Thursday, September 1, 2011
What Feminism Means to You Today
For this week, I want you to talk about what feminism means for you today. Use the readings for this week and write about your thoughts on them and on feminism as you have come to understand it. How useful is feminism in your life? Do you think it is useful for you? Have you learned anything new in the last week of readings?
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In today's society feminism is any woman who will stand up for the right to be heard, and to create an equal medium between men and women. Feminism is based upon woman's rights only and are directed towards sexist, the majority of the time. The right for woman to speak up for themselves has not only affected me, but many woman around the world. It allows woman and girls to not let anyone treat them degradingly.
ReplyDeleteWith all the feminist movements we have had it has created more job opportunities for woman and created a sense of worthiness. Woman are not just viewed as a doormat, but actual humans with brains. This was not the case for the women in our readings.
After completing the readings it disgusted me to see how poorly woman were treated during the first and second wave. Although I still do not completely believe that the world is not bias towards men, I am happy I live during this time period as opposed to the 19th century woman.
I have always thought of feminism as its stereotypical self, "stubborn women who hate that 'men' is in many words and have a harsh view of men in general." In all honesty, I think this view of mine came from one of my favorite ABCFamily shows "10 Things I Hate About You."
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the articles and listening in class I am coming to understand that there is much more to feminism than your typical television version. Feminist are strong women, not afraid to stand up for their rights and fight to be treated as equals and as important as men are treated. After all, without women, the world would end! Unlike how the majority of women were a couple generations ago (kept to themselves and did not express their feelings towards sexism), women have become more blunt and out-going about their views on how they and other women are viewed in contrast to how men are viewed.
From the readings and learning what feminism is really about, it makes me happy to know how women have overcome the hard times they faced in the past from sexist and to know that we can pridefully stand up for ourselves without being viewed as troublemakers or "stubborn women who have a harsh view of men." We are equal, important, and beautiful and that is how we insist on being treated.
-Alyssa West (alwest)
Throughout the years that I've studied feminism, I've always seemed to have come up with different definitions every time I study the concept. Recently, feminism, to me, has represented the empowerment of women through personal success and growth throughout society. If we look back when the feminist movement started, we can see that women were under-appreciated and not respected in society. They were simply viewed as housewives and caterers to men. Through the years, women have proven that with strength and endurance, we too can be equally successful and as respected as men.
ReplyDeleteAs I've read different articles outside and inside of class this week by women, I've really come to see a change from the first wave of the feminist movement until now. While the first wave seemed to be more of a men-bashing stage, like in the article set up like the Declaration of Independence, we can see that today's generation of feminists are more focused on self-empowerment without so much focus on the men treating us poorly. Sojourner Truth really put a new perspective on not just being a woman in the first wave, but was also showing a view on an African-American woman in the first wave. Today, I believe women are seen as more of one whole group rather than being separated by race. This shows growth as a result of the fight that women have fought throughout the years.
Feminism is actually useful in my life. As a woman with big dreams for my career, I am probably going to be consistently looked down upon in the professional world as being inferior to men. I'm determined to let that happen as little as possible and prove to those around me that I can do an even better job professionally than a man ever could. This is one of the reasons why today I see feminism as an empowerment of women through personal success, because I personally want to be extremely successful as a woman.
-Lauren Byrd
I think of Feminism as being a way for women to get people to understand that they are people too. Women have just as many rights as anyone else. I am thankful for the previous women who took part in feminism. Those women sacrificed a lot to give women the privileges we have today.
ReplyDeleteIn the articles we have read in class this week i have noticed a HUGE difference since the first wave to today's society. My favorite we read was "Aint I A Woman". She made sound so real about women. She has all of my respect for standing up for al of the women that didnt have the guts to do it themselves.Feminism is a useful quality for me and all women in general. It gives women the strength and courage we need to succeed in our everyday walks of life. Because of feminism, women have the right to vote and are able to work the same jobs as men.
I learned that feminism plays a larger role in my life than I thought. I am more appreciative of feminism and the opportunities previous women have provided me with. Feminism gives me the motivation and strength to achieve my goals and dreams that I need to be successful in life.
-Malorie Cummings
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ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Feminism is a movement as to where women fight to gain their rights. During this time ( and still today) women felt as if they deserved the same respect and power as men did, which is true. Sexism still remains a problem today. Men are known to be "in charge" of the household, or anything else for that matter, which prevent women from having a voice of their own. During these times, women believed that there was more to just "gaining" the right to vote. Their main goal was equality. It is a given fact that it is a "Man's world", but think about it, what is a man without a woman? In my opinion, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Aside from the topic, we are the nurtures and the best supporters, that should serve as some type of significance. Women are just as important as men are.
ReplyDeleteOne of the readings that stuck out to me the most was Sojourner Truth "Ain't I a Woman". In her speech, Sojourner Truth talks about the importance of women. As a reader, her argument possessed strong evidence. One statement/question that i felt was admirable ii n her speech was when she asked "Where did Christ come from? From God and a woman?" I can almost promise each and every one of you that no one looked at the situation that way. I believe this speech encouraged Women's Right Activists to keep fighting for their rights, even today.
Feminism is useful considering that I am a female. Feminism is very important to me, simply because women are still stereotyped against. Feminist movements were not created to make men look bad, their groups were formed to try and cease the separation amongst men and women when it came to capabilities of women. Last semester, in my Sociology class I learned alot about these types of factors along with the "Glass Ceiling" situation(which still occurs today also). Still to this day it surprises me the kind of advantage men have over women. It is simply unfair. Maybe if women continue to form groups and speak out about this issue, things will start to change, sooner or later.
-Bianca Jones WS200 9:00-9:50AM
Before this last week of class, I had never given much thought to feminism and how it in fact plays a big part in my own life. However, my initial take on feminism was centered on the thought of upper class women, all "dolled" up, raging against the unfair social status they had compared to men - while having a baby on their hip. There is truth in that statement, but our readings and class discussions have greatly broaden my views on feminism.
ReplyDeleteFeminism is useful in the ways that I am able to play sports, go to college, and develop my own sense of independence. The ways of the world and men made women incredibly dependent. They knew nothing else. For the women involved in the first wave to take a stand, it took power, strength, inner beauty, and most important of all, determination and drive. They wanted to change the ways of the world, and they did. They gave us the option to start a family as well as have a successful career. Not only were these women driven to take a stand for their rights, they were determined to do it in a classy way that respected men. It is not all about women and hating men; we want common ground between the two sexes. Feminism is not just one idea, rather all ideas pulled into a bigger picture.
In my Western Civilization class, we discussed the Code of Hammurabi. It lays out the rules and consequences for an eighteenth century society. As I read, I noticed that women had far more extreme consequences than men. We have been battling for equality of the sexes dating as far back as the eighteenth century, and we are still seeing these issues. For example, in the work place where men still make more than women. Men and women are still not equal.
So feminism. My definition only continues to grow longer.
i will be honest i never thought that i would be this interested in womens studies but as the class goes on it has me wanting to learn more about feminism and womens rights. for a women back in the day to stand up for what is right was a really big thing to do. if people in the society did not like her standing up and voicing herself they would make her punishment very harsh. the women know that before they do it though and the still did it and still do it which makes them very courageous.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteFeminism is a movement focused on women’s roles in society that has been a struggle in the world since the late 19th century. Countless issues have been brought to the world’s attention through movements based on gender equality in political, economic, and social aspects. Feminists protest that women and men are treated differently in society and women are treated as inferior to men. Articles such as “A History of Feminist Movements in the U.S.,“ and “Declaration of Sentiments” showed the determination of women in the early twentieth century that paved the way for feminism in the future.
As a woman in the present time, I realize that women still face many issues dealing with sexism and women’s roles in our society. Feminism is extremely useful in my life today although most times I do not realize it. Being not only a woman, but a bi-racial woman in the United States is a seemingly small element in today’s society although we still have a long way to go on race and gender based issues. If black feminist movements brought about by women such as Alice Walker and articles such as “ A Black Feminist Statement” from the Combahee River Collective did not occur during the times of the Civil Rights Movement, I would still not be allowed to attend the University of Alabama as a non-white woman.
In the last week of readings, I have learned tons of new things about feminism. Although I have written papers on feminism in previous classes, actually reading the articles of feminist women in history helps bring life to the issue. Because the United States has come so far with issues on gender equality and societal issues, we tend to overlook the fact that there are still many issues with sexism still in our country. Even though they are not as obvious as they used to be because women have many more privileges and rights than we used to, discrimination and degradation still lives here. I have learned that women took extremely active roles to ensure that females today would be treated fairly and as equals to men.