Martha Stewart And Feminism

Great Essays
In August of 1941 – a star was born. Martha Kostyra-Stewart was born to a family of privilege even though she was one of six children. She personified the feminist theory movement and perspective, not because it was her goal but because an unconscious effort that pushed her. Martha Stewart was shown favor even at an early age. She didn’t have deviant behavior or exposed a plight of someone born without a fighting chance. This lead to her becoming a baby-sitter for some of the most famous baseball players in the world to include: Mickey Mantle, who played for the New York Yankees, Yogi Berra and Gil McDougald. Not only was she a baby-sitter because she wanted to, she also modeled for the famed company Chanel at the age of 15 along with …show more content…
This includes women having political power, having an economical and cultural voice, and equality among social circles and not just as an accessory on their husbands or boyfriends arms”. The question is, was Martha Stewart incarcerated because feminism is working, or because she was she was a patriarch and had to be taught a lesson or was she less valued as a women, in a higher class position with an egalitarian attitude. We will explore and answer these three questions.
Martha Stewart and Feminism To begin with, was Martha Stewart arrested because feminism is working? What is feminism or the feminist theory perspective? Feminism is “the belief that women and men shall share equal rights in social arena as well as the political and economical arenas of life, to include the home life” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online. 2014). The Critical feminist theory tries to explain this as well from a criminologist perspective. It states that “critical feminism views gender inequality as stemming from the unequal power of men and women in a capitalist society” (Siegal. 2012. p. 281-282). Many would say that feminism is recognizing that males have natural supremacy but that supremacy should be
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An egalitarian family is one that has “both domestic partners (parents) who share similar positions of power at home and in the workplace” (Siegal, 2012. P. 283). Martha Stewart not only came from a household like that but married a man who let her shine and who also supported her rise to power. Although this egalitarian behavior has a deviant connotation to it as described by the book, in this case it is of a more positive tone in that Martha was given equal opportunities as a child and a wife of an exceptionally powerful man as well. The book states that “girls living in egalitarian households are likely to violate the law” (Siegal, 2012. P. 283). This is a broad statement because there are many factors in breaking the law and displaying deviant behavior. Capitalism by it very definition is based on the economic and political idea system that a country has a trade market that is controlled by investors and private owners. These private owners are I business for profit. With this being said, capitalism is a risky business and no owner wants to lose money. Being from an egalitarian family, Martha doesn’t have to experience the comparison of how the conflict theory affects women versus men. This conflict would have been if Martha was poor or struggling, she would go through a strain theory and its perspectives. Mrs. Stewart

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