Femininity And Identity

As discussed in the lecture notes, identity is socially constructed and these identities are built the way we are raised. Our identities play a vital role in shaping our life experiences, what opportunities we get, how we are treated, and what power we can obtain. One part of our identity is gender which is relatively connected to the issues of power. Also in the lecture notes, masculinity is described as superior gender category while femininity as the inferior gender category. The Declaration of the Right’s of Women written by Olympe de Gouge in response to the Declaration of the Right’s of Man confronted the lack of equality for women. This work of her is to promote women’s equal rights, but this unfortunately lead to …show more content…
The history can be explained in terms of waves: first, second and third. Feminism’s first wave is about fighting for the women’s right to vote. According to Valenti, women of color do not only have to deal with issues regarding gender identity, but also with racial identity. Their contributions are being ignored because it is mostly the white middle-to-upper class women who get the recognitions. White women are more powerful than women of color during this time. Valenti also stated that Elizabeth Stanton and Susan Anthony who are famous suffragettes are a little racist because they did not like the fact that black men got vote instead of white women. Socially constructed identities are always connected to power and the challenges that people face in the …show more content…
These women have been working so hard to achieve their goals and even risking their own lives. In the film, the young suffragist activists lead a parade that will promote women’s suffrage, but the parade turns into a riot. In this scene, many men are against the idea of giving women the right to vote, and many women are disrespected and injured. The movie shows how women only have limited power because of their gender identity and their request are being ignored by the people of the higher power. The young women also have to form the National Woman’s Party (NWP) because they are not being supported by the main organization. Another scene in the film is when the suffragettes are arrested for obstructing the traffic even though they are on the sidewalk. They are accused of the crime that they did not commit and being mistreated badly in prison. This movie displays how women have to work so hard just to be heard by the higher