It's almost impossible to define feminism. Through our women studies class we've discovered that even the people that align themselves with feminism believe in different definitions. The Merriam- Webster Online Dictionary says that feminism is “The theory of political, economical, and social equality of the sexes” but I think that the real definition is much more encompassing. Feminism to each person is completely different. It would be completely impossible to designate one definition as the sole meaning for each man, woman or follower. As a feminist, not everyone may believe in the same things. My personal favorite definition is the one that was suggested our first day, "the radical notion that women are equal" but as we've learned, even this definition doesn't encompass all. It comes down to each individual person and what they think their own personal definition is.
The history of feminism has been a long and winding one. One that still has no end in sight. We've seen success, misfortune, and change. The movement can most easily be broken down into its designated waves. Although the primary goal of its followers have fought for gender equality, each generation or wave have set out to make this possible in their own ways. This feminism movement all started back in 1848 when the “first women’s right’s convention was held … in Seneca Falls, New York” (Finkbeiner 20). The first wavers goal was the right to vote. Most known for her work was Alice Paul. She along with her group the National Women’s Party fought relentlessly for the nineteenth amendment to the constitution. A great portrayal of her successes and challenges is the movie "Iron Jawed Angels." With this movie, you can most accurately see the pickets, protests, and hunger strikes these brave women of the early 1900s went through just so that we can take part in the governmental process. Up to this point, women were only seen as wives, mothers, and parts to their husbands. With the right to vote, these women could now have a voice in politics. Although they still faced challenges, this first wave gave women hope that one day they too would be just as successful and they would finally see their hopes and aspirations fulfilled.
The second wave can most accurately be defined by our struggle for equality in the workplace and birth rights. This wave lasted between the early 1960s well on until the early 1980s. In the second wave, protesters fought for the right to escape sexual harassment in the work place, equal job opportunity, the right to an abortion, paid maternity leave, child care, and receiving equal pay to men. They were truly seeking their independence from men. Although we have seen great strides in most of these areas, one that has yet to be completely challenged is the right to equal pay. Even in the 21st century, we still have women who are making far less than their male counterparts.
The 3rd and final wave discussed in women studies started in the early 1900s and has continued on through today. In this wave, The F word describes as the fight for women to be successful in the work place but they no longer have to chose between work and family. Although some women as described in Lisa Belkin's Opt-Out theory believe that they have the right to give up their jobs in order to raise their family many still don't believe you have to chose between the two. On top of this struggle for family and work, the 3rd wave continues to fight for equality in the workplace and many are introducing the fight for sexual orientation into the mix. Our third wave generation is definitely more open to new ideas and we still have the drive and passion of our other generations within our fight. The problems that lie within mainly have to deal with our diverse definitions of what feminism truly means. Until we can fully define what our 3rd wave is fighting for, this confusion will continue to divide us.
The amazing thing about our women's studies class is that when you take it, you truly begin to recognize that everyone has their own idea of what feminism is. You may not always agree, but you learn to accept others beliefs by agreeing to disagree. There were many times in our class when people had differing opinions, and no matter how hard it was to hear each other's sides, there was no way you were going to change their opinion and they were not going to change yours. But by learning women studies, it can help shape your beliefs and introduce you to all perspectives in the matter. As discussed before, the 3rd wave has had difficulty in defining what are cause truly is. With differing opinions we find ourselves divided a lot of the time. One example of this divide is described in Naomi Wolf's "The Beauty Myth". She discusses how our own beauty and image insecurities are actually plaguing our ultimate fight for equal rights. Instead of bringing us together, we are divided by our petty jealousies. Within women studies, we get to see this divide, we learn about others, and we are able to step into the shoes of beliefs of men and women all around the world. By doing this, we are able to accept our neighbors beliefs and understand that we should drop all of these divides. We need to accept everyone as they are, and once we can do this, our fight for equality will only grow stronger.
At the beginning of the course, I was completely skeptical of how Women’s Studies was going to focus on feminism and the women’s rights movement. I never really knew exactly what I was classified as. I knew I believed in equality and I knew I wanted to be successful when I graduated college. My mom has always kept me informed. I never just thought it was going to be an easy journey and through her struggles, I knew that there would probably be a time when I was discriminated against just because of my gender. Although I have yet to truly experience this, I'm proud to live in a generation where equality continues to be fought for. When it came to labeling myself as a feminist, I didn't know it was possible. I thought in order to receive the title, I needed to be out there protesting or doing something that made a difference. I was definitely wrong. Feminists are any person that cares about women’s issues or gender equality. Feminism isn’t a set belief but an open and ever changing belief that varies from person to person. It's not all about what you physically do, it's about being strong and believing in yourself. I can honestly say yes, I am a feminist. I believe in promoting women’s health, I believe in women receiving the same amount of pay as men, I believe in better child-care and the welfare system, and most of all I believe in the equality of women everywhere.
sources:
"The F-Word: Feminism In Jeopardy" by Krisitn Rowe-Finkbeiner
"The Opt-Out Revolution" by Lisa Belkin
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
Movie: "Iron-Jawed Angels"
"The Beauty Myth" by Naomi Wolf
No comments:
Post a Comment