Feminism is a word that is very loosely used to weave growing concepts together within today’s society, often leading to misunderstanding. I, a young, white woman of Middle Eastern descent, have a unique definition of the word through the experiences of my elders in Iran, as well as the struggle to grow up in modern day United States culture. The concept of feminism is very simple on the surface, meaning the equality of all genders to the rights of opportunity, love and happiness. It is important to realize this in order to be truly equal with our peers. Initially, I thought that feminism was only a component of modern day society, but through Feminism & Social Justice, I learned that that was exactly what we were brought up to think. “We teach
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The strike of the mineworkers dealt with the basic needs for heated water, paid holidays, and safety in terms of mining partners. Women initially had no role in the strike other than to hand out food, coffee, and support. They did this whole-heartedly and when the opportunity arose for them to actually engage, they did not hesitate. The mineworkers’ agency told the men that they were not allowed to strike or they would be fired, so the women naturally took the lead, dealing with great opposition at first. The film even stressed how many relationships between husband and wife were shaken by their participation. However, when put in the case of either obliging or losing the union they had worked so hard for, the females had to be the answer. The women showed true historical agency by working against the odds to change predisposed roles. Even when their own love lives were put on the line, they knew the degree of the dire situation they had been handed and took full charge. The strike was a true decree of intersectionality because in addition to the male vs. female aspect, we also saw the oppression of Latino vs. White mineworkers. This film demonstrated the accurate struggles between ethnicity, class, and gender going on to this day in age. The U.S. government actually tried to suppress production because it was the dark truth of this time in …show more content…
To me, this means that throughout our lives we, females, are being told that men are the superior sex and we must look to them for guidance. “If I liked a boy, I would ask Okoloma’s opinion.” (Avichie, 7) Avichie didn’t even realize when she was so young that this is unhealthy behavior, unconsciously being told that what men think is more crucial than how you see yourself as a woman. “boys and girls are undeniably different biologically, but socialization exaggerates the differences…” (Avichie, 35). Industrial Revolution was the original event that lead to the division between masculinity and femininity. (Weber, 92) “Gender, too, is socially constructed in the struggles between groups over society’s scarce resources (Fausto-Sterling 2000).” (Weber, 103). Even Avichie wrote about how back in the pre-historic days having a male-oriented society made sense “Because human beings lived then in a world in which physical strength was the most important attribute for survival.” (Avichie, 17) Nowadays we can easily label women as independent and therefore need to reject this prehistoric notion of male dominance. Recalling back to Bettina Aptheker and Avichie’s notes about feminism, we know that it will take a lot of time to completely erase what we have grown up with, and to change gender constructs in order to achieve the purest form of
The strike of the mineworkers dealt with the basic needs for heated water, paid holidays, and safety in terms of mining partners. Women initially had no role in the strike other than to hand out food, coffee, and support. They did this whole-heartedly and when the opportunity arose for them to actually engage, they did not hesitate. The mineworkers’ agency told the men that they were not allowed to strike or they would be fired, so the women naturally took the lead, dealing with great opposition at first. The film even stressed how many relationships between husband and wife were shaken by their participation. However, when put in the case of either obliging or losing the union they had worked so hard for, the females had to be the answer. The women showed true historical agency by working against the odds to change predisposed roles. Even when their own love lives were put on the line, they knew the degree of the dire situation they had been handed and took full charge. The strike was a true decree of intersectionality because in addition to the male vs. female aspect, we also saw the oppression of Latino vs. White mineworkers. This film demonstrated the accurate struggles between ethnicity, class, and gender going on to this day in age. The U.S. government actually tried to suppress production because it was the dark truth of this time in …show more content…
To me, this means that throughout our lives we, females, are being told that men are the superior sex and we must look to them for guidance. “If I liked a boy, I would ask Okoloma’s opinion.” (Avichie, 7) Avichie didn’t even realize when she was so young that this is unhealthy behavior, unconsciously being told that what men think is more crucial than how you see yourself as a woman. “boys and girls are undeniably different biologically, but socialization exaggerates the differences…” (Avichie, 35). Industrial Revolution was the original event that lead to the division between masculinity and femininity. (Weber, 92) “Gender, too, is socially constructed in the struggles between groups over society’s scarce resources (Fausto-Sterling 2000).” (Weber, 103). Even Avichie wrote about how back in the pre-historic days having a male-oriented society made sense “Because human beings lived then in a world in which physical strength was the most important attribute for survival.” (Avichie, 17) Nowadays we can easily label women as independent and therefore need to reject this prehistoric notion of male dominance. Recalling back to Bettina Aptheker and Avichie’s notes about feminism, we know that it will take a lot of time to completely erase what we have grown up with, and to change gender constructs in order to achieve the purest form of