is a political organization that advocated for women’s “full social, economic, and political rights in the family, in the workplace, and in society in general” (p. 453). One of the main reasons she created WIN was to research “indigenous forms of feminist resistance” due to “criticisms that African feminism is merely an imitation of Western ideas” (p. 453). Furthermore, WIN was unique due to “its double attack on both class and gender oppression” (p. 453). She wanted to the issue of class and…
MENOPAUSE ( POEMS) Azeez Akinwumi SESAN FOREWORD A gloss over a poetry collection titled Menopause by Azeez Akinwumi Sesan could suggest “transvestism”; but a closer study reveals the transsexual trend of feminism as a literary and political movement. The passion with which the poet handles the gender issues raised seems more obsessing than that of many female writers. The discourse on the excruciating experience of the female gender in a chauvinistic based culture like…
“Culture does not make people. People make culture. If it is true that the full humanity of women is not our culture, then we can and must make it our culture.” (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie). This quote is said by Chimamanda Adichie and it deals with how we have the power to change culture into a more just society for women. Power is a very important aspect in a society and it determines who is going to be more superior. Power produces domination and therefore it creates and destroys. In the movie…
term that can be used for a cultural, economical or political movements which try to establish equalities between men and women. Striving to get equal rights and legal protection for women, many authors wrote books about political and sociological theories and philosophies concerned with issues of gender difference during the history. Among various literary works, we can mention numerous notable dramas such as “ Trifles” by Susan Glasspell and “ Poof” by Lynn Nottage which can be compared in…
The film, Suffragette looks at the struggles the women who fought for the right to vote went through. The film takes place in London 1912, prior to women having the right to vote. As a result, women's rights were not valued as much. Caffi states that "Every social institution should have as its sole reason for being that of assuring the happiness of the man conscious of his own individuality" (Caffi 1970). A man's happiness, needs, and desires at this time were much more valuable than a woman's.…
Feminism is the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. While the feminist movement is important in the present day, the play written in 1947 by Tennessee Williams became known for its portrayal of the dynamics between men and women. In the play, A Streetcar Named Desire, feminism plays the main role. Taking place after the second world war, the men of this play assume that they have more power than women. While, in reality, the women have the same or greater…
In a patriarchal society, women are dominated by men who hold all authority over them. The insidious nature of this ideology, although not as accepted as it once was, has stood the test of time; long enough that the idea of men being superior to women can appear to be natural. Since the beginning of time women have been depicted as unstable, taken the blame, or have been subject to discrimination and stripped of their rights due to the rules of a patriarchal society. Women’s rights were possibly…
women and their appropriate duties was a controversial issue in the early 20th century. Many firmly believed a woman’s role should be confined to the domestic sphere and that only men owned the public sphere. However, there was a growing band of feminists who believed women should have agency over their lives. The literary space was a popular forum for discussing these arguments. In Ernest Hemingway's “Soldier’s Home” story from In Our Time, women are depicted as objects for men’s amusement and…
The Handmaid’s Tale Through the Feminist Critical Lense What would you do if you were in a future society where you were unable to choose your own path in life? In her story, The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood creates an extreme circumstance to show the inequality between men and women in our current society. Several themes from the story make it a good fit to be viewed through the feminist critical theory lense, including: the role of women in the society, women’s sexuality, and…
Conclusion The primary purpose of this study is to examine Judith Butler theory of gender performativity. In her work Gender Trouble, she argues that gender identity cannot be biologically determined. She challenges the belief that certain behaviors are natural. Her argument is that gender and sex are not natural but they are constructed through the working of power in societies such as institutions, discourse, and practices. Consequently, gender is prompted by obligatory norms to be one…