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English Project: Feminism

This document provides an overview of feminism. It discusses how feminism aims to limit gender inequality and promote women's rights. It also explores the origins of feminism in the 19th century and different forms feminism has taken, such as radical feminism. The document concludes that the end of feminism would be the end of justifying sexism and using gender to declare one class as less than another.

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Taiyaba
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316 views

English Project: Feminism

This document provides an overview of feminism. It discusses how feminism aims to limit gender inequality and promote women's rights. It also explores the origins of feminism in the 19th century and different forms feminism has taken, such as radical feminism. The document concludes that the end of feminism would be the end of justifying sexism and using gender to declare one class as less than another.

Uploaded by

Taiyaba
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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English Project

Feminism

Compiled By
Taiyeba Noor Fatima
B.A. LLB
Self financed
Introduction
Feminism is a collection of social theories, political movements, and moral philosophies, largely
motivated by or concerning the experiences of women, especially in terms of their social,
political, and economic situation. As a social movement, feminism largely focuses on limiting or
eradicating gender inequality and promoting women's rights, interests, and issues in society.
Within academics, some feminists focus on documenting gender inequality and changes in the
social position and representation of women. Others argue that gender, and even sex, are social
constructs, and research the construction of gender and sexuality, and develop alternate models
for studying social relations.
Feminist political activism commonly campaign on issues such as reproductive rights, violence
within a domestic partnership, maternity leave, equal pay, sexual harassment, discrimination, and
sexual violence. Themes explored in feminism include patriarchy, stereotyping, objectification,
sexual objectification, and oppression.

In the 1960s and 1970s, feminism and feminist theory largely represented, and was concerned
with, problems faced by Western, white, middle-class women while at the same time claiming to
represent all women. Since that time, many feminist theorists have challenged the assumption
that "women" constitute a homogenous group of individuals with identical interests. Feminist
activists emerged from within diverse communities, and feminist theorists began to focus on the
intersection between gender and sexuality with other social identities, such as race and class.
Many feminists today argue that feminism is a grass-roots movement that seeks to cross
boundaries based on social class, race, culture, and religion; is culturally specific and addresses
issues relevant to the women of that society: for example female circumcision on Sudan.

As it moves to new century feminism continues to fight for the rights of feminist parties.

Origin
Feminism became an organized movement in the 19th century as people increasingly came to
believe that women were being treated unfairly. The feminist movement was rooted in the
progressive movement and especially in the reform movement of the 19th century. The utopian
socialist Charles Fourier discovered the word feminism in 1837; as early as 1808, he had argued
that the extension of women's rights was the general principle of all social progress. The
organized movement was dated from the first women's rights convention at Seneca Falls.
Many countries began to grant women the vote in the early years of the 20th century, especially
in the concluding years of the First World War and the first years after the war. The reasons for
this varied, but included a desire to comprehend the contributions of women during the war, and
were also influenced by rhetoric used by both sides at the time to justify their war efforts.
Feminism in many forms
Some forms of feminist theory question basic assumptions about gender, gender difference, and
sexuality, including the category of "woman" itself as a holistic concept, further some are
interested in questioning the male/female binary completely (offering instead a multiplicity of
genders). Other forms of feminist theory take for granted the concept of "woman" and provide
specific analyses and critiques of gender inequality, and most feminist social movements
promote women's rights, interests, and issues. Feminism is not a single ideology. Over-time
several sub-types of feminist ideology have developed. Early feminists and primary feminist
movements are often called the first-wave feminists, and feminists after about 1960 the second-
wave feminists. Moreover, some commentators have asserted that the silent majority of modern
feminists have more in common ideologically with the first-wave feminists than the second-
wave.

For example, Radical feminism argues that there exists an oppressive patriarchy that is the root
cause of the most serious social problems. Violence and oppression of women, because they are
women, is more fundamental than oppressions related to class, ethnicity, religion, etc.

Some radical feminists advocate separatism—a complete separation of male and female in
society and culture—while others question not only the relationship between men and women,
but the very meaning of "man" and "woman" as well. Some argue that gender roles, gender
identity, and sexuality are themselves social construct. For these feminists, feminism is a primary
means to human liberation.

Most feminists take a holistic approach to politics, believing the saying of Martin Luther King
Jr., "A threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere". In that belief, some feminists
usually support other movements such as the civil rights movement, the gay rights movement
and, more recently fathers' rights. At the same time many black feminists such as bell
hooks criticize the movement for being dominated by white women. Feminist claims about the
disadvantages women face in Western society are often less relevant to the lives of black women.
This idea is the key in postcolonial feminism. Many black feminist women prefer the
term womanhood for their views.
Conclusion

The end of gender as a characteristic that is used to declare an entire class of humans as less than
the end of sexism. As other answers note, this isn't utopian, and it may not have a defined
conclusion. 

We still haven't achieved, say, the "end" of the civil rights movement of the 1960's. We're still
dealing with racism. (We've been dealing with it far longer than that one historical period; this is
just a way to think about a problem that is ongoing.) We haven't reached the "end" of racism. We
may not.

But if we did, the "end of racism" would be the end of the use of (presumed) race as a
characteristic that is used to declare an entire class of humans as less than. The conclusion of
feminism (if there ever is one) will occur when sexism is no longer justified by anyone - it is
simply rejected.

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