Information AboutFeminism |
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Feminist political Activists commonly campaign on issues such as Reproductive Rights (including but not limited to the right to choose a safe, legal Abortion , access to Contraception , and the availability of quality Prenatal Care ), Violence within a Domestic Partnership , Maternity Leave , Equal Pay , Sexual Harassment , Street Harassment , Discrimination , and Rape . Many feminists today argue that feminism is a Grass-roots movement that seeks to cross boundaries based on social class, race, Culture , and Religion ; is culturally specific and addresses issues relevant to the women of that Society (for example Female Genital Cutting in Africa or the Glass Ceiling in developed economies); and debate the extent to which certain issues, such as Rape , Incest , and Mothering , are universal. Themes explored in feminism include Patriarchy , Stereotyping , Objectification , Sexual Objectification , and Oppression . ORIGINS See Also: History of feminism Susan B. Anthony is third from the left, front row.]] Christine De Pizan , the first professional female writer, advocated feminism as early as the 1300s, in the face of attempts to restrict female inheritance and guild membership. Feminism as a Philosophy and movement in the modern sense may be usefully dated to The Enlightenment with such thinkers as Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and the Marquis De Condorcet championing women's education. The first Scientific Society for women was founded in Middelburg , a city in the south of the Dutch Republic , in 1785 . Journals for women which focused on issues like science became popular during this period as well. Mary Wollstonecraft 's '' A Vindication Of The Rights Of Woman '' ( 1792 ) is one of the first works that can unambiguously be called feminist. Feminism became an organized movement in the 19th Century as people increasingly came to believe that women were being treated unfairly. The feminist movement was rooted in the progressive movement and especially in the Reform Movement of the 19th Century . The Utopian Socialist Charles Fourier coined the word ''féminisme'' in 1837 ; as early as 1808 , he had argued that the extension of Women's Rights was the general principle of all social progress. The organized movement was dated from the first women's rights convention at Seneca Falls , New York, in 1848 . In 1869, John Stuart Mill published The Subjection Of Women to demonstrate that "the legal subordination of one sex to the other is wrong...and...one of the chief hindrances to human improvement." Many countries began to grant women the Vote in the early years of the 20th Century , especially in the final years of the First World War and the first years hence. The reasons varied, but they included a desire to recognize the contributions of women during the war, and were also influenced by rhetoric used by both sides at the time to justify their war efforts. For example, since Woodrow Wilson 's Fourteen Points recognized self determination as vital to society, the hypocrisy of denying half the population of modern nations the vote became difficult for men to ignore. FEMINISM IN MANY FORMS Some forms of feminist theory question basic assumptions about gender, gender difference, and sexuality, including the category of "woman" itself as a Holistic concept, further some are interested in questioning the male/female dichotomy completely (offering instead a multiplicity of genders). Other forms of feminist theory take for granted the concept of "woman" and provide specific analyses and critiques of Gender Inequality , and most feminist social movements promote women's Right s, interests, and issues. Feminism is not a single Ideology . Over-time several sub-types of feminist ideology have developed. Early feminists and primary feminist movements are often called the First-wave Feminists , and feminists after about 1960 the Second-wave Feminists . More recently, some members of younger generation of feminists have identified themselves with a "third Wave" Of Feminism . Whether this will be a lasting evolution remains to be seen as the second-wave has by no means ended nor has it ceded to the third-wave feminists. In her book ''A Fearful Freedom: Women's Flight from Equality'', Wendy Kaminer identifies another conflict between forms of feminism, the conflict between what she calls "egalitarian" and "protectionist" feminism. In her characterization, egalitarian feminists focus on promoting equality between women and men, and giving women and men equal Rights . Protectionist feminists prefer to focus on legal protections for women, such as Employment Laws that specially protect female workers and Divorce laws that seem to favor women, sometimes advocating restricting rights for men, such as Free Speech (specifically, the right to produce and consume pornography). Though the book predates third-wave feminism, Kaminer identifies both protectionist and egalitarian currents within first-wave feminism and second-wave feminism. Some radical feminists, such as Mary Daly , Charlotte Bunch , and Marilyn Frye , have advocated Separatism —a complete separation of male and female in society and culture—while others question not only the relationship between men and women, but the very meaning of "man" and "woman" as well (see Queer Theory ). Some argue that Gender Role s, Gender Identity , and sexuality are themselves Social Constructs (see also Heteronormativity ). For these feminists, feminism is a primary means to human liberation (i.e., the liberation of men as well as women.) It should also be noted that although many leaders of feminism have been women, not all feminists are women. There are a number of exclusively male groups which are sympathetic to feminist understandings of society and believe the dominant model of manhood or masculinity is oppressive to women, as well as limiting for men themselves. {Link without Title} There is debate ''about'' feminism concerning which types should exclusively be labeled, or considered. There are also overlapping beliefs such as in oppression by patriarchy and/or capitalism, or the belief they are one in the same. Subtypes of feminism RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER MOVEMENTS Some feminists take a holistic approach to politics, believing the saying of Martin Luther King Jr. , "A threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere". In that belief, some self-identified feminists support other movements such as the Civil Rights movement and the Gay Rights Movement . At the same time, many black feminists such as Bell Hooks criticize the movement for being dominated by white women. Feminist claims about the alleged disadvantages women face in Western society are often less relevant to the lives of black women. This idea is the key in Postcolonial Feminism . Many black feminist women prefer the term Womanism for their views. Feminists are sometimes wary of the Transgender movement because it challenges the distinctions between men and women. Transgender and Transsexual individuals who identify as female are excluded from some " Women-only " gatherings and events and are rejected by some feminists, who say that no one born male can fully understand the oppression that women face. This exclusion is criticized as " Transphobic " by transgender people, who assert their political and social struggles are closely linked to many feminist efforts, and that discrimination against gender-variant people is another face of the so-called Patriarchy . See Transfeminism and Gender Studies . EFFECTS OF FEMINISM IN THE WEST Some feminists would argue that there is still much to be done on these fronts, while others would disagree and claim that the battle has basically been won. Effects on civil rights Feminism has effected many changes in Western society, including Women's Suffrage ; broad employment for women at more equitable wages; the right to initiate Divorce proceedings and the introduction of "no fault" divorce; the right to obtain contraception and safe abortions; and the right to University education. Effect on language English -speaking feminists are often proponents of what they consider to be Non-sexist Language , using " Ms. " to refer to both married and unmarried women, for example, or the use of the term "herstory" instead of "history". Feminists are also often proponents of using ''gender-inclusive'' language, such as "huwomanity" instead of "humanity" and "womankind" instead of "mankind", or "he or she" (or other Gender-neutral Pronouns ) in place of "he" where the gender is unknown. Feminists in most cases advance their desired use of language either to promote what they claim is an equal and respectful treatment of women or to affect the tone of political discourse. This can be seen as a move to change language which has been viewed by some feminists as imbued with sexism, providing for example the case in the English Language in which the word for the general pronoun is "he" or "his" (''The child should have his paper and pencils''), which is the same as the masculine pronoun (''The boy and his truck''). These feminists argue that language then directly affects perception of reality (compare Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis ). However, to take a postcolonial analysis of this point, many languages ''other'' than English may not have such a gendered pronoun instance and thus changing language may not be as important to some feminists as others. Yet, English is becoming more and more universal, and the issue of language may be seen to be of growing importance. On the other hand, a different tendency can be seen in French . Gender, as a grammatical concept, is much more pervasive in French than in English, and as a result, it has been virtually impossible to create inclusive language. Instead, nouns that originally had only a masculine form have had feminine counterparts created for them. "''Professeur''" ("teacher"), once always masculine regardless of the teacher's sex, now has a parallel feminine form "''Professeuse''". In cases where separate masculine and feminine forms have always existed, it was once standard practice for a group containing both men and women to be referred to using the masculine plural. Nowadays, forms such as "''Tous les Canadiens et Canadiennes''" ("all Canadians", or literally "all the male Canadians and female Canadians") are becoming more common. Such phrasing is common in Canada , and in France, where President Jacques Chirac routinely uses "Françaises et Français" (French women and French men) in political speeches, but practically unknown in other French-speaking countries. Effect on heterosexual relationships The feminist movements have altered the nature of Heterosexual relationships in Western and other societies affected by feminism. In some of these relationships, there has been a change in the power relationship between men and women. In these circumstances, men and women have had to adapt to relatively new situations, sometimes causing confusions about Role and Identity . Women can now avail themselves more to new opportunities, but some have suffered with the demands of trying to live up to the so-called "superwomen" identity, and have struggled to 'have it all', i.e. manage to happily balance a career and family. In response to the family issue, many socialist feminists blame this on the lack of state-provided child-care facilities. Others have advocated instead that full responsibility for child care must not rest solely on women, but rather that men should also be responsible for managing family matters. Some men counter that this expectation is unrealistic, claiming that a de-emphasis on breadwinning would be injurious to their ability to attract mates; while many women have the choice to try to "have it all", they claim that societal expectations placed on men preclude them from devoting themselves further to domestic chores and childrearing. Several studies support the view that, although men are derided for not devoting enough time to childrearing and domestic tasks, few women seem attracted to men who engage in these activities to the detriment of their careers. ( "The Perception of Sexual Attractiveness: Sex Differences in Variability" by Townsend J.M.; Wasserman T., Archives of Sexual Behavior, Volume 26, Number 3, June 1997, pp. 243-268(26) McGraw, Kevin J. (2002) "Environmental Predictors of Geographic Variation in Human Mating Preferences." Ethology 108 (4), 303-317. ''In Defense of Working Fathers'' Sacks, Glenn. {Link without Title} .) Some argue that the fact men devote less time to household chores is due to the fact that they devote more time to work outside the home. (finding, "According to the International Labor Organization, the average American father works 51 hours a week, whereas those mothers of young children who do work full time (themselves a minority) work a 41-hour week." {Link without Title} . As a counter to these arguments, is less of a point of contention for feminists. (For more discussion of this point, see Joyce Jacobson's ''The Economics of Gender''). In addition, a number of studies provide statistical evidence for the claim that married men do not contribute an equal share of housework, regardless of they or their wives' paid work loads: for example, Scott J. South and Glenna Spitze, "Housework in Marital and Nonmarital Households," ''American Sociological Review'' 59, no. 3 (1994):327-348 (which noted that divorced and widowed men spend significantly more time doing housework than married men do), and Sarah Fenstermaker Berk and Anthony Shih, "Contributions to Household Labor: Comparing Wives' and Husbands' Reports,", in Berk, ed., ''Women and Household Labor''. These studies suggest that married men may actually create more domestic work for women, by virtue of their presence in the house, than the amount of work they perform themselves. The preceding arguments mainly apply to Middle-class women. In her 1996 book ''Dubious Conceptions'', Kristin Luker discusses the effect of feminism on teenage women's choices to bear a child, both within and outside of marriage. She argues that as bearing a child without being married has become more socially acceptable for women, young women -- while not bearing children at a higher rate than in the 1950s -- have come to see less of a reason to get married before having a child, especially poor young women. As reasons for this, she argues that the economic prospects for poor men are slim, meaning that poor women have a low chance of finding a husband who will provide reliable financial support, and that husbands tend to create more domestic work than they contribute. Though the feminist movement has had minimal impact on those two factors, it may have contributed to the increasing social acceptability of bearing children outside of marriage. There have been changes also in attitudes towards sexual morality and behavior with the onset of second wave feminism and " that women were then able to experience was seen as positive (especially by Sex-positive Feminists ) as it enabled women and men to experience sex in a free and equal manner. However, some feminists felt that the results of the sexual revolution were beneficial only to men. Feminists have debated whether Marriage is an institution that oppresses women and men. Those who do view it as oppressive sometimes opt for Cohabitation or more recently to live independently reverting to Casual Sex to fulfill their sexual needs. Evangelical (Christian) Feminists sometimes argue that life-long monogamy ideally promotes egalitarianism in sex, especially when viewed in light of other common alternatives to monogamy (i.e. Polygamy , Prostitution , or Infidelity ). On the other hand, Friedrich Engels 's essay '' Origins Of The Family, Private Property, And The State '' -- sometimes considered an early feminist work -- argues that monogamy was originally conceived of as a way for men to control women. In addition, some modern feminists endorse Polyamory as an egalitarian lifestyle (see Sex-positive Feminism ). One problem that the feminist movement has come across is the statistics dealing with family life when one or more feminist lives in the household. Statistics have shown that 82% of households with mothers that are openly part of the feminist movement have had problem children, due to traumatizing events involving bizarre behavior by the mother. In 70% of households with feminists living there at all, males have complained that they don't feel equal to the women of the house, but oppressed. While women tend to claim that this is merely the result of their resentment to a relinquishing power they've had all their lives, men make the argument that the women, regardless of claims of what men may have had over women in the past, are not allowing them to live freely in the house or out of it. Effect on religion Feminism has had a great effect on many aspects of , and in Reform , Conservative and Reconstructionist Judaism , women are ordained as Rabbi s and Cantor s. Within these Christian and Jewish groups, women have gradually become more nearly equal to men by obtaining positions of power; their perspectives are now sought out in developing new statements of belief. In Islam women have historically contributed to all aspects of Islamic life, from religious edicts to aid on the battlefield. A large portion of the sayings of Muhammad are taken from his wife Aisha , whom men often consulted on religious matters. In this day you will often see many women scholars on Arabic satellite television answering Islam-related questions, asked by both genders. One matter remains debatable nowadays, which is whether or not a woman can lead men in prayers. Although all classical Islamic scholars of jurisprudence rule that it is prohibited in Islamic Law, a small portion of contemporary Muslims believe that there is evidence leading to the contrary. The leadership of women in religious matters has also been resisted within Roman Catholicism . Roman Catholicism has historically excluded women from entering priesthood and other positions in clergy, allowing women to hold positions as nuns or as laypeople. Feminism also has had an important role in embracing new forms of religion. Neopagan religions especially tend to emphasize the importance of Goddess spirituality, and question what they regard as traditional religion's hostility to women and the sacred feminine. In particular Dianic Wicca is a religion whose origins lie within Radical Feminism . Among traditional religions, feminism has led to self examination, with reclaimed positive Christian and Islamic views and ideals of Mary , Islamic views of Fatima Zahra , and especially to the Catholic belief in the Coredemptrix , as counterexamples. However, criticism of these efforts as unable to salvage corrupt church structures and philosophies continues. Some argue that Mary, with her status as mother and virgin, and as traditionally the main role model for women, sets women up to aspire to an impossible ideal and also thus has negative consequences on human sense of identity and sexuality. There is a separate article on God And Gender ; it discusses how monotheistic religions reconcile their theologies with contemporary gender issues, and how modern feminism has influenced the theology of many religions. Effect on moral education Opponents of feminism claim that women's quest for external power, as opposed to the internal power to affect other people's ethics and values, has left a vacuum in the area of Moral training, where women formerly held sway. Some feminists reply that the education, including the moral education, of children has never been, and should not be, seen as the exclusive responsibility of women. Paradoxically, it is also held by others that the moral education of children at home in the form of Homeschooling is itself a women's movement. Such arguments are entangled within the larger disagreements of the Culture Wars , as well as within feminist (and anti-feminist) ideas regarding custodianship of societal morals and Compassion . EFFECTS OF FEMINISM IN THE EAST WORLDWIDE STATISTICS The following is a sampling of statistics related to the relative status of women worldwide.
PERSPECTIVE: THE NATURE OF THE MODERN MOVEMENT Most feminists believe discrimination against women still exists in North American and European nations, as well as worldwide. But there are many ideas within the movement regarding the severity of current problems, what the problems are, and how best to confront them. Extremes on the one hand include some radical feminists such as Mary Daly who argues that human society would be better off with dramatically fewer men, which goes against the call for equality the movement has sought to achieve. There are also dissidents, such as Christina Hoff Sommers or Camille Paglia , who identify themselves as feminist but who accuse the movement of anti-male prejudice. However, the former in particular has drawn criticism for what many feminists term being an apologist for male privilege at the expense of women. On the other hand, many feminists question the use of the term ''feminist'' to groups or people who fail to recognize a fundamental equality between the sexes. Some feminists, like Katha Pollitt (see her book '' Reasonable Creatures '') or Nadine Strossen (President of the ACLU and author of ''Defending Pornography'' treatise on freedom of speech ), consider feminism to be, solely, the view that "women are people." Views that separate the sexes rather than unite them are considered by these people to be ''sexist'' rather than ''feminist''. There are also debates between Difference Feminists such as Carol Gilligan on the one hand, who believe that there are important differences between the sexes (which may or may not be inherent, but which cannot be ignored), and those who believe that there are no essential differences between the sexes, and that the roles observed in society are due to conditioning. There is debate among scientists and social scientists as to whether social and psychological differences between men and women are rooted in biology. Some scientists attribute many observed differences in men's and women's behavior to biological differences between the sexes, while others argue for a stronger focus on the effects of Socialization . Still others believe that the complex interactions between Genes and environment make it impossible to make a definite statement on the subject, given the current state of scientific knowledge. BOOKS
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