Throughout this subject I have learnt a lot about feminism and the impact it’s had on the lives of women throughout the world. Units that I got the most out of were conceptualising Australian women, young women and feminism, and culture and the female body. Conceptualising Australian women grabbed my attention because throughout my studies I have been drawn to subjects around Indigenous Australians and other disadvantaged groups. The unit on young women and feminism was interesting, I was intrigued as to why there is a tendency for young women to denounce feminism, though I had not denounced it, I had not given it a lot of thought previously. The unit on culture and the female body is one that peaked my interest the most. I know that I feel
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I believe another reason is the prevalence of media articles that depict feminism as negative (Aapola, Gonick & Harris, 2005; Hughes, 1997), “Patronizingly victim orientated or oppressingly politically correct” (Sheridan, Margarey & Lilburn, 2006), and portray feminists as man haters (Baker, 2008). Sheridan, Margarey & Lilburn (2006) note that in the 70’s feminist binary opposition was between reasonable and radical feminists, whereas, recently the opposites have been reasonable feminists and anti-feminists. I think that the anti-feminists have come as a kind of backlash caused by the radical feminists. A women’s movement young women did identify was the ‘girl power movement’, originally credited to riot grrrls but made popular by girl groups, mainly the Spice Girls (Aapola, Gonick & Harris, 2005). Baker (2003) suggests that notions of girl power can be seen in popular culture through bands such as Destiny’s Child, television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Xena the Warrior Princess, as well as movies such as Charlies Angels and Lara Croft Tomb Raider. Seeing girl power portrayed across these mediums made it easier for young girls to relate to the movement, although some feminists have criticised ‘girl power’ for being a “soft alternative to feminism” (Aapola, …show more content…
A study on young women in Queensland found that while participants spoke about choosing to do more house work, or choosing not to ‘nag’ their partners about it, this was not so much out of choice but acquiescence (Baker, 2003). The women in the study seemed to attribute success these days to personal responsibility and showed a “chilling lack of empathy towards those not able to muster the personal resources to similarly triumph” (Baker, 2003). In a later article, Baker (2008) reiterates how difficult it can be to succeed for those suffering from structural inequality and states “it is harder for girls and women to articulate any sense of unfairness or oppression because under late capitalism everything has been represented as the responsibility of the individual” (p.6). After reading this I tended to agree with Baker’s (2008) claim that neo-liberal notions of ‘choice’ is like a new model of subordination which works to regulate women on a psychological level. I found the above mentioned acquiescence about house work related to a lot of choices that women make, especially when it comes to their
I believe another reason is the prevalence of media articles that depict feminism as negative (Aapola, Gonick & Harris, 2005; Hughes, 1997), “Patronizingly victim orientated or oppressingly politically correct” (Sheridan, Margarey & Lilburn, 2006), and portray feminists as man haters (Baker, 2008). Sheridan, Margarey & Lilburn (2006) note that in the 70’s feminist binary opposition was between reasonable and radical feminists, whereas, recently the opposites have been reasonable feminists and anti-feminists. I think that the anti-feminists have come as a kind of backlash caused by the radical feminists. A women’s movement young women did identify was the ‘girl power movement’, originally credited to riot grrrls but made popular by girl groups, mainly the Spice Girls (Aapola, Gonick & Harris, 2005). Baker (2003) suggests that notions of girl power can be seen in popular culture through bands such as Destiny’s Child, television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Xena the Warrior Princess, as well as movies such as Charlies Angels and Lara Croft Tomb Raider. Seeing girl power portrayed across these mediums made it easier for young girls to relate to the movement, although some feminists have criticised ‘girl power’ for being a “soft alternative to feminism” (Aapola, …show more content…
A study on young women in Queensland found that while participants spoke about choosing to do more house work, or choosing not to ‘nag’ their partners about it, this was not so much out of choice but acquiescence (Baker, 2003). The women in the study seemed to attribute success these days to personal responsibility and showed a “chilling lack of empathy towards those not able to muster the personal resources to similarly triumph” (Baker, 2003). In a later article, Baker (2008) reiterates how difficult it can be to succeed for those suffering from structural inequality and states “it is harder for girls and women to articulate any sense of unfairness or oppression because under late capitalism everything has been represented as the responsibility of the individual” (p.6). After reading this I tended to agree with Baker’s (2008) claim that neo-liberal notions of ‘choice’ is like a new model of subordination which works to regulate women on a psychological level. I found the above mentioned acquiescence about house work related to a lot of choices that women make, especially when it comes to their