Gender is a socially constructed power hierarchy that must be destroyed, not reinterpreted as consensual, empowering, individualized “gender identities” that are magically divorced from all contextual and historical meaning. Such a framing invisibilizes female and feminine oppression by falsely situating men-born-men and women-born-women as gendered equals relative to trans-identified people. Though possibly unintentional, “cis” now functions as a significant barrier to feminism’s ability to articulate the oppression caused by the socially constructed gender differentiation that enables male/masculine supremacy. Cis is a politically useless concept because it fails to illuminate the mechanics of gendered oppression.…
In the 18th to 19th century, during the Industrial Revolution, gender equality rights were harsh making it difficult to work in the textile mills. Factories required Women and young children to take on the roles as mill workers to help the families to survive. While men were out in the fields working, women worked harder in the factories making much less than the men. Women worked longer days, starting from before sunrise to past sundown then most men. In addition, women worked in factories with dangerous machines, rats, and overall filthy working conditions. As a result, the female mill workers in America and England shared experiences of inequality due to the amount of money they made, the horrible conditions they had to work in, and their family life.…
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, oppression is a concept that means unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power. At first, it was difficult for me to fully comprehend the meaning of oppression. However, following our class readings, this concept has become clearer to me. As mentioned by Simone Weil, “Human beings are so made that the ones who do the crushing feel nothing; it is the person crushed who feels what is happening. Unless one has placed oneself on the side of the oppressed, to feel with them, one cannot understand.” In order to understand oppression you need to walk in ones shoes. The class readings gave us an inside look and life examples of how oppression comes about. Oppression is not something that happens overnight.…
Oppression is the act of treating someone cruelly and unfairly or controlling them in such ways. Peoples reaction towards oppression says a lot about them. Some might react to it with anger; others might react to it with silence and this shows their feelings towards being oppressed. Oppression can cause many problems for the one being oppressed or the one oppressing. Oppression is being treated cruelly or unfairly and people react to this in a variety of ways, but this does not mean that it’s ok to oppress someone. In the novel “Wild Geese” by Martha Ostenso many characters such as Judith and Amelia are treated with oppression by Caleb who is Amelia’s husband and Judith’s father. Caleb is a rude, unmannered…
Oppression has never been a word I have thought of when I thinking of the treatment of women. I have recently discovered women authors in history that have lived a double life that only women can. In the 1800s when Constance Fenimore Woolson and Mary E. Wilkings Freeman lived, they fought for equality with their words and the way they lived. They were women who were expected to be just pretty but silent, and they have been paving the way for women in the future to speak their minds . Though Woolson and Freeman lead different lifestyles, they both represent the female intelligence, strength, and independence.…
Oppression is a significant issue that has been growing in discourse as of late. As time progresses, the way people are treated and the opinions they hold change. When there is a group of people who have their rights changed, it will cause other groups to believe they are being cheated out of chances the privileges those people are allowed access to. While this may be accurate in rare cases, it is also difficult to argue strongly on the side of the people who have been, and still are considered to be in positions of power. Discrimination is an entirely different realm than systematic oppression, and people who are in these positions of power would simply not be able to experience these things. Examples that are becoming widely known to the…
The leaders of the city and the world have taken away the natural rights of mankind. “Dare not choose in your minds the work you would like to do when you leave the Home of the students.” (page 4 paragraph 7) This is a statement made by one of the teachers to the classes in the Home of the Students. This means that you are not allowed to have preference, favoritism, or any other sort of desire for what you’ll do with your life. The thought of it, alone, is enough to get you in trouble. Preference, especially in your future, is a natural feeling of Human beings. It is not something that should be taken away from men because it is healthy.…
Often in literature as in life, characters and people experience discrimination, racial injustice, educational inequalities, poverty, and pollution. Among these characters and people, some can become negativly affected. Among those who are negatively affected, there are always those who fearlessly stand up for their beliefs. Standing up for what someone believes requires extreme bravery. Throughout history many people worked to have their voices heard. Sojourner Truth, President Lyndon B. Johnson, and Shirley Chisholm used their voices to create change. Authors also used literature as a vehicle to create change through fictional characters’ voices and actions. - The level of bravery illustrated paved the way for change.…
Women are constantly objectified in the media and in society. We are told to be ashamed of our bodies and ourselves but boys are told that their sexual urges are manly. This leads to boys growing up and thinking women are their property. Women’s bodies do not belong to you. Yours do not belong to women so why should it be different the other way around? Men are constantly saying that feminism is not needed because, “men and women are equal now”. When in fact, we are not. Women, on average, get paid less than men as well as having less job opportunities. In fact the full time gender pay gap is 10% and the average part time pay gap is 34.5%. Men have even been chosen over women for jobs when they’re under qualified.…
A woman the age of twenty-five has decided that she does not wish to have children. She does the research, has a competent argument on why she does not wish to reproduce. She is not particularly fond of children. She has no desire to be a parent or raise a child. She does not have the resources to raise another person to adulthood and she does believe she is or ever will be responsible enough to raise another human being. She decided to go to her gynecologist and they have an appointment. She outlines her reasons and sticks to them like glue. The woman is adamant about becoming sterile. Her doctor becomes apprehensive toward her request after addressing the permanence and the risks. Despite the woman’s research and her beliefs on remaining childless, her physician outright denies her request. Recently, more and more women are choosing to remain childless. The way of life, dubbed child-free, is quickly catching on. These women may be either…
“According to TNS Research Surveys, 68 percent of women surveyed believe gender discrimination exist in the workplace. Federal law protects women and other minorities from discrimination in the workplace. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 ended the practice of paying men more than women when performing the same jobs and duties. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act extended this protection to other minorities. Despite these protections, many women still feel gender-based discrimination is a problem in some businesses” (Gluck). Regardless of the amount of attention discrimination of forms may receive and the progress made towards equal rights for all individuals in the work place, there is evidence that discrimination is still not a thing of the past just yet.…
Laws on woman’s rights have changed a lot since the 1900’s. Women weren’t allowed to vote, get an education, and have high authority in jobs. Now, women are allowed to do all of these things and more. But have things really changed, or are they just more hidden? There are three ways in which women are discriminated against: in the workplace, television, and in politics.…
America was built on the idea of freedom and equality. So why it is that some are more equal than others? This comes from white supremacist groups wanting more rights and other improvements over people who are not white. America may claim to be equal to all but some are more equal for these rights than others.…
Feminism is a practice that strives to end discrimination, exploitation, and oppression of people due to their gender, sexual orientation, race, and class (About Education, 2015). For several years women have been trying to gain equality with men and still trying. One of the purposes of the feminist movement is ensure the rights of women who have been deprived of their equality and privileges just because they are a female. I believe that a woman should have equal rights as a man, and even though this movement have come a long way where women now have the rights to vote and hold government positions similar to men they are still being treated unfairly. I fully support the feminism practice because it’s beneficial not only to women, but also…
When defining oppression it is said to be the act of exercising authority or power in an unjust manner. One can be oppressed because of differences such as religious prejudice, class, race and in this case gender. In The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir her main focus is on how men essentially oppress women by characterizing them in any circumstance as the Other, in opposition to men who refer to themselves as the One. Throughout history man is said to be essential. Meanwhile woman is described as inessential, incomplete, and mutilated. Even though it is natural for humans to understand themselves in opposition to others it is faulty when applied to genders. In defining woman exclusively as Other, man is denying her humanity. I support de…