FEMINISM: A RAY OF EQUALITY
The "patriarchy" does "exist." The belief of this statement leads to the
rise of feminism. The female voice expresses that we are the people on this
earth and we want to become responsible citizens.
THE BIRTH:
Charles Fourier, a utopian socialist and French philosopher,
has coined the word "féminisme" in 1837.
The words "féminisme" ("feminism")
and "féministe" ("feminist") first appeared in
· France
and the Netherlands in 1872,
· Great
Britain in the 1890s,
· United
States in 1910.
· In
India, from mid -19th century
THE FEMINIST MOVEMENTS:
1.
WHEN: 1840
WHO: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and
Lucretia Mott
WHY: Anti-slavery
and temperance movements, voting rights
ESTABLISHED: The Declaration
of Sentiments
2.
WHEN: 1966
WHO: Betty Friedan and other prominent feminists
WHY: the pill, abortion, equal employment
opportunity, reduction of violence against women
ESTABLISHED: National Organization for Women (NOW)
3.
WHEN: 1968
WHO: Miss America pageant
WHY: The protest was against perceiving misogyny.
4.
WHEN: 1970’s
WHO: a growing number of women pursued higher education, and entered the workforce
WHY: the
fundamental aspects of female life: domesticity, employment, education and
sexuality.
ESTABLISHED: Women Liberation Movement.
5.
WHEN: 1989
WHO: black women
WHY: affiliate with the male-led Black Power
Movement and the white female-led Women's Liberation Movement
ESTABLISHED: The National Black Feminist Organization and
The National Alliance of Black Feminists
THREE WAVES OF FEMINISM:
First-Wave Feminism: (1919)
Maybe
We could be Citizens now?
·
First-wave feminism promoted equal
contract and property rights for women, opposing ownership of married women by
their husbands.
·
By the late 19th century, feminist
activism was primarily focused on the right to vote.
· American first-wave feminism ended with passage of the 19th
Amendment to the US Constitution in 1919, granting women voting rights.
Second-Wave
Feminism: (1960-1980)
Maybe You Could
Stop Raping Us, Please?
· It was focused on issues of equality and discrimination.
· It was a reaction to women returning to their roles as
housewives and mothers.
· Betty Friedan demonstrate the character of women in the
family
Third-Wave
Feminism: (1997)
Maybe I Like Rape! Shut Up! Maybe I Don't!
· The
third-wave sees women’s lives as intersectional, demonstrating how race,
ethnicity, class, religion, gender, and nationality are all significant factors
when discussing feminism. It examines issues related to women’s lives on an
international basis.
· "I
use my sexuality as a weapon!"
· It was
felt that given rights and roles in first and second waves did not satisfy
feminists.
SEXISM: (2000’s)
·
Trafficking for sexual
exploitation is a $99bn a year industry, where 96% of all victims are female
#Meetoo:
· In 2006, Burke coined
the term “MeeToo”
·
IN 2017, the word changed
its form into hashtag
·
In 2018 October, Indians, especially on
twitter, were taken up by a storm. India was witnessing its #MeToo
movement.
·
This can be considered a watershed moment in
Indian history.
·
Women named and shamed their abusers, most of
whom held powerful positions in their respective fields including politics,
Bollywood, journalism, and media.
· More claims deemed the survivors as ‘attention-seeking’
women who only did it to get some fame.
This movement was the most sarcastic moment in
the book of feminism. A woman fighting for her rights looks so complicated
while women are not able to protect their selves from sex abusers. This
movement is an open book for them. The more pain women hide, the more hurdles
should be faced not only by her but also, the next generations.
“IF YOU
CAN OVERCOME THE PAIN OF YOUR MENSTRUATION CYCLE, WHY CANT YOU OVERCOME THE
FEAR OF FACING THE WORLD?”
ARE WOMEN SATISFIED???
Powerful, successful
women like Oprah Winfrey, Sally Ride, and Melinda Gates prove that women can do
anything men can, even with the added burden of institutional sexism.
BUT,
·
Less than 5% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women
·
In the US, for the first time, in 2011,
women made up slightly more than half the workforce.
·
although more women are working, they are
often still worse paid than men
·
Women only contribute10% of the world income
·
The number of women owning small and
medium-sized businesses is estimated to be between 8 million and 10 million
·
Only seven of 150 elected heads of state
in the world are women, and only 11 of 192 heads of government.
·
Eighty-eight percent of women aged 30-39
see their earnings decline when they have children.
·
As one report from the World Banknotes:
“Progress in education is not matched by higher labor force participation. By
age 24, women lag in all regions.
·
An International Labor Organization (ILO)
study of 83 countries found that women earn 10%-30% less than men.
WHAT DOES REAL
FEMINISM MEAN?
·
Feminists don’t want to destroy or oppress men: They want
to destroy toxic masculinity.
·
It’s getting rid of the assumption that women should be
feminine and men should be masculine
· Feminism describes
global movements to raise the consciousness of and to eliminate sexism, sex exploitation,
and oppression to ensure equal social, economic, and political rights of people
across the gender spectrum.
Verifying the other
side of the coin, is the present world still suffering from women problems?
Are men spending their
life in luxury?
No men are suffering
in these acts?
The
answer is yes. Some men cannot express their worries in the shade of feminism.
Society
has given some responsibilities to both genders equally. Women have to feed
their children and look after their families. Men have to earn and rescue their
families from financial burdens.
·
If women go to work and earn
equally to men. The family will be financially safe and very developed, but
time spent with their children will be very less.
·
Who will take care of old people in
the house?
·
Having sufficient income,
televisions, mobiles will replace the responsibilities of parents
·
With whom the kids share the feelings of
happiness and sorrows?
·
Its this culture which is the beginning
of era of Old-age homes, baby-care centers, zomato, swiggy and even byju’s?
·
Mother is the first teacher. But
today, she is not ready to explain the basics of education to her own child?
·
If this continues, how will the
future generation able to learn about traditions and our culture?
·
Once upon a time the duration of
message passing is 3 days, but now 3 seconds.
·
The generation is bounded by
instant results.
·
The future of child depends upon
the parents care.
·
Earning money is not equal to being
happy. Money is need, not luxury.
·
No career is more important than
family.
The movement that opposes this is “ANTI-FEMINISM”.
It was organized by Studium Generale on 31
October 2019
· Antifeminism
is opposition to some or all forms of feminism
·
It is believed that feminist theories of patriarchy and
disadvantages suffered by women in society are incorrect or exaggerated
·
The feminism is a movement that encourages misandry and
results in harm or oppression of men and driven by general opposition
towards women's rights.
Anti-feminism is traveling through a
right-wing policy.
There are people, who support these
movements. The aspects that lead to confusion in these acts are
·
The protests not having right agenda
·
Misunderstandings of words, and their meanings
·
Issues in sorting the truth
·
Taking advantage of sympathy shown to right things.
TERMS RELATED TO FEMINISM:
Patriarchy:
A
hierarchical-structured society in which men hold more power.
Sexism:
The idea that women are inferior to men.
Misogyny:
Hatred of women.
Misandry:
Hatred of men.
White Feminism:
It focus on the
struggles of white women while ignoring the distinct forms of oppression that
minority women face, which actually negates the definition of feminism.
Womanism is a
word that renowned feminist Alice Walker coined when she was referring to
African American women’s need to create a movement centered on their own needs
since white feminism fails to include them.
Intersectionality:
Intersectionality
refers to "a form of feminism that aims to include all women and recognize
that race, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability, and class all
influence how much and in what ways women are oppressed”.
Essentialism:
Essentialism is
the assumption that people have a fixed “nature,” such as the notion that all women are
emotional.
Naturalization:
Naturalization
is the social construction of gender as “natural” or innate.
Ableism is any
discrimination or prejudice against individuals with disabilities.
A
little deeper
Hostile sexism:
The one most people think about. Openly insulting, objectifying and
degrading women.
Benevolent sexism:
Less obvious. Kind of seems like a compliment, even though it's rooted in
men's feelings of superiority. It's when men say women are worthy of their
protection (off the sinking boat first) or that they're more nurturing than men
(therefore should raise children). It's restrictive.
Internalized sexism:
When the belief in women's inferiority becomes part of one's own
worldview and self-concept.
Misogynoir:
Misogyny directed toward black women.
LGBTQ:
The acronym for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer.” Some people also use the
Q to stand for "questioning," meaning people who are figuring
out their sexual or gender identity. You may also see LGBTQIA I stands
for intersex
A for asexual/aromantic/agender.
“WOMEN PATIENCE IS EQUAL TO MOTHER EARTH’s
TOLERANCE. SHE IS ENOUGH WITTY TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO ALL THE PROBLEMS. SHE CAN
TOLERATE MANY, UNTIL AND UNLESS SHE IS BEEN RESPECTED AND GIVEN HER RIGHTS. BUT
WHO MISUSE THE SACRIFICE OF MANY LEGENDARY WOMEN ARE UNFIT TO SPELL THE WORD
FEMINISM”
