The Feminist Movement in Narrative and Storytelling - Literature review Example

Narrative and Storytelling Assessment Task 3 The Feminist Movement By Najia Haimd Professor: Tony Brown Spring Semester 2013 Introduction The feminist movement is also known as the women’s liberation movement. It comprises a series of campaigns against a variety of issues affecting women including domestic violence, reproductive rights, maternity leave, sexual violence, women’s suffrage, equal pay, and sexual harassment, all of which are under the umbrella term- feminism. The feminist movement has been in existence for over a hundred years beginning in the year 1848 with the first women’s rights convention which was held in New York. The first feminist publication; A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in 1972 was by Mary Wollstonecraft who would go down as the first feminist in history (Freedman 2003; Butler1994, pp. 44-45). Prior to the feminist movement, women were married off at a young age with little say on the matter, were expected to sit at home, bear babies, cook meals, and keep everything prim. They barely worked outside their homes and even when they did, their pay was only a fraction of what men were paid for doing the exact same jobs. In 1970 in Britain, for instance, women’s pay was 58.4% that of men working in the same job (Cochrane 2013). It was said that women were smaller (weaker, feebler) and therefore could not work as hard as men could, and yet they performed an equal number of tasks just the same. The journey to a world where both sexes are free and fairly treated may have begun over 100 years ago, but it still continues to unfold till today. Women face a lot of the same challenges they faced over a century ago. The face of feminism is changing even still because as the world evolves, so do the challenges that women face. Gender imbalance is still the thorn in the flesh of women everywhere in the world today (Conger 2013). Being female, and having grown up in a third world country educated in the west and worked in various counties prior to migrating to Australia, I have witnessed my fair share of female discrimination in both westernized and non-westernized countries. I first came to experience this when I took and passed the entry exam to the air force in my country of birth- Morocco. Despite my high entry marks and willingness, I was not allowed to train as a pilot. When I obtained my first employment, my pay was much lower than that of my male counterparts at the same level. I witnessed the same employment inequalities still exist and woman from all walk of life still suffer from. Since birth, the course of my life was dictated by the male-dominated society to which I belonged to the extent of being forcibly ejected from school in order to take place in a marriage which was arranged for me. As a result of these events and a host of other experiences I have accrued over the years, my passion today is empowering women through helping them to make and keep their skills sharp as well as relevant in every way possible. Even though the movement may have lost sight of the real issues, women today still face many of the challenges that the movement has been campaigning against since its inception because the prospect of an equal world still seems bleak as society's norms have a strong hold on people's behavior. The world also continues to change rapidly as new struggles manifest themselves with the continuing shifts (Reft 2010). This paper details and analyzes feminism through history to date. The History of the Feminist movement The movement begun in western countries in the late 19th century, and has been categorized by feminist scholars into three waves; the first second and third waves. Each wave dealt with different aspects of certain issues. The first wave which was oriented around the middle to upper classes of white women was generally concerned with political equality and women’s suffrage. The second wave made an attempt to combat cultural and social inequalities further. The third wave includes a revamped campaign for greater political influence by women; which is currently ongoing (Freedman 2003). The first wave was primarily western-based, and lasted through the 19th to the early 20th centuries. Its main focus was on women’s suffrage. Women at the time were not allowed to vote, and this was justified by men through many reasons. To better contextualize this wave, Virginia Woolf (1989) through her book A Room of One’s Own describes how women are psychically and socially dominated by men. Woolf states that "women are simultaneously victims of themselves as well as victims of men and are upholders of society by acting as mirrors to men.” She recognizes the social concepts that through which women are confined and restricted, and contextualizes this for other women through literature. Women begun to question the fact that they were not allowed to vote in the mid 1800s. Politics were a strictly male affair; women had no place in the political world, they had no say in who governed the people or how the governing was done either. These questions set the stage for the first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York. Following two days of discussion, 32 men and 68 women signed a Declaration of Sentiments which enunciated grievances, and set the women’s rights movement agenda. A dozen resolutions were adopted thereafter; it called for equal treatment of men and women under the law as well as the right to vote for women (Imbornoni 2007). In Britain, suffragettes continued to campaign for the women’s vote until it was eventually granted in two parts; to some in 1918, and in 1928 to all. This was partially due to the important role that women played in the First World War as well as due to the efforts of the suffragettes. At this time in the United States, noteworthy feminist leaders included Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton who formed the National Women’s Suffrage Association. Prior to championing women’s right to vote, these women had taken part in the campaign against slavery. In the United States, women’s right to vote was pushed by the National Woman’s Party and ratified in 1920. The passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is considered to have marked the end of first-wave feminism, opening the door for the next wave (Snowden 1913). Jewish women campaigning for constitutional equality (The Other McCain 2011) The term second-wave feminism came into use to describe a new feminist movement, which focused on fighting cultural, social, and political inequalities equally. The use of this term prompted the retrospective use of the term first-wave feminism, as this term did not exist prior to this. Because the previous wave was accused of being inclined towards the white, educated and middle-class citizens, a new multiculturalism or ethnically specific form of feminist was created. The second wave which existed between the 1960s and 1980s was concerned with the gender inequalities of law and culture. This wave was sparked by Betty Freidan’s best seller book of 1963; The Feminine Mystique. In the 1960s many housewives in the United States found themselves asking “Is that all?” as Friedan wrote; theirs was a problem without a name, and its symptoms were legion. They comprised of creeping fatigue, alcohol and tranquilizer abuse, and suddenly-appearing weeping blisters on the forearms (which doctors attributed to deep malaise rather than the cleaning fluid the women used). Since the war, women had grown much smaller (it was reported by department stores that their buyers had shrunk three to four dress sizes), more feminine (around 30% of them colored their hair blonde), and it appeared also, much sadder. Marilyn Monroe, a femininity icon, had died in 1962 of a barbiturate overdose while Sylvia Plath, with an equally outward brand of femininity, committed suicide in 1963 in London. Clearly women’s problems included much more than just not being able to engage in politics (Cochrane 2013). It was on this stage that second-wave feminism was set. It built on the achievements of the first wave. Women’s failure to adapt to the role society had cut out for them was blamed on society itself by Freidan. In this period, women campaigned against the inequalities both cultural and political which they deemed inextricably linked. The movement caused women to view their personal lives as deeply politicized. This wave was concerned with issues of inequality, like the end of discrimination. The slogan “personal is political” became synonymous with the wave, it was coined by Carol Hanisch (Okin 1994). A picture of a woman depicting second-wave feminism ideas (Studentaffairs.duke.edu 2013) Campaigns for free contraceptive pills for all (not just married) women begun in this period as well. The Women’s Health Movement emerged; it shed light on the inequality in the healthcare system and how women were deprived from access to proper healthcare. Women were now able to attend medical school if they qualified, midwives were now licensed, and women were generally more involved in healthcare (Okin 1994). In the early 1990s, the movement’s focus took a different turn. In response to the second wave’s perceived failures, a third wave emerged. The second wave had begun to go off track, so the third attempted to respond to the backlash against movements and initiatives created by the former. Prominent second wave feminist leaders such as Bell Hooks, Gloria Anzaldúa, and Chela Sandoval among other feminists of color called for a new subjectivity in feminist voice. The aim of the third wave was to try and accommodate a larger number of women who may not have identified with the second wave’s dynamics. Though it is perceived as a mere continuation of the second wave, the third wave has made its own notably unique contributions (Butler 1994). The feminists of the second wave who sought to develop the third wave, sought to negotiate the new wave into the consideration of subjectivities related to race. The focus of the intersection between gender and race remained prominent through the Hill-Thomas hearings but started to shift with 1992’s freedom ride (Freedman 2003). The ride sought to register voters in poor minority communities and focused mainly on the rallying of young feminists. The emphasis on young feminists was a theme that stuck with many people concerning third wave feminism (Henry 2004). Discussion and conclusion The feminist movement has focused on diverse issues over time including reproductive rights, the ‘glass ceiling’, theology, and freedom of sexual expression among others. For a while in the 70s coupled with the widespread use of drugs, the movement may have strayed from its missions. It tried to recover in the early 1990s through the development of third-wave feminism. The latest wave however seems to bear little significance on the problems that women in the contemporary society face. Although beyond its seeming lack of relevance, it has made a bit of an impact in the lives of a few people (Henry 2004). (Perezhilton.com 2013) The world is now much easier for women today than it was for them when the movement begun. The pay gap has notably shrunk, but persists all the same; based on the ordinary average weekly, full time pay figures, the Australian Bureau of Statistics surmises that Australian men earn 17.53% more than women with their weekly average of $1,518.40 compared to the $1,252.20 of women (Reissa, 2013). Single-parent families (with the parent being mostly a female) consist of 12% of the 8 million Australian households; that makes about 1.5 million households. Such parents continue to struggle with healthcare for their children while their children continue to plunge deeper into poverty (Chadwick, 2013). Between 1996 and 2005, 12.4% of women had experienced sexual abuse by the age of 15 compared to the 4.5% of men. Sexual and physical violence against women continues to persist past the age of 15 with statistics at 19.1% and 33.3% of women respectively (Domesticviolence.com.au, 2013). Sexism is even unsparing of women in high positions, as former Prime Minister Julia Gillard reports what she terms as “the violent, ugly sexism” which she experienced while still in office (Shears, 2013). Nicole Campbell, a former councilwoman reports having been harassed by male colleagues over when she would return to work even before her baby was born at 8months of her pregnancy (Campion, 2013). All these gender-based injustices continue to be committed in a developed country like Australia. In conclusion, a lot of brilliant changes have come as a result of the brave and passionate women who fought for theirs and the rights of their counterparts. Today, the glaring face of feminism is purported to be an angry woman who feels that she deserves preferential treatment simply because of her gender. Despite the above statistics which are a mere drop in the ocean, such stereotypes would suggest that the causes of women have already been dealt with and that it is the men who are now in danger. Nonetheless, there is a desperate need to push harder to fight for the continually evolving causes of women. Instead of promoting the feminism of the past, the movement may want to consider campaigning for a gender-blind society in which everyone is viewed not as male or female, but as human- and treated as such. We have come such a long way, but we still have a ways to go (Freedman 2003; Butler 1994, pp 44-45). Reference Butler, J. 1994, ‘Feminism in Any Other Name.’ A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies, vol. 6, pp.44-45. Campion, V, 2013, ‘Former councillor Nicole Campbell was bullied over her return to work date when eight months pregnant’ thetelegraph viewed 14 Oct 2013 Chadwick, V. 2013. ‘Single-parent families struggling to survive’, Sydney Morning Herald, viewed 14 Oct 2013 < http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/singleparent-families-struggling-to-survive-20130611-2o28k.html>. Cochrane, K. 2013, ‘Beginning feminist movement’, The Guardian, viewed 9th October 2013 . Conger, C. 2013. HowStuffWorks "How Feminism Works". [online]. [Accessed: 10 Oct 2013]. Available at: http://people.howstuffworks.com/feminism.htm Domestic Violence Prevention Centre Gold Coast, 2013 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE STATISTICS, viewed 14th Oct 2013 < http://www.domesticviolence.com.au/pages/domestic-violence-statistics.php.> Friedan, B. 1963, The Feminine Mystique,. 1st edn, W. W. Norton and Company Inc. NewYork. Freedman, E. B. 2003, No Turning Back: The History of Feminism and the Future of Women Ballantine Books, London Henry, A. 2004, Not My Mother's Sister: Generational Conflict and Third-wave Feminism, Indiana University Press, Bloomington. Imbornoni, A. 2007, Women's Rights Movement in the U.S:Timeline of Key Events in the American Women's Rights Movement 1848–1920, Information please, viewed 9th October 2013, . Okin, S. M.1994, Feminism, 1st edn, Aldershot E. Elgar, England. Perezhilton.com. 2013. Robin Thicke Suggests Blurred Lines Is "Great Art" For "A Feminist Movement". [online.] [Accessed: 14 Oct 2013].Available at: http://perezhilton.com/2013-07-31-robin-thicke-blurred-lines-feminist-movement Reft, R. 2010, ‘Cherish Your Memorized Weakness”: The Politics of Pavement. Tropics of Meta viewed 10th August, 2013, . Reissa, S. 2013, ‘Sexism and Gender Discrimination? Australian Women Still Earn Less Than Men’. International Business Times, viewed 14 Oct 2013, Read More