Feminism: the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.
"Feminism." Merriam Webster. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2016. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feminism>.
Figure One
What Does Feminism Mean to You? Youtube. N.p., 15 Oct. 2014. Web. 24 Jan. 2016. <https:// www.youtube. com/watch?v=gG-YYu-GZ-o>.
In the past, I thought feminism to be the opposite of what it is truly about. I thought feminism was about protesting, man-hating women, but it is quite the opposite. Feminism, as seen above, is equality of the sexes politically, economically, and socially. Feminism has lost its meaning. Feminism is a brilliant ideology that should be a growing movement throughout the world because it allows everyone to be equal no matter their gender, but unfortunately it is something that is looked down on because people think that it is about hating men, and because there are cultures that see women as objects instead of people. Radical Feminists are mostly women who hate men and want all the power: they are dominating and they way that they display their idea of feminism is what the media likes to show. When the media shows radical feminism, it distorts the true meaning of feminism and the real problems of equality between genders are overlooked. I thought feminism was about man-hating because that is what the media showed me, so that is what I believed.
Feminism is a theory of political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. I felt the video above brought a clear perspective of what feminism is in western culture, but it lacked to mention the stereotypes put on men and the inequality that men face among men for showing too much emotion, and it also lacked to include the perspective of people living in eastern cultures. Often times, it is believed that feminism is all about women being equal to men, which is a huge part of it, but it is also about giving men the opportunity to be equal to women. Men are told that they have to be “a man”, instead of allowing their emotions or feelings to show, and I feel like it is an issue that is overlooked all the time. I have witnessed several interactions when a guy I know has been called “weak”, a “wuss”, a “girl”, and much worse, for showing and expressing emotions and/or feelings. Every time that a guy is told he is being or acting like “a girl”, it is not only offensive to girls, but it is offensive to guys because it is men telling each other that they have to live up to the tough expectations of a man or they might as well be a woman (which is so degrading and it should NOT be). Tony Porter touches on this issue in the video below:
Figure Two
Tony Porter: A Call to Men. Youtube. N.p., 10 Dec. 2010. Web. 23 Jan. 2016. <https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=td1PbsV6B80>.
Figure Three
"The Man Box." Men's Mental Health and Movember. N.p., 26 Nov. 2014. Web. 23 Jan. 2016.
<http://feministmessagingproject.com/2014/11/26/mens-mental-health-and-movember/>.
In the video above, Tony Porter talks about a “Man Box” that he believes is a box of what men are allowed to do or feel. It is not only limiting, but I feel that it is degrading to men and takes away their opportunity to shape themselves into who they want to be. Boys are told at a young age that they need to act like men and are immediately put into the “Man Box”. I think that this idea of a “Man Box” is something that society has instilled into young boys and allowed to happen over many years, and we do not realize that we do it. Tony Porter talked about this when he recounted an experience he had with his children who are fifteen months apart: when his daughter came to him crying, he immediately became the protective and caring father, but when his son came to him crying, he only let him cry for about thirty seconds then told him to stop and was tough on his son for crying. He goes on to explain that he feels he jumped to this because it is similar to how his father was about “being a man”. This has been happening for way too long. Women were told to do whatever the man says because the men were in charge; women did not act for themselves, and they had to live up to society’s standards of beauty, intelligence, demeanor, submission, etc. Women were not the only ones who had to follow society’s expectations; men were expected to be tough, protective, dominating, and strong; no emotions, no fear, and the men were in charge. (Bystrova).
Historically, women were always held in a lesser place in society. They were mothers, wives, and homemakers. Being a mother, a wife, and a homemaker are all wonderful things, but that was all they had. They were objects to men and they were taught to rely on men, husbands and fathers, wholly. Growing up, women were expected to learn basic skills like cooking, sewing, cleaning, etc., and when they were married they were expected to love their husbands, tend to the house, cook, have kids, etc. As boys grew to men, they were taught to be dominant, controlling, tough, and emotionless, because that was the way society taught them to behave; it was the “social-norm”.
On the website Progressive Women’s Leadership, Caroline Dorey-Stein summarized the three waves of feminism briefly:
“The first wave (1830’s – early 1900’s): Women’s fight for equal contract and property rights
Often taken for granted, women in the late 19th to early 20th centuries, realized that they must first gain political power (including the right to vote) to bring about change was how to fuel the fire. Their political agenda expanded to issues concerning sexual, reproductive and economic matters. The seed was planted that women have the potential to contribute just as much if not more than men.
The second wave (1960’s-1980’s): Broadening the debate
Coming off the heels of World War II, the second wave of feminism focused on the workplace, sexuality, family and reproductive rights. During a time when the United States was already trying to restructure itself, it was perceived that women had met their equality goals with the exception of the failure of the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (which has still yet to be passed).
Misconceptions…
This time is often dismissed as offensive, outdated and obsessed with middle class white women’s problems. Conversely, many women during the second wave were initially part of the Black Civil Rights Movement, Anti Vietnam Movement, Chicano Rights Movement, Asian-American Civil Rights Movement, Gay and Lesbian Movement and many other groups fighting for equality. Many of the women supporters of the aforementioned groups felt their voices were not being heard and felt that in order to gain respect in co-ed organizations they first needed to address gender equality concerns.
Women cared so much about these civil issues that they wanted to strengthen their voices by first fighting for gender equality to ensure they would be heard.
The third wave (1990’s – present): The “micropolitics” of gender equality
Today and unlike the former movements, the term ‘feminist’ is received less critically by the female population due to the varying feminist outlooks. There are the ego-cultural feminists, the radicals, the liberal/reforms, the electoral, academic, ecofeminists… the list goes on.
The main issues we face today were prefaced by the work done by the previous waves of women. We are still working to vanquish the disparities in male and female pay and the reproductive rights of women. We are working to end violence against women in our nation as well as others.
We are still fighting for acceptance and a true understanding of the term ‘feminism,’ it should be noted that we have made tremendous progress since the first wave. It is a term that has been unfairly associated first, with ladies in hoop skirts and ringlet curls, then followed by butch, man-hating women.” (Dorey-Stein).
Figure Four
"The Three Waves of Feminism." Pinterest. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.
<https://www.pinterest.com/emilygordonart/feminism/>.
After all of this, women are fairly equal to men in western culture. On the other hand, men are still in the same place, but it is a rising issue that I feel will be addressed more often with the way feminism is going. As a girl in Canada, I feel equal to guys. I do not feel oppressed, or like an object because I am a woman, but I feel that men are still held on this pedestal of high expectations that society has created over the years. So how do we break the “Man Box”? That is a hard question to answer, but my prediction is that feminism is going to start targeting men in the future. Feminism has changed a lot for women, and now is the time to change things for men.
After all of this, women are fairly equal to men in western culture. On the other hand, men are still in the same place, but it is a rising issue that I feel will be addressed more often with the way feminism is going. As a girl in Canada, I feel equal to guys. I do not feel oppressed, or like an object because I am a woman, but I feel that men are still held on this pedestal of high expectations that society has created over the years. So how do we break the “Man Box”? That is a hard question to answer, but my prediction is that feminism is going to start targeting men in the future. Feminism has changed a lot for women, and now is the time to change things for men.
The western world today is much different than it was fifty years ago: women can create their own life and do as they chose, but in a lot of eastern cultures women are still objects and men are still supposed to live up to high expectations that are limited and degrading. A global issue that is being addressed more fully is violence against women.What is being done for women on a global scale? In 2008, the United Nations started a campaign called UNiTE to End Violence Against Women, and their main goals are this:
- “Adoption and enforcement of national laws to address and punish all forms of violence against women and girls, in line with international human rights standards.
- Adoption and implementation of multi-sectoral national action plans that emphasize prevention and that are adequately resourced.
- Establishment of data collection and analysis systems on the prevalence of various forms of violence against women and girls.
- Establishment of national and/or local campaigns and the engagement of a diverse range of civil society actors in preventing violence and in supporting women and girls who have been abused.
- Systematic efforts to address sexual violence in conflict situations and to protect women and girls from rape as a tactic of war and full implementation of related laws and policies.”
This United Nations campaign is calling “all governments, civil society, women’s organizations, men, young people, the private sector, the media and the entire UN system to join forces in addressing this global pandemic. Through its advocacy initiatives at the global, regional and national levels, the UNiTE campaign is working to mobilize individuals and communities. In addition to supporting the longstanding efforts of women’s and civil society organizations, the campaign is actively engaging with men, young people, celebrities, artists, sports personalities, private sector and many more.” (“UNiTE to End Violence” ).
I think that if global organizations, like the United Nations, start with something like ending violence against women globally, then eventually feminism will be a growing movement throughout the world. I think if we start with small things and move towards bigger things, then the future of feminism looks bright. As for men and feminism, I think that western cultures are going to be more focused on creating more emotional and mental equality for men as women are almost equal to men. Men face social inequality from the male gender based on the expectations and standards set into society throughout the course of history. Almost all feminist movements in history have been solely about women’s rights, and obviously that is a huge concern that I feel has been addressed and dealt with fairly in western culture over time, but now is the time to break the “Man Box” and create an equal society for men and women. We are all just people and we make mistakes because we are not perfect, and we are all accountable for our actions, but we can not hate one gender for wanting to have equal rights, and that goes for both men and women. I am a feminist: I believe in political, economic, and social equality of the sexes, and I hope that I can one day see a world where everyone is equal, but I will never see that if people are not made aware of inequality to both genders, men and women, all around the world.
Figure Five
"Feminism Is for Everyone." The Odyssey Online. N.p., 13 Oct. 2015. Web. 23 Jan. 2016.
<http://theodysseyonline.com/western-carolina/feminist-and-love-men/153240>.
Works Cited
Bystrova, Kate. "Feminism Is for Men Too." Global: the International Briefing. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.
<http://www.global-briefing.org/2015/01/ feminism-is-for-men-too/>.
<http://www.global-briefing.org/2015/01/ feminism-is-for-men-too/>.
Dorey-Stein, Caroline, ed. "A Brief History: The Three Waves of Feminism." Progressive Women's Leadership. N.p., 22 Sept. 2015. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.<https://www.progressivewomensleadership.com/ a-brief-history-the-three-waves-of-feminism/>.
"UNiTE to End Violence against Women." The United Nations. N.p., 2008. Web. 24 Jan. 2016. <http://www.un.org/en/women/endviolence/about.shtml>.
When I was younger, I would always avoid saying I was a feminist. I was afraid I would be ridiculed for it (which I was, when I did finally start identifying as such). Now, I do not care whether people make fun of me for it. I now try to respond to their ridicule with a question to make them think. I had not considered the repercussions of the social mentality toward women on men as I saw the issue from a woman's perspective. I will get paid less, I cannot walk the streets at night without fear (my father explicitly told me the reason he wanted me to join karate was so I could protect myself). But I see the issue from a new perspective now. This prejudice reaches farther than just women’s oppression. I only realized this after listening to Emma Watson's speech, and the creation of the campaign, “He for She”. The movement made me realize that I have seen my father cry, maybe twice in my life, and seen his role as a parent be lesser to my mother’s—though they shared the role of raising me and my brother equally. I never saw this as an issue because in my house, it was fairly equal in terms of who cared for us as children, who cooked the meals and who managed the money. The concept of the “Man Box” is frightening, but I think this it is a strong metaphor. We are all put in boxes, and these preconceptions have lasting and dangerous repercussions for everyone. Feminism is no longer just about women’s rights, it is about breaking down the old preconceptions and allowing men to fully be a human with a full range of emotions and to become who they want to be, and not the ‘norms’ we force them into.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more that feminism is portrayed wrongly in the media and that men are in need for a change. The demonstration of all the things men have to keep “in the box” is so accurate. I witness it everyday in society, all men feel the need to be tough and more manly. It’s sad to think girls didn't always have the rights and freedoms we have today. As a female in today’s society I definitely take it for granted. I have to admit I never fully understood what feminism was until a year ago when posts on the media became more effective. I say effective because more ads are putting out the correct information rather than portraying a false image. I believe the media needs to get the attention of men more than women because I believe in our country men are the ones that need help. Obviously in other countries females aren’t as fortunate and still need movements towards gender equality. But I agree that the UN needs to start getting more involved in these issues because there are too many females living with no protection. I wonder what would happen if females were equal all around the world and how it would change their cultures and social structures. Overall, awesome blog! Your prediction was crystal clear and I couldn’t agree more.
ReplyDeleteFeminism has been rapidly evolving since its movements in the 20s, with recent changes empowering men to join the action, and be able to recognize and fight for the injustice they have experienced. I agree that feminism “is a term that has been unfairly associated first, with ladies in hoop skirts and ringlet curls, then followed by butch, man-hating women,” and perhaps this is due to the fact that feminism's recent evolution has not been fully recognized. Many still associate it with only women fighting for their rights, thus disabling it from being "attractive" to men. Thus, do you think a new name should be given to separate this new wave from the original female-centric ideas? Personally, I believe it is useless because once someone understands what modern feminism means (now including men’s rights) it should not matter what it is called. Words and theories evolve over time, and perhaps changing the term would belittle its beginnings.
ReplyDeleteDiscussing and spreading the word is crucial, but is pointless without action. Changing society is extremely difficult, for it means changing people’s minds, and the ideas/perspectives they have on the world. I believe the United Nations' work is fantastic, but to truly create deep and long-lasting change, I think it ultimately comes down to education, whether it is from schools or parents.
Like you said, change won’t happen “if people are not made aware of [the] inequality to both genders,” thus, this has to become a topic that can be comfortably discussed by both men and women, and one that is introduced early in a child's life. For example, if a male child is taught that he can be vulnerable, and not to assimilate into society’s current expectations, his life would free of "the man box". Ideally, this would enable him to raise children with such ideas which, with a new style education, would hopefully break the vicious cycle and create a better society. I understand it’s too perfect of a situation, but do you think it could work? What other impactful actions could be done?
Bailey, I really liked the points you made. We can talk about change for women, but it will only come into effect if we change EVERYONE’S perspective on the issue. It’s also important to recognize that both genders face negative attitudes towards their sexuality, as many men suffer from being called weak for crying and such. I agree with you when you say that there are many women who don’t support the idea of men as their equal, and how they spend more time bashing men than actually stating their position that women are just as equal as men.
ReplyDeleteNow, when you talk about women being almost equal in Western Culture, I agree with this statement. I believe that there are many things in our society that we must climb over. In America, Women make 94 cents for every dollar a man make, and women in the States are only permitted to take a Maternity Leave if they work for a company that states it in their policy. There is also a low percentage of women in CEO positions (4.6% in the Fortune 500), Governments (In Canada only 26% of women sitting in the House of Commons are women), and high paying/profiling jobs. This does have a lot to do with women choosing to have a family AND a career, many employers will choose not to hire young women just because they might ask for maternity leave in the next few years. I think that the points you make about men having to see the equality of the genders will help women become more fluent in these higher positions of the workforce. It should become the norm for both a man and a women to take leave when they have a child, and help raise it together. It’s so often described as the woman makes the dinners, cleans the house, and the man barbecues and does the more ‘masculine’ roles around the house such as repairs, yard work, etc.
While I think you make excellent comments all the way through, I feel you only really discuss Western Feminism. It’s important to feel that we aren’t being oppressed in our home countries, I feel that it is also important to recognize the issues happening in countries outside of North America, and Europe. We all know that many women in African, Asian, and Middle Eastern countries are often oppressed, and forced into the roles of being out of sight, and basically just a servant to their husband. Many girls aren’t educated, as it is not deemed necessary to have girls in any sort of position in the workforce or society. I can think of Malala Yousafzai, who was shot by the Taliban for going to school. She has become a vibrant role model for young girls all over the world, telling everyone that it is necessary for girls to be educated. I think we need to help out women in countries where they are facing vicious acts of oppression, and help them see that men and women are equal in every way.
We can talk about change over and over, but it's not until we actually put our plans into action. I really enjoyed your blog post. Good job!
I really appreciate that you started with your learning and new understanding of feminism. I think this is a powerful way to start as it is where many people come from.
ReplyDeleteI wish you would have spent a little more time on the waves of feminism.
I do like that you make a prediction about where feminism is going from here. (Man Box)