the negative stereotypes of women portrayed by men of the Medieval time period, such as being a chatterbox and promiscuous. Which greatly contrasts the other fictional women of her time, who were silent and suppressed in literature. The Wife’s argument “offered a defence of women against their misogynist critics” (Rigby 137) of the Medieval Age. Presented as a critic who beats males at their own game, and gives her the authoritative stance
Feminist sociology focuses on examining and understanding gender in its relation to power within society as well as individuals. The fundamental principle of feminist sociology is the idea that in most societies, women have been oppressed and that men have been more dominant throughout history. Feminist theory directly relates to feminist sociology. According to the Introduction to Sociology 2e textbook, “feminist theory is a type of conflict theory that examines inequalities in gender-related issues. It uses the conflict approach to examine the maintenance of gender roles and inequalities” (Openstax 261). This paper aims to analyze feminist theory, discuss its history, as well as emphasizing a current social
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.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a Nigerian author who has received numerous awards and distinctions. Her main argument is that everyone should be a feminist not because of our gender, but because it is what is right. Adichie has been featured in Beyonce’s song, “Flawless”, spreading awareness to the idea of feminism. “We Should All Be Feminists” is a book about her experiences in Nigeria, where men are more powerful than women. The intended audience of the passage is each and every person residing in heavily patriarchal societies. Hesr thesis is “we should all be feminists”.