The academic discipline of women’s and gender studies is extremely broad and interdisciplinary, covering a wide variety of marginalized groups and pervasive social issues. However, the one area which is most directly and deeply intertwined with the field is that of women’s rights. Throughout (arguably) four waves of feminism, the United States’ government and people have gradually changed both legislation and dominant social attitudes, continuously progressing towards greater equality in all aspects of life. But while U.S. governing bodies and dominant social attitudes have slowly and painstakingly become more inclusive towards women and their rights, repeated failures of intersectionality and prevalent post-feminist attitudes have consistently
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This was certainly one of the most momentous and concrete milestones which feminists had experienced to this point, and was a major victory for the suffragette movements of the time. However, once this right was at last granted, both U.S. legislative bodies and the greater American public quickly took on a post-feminist attitude. Even many of those who had actively supported suffrage joined the ideological camp which recognized feminism and the suffragette movement as “an important perspective, but believe its time has passed and it is now obsolete” (Lee and Shaw 20). Years after this first wave of feminism ended, this attitude was exceedingly prevalent in the 1960s through the 1980s, as activists turned their focus to the various inequalities faced by women and girls in American life and culture. This included issues such as pay inequality, lack of equal opportunity in education, lack of reproductive choice and education, sexual harassment, and a host of other, less easily quantifiable prejudices. While significant progress was gradually made, such as with the passing of Title IX in 1972 to prevent discrimination in education, or the crucial decision in 1973’s Roe v Wade which protected a woman’s legal right to an abortion, the vast …show more content…
When looking back and attempting to analyze historical feminist movements for their failures and successes, Bonnie Thornton Dill notes how most analyses are “too often derived from the experiences of White middle-class women, and ignored the oft-untold stories of women of color and those without economic privilege” (Dill 32). This encapsulates the most crucial failure of women’s rights and feminist movements up to the present day: white feminism protects and focuses on those who are socially privileged aside from their womanhood, and neglects any person marginalized for reasons other than sex. While the third wave feminism of the 1990s began to note and focus on this negligence, the feminist movement as a whole is still working towards truly intersectional thinking. By acknowledging and thinking critically about other discriminations women are facing, goals and legislation can be better synthesized to address the needs of the many, rather than this feminist “mythical norm” of a straight, white, thin, upper-class able-bodied woman. In terms of working towards legislation and policies which are more inclusive and widely beneficial, it is also essential that these more marginalized people are included in the conversations and movements intended to benefit them. Epistemic privilege implies that these more marginalized groups have a unique privilege in
This was certainly one of the most momentous and concrete milestones which feminists had experienced to this point, and was a major victory for the suffragette movements of the time. However, once this right was at last granted, both U.S. legislative bodies and the greater American public quickly took on a post-feminist attitude. Even many of those who had actively supported suffrage joined the ideological camp which recognized feminism and the suffragette movement as “an important perspective, but believe its time has passed and it is now obsolete” (Lee and Shaw 20). Years after this first wave of feminism ended, this attitude was exceedingly prevalent in the 1960s through the 1980s, as activists turned their focus to the various inequalities faced by women and girls in American life and culture. This included issues such as pay inequality, lack of equal opportunity in education, lack of reproductive choice and education, sexual harassment, and a host of other, less easily quantifiable prejudices. While significant progress was gradually made, such as with the passing of Title IX in 1972 to prevent discrimination in education, or the crucial decision in 1973’s Roe v Wade which protected a woman’s legal right to an abortion, the vast …show more content…
When looking back and attempting to analyze historical feminist movements for their failures and successes, Bonnie Thornton Dill notes how most analyses are “too often derived from the experiences of White middle-class women, and ignored the oft-untold stories of women of color and those without economic privilege” (Dill 32). This encapsulates the most crucial failure of women’s rights and feminist movements up to the present day: white feminism protects and focuses on those who are socially privileged aside from their womanhood, and neglects any person marginalized for reasons other than sex. While the third wave feminism of the 1990s began to note and focus on this negligence, the feminist movement as a whole is still working towards truly intersectional thinking. By acknowledging and thinking critically about other discriminations women are facing, goals and legislation can be better synthesized to address the needs of the many, rather than this feminist “mythical norm” of a straight, white, thin, upper-class able-bodied woman. In terms of working towards legislation and policies which are more inclusive and widely beneficial, it is also essential that these more marginalized people are included in the conversations and movements intended to benefit them. Epistemic privilege implies that these more marginalized groups have a unique privilege in