Feminism as a Global Movement Run - Essay Example

? Feminist Geographies: The Intellectual and Political Significance Feminism is a global movement run by pro-women’s rights activists, both women and men, that aims to redefine, defend and establish the renewed sphere of understanding of women’s rights and place in society and culture, as a whole. It advocates equality of women against men in political, social and economic circles; this involves the establishing of equal and indiscriminate availability of opportunities in employment and education. The word feminism took birth in France and Netherlands in the year 1872. It was coined by the French philosopher Charles Fourier. It spread to Great Britain and America by the year, 1910 (HAAN, DASKALOVA And LOUTFI, 2006). Feminist Geography or Feminist theory is the expansion of the study of feminism into a wide horizon of issues and experiences that women encounter. It covers the realms of both philosophical and theoretical aspects of female rights and place. It is primarily aimed to fathom the fabric of gender inequality and its causes and effects on human nature and society; it investigates women’s experiences, social roles, interests, and studies and develops theories on feminist politics in fields such as sociology, philosophy, economics, anthropology, education, psychoanalysis, literary, communication. In addition, feminist theory expounds on female welfare, promotion of women’s interests and gender inequality. Research on Feminist theory revolves around two key points: 1, the research should analyze and expound on the state of women in society; 2, the research should be a derivative of the assumption that women are generally considered subordinates to men. However, it abstains from being excessively political and negates research that is conducted to only achieve gender equality. The fields of interest for researches on feminist theory are sexual objectification, patriarchy, art history, oppression, stereotyping, contemporary art and discrimination (KOLMAR And BARTKOWSKI, 2005). Feminist theory in the past has gone through many changes; from being a movement that just aimed at consolidating and establishing women as a universal entity, to being more motivated towards individuality, diversity and social differentiation. Modern-day feminism has assumed the role of promoting the following issues faced by women: equality in property law, voting rights and rights to run for office, equality in contract law, reproductive rights, this includes open access to contraceptives and abortion, physical integrity, equal pay for women, articulation of for protection of women from domestic violence, sexual assault and sexual harassment. This has led to the advocacy for workplace rights, such as maternity leave. However, feminist theory has also concluded that for female rights and feminism to succeed, men should also be liberated and that men also suffer from gender inequality (HANNAM, 2007). The popularity and rise of feminism has produced different forms of political movements which have branched into a larger part of society, such as conservatism and liberalism, and some interlink feminism with environment. Liberal feminism aims to achieve individuality and equality of women and men through legal and political reforms without morphing the framework of culture and society. Radical feminism aims at extremes; it deems the notion and practice of male dominance on women through capitalist rule as the primary reason behind oppression on women, this leads to the advocacy of total conversion of society and implementation of rules that change the total outlook of society according to the manner that women desire. Furthermore, Conservative feminism only aims to achieve the basic human rights for women and stipulates that women should be conservative against men according to the society in which they live. Libertarian feminism believes that people are self-owners and thus entitled to govern themselves according to their wishes, in reference to women, and that no coercive means of power should be exercised on women. Separatist feminism negates heterosexual relationships and believes that in order to achieve political power women should only engage in homosexual relationships. Lesbian feminism is a subset of Separatist feminism and thus closely related; Separatist and Lesbian feminism have, however, met with criticism due to their being sexist movements. Eco-feminists consider men's ownership of land as the chief reason that causes oppression on women leading to the obliteration of natural environment. However, eco-feminists have also been criticized for emphasizing and elucidating excessively on a mystical and spiritual connection between nature and women. Materialist feminism is an off-shoot of western civilization’s Marxist belief that has in turn led to the founding of a number of different, rather slightly different movements that are a critique of capitalism. Marxist feminism states that capitalism is the primary cause of oppression and violence against women, and biased practices against women in employment and domestic life are a result of capitalist belief-system and practices. This shows that, although many different movements unite under the one banner of feminism, there seems to be dichotomy and a vast difference in the beliefs and aims of the different feminist movements (GARDINER, 2002). The history of feminist theory and feminist movements in western civilization is divided into three "waves"; wherein each wave addressed the same issues but with different perspectives and aspects of feminism. The first wave struggled to achieve women’s rights to vote and run for political office in the nineteenth and twentieth century; this has been named “The Suffrage Movement.” The second wave focused on the ideas and actions associated with basic rights for women; it contested for the establishment of social and legal equality and rights for women. This was called the “women’s liberation movement” that began in the 1960s. The third wave, which is ongoing, is a result and a reaction to the failure of achieving what the first-wave and second-wave feminist movements aimed to achieve; this took birth in the beginning of the 1990s. Furthermore, over the course of feminist movement’s continuum feminists have assumed various forms of sexual identities and practiced different activities, such as BDSM, to justify and exert control and power. From the early 1970s, a vast number of powerful women consolidated bisexuality and lesbianism into the feminist movement, and considered it a part of feminism so as to wield their supposed sexual prowess on men as a show of power. This has caused a big proportion of feminism activists accepting and bolstering the view, whereas others have discarded such practices and beliefs due to considering them irrelevant to the achievement of their goals. Similarly, some feminists believe the sex industry to be a source for women to express themselves and take control of their sexuality. However, many refute this view because they believe that a very large number of prostitutes are forced into the sex industry and that it is not by their choice. In order to by-pass this issue, many women have now started to head towards pornography by considering it a work of art and that it showcases female sexuality. To this effect, the porn industry has become one of the largest entertainment industries in the United States giving annual revenue of $12 billion, which is larger than any other form of entertainment in the United States. Moreover, many feminists consider love to be a lowly carnal desire that subjugates women. They stated that a woman in love is in bad faith and may allow herself to be treated badly and brought under the man’s control, who has made the woman dependent on him; and that it is a product of a woman’s bad faith and that if the woman had not indulged in love and deviated from her true purpose then this would not have come to pass. Hence, the state of being in love is considered damage to the feminist movement. About literature, the feminist movement encouraged the authoring of both feminist non-fiction and fiction, and sparked a new interest in female writing. It has also led to the appraisal of women's academic, literary and historical contributions on account of the belief that female success and due share in academic achievements have not been recognized and that their contributions have been given inadequate representation. A great amount of time in the beginning of feminist literary revival was expended in the reclamation, recognition and rediscovery of literature authored by women. The rekindled interest in female authoring has been attributed to the consolidation of female achievements and contributions in the literary circles. Rekindled interest in lesbian and gay literature, post-colonial literature, and recognition of writing by people of other color has resulted in the expansion and redefinition of what used to be considered "literature" in reference to women, and genres of literature that had not been considered as "literary," such as letters, journals, children’s writing, travel writing, and the rest are now fields of scholarly investigation and study interest. This has led to the recognition and creation of new genres and sub-genres that have experienced a similar change; that one now sees work on the long-neglected female genres like female gothic or female sci-fi (Feminist Theory, 2000). Furthermore, feminism has also led to the study of Feminist economics. It generally refers to the fostering and development of the study of economics that is conducted on account of female insights and perspectives, and critiques to the study of economics. Research conducted for such purposes is often critical and interdisciplinary. It extends over the connection and relationship between economics and feminism on multitudes of levels: it extends from research and questioning of how economics can financially strengthen the reproductive sector to applying of predominant methods of economics to under-researched spheres of women (FISANICK, 2008). In addition, feminist economists have primarily focused on the prominent problem of as to how the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) does not impartially involve and calculate unpaid labor mainly performed by women, such as eldercare, childcare and housework. Mainstream feminist economists have also exposed and challenged the rhetorical and unconventional approach, in regard to women, of popular economics. They have given criticism and commentary on numerous assumed theories of popular economics, such as the Homo economicus theory in economics. All this has led to the recognition and provision of a place and standing of women in history, society and culture. Before feminism had gained ground, society and the world in general had been a place dominated by man; and it is owing to the indefatigable efforts of feminists on behalf of all the women in the world that women have experienced a metamorphosis in their condition of living. Bibliography Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form (2000). Feminist theory. [Thousand Oaks, Calif.], Sage Publications. http://FTY.sagepub.com/. FISANICK, C. (2008). Feminism. Detroit, Greenhaven Press. GARDINER, J. K. (2002). Masculinity studies & feminist theory new directions. New York, Columbia University Press. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=74726. HAAN, F. D., DASKALOVA, K., & LOUTFI, A. (2006). Biographical dictionary of women's movements and feminisms in Central, Eastern, and South Eastern Europe 19th and 20th centuries. New York, Central European University Press. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=147586. HANNAM, J. (2007). Feminism. Harlow, England, Pearson/Longman. KOLMAR, W. K., & BARTKOWSKI, F. (2005). Feminist theory: a reader. Boston, McGraw-Hill Higher Education.Bottom of Form Read More