Feminist literature. This term is applied to a number of works in the category of critical and social theory of feminism, which addresses sex differences from the perspective of equalizing men and women 's places in society. Feminist literature challenges the concepts of gender by making readers question how we use language in our everyday lives and how this could affect our perceptions of men and women. It originated with what is now known as first wave feminism, coinciding with the women 's suffrage movement of the 19th and 20th centuries. First wave feminism set out to prove that women were deserving of equal legal rights ton men. The term was brought up when second wave feminism became defined. Second wave feminism began in the 1960s and
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This is often employed for one of two reasons. Firstly to highlight the hypocrisy of how we commonly use language. Secondly to elevate women to the same pedestal that men have been on for so many years. Kate Millett observes in “Sexual Politics” that almost every society since we ceased to be tribes has been male ruled. She comments that “vast numbers of peoples have worshipped the phallus openly” and views this as a sign that men have prime position in society. She notes “it may also be true that ever larger number of peoples once worshipped the womb or the fertility powers of the earth”, but that this is not true now. Therefore, some feminist writers push women ever higher, simply to counterbalance the dominant messages in society.
Ali Smith, in “Girl Meets Boy”, explores the words that concord and co-occur with “girl” and “boy” and reverses their position. This highlights the preconceived notions that are associated with each word. Switching roles around to “the swagger of a girl” and “a boy 's gentleness” (Smith 2007) shows how our language and concepts of gender are intricately woven into the societal constructs left behind by patriarchal systems, even to this day. Not all literature which could be considered feminist is overtly so, especially due to the times when it was published. Nathaniel Hawthorne is quoted as having said of Mary Shelley that: “The woman writes as if the Devil was …show more content…
Working women never actually appear and, if the women had jobs, it is never mentioned. Working women, in the one incident they are mentioned, are used as an insult, when a husband says that the girls at work "make better coffee on their hotplates". This delivers the message that working women are useless and the women 's main job is to care for their houses. And they are not caring for their houses for themselves, or for children. No children are visible and the woman 's personal satisfaction is not considered. They are supposed to work hard at home to make their husbands happy. The advertisement suggests that the men are fickle and hard to please, and that a single thing being wrong can ruin a man 's whole day. This puts a lot of pressure on women, the main shoppers and cooks, to make everything
This is often employed for one of two reasons. Firstly to highlight the hypocrisy of how we commonly use language. Secondly to elevate women to the same pedestal that men have been on for so many years. Kate Millett observes in “Sexual Politics” that almost every society since we ceased to be tribes has been male ruled. She comments that “vast numbers of peoples have worshipped the phallus openly” and views this as a sign that men have prime position in society. She notes “it may also be true that ever larger number of peoples once worshipped the womb or the fertility powers of the earth”, but that this is not true now. Therefore, some feminist writers push women ever higher, simply to counterbalance the dominant messages in society.
Ali Smith, in “Girl Meets Boy”, explores the words that concord and co-occur with “girl” and “boy” and reverses their position. This highlights the preconceived notions that are associated with each word. Switching roles around to “the swagger of a girl” and “a boy 's gentleness” (Smith 2007) shows how our language and concepts of gender are intricately woven into the societal constructs left behind by patriarchal systems, even to this day. Not all literature which could be considered feminist is overtly so, especially due to the times when it was published. Nathaniel Hawthorne is quoted as having said of Mary Shelley that: “The woman writes as if the Devil was …show more content…
Working women never actually appear and, if the women had jobs, it is never mentioned. Working women, in the one incident they are mentioned, are used as an insult, when a husband says that the girls at work "make better coffee on their hotplates". This delivers the message that working women are useless and the women 's main job is to care for their houses. And they are not caring for their houses for themselves, or for children. No children are visible and the woman 's personal satisfaction is not considered. They are supposed to work hard at home to make their husbands happy. The advertisement suggests that the men are fickle and hard to please, and that a single thing being wrong can ruin a man 's whole day. This puts a lot of pressure on women, the main shoppers and cooks, to make everything