Woman study - Final exam - Essay Example

Feminist A woman was considered to be a ‘parasite’ in some sections of society, yet, we still have a vast majority of people today that believe that women deserve equal rights and why not, let’s face it, they are equal and on some level even over-achievers when compared to men. But this wasn’t the case before. Just like there were discriminations between the black and the white, the poor and the rich, the oppressed and the oppressor, there was also a huge discrimination between Women and Men and their place in society. This discrimination was up to such a level that in some traditional cultures women were considered as nothing but an instrument of exploitation. They were seen as tools for cleaning, cooking, sex, giving birth to children, raising them up, and even worse ‘a punching bag’ in many instances. Women have borne the brunt of it all, violence, oppression, threats, sexual exploitation, and God knows what else. Talk about ‘coming up from the streets’ and a woman would know exactly what that means. After all those years of torment and ill-treatment, women have managed to rise up victorious because of men and women from across the world who spoke in one voice to stop this abuse. Feminists helped shape the future of women to a great extent by handing them the power to do what they felt was right with their life. This changed the era where women were maltreated so that a new era of equality began. There are different feminist theories that have been established and massively supported over an extensive period of time. A lot of other factors including, religion, courts, people, science, the media and even governments for that matter have had a major part to play to implement this change. These have sculpted society in a manner that would benefit everyone and send a fitting reply to few-narrow minded people who still live within their own shadows while they hang their heads low. The appearance of feminists’ theories was not occasional. Eventually, it came as a natural process. People were trying “to understand the nature, of social life, and hoe to transform inequitable social relationship.” Particular focus of many feminist theorists was the process of creation of sexual hierarchies. The other important focus was providing proper interpretation of these theories as well as explaining the reasons why these theories were created. To come close to the point, feminists tried to question standard social order and to spread their own idea about social life and the main social practices of this life. The other focus was put on the issue of sexual oppression that existed in our society. According to feminists, oppression was an undisputed part of human existence and marked the life of woman during those times. The article by Roberta Hamilton called “Gendering the Vertical Mosaic: Feminist Perspectives on Canadaian Society” indicates that there is a whole list of “proliferating and overlapping feminist perspectives regarding the issue of feminist (Shanley, Narayan, 1997). It means that feminist can be approached from different perspective. In this paper I will pay my attention to the following feminist perspectives: (1) liberal feminists, (2) socialist feminists, (3) radical feminists, (4) lesbian feminists, (5) black feminists, (6) feminists of color. Liberal feminists is closely connected to the individualistic ideology of liberalism. The theory was first initiated by Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-97). Mary is the author of the document titled A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in 1792. The author of this theory was promoting the idea of “liberty, equality, and fraternity” (Chapter One. Feminist Theories, p.14). Mary Wollstonecraft’s theory was based on the idea that “women, like men, are rational being with the potential to be fully responsible for their own lives. (Chapter One. Feminist Theories, p.14) This statement clearly showed Mary Wollstonecraft’s social position. Mary was willing to see women as equal to men. The other important statement which has been once made by Mary Wollstonecraft is that women are equal to men in terms of their thinking abilities. She made a statement that “women, like men, are rational beings with the potential to be fully responsible for their own lives.” What Mary Wollstonecraft was fighting for was “an arbitrary insolent respect to the sex” (Chapter One. Feminist Theories, p.14). To put it simply, Mary Wollstonecraft was supporting the idea of gender equality and equal human rights. Marry Wollstonecraft also supported the idea that woman should play a more important role in social life. She stood against laws and prejudices that confined women to its traditional role of being a housewife. Liberal theory also helped to shape the image of women. The book that best exemplifies this image is Marry Wollstonecraft’s The Vindication. In this book the author addressed to women as “rational creatures” who are able to enjoy the same freedoms that man actually does. These freedoms include the freedom of self-expression, equal opportunities and equal social rights. When summarizing Wollstonecraft we can definitely say that this person paved road to a further spread of feminist ideas. This theorist of feminist was urging people to consider all aspects of women’s condition, including “economic, psychological, cultural and inter-related” (Chapter One. Feminist Theories, p.14) Wollstonecraft accentuated her attention on the fact that in order to become equal participants of our society women have to attain economic independence and ability to get rational thinking. An interesting point about Wollstonecraft’s writing is that this person never rejected the very existence of love. She never even tried to speak disrespectfully of love because she truly believed into it. Instead, she reassured readers that she was trying to give reason to love. (Hamilton, p.20) This statement clearly shows the position of liberal feminism – to give women a chance to have both family and successful family life. Liberal theory also accentuates its attention on the fact that women should be approached as “rational creatures” especially those who represent middle class. She also encouraged those of the other sex to acquire strength to combat the impending challenges of the present day. The issue of economic independence between man and women has been highlighted in one more theory – Marxist. Marxism viewed subordination of women to a man as a result of class war. Like other socialists, Marx went so far as to conceptualize the “woman question.” The problem was important, but clearly secondary to the central issue of social class. Marxists regarded women as victims of capitalist era. Marxists also mentioned about the circumstances that shape women’s lives. Historically, liberal feminism and the Marxist perspective had a controversy with each other. Marxists accused feminists of being “bourgeois.” (Hamilton, p.21) Marxists saw feminist as a “potentially dangerous to working class struggles because sex-specific ideas about oppression would put working men and women against each other and might create (false) grounds for class collaboration between upper- and working-class.” (Hamilton, p.22) Anti-racist Feminists An interesting aspect regarding treatment of women of color was covered by the author of the article titled “the Boundaries of identity at the intersection of race, class and gender.” The article covered a whole list of important issues. The most important issue covered in the article was the life of immigrants. Immigrants are a special category of people who are given the same rights and privileges and the other members of community. However, from the article we still can see that racism still prevails in American community. This aspect has been once mentioned by Caroline Ramazanoglu. She argued that racism is still prevalent in our society. Today, women are educated on the same level as men, helping them establish a place in society. They have learnt skills that help them bag jobs that would normally be given to men. It is because of education that they are able to support and contribute to their family and hence make a better living not only for themselves, but also for their husbands and children. Education has also helped them realize their status in the world. Moreover, it’s because of this that they no longer tolerate oppression and injustice. All in all, education has made them more confident and more secure. It has helped them identify their true value. To conclude, these three theories help us understand the worth of women in the world today. They helped realize that it is important that women are treated not as puppets of clay but respected and treated equally with the opposite sex. References: Didi Khayatt. The Boundaries of Identity at the Intersection of Race, Class and Gender. Read More