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GWS200
07/03/16
Keyword Essay: Feminism
Feminism, by definition is Advocacy of equality of the sexes and the
establishment of the political, social, and economic rights of the female sex (Oxford
English Dictionary). In reality, defining feminism is not nearly that simple, in fact, it is
next to impossible. First wave Western feminism began in the mid nineteenth century,
around 1840, focusing primarily on womens suffrage now, nearly two hundred years
later, the movement has progressively matured and transformed to attend to the issues
facing women in a modern-day setting. After two hundred years of evolving and three so
called waves, the feminist movement has experienced countless issues it has addressed.
However, many of these issues have deep-rooted systematic flaws stemming from our
most basic human constructs. It is for this reason that defining feminism is easier said
than done, it seems there is a never-ending amount of viewpoints, origins, solutions and
issues to take into account. Each persons idea of feminism stems from his or her own
understandings and perspectivesmaking the meaning of the word unique and personal
to each and every one.
During the Civil War Era circa 1848, the beginnings of Western feminism first
began to emerge. Women such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Sojourner Truth spoke out
and fought for opportunities for womenmost notably the right to vote. Both of these
women spoke at early-on feminist conventions such as the Seneca Falls Convention,
which is now known as the event that marks the beginning of the feminist movement, and
the Womens Convention in Akron Ohio. However, it was not until 1920 that the 19th
Amendment of the Constitution was ratified, giving women the right to vote. This was a
huge victory for the movement, considering prior to this women had no say in the
government policies that regulated their lives. The 1960s saw another era of social
justice movements, including the second wave of feminism. Amidst all the turmoil,
feminists of this era fought for sexual and reproductive rightsand sought to end the idea
of woman only as housewives, belonging in the kitchen and leading a domestic, familyoriented life that was precedent in the 1950s. The second wave feminists saw a huge
victory in the passing of the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution, which states
that civil rights cannot be denied on the basis of gender. In only the first hundred years,
the feminist movement saw drastic changesfrom women first speaking out in public
and gaining the right to vote, to burning bras and freely expressing their sexuality, the
movement and its direction grew up to cater to the times.
Currently, we are in the third wave of feminism that began in the mid 90s. Just
like in the first and second waves, the third wave has a whole new set of issues and goals
it is facing. Present day feminists are focusing on the institutional level issues oppressing
women as well as LGBT+ issues, minority feminism, and biopolitics. However, feminism
today is facing another issue its mission and standards have been, in a way, lost in
translation. This in part is due to the fact that within this one movement, there are several
different branches including liberal feminism, radical feminism, socialist feminism,
cultural feminism and eco-feminismall focusing on differing matter with differing
opinions (www.uah.edu). In addition, the fact that feminist concepts are not taught on a
large scale, so it is all too easy for people to assume based on what they have heard from
second or third parties. Angry, lesbian, and man hating are words all too commonly
associated with feminism, and it has become somewhat of a taboo topic people are
hesitant to bring up. These beliefs are certainly not the reality of feminism; author Bell
Hooks offers a more suitable definition, stating, feminism is a movement to end sexism,
sexist exploitation, and oppression (Hooks viii).
Minority feminism is an inclusive term that covers age, class, race, and sexas
discussed in Audre Lordes Women Redefining Difference. In her essay, Lorde
discusses issues women other than the norm of straight, white, and middle class face.
Double oppression is unique to this group of women, which has many natures and faces.
Women of color, lesbian women, older women, and lower class/third world women are
not only oppressed for their role as women, but additionally for issues distinct to their
specific group. Oftentimes, white women in the norm are quick to overlook these
differences due to the fact they are not apt to admit they are privileged, and feel guilt
when they acknowledge this fact. Too often, we pour energy needed for recognizing and
exploring difference into pretending those differences are insurmountable barriers, or that
they do not exist at alleither way, we do not develop tools for using human difference
as a springboard for creative change (Lorde 855). However, this third wave of
feminism is now coming to terms with our differences and viewing them as unique
experiences that only make the movement stronger and vaster.
Biopolitics is another issue the feminist movement is facing today. Within this
affair, there are generally two main standpointsthe first being that biopolitics are tools
used to enhance peoples lives, and most importantly that the choice to utilize such
technology is ultimately up to the individual. The second standpoint is that such
technologies are tools belonging to power structures, trying to keep females and those
who use this technology subordinate to patriarchy. Dealing with life in terms of politics is
always going to be a fine line to walk, and regardless of how these technologies are
regulated, someone will be unhappy. Thomas Lemke is one of the many people bringing
attention to biopolitics and offering a solution to the controversy surrounding it. Lemke
states Instead, it presents a border to politicsa border that should be simultaneously
respected and overcome, one that seems to be both natural and given but also artificial
and transformable (Lemke 5). Like the iconic Michel Foucault, Lemke believes if we
look back on the past, and use history as a tool to better understand modern situations,
society will be better equipped to handle such situations.
New to the third wave of feminism is LGBTQ politics. The idea of transgender
and queer are new within the last couple of decades. Prior to this, people belonging to
this group often hid behind fake identities and kept their true selves a secret. As described
by Susan Stryker they considered such practices to be personal solutions to the inner
experience of distress about experiencing gender based oppression (Stryker 2).
Additionally, those who identify as bisexual face another set of issues. Bisexuals face
scrutiny from both the straight and gay communities, and are considered visitors in their
space. Even though this generation has become increasingly accepting of non-straight
people, there is still strong monosexual dominance within our societyleaving bisexual
and queer people feeling as others. Identifying as bisexual leads homosexuals feeling
as if they are using bisexuality as an umbrella to remain in a privilege position, while
straight people will argue that a bisexual person is just a gay person who has not come
out yet.
As described in the pervious paragraphs it is easy to see there is division in nearly
every situation feminism is facing today. This is due to the fact that each person in the
movement has a different outlook on how things should be and there is truly no right or
wrong stance. The definition of feminism is as unique as the individuals who make up the
movement.
Works Cited
Hooks, Bell. Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics. Cambridge, MA: South
End, 2000. Print.
"Kinds of Feminism." Kinds of Feminism. Web. 05 July 2016.
Lemke, Thomas. Biopolitics: An Advanced Introduction. New York: New York UP, 2011.
Print.
Lorde, Audre. Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference. Print.
Simpson, J. A., and E. S. C. Weiner. The Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon,
1989. Print.
Stryker, Susan. An Introduction to Transgender Terms and Concepts. Print.