In chapter three it talks about the history of feminism, and what it means to be feminist and the history behind it. At the very beginning of the chapter, it opens with the “Diverse Experience of the Suffrage Movement” explaining women campaign for equal right and opportunity as white men. Then later she goes on to talk about the practice of history, literature, and psychology and how black and lesbian feminist still faces the same prejudices and calls for a re-vision. One example is section six “The Historical Denial of Lesbianism” written by Blanche Wiesen Cook to address the homophobia displayed. In that section the author used a biography of Miss Marks and Miss Wooley for a case study to explain how women view each other in social, feminist…
This evidence will make the ways in which Mab Segrest blurs the lines of being an ally to people of a certain identity with actually having that identity for oneself. In addition to this, readings from other authors will show evidence displaying the ways in which this thinking proves to be problematic (Garza, 2). To begin, early on in her autobiography, Mab Segrest establishes herself as a lesbian, and she cites this as her entry point into activism, furthermore, after getting active in the battle for gay rights she moves into the fight against racist hate crimes (Segrest, 47). In the chapter “Coming Out” Segrest writes, “I was doing work on racism and anti-semitism because it was the right thing to do, and once I laid out the case about homophobia, the people I was working with would do the same for me and mine.” (Segrest, 49)…
The category of “women” used in a feminist context is rejected by Butler because it creates ground for over generalization, and thus, would misrepresent individuals of that category that leads to the public’s misinterpretation of them in turn. The language and wording used in which to supposedly unify a group of people with similar characteristics turn out to generate resistance and factionalization. The term “women” could hold certain meanings and be understood as something different at face value. As demonstrated in the early 1980s, the usage of “we” to group all women together created a backlash because women of colour did not identify with the term and did not find it suitable to be used to represent them. Since they believed that the term could only relate to white females, they were in…
While women involved in the black and non-white feminism movement were concerned with their race, mainstream feminism never had to cross that barrier. In the identities of the women the groups differed. The difference in their goals are apparent when works featured in Nancy MacLean’s The American Women’s Movement, 1945-2000, a chapter by Michelle Wallace from Gloria T. Hull’s All the Women Are White, All the Men Are Black, But Some of Us Are Brave: Black Women 's Studies, and Kimberle Crenshaw’s…
Betty Friedan, a Feminist Leader Betty Friedan was a women’s rights activist and author in the 20th century. One of her most influential books was The Feminine Mystique, published in 1963. The Feminine Mystique, and Friedan’s other books, drew national attention to the unhappiness of women with their traditional role in society. Betty Friedan changed the American way of life by reviving the feminist movement through writing books and founding organizations which still aid women today. Betty Friedan contributed to society by writing books and helping to found organizations, which brought back feminism.…
The portrayal of minority groups is always difficult to represent in one aspect, let alone multiple. This can be applied when lesbian or other LGBTQ writers express their experiences through multiple lenses of intersectionality. One can see herself as an impoverished ethnic lesbian, but only be acknowledged for one at a time depending on the community she is talking to. Also, when one is not the ‘ideal type’ for her identification groups, those she wishes to relate to can further reject her. Gloria Anzaldua is a Chicana lesbian woman from Native American descent and writes of her struggles.…
Although sexual harassment still remains to be a problem in Australia, The Female Eunuch and Reclaim the Night are examples that greatly influence feminist activists today and will continue to influence feminists for many years to…
Her “queer impulse,” just like her deafness, is something she had been stifling since she was a young child, yet, even in the face of her sexual experiences, she continually pushes her insistent belief that “lesbianism … was [simply] a passing thing” (90-133). In light of her consecutive breakdowns mid-text, this is ultimately deemed false. “I was bound to come undone,” Galloway writes, referring to both the strain of her hearing guise, as well as her “scarily pent-up sexuality” (103). She notes the crux of her struggles as being in her sophomore year of university, having to spend “three days in the university clinic, crying like a baby” after bursting out into tears during a biology exam for what seemed to be no explicit reason (103). It was at this specific point in time that Galloway admits she gave up one portion of her act.…
As for this week’s reading assignments, I was introduced to two pieces of readings: Judith Lorber’s “Night to His Day,” and Cherrie Moraga’s “La Guera.” Having read and thinking about the issues of the readings, I was aware of the process that the society has used to construct gender over the years (in “Night to His Day”) and how mistreatment, like racial discrimination or gender inequality, is involved in the construction of gender (in “La Guera”). Let’s talk about Lorber’s article. As I read, I noticed what the author indicates: “For individuals, gender means sameness,” and “for society, gender means difference;” I believed that it was true. From my perspective, each individual in this society complies with his [or her] group’s expectations…
Due to the negative connotation concerning these terms, non-heterosexual communities are rejected through preconceived notions of difference. Stereotypical assumptions construct a distinction between heterosexual and non-heterosexual behavior. “Rather than identify as a lesbian, [Djuna Barnes] preferred to say that she ‘just loved Thelma.’ Gertrude Stein reputedly made similar claims” (Nelson, 12). Nelson mentions how Barnes as well as Stein would rather express their love than categorize it.…
But the women’s liberation went farther than sexuality. In the Sisterhood Is Powerful women wrote essays, manifestos and personal accounts from events in their lives. Each document touched different topics, ranging from violence against women to inequalities in the law, church, workplaces, and family…
What every lecture, reading, and website taught me, I hope to take with me in my everyday life beyond college. When I walked into class the first day, I considered myself to be a well informed individual, I was wrong. My sense of Women’s and Gender Studies was that it focused solely on feminism, my only grasp on feminism was ‘equal rights for men and women’. Yes that is sort of true, but I was only skimming the surface. Until now, as I write this essay, I was not able to admit that my view on social justice was narrow.…
Anne Spencer and Modern Feminism Anne Spencer was a lot of things; a poet, a teacher, a daughter, a wife, an artist, a scholar, a mother, a black activist, and she was recently recognized as a feminist. She is known today for the extremely modern ideologies that she believed in and communicated in her works. The feminist messages expressed by Anne Spencer and the modern feminists of today showcase a multitude of similarities; however the audiences and the methods used to share those ideals are vastly different. The Message…
Sociologists need theory. Theory is the building block in our area of study. Theory gives us particular ways of looking at the world. Theory gives us the language to describe, explain, and critique our social world. Overall, theory helps us as sociologist with conceptualizing our research and developing our own argument or framework.…
The moral philosophy of feminism is a big part of today's world socially. Women feel that they are not treated the same as men on a social level considering that men do not receive the same consequences that women do when they do not accept their traditional gender role. In “Feminist Criticism” an article by Lois Tyson from 2006, Tyson talks about what traditional gender roles are in today's society. She compares the ways in which men and women are seen in society and how women can be seen as “bad girls” meaning they don't accept their gender role. The traditional roles are seen as girls are emotional and weak while men are strong and rational.…