Feminist Criticism Essay

Feminist scholars began taking cues from the new theories arising from these movements to analyzing film. Initial attempts in the United States in the early 1970s were generally based on sociological theory and focused on the function of women characters…

Advertisements: How media has objectified women throughout the years Advertisements have been a controversial part of America since the 1940’s, their purpose to persuade people into buying their products or look a certain way has survived to this present day. The process of objectifying someone almost always has a purpose behind it, in the case of advertisements the big conglomerates sell the “perfect woman,” in a magazine, whose ethics are to be and look flawless. When one looks up the meaning…

Over the years, the idea of women representation has gradually rose up and took center stage. Feminist around the world are trying to be represented more in this society of inequality. The main focus is to have equality for both male and female. Authors such as Larry McMurtry, has already understood this struggle and has implemented this factor in his books. Throughout his literature, McMurtry has connected the women of the modern day to the women of the 1880’s. He presents this idea through the…

In her speech, “Freedom or Death,” Emmaline Parkhurst argues not for the need of suffrage, but for the necessary use of violent tactics for women protesting suffrage. Parkhurst emphasizes that forceful tactics are justifiable for silenced women to finally gain political rights. Through comparison, hypothetical situations, and historical references, Parkhurst passionately argues the need for women to engage in violent protest to be noticed in a male dominated society. Parkhurst draws…

I was recently told not to be “too feminist.” The advice was kindly meant, a warning that some fear what feminism means. Yet, I continue to think about that comment. What might it mean to be too feminist? I am a feminist. I believe in the equality of the sexes. It represent generations of women before us all around the world who fought and are currently fighting for suffrage, equal rights, equal pay. Feminism simply means women’s rights on the grounds of gender equality. That’s it. No female…

between women, be they of romantic or sexual nature or not. To draw on this observation, one can identify that Rich's notion of compulsory heterosexuality goes hand in hand with the phenomenon of political lesbianism. This concept stems from radical feminist thought and describes the belief that heterosexuality can be equated with male violence which can be solved only through abstinence for both sexes or advocated lesbian relationships (cf. Bryson, 2003: 187). Sexuality is further perceived as…

In Susan Ferguson’s article, “The Radical Ideas of Mary Wollstonecraft” (1999), she assesses Wollstonecraft’s politicization of both the institutions of family and class. Contrary to Abbey, Ferguson argues that although Wollstonecraft politicizes the gender inequality by predicating the emancipation of women to a broader structural change in society, Wollstonecraft does not challenge the separation of the public-private sphere. Nevertheless, Ferguson contends that Wollstonecraft’s work is still…

Hester Prynne both accepts and rejects the traditional gender roles. By doing this she reinforces and undermines the patriarchy ideology, which is the system of society in which the male is head of the family and descent is traced through the his line. This is important throughout this novel because it was written during the time period of women's suffrage. "Women were challenging the established patriarchy" and because Hester did this, she stood as an example of feminism (resource material).…

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, there were two leading forms of feminism; liberal feminism and socialist feminism. Women HAVE been subordinate to men throughout most, if not all, of European history. The main point of argumentation between these two types of feminism regards how and why this subjection occurred in the first place and the steps needed to be taken to emancipate women from this status. Most individuals believe that in order to completely and successfully emancipate…

In Pursuit of a Perfect Pose at Gallery 44 Gallery 44 is going to host the exhibition ‘In Pursuit of a Perfect Pose’ exploring demonstrations of internalized femininity. The image based art and installations in the exhibition explorer what it means to be the ‘Other’. ‘In Pursuit of a Perfect Pose’ is an introspective critique on the preformed ideas and the expectations of the society, that define the female gender and culture in the modern society. The participating artists are Rah, Shellie…