“Paul’s Case” written by Willa Cather not only offers an entertaining read with content which at first glance can come off as merely a story, but when read closely it becomes evident that there are substantial themes being explored through Cather’s protagonist, Paul, along with his predicament. Paul, a young boy living on Cordelia Street, a place that quite inordinately contradicts his frequent exotic fantasies, sets course toward tragedy when he begins to realize he can no longer remain within the rigid dimensions set by his community’s perception of social norms. Set in a Pittsburg town made up of cookie cutter homes, and where the children attend Sabbath school on a regular basis, Paul stands out with great conspicuity. One cannot help but…
The editors Rosalyn Baxandall and Linda Gordon have done an incredible job establishing the roots and depth of the second-wave feminist movement. By collecting all the materials into one volume, which were once spread thin among private collections, university archives and out of print anthologies and journals the editors show a diverse movement. It has reminded me how far we have come for not to long ago that domestic violence against women was kept quite, that abortions were done in the shadows, pregnancy and childbirth were thought of as sicknesses, and girls had restricted chances to participate in sports and education defining what women¡¯s liberation embodied. Women¡¯s liberation was just that, setting women free from all these social and political restrictions on their lives. The ideal of the ¡°feminine mystic¡± only applies to a certain class of women, a stay at home mother who also is a sexy wife who pleases her husbands every need. This ideal left many women out, and unable to obtain. Even when this ideal was obtained, many were left unfulfilled. Women then were able to get together as a group to build a consciousness awakening, able to define what is missing in there lives and what needed to be changed. The women's liberation movement, which Dear Sisters discusses, described all that.…
In this article Catherine Mackinnon is speaking from her point of view on Pornography. In her article she uses political aspects to further her argument on pornography. She believes pornography is widely obscene, which illustrates women having less power than men. Mackinnon speaks about pornography being a more political matter rather a moral issue.…
For thousands of years human societies have functioned with various forms of social injustice and oppression. But the largest and most long lasting system of oppression is the patriarchal system. In which, women are not afforded the same economic, social, and educational opportunities as men. For example, in America today full time female workers still only make seventy-eight cents for over dollar their male coworkers make (Hill 1). However the tireless work of women’s rights advocated like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Alice Paul has led to landmark equality legislation and real measurable strides towards greater gender equality. Because…
Modern strands of second-wave feminism are often associated with identifying patriarchy as the overarching oppressor, and therefore calling for the destruction of patriarchal society and promoting female liberation from male oppression. Second-wave feminists believe that the actions that third-wave feminists believe are empowering or liberating are actually oppressive and this is because it harms women on both a micro and macro level. While third-wave feminists support and encourage the consumption of pornographic material second-wave feminists believe that it should be eradicated as a form of entertainment; even ‘feminist porn’ replicates heteropatriarchal ideas of female submission. Sheila Jeffreys stated that “the new feminist erotica looked a lot like the old antifeminist pornography: it eroticized dominance and submission” showing that even ‘feminist porn’ mimics the patriarchal stereotypes seen in traditional porn and society as a whole. This type of sexual activity is not empowering or liberating for women, and by partaking in these sexual acts women are perpetuating the idea that they are naturally subordinate or submissive. Not only does pornography replicate gender stereotypes in…
Sink, Nancy. "Women’s Liberation Movement." 1960s – 1980s Women’s Liberation Movement. Evans and Sink. 2008. Nova Online. 8 Dec. 2012…
During the peace and freedom movement of the 1960s, protesting the Vietnam War, there was gender inequality present even among the protesters. Women typically had less important roles in the movement. In an inverse way, this inspired them. They were fighting for freedom, a better society, and equality between people. Yet they themselves were not equal. If they were to fight for equality for other people then they also needed to fight for equality for themselves and their fellow women. The peace and freedom movement was caused to stop the war in Vietnam. Because men and women were working together to end the war, women became increasingly aware of the fact that they were valued less than men even if they did the same work. (Doc, 3). Latina women specifically had a huge need to fight for inequality. They were inspired by multiple movements. They were inspired by the fight against the oppression of the working class, the fight against the oppression Chicana women suffered at the hands of men, as well as the general feminist movement. In a way, all of the movements coexisting during this time period all inspired and were inspired by each other (Doc, 5). The feminist movement especially affected by other…
- Emerged within and from the women’s movement – demonstrates the importance of gender (men & women)…
There have been many phases of the women’s liberation movement spanning decades and still going on…
As constantly seen throughout history, women have been battling and questioning society’s standard so they can be seen as individuals rather than a lesser being in comparison to men. These civil liberties of owning property and having the right to vote prolongs further than that. Women want to be seen in the same degree as men when it comes down having an education, a place in office, being in a predominantly male workforce, and the right to manage their reproductive lives. The fight for women's rights even extends to modern day with the rise of feminism and the demand that men and women should be considered equal in any social, political, and economic entities.…
This book highlighted a lot of the vexation and anguish women felt when it came to social and politic inequality to men and it sparked the beginning of the women’s liberation movement (feminism) and second-wave feminism, which was a period where feminism was spread around the world. Protests followed soon after, giving way to new laws like the Roe v. Wade trial, which ruled that women had the right to have an abortion. American Society slowly changed its views and treatment of women, which was one of the biggest changes made when it came to gender…
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a powerful leader in the modern day feminist movement, once said in a speech presented at TEDxEuston, We Should All Be Feminists, “Some people ask: ‘Why the word feminist? Why not just say you are a believer in human rights, or something like that?’ Because that would be dishonest. Feminism is, of course, part of human rights in general—but to choose to use the vague expression human rights is to deny the specific and particular problem of gender. It would be a way of pretending that it was not women who have, for centuries, been excluded. It would be a way of denying that the problem of gender targets women.” The actions of the F1 generation of feminist women who sparked the women's rights…
First Slide>>Introduction- Millions of women throughout the world live in conditions in which they are deprived of their basic human rights for no other reason than their gender. Women throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia were unable to have any influence over the political, religious or cultural lives of their societies. They couldn’t own property or inherit land and wealth, and were frequently treated as property themselves.…
In the year 1970, the Sun Reporter conducted an interview with several people to see what men thought of the Women’s Liberation Movement. A majority of the men in the interviews agreed with the Women’s Liberation Movement. For instance, one man stated that “It’s wonderful, more power to them.” Another man stated, “I support women’s liberation; the movement has profound revolutionary content.” Even though there were some men that thought the movement was a good thing, most men strongly disagreed with the movement. For instance, one man said, “Women and their liberation? I sometimes wonder if women know what they want. I often think of them paying alimony or sweeping the streets.” Most men seemed to feel this way about women (Sun Reporter. 1968-1979).…
“ Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has,” commented Margaret Mead after a lifetime of observing diversity in cultures from around the world. After 150 years of fighting for equality among the sexes, people today have no idea of the struggle that women went through so that women of future generations could have the same privileges as men. Several generations have come since the women’s right movement and the women of these generations have different opportunities in family life, religion, government, employment, and education that women have fought for. The women’s rights movement began with a small group of people that questioned why human lives, especially those of women, were unfairly constricted. These women also worked deliberately to create a better world.…