Formation of Stereotypes about Feminism in Society - Essay Example

Your Full Your 21 May Claiming Feminism The mere world “feminism” brings forward many different reactions from various people; these reactions may differ drastically from each other, or they may be slightly different with many overlaps, however, the fact remains that feminism and feminist theories have been much in debate before and remain so today. The biggest problem, perhaps, is that the terms “feminism” and “feminist” are often stereotyped. With images of the fiery, and hairy, feminist woman who wears flannel, and does not appear in any way feminine (at least to an eye that tries to find the media perpetuated femininity), feminism is a path that has been much avoided, even by women. A feminist woman is, thus, someone who does not appear to be agreeable in any way and who indulges in fighting over every little issue, making it, it seems her worldview to argue with everyone. This stereotype has done quite a lot to damage the cause of feminism, and thus women liberation. Moreover, it is because of this stereotypical feminist that not only men, but women also, find themselves considering feminism and everything related to it in a very negative light. The myth is ever present and there seems to be a need to end it, however, just how it is to be done successfully, and just how one can convince the general population about the pivotal role of feminists when it comes to changing the worldview regarding women in general are questions that need to be answered with a lot of thought and consideration. During the 1970s and 1980s, the feminist movement found much success; women joined a struggle to create a world where they were the equal counterparts of men, and where they were not discriminated against based on their sex. These women, the pioneer feminists one can call them maybe, paved the road for those that came after them; they fought for equal rights when it came to employment, for wages that were equal to their male counterparts, for protection against sexual harassment against women. In short, all matters that were considered to be an issue for any women were considered to be part of the feminist agenda as well. The feminists were at a war-path, so to speak, to eradicate all forms of sexism found in their society. This was, indeed, a noble cause, however, it has been much maligned and misunderstood, and perhaps that is the reason of it being suspect to a lot of people. In her article “Fear of Feminism,” Lisa Maria Hogeland discusses just how hard it is for the woman of today to join the feminist movement. Many women of today do not consider feminism favorable, and the reason thereof is, of course, not only the myth that surrounds the feminist movement, but also a hesitation on their part to leave their own lifestyles and pursue a path that will definitely be hard to trod, and not merely because the society they live in does not accept it. We live in a patriarchal society, which prides itself on its heterosexuality. Thus, a male heterosexual is, perhaps, the one who has got it made in our society; he is considered favorably by all around him and perhaps by himself as well. However, this biased view of our society results in women being subjugated by men, and being made to feel inferior. This, of course, applies to gay, lesbians and even transgender people living in our society as well. Through a feminist approach, women who are involved in the movement try to overcome these biases. But, as Hogeland puts it, we find that even women do not want to join the movement, because of various fears that have been fed to them through media and society: men do not want to date/marry a feminist and (as media portrays it) marriage or being in a relationship is what is most important in life, therefore, feminism is not worth the sacrifice. In their article “Teaching the Conflicts,” Meredith Love and Brenda Helmbrecht try to explore just why it is that the third-wave feminists, or the modern feminists for that matter, have come to a similar conclusion as their non-feminist counterparts: self-fulfillment is very important, and it is only when one satisfies one’s urges that one is able to be a true feminist. This, the authors feel, is the third-wave feminists’ way of saying that the media perpetuated myth, whereby a woman has a choice to be sell herself and her body out (as many pop stars do), is actually true, and that the freedom that the original feminists sought for their fellow beings has been actually achieved. However, this is far from the truth; the modern day feminism – the authors give three examples: pop song, ad campaign and a Hollywood movie – helps advance the idea that true emancipation from the patriarchal system has been achieved, and now the woman has a choice to do with herself as she wills. The authors then take the three images from media apart and show just how much truth there is to it. The women involved in all three were considered by the authors to be far from emancipated, rather they were furthering another form of stereotype: the modern feminists, who actually looks feminine, or the third-wave feminist, is actually better than the second-wave feminist, as she has truly embraced her potential as a woman by tuning in to her natural urges. The authors show that by trivializing the imagery of women, these three media portrayals of women are not actually doing any service to women or feminism, rather the song and the ad are actually merely commercializing the movement, in an effort to bring more consumers to buy their product, whereas the movie perpetuates the dragon like stereotype of the second-wave feminist, who has an excellent career, yet does not have a fulfilled personal life, as opposed to the third-wave feminist who leaves her high powered career to settle for a less stressful job where she can work along with being as involved as she can with her family. Feminism, it seems, has been abandoned as a way of life for a better, more adaptable (one can even say more tolerable to men) view of the world, where it is actually a matter of personal choice, and not a collective effort to bring a change. There are no picket fences any more, or protests, rather there are ad campaigns. Whatever there is left of activist feminism is much maligned and misunderstood. On a personal note, my own mother was against the feminist movement; she believed that a woman’s place was with her husband, with the husband taking more responsibility of her and she leading a domestic life where she only concerned herself with her children and domestic affairs. My mother taught me this worldview too, perhaps, and that is why since my childhood, I thought that for me to be a complete woman, I would have to find myself a mate (of course male) and settle down with him, preferably marry him. It was not until I read some feminist literature that I realized that I was actually buying into the patriarchal image of a woman, which normally men have put in place to keep women subjugated to them. When I talked to my mother about it, she was visibly upset; she now saw me as “one of them,” or “the women who are constantly fighting and bickering over one thing or another,” as my mother termed them. This made me realize just how deeply feminism is needed to be adapted as a worldview, whereby we interpret everything according to how the society reacts to us and treats us as women. If feminism is not taken to be a worldview, then perhaps we can get just as stuck into the system as my mother did, where she believed that she was a “good” woman because she followed the stereotypical role of a good woman, which the patriarchal society had actually placed upon her in the first place, and I could turn out to be a “bad” woman, if I did not follow in the footsteps of my mother and joined those “fighting and bickering” women. We need to actually try to understand the deeper connotations of the stereotyping of women, the stereotyping which the media is constantly bombarding us with. Whether it is the half clad women in rap videos, or a sexy songstress dressing seductively and singing about having a girl president, we need to realize that the media is trivializing issues that we as women hold dear to us, thereby making all the work that has been done in the 1970s and 1980s redundant. We need to adapt feminism as our worldview and not just as a political cause to be able to come out of the position we find ourselves in, as without that, there would be no real change possible for women and their issues in the current system of our society. Works Cited Hogeland, Lisa Maria. “Fear of Feminism: Why Young Women Get the Willies.” 5.3 (1994): 18-21. Print. Love, Meredith A., and Brenda M. Helmbrecht. “Teaching the Conflicts: (Re)Engaging Students with Feminism in a Postfeminist World.” Feminist Teacher 18.1 (2007): 41-58. Print. Read More