FEMINISM: A RAY OF EQUALITY

              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 -19^th 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

• 137 women across the world are killed by a member of their own family every day
• (2020)
• 12 million girls under 18 are married each year
• Worldwide, according to a UNICEF report, around 15 million adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 have experienced forced sex at some point in their lifetime'
• n the US, 2 out of every 3 children sold for sex are trafficked online
• In the UK, more than 8,500 sexual services ads are posted online every month.
• The Philippines Department of Justice receives over 3,000 cases of online child sex trafficking every month.

#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:

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:

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”