Philippine Literature
A Critical Analysis of Sexual Politics by Kate Millett Rebellion /rɪˈbɛl yən/ n. An act or a show of defiance toward an authority or established convention. How exactly does a rebellion begin? Do people with the same beliefs suddenly gather around and decide they that want to overthrow authority? Does a strong-willed, gifted leader call upon followers to help make real his or her endeavors? Or is it simply an inevitable occurrence that takes place at any given moment or time? Upon reading the text I realized, no. All these past assumptions are wrong because a rebellion begins when a certain sector of the society is oppressed and one person who is completely fed up with their shit comes along to push these people to their limit. Kate Millett was not aiming for a rebellion. But nonetheless, she became that one person. The concept of patriarchy has always been inescapable. After all, what can you expect from a world with a thick percentage of its people believing that they were made and ruled by a God? Throughout the centuries, our very people have mimicked what this God has started: a world ruled only by men. To be honest, this wouldn’t have mattered had these leaders given women the chance to be heard or at least be of importance to the society. The problem is that with patriarchy came male supremacy, and with male supremacy came discrimination. It would be a false accusation to say that women have never realized the extent of sexism upon them. Throughout the years it is very evident that they had, and that they tried to eradicate this. But the fact is that due to the number of years patriarchy had prevailed, most people remained close minded. Therefore efforts of feminists to emancipate themselves from the ropes that tied them down were futile. Yes, to an extent, some of those ropes were cut and women were granted a tiny percentage of the equality they deserved, but the knots that held them down were too strong. Because of this,
References: Emancipate. 2011. In Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved January 6, 2013, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emancipate Jacobson, P. (n.d.). Kate Millett and Her Critics. In Newpol.org. Retrieved January 6, 2013., from http://newpol.org/content/kate-millett-and-her-critics. Millett, K. (n.d.). Theory of Sexual Politics. In Marxists.org. Retrieved January 6, 2013., from http://www.marxists.org/subject/women/authors/millett-kate/theory.htm Rebellion. 2011. In Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved January 6, 2013., from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rebellion