Free Essay Sample: Theories About Feminism

First, feminism is not a movement for angry women. Everybody has feelings and is prone to emotions at one point but many women are capable of controlling their emotions even in the most severe situations. Without a doubt, women's position in society is considered feeble and faced with much criticism. It should never be considered wrong when they stand up for their needs. For example, for a long time, research studies focus on white males as subjects, and the results generated are used to generalize the whole population ("Activism, Change, and Feminist Futures"10). Feminists fight for inclusion so that fairness can be achieved without bias. This cannot be termed as anger but an expression of being overlooked and misrepresented.

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Second, feminism is not about rejecting all things that are feminine. It is about encouraging both genders to be open-minded. The respect is accorded to careers regarded as masculine should also be accorded to females with equal measure. For instance, boys are never encouraged to have careers such as elementary teachers or become stay-at-home fathers ("Activism, Change, and Feminist Futures"31). Men should be given the freedom to choose what they want without being judged. They should be able to stay at home and raise their children if that's what one desires without being looked down on.

Thirdly, it is not a rejection of motherhood. Implying that feminists are against motherhood duties, which sometimes result in mothers being subjected to housewives is unfair and insulting. Feminists strive to fight to make motherhood easier in order to provide mothers with ample time to carry out motherly duties with ease and alternatively be able to carry out other activities without pressure. Working full time as a mother juggling between working and raising children can be very tedious. Some mothers opt to stay at home and raise their children not because they are forced to do so, but because they want to give children maximum attention.

Feminism is not a white middle-class movement. White women who hail from middle-class society have adequate resources at their disposal. These resources are very significant in propelling their agenda but they sometimes take advantage and present their interests over the marginalized groups. However, modernization has created room for an intersectional feminism that seeks to identify the sophisticated and nuanced experiences relating to individuals on the basis of various intersections of oppression and privilege.

Lastly, feminists do not hate men. This perception of feminists by some people as a movement of people who turn their jealousy for men into hatred is misplaced. Surprisingly, this is not the case as they are loving people who have male figures in their lives whom they adore. Advocating for equal treatment should be seen as a way of championing positive change in our society, which would give the present and future generations the opportunity and chance to flourish in equal capacities.

Feminist Backlash

This refers to the discrediting of feminism by a particular group of people who do not believe in gender equality. The reason they talk ill about feminism can be attributed to the assumption that the apportionment of power would put them in a position to lose to women. Ignorance plays a major role in this as most of the information they possess about feminism is deceptive. However, this can happen in a patriarchal setting which elucidate women's request for power-sharing as a foam of seizure ("Activism, Change and Feminist Futures" 26).

Postfeminism

This is a term used to claim that the society has moved past the injustices against women that were experienced in the past and all the issues which created gender disparity have been addressed.Therefore, the application of more collective measures is deemed unnecessary. However, postfeminism seems to be problematic because there are still many existing and emerging injustices facing women that need attention. For example, Levitt mentions in his video several examples of such issues including women being paid lesser wages than men in the same job groups. Assault is also another example whereby men are placed in a position of higher power, which gives them the chance to take advantage of women. Women are also constantly objectified in the media and judged according to their appearance not to mention the handful number of women in leadership.

Fear of feminism

The number of people who openly declare themselves as feminists is very low in comparison to the beneficiaries who reap and enjoy the fruits of their hard work. This can be attributed to the notion that most people grow up with instilled fear in them, thus hindering them to speak out in support of what they believe in. Over the years, feminism has always been strongly opposed and condemned, which might have made people fear to drum up support for it and resulted in silence to avoid ridicule. For example, the 12 years of feminism demonetization during the Bush and Reagan administrations made young women perceive backlash as a normal way of life and thus nobody saw the need to speak out against it (Hogeland 771). Nevertheless, feminism consciousness is essential in joining people together. The understanding by women that the problems they face are similar helps bring them together. This makes it easier to fight against social forces that undermine their well-being and opportunities.

Works Cited

Beitsch, Rebecca. "#Metoo Has Changed Our Culture. Now It's Changing Our Laws.". Pewtrusts.Org, 2018, https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2018/07/31/metoo-has-changed-our-culture-now-its-changing-our-laws.

Gillette. We Believe: The Best Men Can Be | Gillette (Short Film). 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koPmuEyP3a0. Accessed 6 Dec 2019.

Hogeland, Lisa Marie. "Fear Of Feminism: Why Young Women Get The Willies". Accessed 7 Dec 2019.

Hurt, Byron. "Femist Men". Accessed 6 Dec 2019.

Joseph Gordon Levitt and Feminism. video. 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsEzgu7l4NI. Accessed 6 Dec 2019.

Quindlen, Anna. "Still Needing the F Word". 2019, Accessed 6 Dec 2019.

"Week 2: Women'S And Gender Studies: Perspectives And Practices". 2019.

"Week 15: Activism, Change, and Feminist Futures". 2019.

"Young Feminist Activism". AWID, https://www.awid.org/special-focus-sections/young-feminist-activism.