Postcolonial feminism

How far have women come since the early 19th century? Women have made a lot of progress in the past 200 years. Today, women are able to hold jobs and vote which was unheard of in the 1800s. Women have the freedom to be themselves and speak up, they now have a voice, and it's a voice that can be heard by all. But even today, women still aren't exactly equal to men. Think, what would happen if their freedoms got revoked? How would that change the roles of women today? In the early 19th century,…

Much of liberal feminisms analysis on division of labour and the means to overcome the inequality faced by women relies on both the personal experience with oppression of the individual woman who seeks to attain the higher positions of power in society and also their altruism…

Times were exceedingly different. The Yellow Wallpaper, written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in 1890, depicts a story of a young woman and her struggles. It details her battle with mental illness and the steps that are taken to “cure” her. She has just had a baby, but cannot visit her bundle of joy, and is instead being confined to a “summer vacation” home. What we now know as postpartum depression, is diagnosed as nervous depression with hysterical tendencies. Her symptoms gradually worsen,…

Women’s activist Marilyn Loden derived the phrase “glass ceiling” in 1978. A metaphor for the barrier that keeps women from rising beyond a certain level in a hierarchy, this phrase served as an inspiration for women apart of the second and third wave feminism movements. In particular, women experience a glass ceiling within the workplace, as women are unable to achieve higher-up positions within their specific field of work. Even further, those who do manage to secure a rank equal to their male…

against the colonial rule and the wave of nationalism was spreading throughout the country. The participation of women in the struggle of women became important for the nationalists and women participation was welcomed, but they denounced Western feminism as pitting women against men. A number of issues like education for females, right to vote, legislation to protect women in mines, employment for women, and the amelioration of the condition of women did not pose much problem compared to other…

Feminism. We have all heard the word before but, how would you describe it? Perhaps something describing “women empowerment”. In Gilman's book, Herland, the meaning of the word “feminism” is embellished, explained, and most importantly, recognized. This powerful word allowed women’s liberation to permeate throughout a discombobulated duration of time. “Gilman redefines womanhood, declaring women the equal of men in all spheres of life.” (Desimone). Whilst holding ideals of equality, these…

Hysteria is a behaviour that was interpreted as madness and assigned to women who cause trouble. “Hysteria comes from a Greek word meaning simply that which proceeds from the uterus”. In the 5th century BC, Hippocrates was using the word “hysteria” to describe women experiencing anxiety or stress. By the middle ages, hysteria was associated with witchcraft. Exorcism and torture became the preferred treatments of hysteria and remained until the modern age. The outbreak of hysteria was the Salem…

I. Introduction – Women Wifmann. Wimmann. Wumman. And finally, it became woman in modern English. Woman is not just define by having and raising the children, although it is one of the key points. Terminologically, a female human is said to be in the womanhood stage when she had passed through the two (2) stages before it which are the childhood and adolescence, and generally it is after at the age of 18. But the definition of “woman/women” does not end there. It might be a five-letter word, but…

her sexuality. That Winterson does not want to novel to be exclusively targeted at queer women does not mean the novel did not impact many young women who were struggling with the same circumstances as the protagonist of Oranges. Lesbian fiction is put in the lesbian subgenre of fiction when it deals with lesbian women. In this chapter I will outline the significance of four key lesbian characters in Oranges: Jeanette, Melanie, Katy and Miss Jewsbury. I will use the story as background to…

Eva Timat Medusa, transgender, and former banker claims to be the first and only person to have her nose and ears modified to resemble a dragon. Tiamat with her forked tongues, scales (on her body), green eyes and horned forehead calls herself as the 'Dragon Lady.' Eva Timat Medusa, 55, a former banker was born as Richard Hernandez in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA. Eva Timat Medusa was born as Richard Hernandez in Maricopa County, Arizona. Richard was formerly a white collar employee who…