Feminist Theory Of Feminism

Feminist Theory Of Feminism
It is no longer a surprise that gender equality continues to be a problem in our society. Although all feminists agree that it is a prominent issue, they
have different ways of combating it. Some feminists agree with having a sex/gender distinction, which uses "sex" as the term to describe biological
features and "gender" as the term to describe the social standings. Due to his distinction, many feminists believe that the social implications, or gender,
needs to be changed to achieve equality. Two approaches that aim to change the social implications of gender are the conventionalist approach and the
abolitionist approach. These two approaches believe that gender is a completely social product and should be eradicated in order to achieve...show more
content...
The existence of men and women are not completely mind–dependent, "as one does not cease to be a woman (or a man) just by altering one's social
environment" (Mikkola 73). Mikkola demonstrates this implication by comparing the label of "woman" with the label of "US Senator". "Woman"
and "US Senator" can both be used as social terms but only "woman" can be used both as a social term and biological term. For example, just by
looking at one's body, it makes sense to us to evaluate one to be a woman but it is not possible to determine the body to be a US senator (Mikkola
70). Gender terms are commonly interchangeable with sex terms because women are ordinary thought to be human females and men are ordinary
thought to be human males. Ordinary social agents does not see gender as a purely social matter and thus a conventionalist approach would be
"unintuitive" because just changing our social environment will not eradicate all the problematic issues of gender. Mikkola also points out that even
if conventionalists are able to convince ordinary social agents to view gender as a strictly social construction, it would be hard to pinpoint what and
how much social changes is needed to accomplish gender equality (73). Since gender is a hugely complex issue and difficult to be thought as a strictly
social production, Mikkola believes that it is strategically better for feminists to come up with an approach that is more contingent with ordinary
thinking.
Mikkola believes
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The Exploration Of Feminist Theory Essay
The theory focused on is the exploration of feminist theory developed by Mary Wollstonecraft in the 1790's. The traditional interpretation of this theory
is based on the common ideology of feminism within the Communication world. Illustrating gender inequality the feminist theory analysis into the
social fields of politics, business, media platforms, and social normalities. Research traditions include socio–psychology and semiotics due to the cause
and effect relationships that help create social standards while also the symbolic forms of media that influence how people perceive and view women.
The epistemology foundation used in this theory is interpretivism. The interpretation of how society views women and how feminist view society.
Formed from the perspective of a feminist standpoint researches analyze social normalities and political figures. In a journal written by Women's
Studies in Communication they demonstrate how women politicians are portrayed in news media platforms. Researches Dustin Harp, Jaime Loke, and
Ingrid Bachmann, analyzed news portals on Hillary Clinton's testimony after the attacks made on America in Benghazi, Libya. Researches found that
news outlets covered Clinton's testimony as sex stereotypical by focusing on what Clinton's emotions were like, her competence level, and her physical
appearance. The key methods discussed by researches were concentrated on patterns within the text, assumptions made by writers and how narratives
were perceived by

Feminism Is A Conflict Theory
In this essay it will assess to what extent feminism has added to our understanding of society.
Firstly, Feminism is a conflict theory that believes that all religions are instruments set up by men to oppress women with the set of beliefs and
practices. There are many different branches of feminism; the ones being evaluated are called Liberal, Radical and Marxist feminists. Feminists believe
that society is malestream and not mainstream as people believe. The first main flaw in feminist theory is the fact that feminists only examine society
from the viewpoint of women, they do this because they believe they are in fact helping fight against the oppression of women but the problem is that
they do not examine the views of many male counterparts and therefore cannot help us completely understand our society. The main differentiation
between the different feminist theories is the way that the oppression against women is caused. Firstly, Liberal feminist are focused on human and
civil rights and freedom of individuals, to summarise, they believe that all humans should have equal rights within their society. They believe that
society changing itself to help women does not happen. Liberal feminists believe the status of women changing can become a reality if laws that are
oppressing for women change because it would create more opportunities for women to prove that they are equal to men. Oakley explains a difference
between sex and gender. Oakley believes sex differences are set

Discuss the relationship between Feminist and Queer Theory.
There is no doubt that there are many parallels between Queer and Feminist theory. Queer theory is a post–structuralist field of study, comprised of key
concepts of taken from the core foundation of feminist theory. Much of queer criticism is based off that of feminist critiques. Both are similar in a
sense that they take a view the world from a sort of macroperspective (as opposed to micro), highlighting all the inequalities that exist in society and
trying to combat them with open–mindedness and freedom of expression. Feminist theory believes that society has been typically patriarchal, favoring
the male gender, while noting that women have had to deal with all sorts of unfair and unjust social norms throughout history. Through the means of
oppression, objectification, stereotyping, and discrimination, women have had to overcome a lot not just to succeed, but to even have the same rights
as men. The oppression shown comes in all aspects of life; political, psychological, social, and even economic. Queer theory, in this regard, holds
almost the same values. It is stemmed from the same basis, sighting that non–heterosexuals have often had these same kind of societal limitations as
women. In addition, like feminist theory, queer theorists ultimate goal is to change the overall perspective of how sexuality is perceived, and delves
into ways of how to combat marginalization of a specific group of people. But though

Feminist Theory : A Feminist Life
Writer, feminist theorist, and professor Sara Ahmed wrote Living a Feminist Life alongside her blog feministkilljoys.com. She started writing it before
and completed it after her resignation in 2016 from her post as director of the Centre for Feminist Research at Goldsmiths at the University of London
after a lengthy struggle to hold the school accountable for incidents of sexual harassment on campus (Ahmed, n.d.). Her resignation, and location both
in and out of the academy informed a lot of the content of this book. In her work, Ahmed successfully argues thatfeminist theory is generated from
everyday life and the ordinary experiences of being a feminist at work and at home. Living a Feminist Life is well supported through Ahmed's...show
more content...
She starts with experiences that she had growing up, and concludes by demonstrating how these individual experiences are ways of integrating oneself
into a collective feminist history.
Ahmed structures the second section of this book, "Diversity Work" (Chapters 4–6), by using the concept of diversity work to show how efforts to
transform organizations, such as universities, relate to everyday experiences and the creation of feminist theory. Moreover, she examines diversity
work in two senses: the work that we do when we aim to transform the norms of an institution, and the work we do when we do not quite inhabit those
norms. In the third section, "Living the Consequences" (Chapters 7–9), Ahmed explores how being a feminist is also about living the consequences of
being a feminist, or describing oneself as a feminist. In this part of the book, Ahmed discusses the consequences of being a feminist not only in terms
of being worn out or worn down by what we come up against, but also in terms of how we find the energy and resources to keep going. Finally,
Ahmed concludes her book with a two–part conclusion. The first part, titled the "Killjoy Survival Kit" comprises a personal list of resources to sustain
feminist labour, and the second part, the "Killjoy Manifesto" offers practical tools for how we

Feminist sociology focuses on examining and understanding gender in its relation to power within society as well as individuals. The fundamental
principle of feminist sociology is the idea that in most societies, women have been oppressed and that men have been more dominant throughout
history. Feminist theory directly relates to feminist sociology. According to the Introduction to Sociology 2e textbook, "feminist theory is a type of
conflict theory that examines inequalities in gender–related issues. It uses the conflict approach to examine the maintenance of gender roles and
inequalities" (Openstax 261). This paper aims to analyze feminist theory, discuss its history, as well as emphasizing a current social condition that
relates to it.
Feminist theory has a rich history. It developed from the social movement known as feminism by focusing on gender inequalities in societies. According
to author, Christiania Hughes, "feminist history tells us of the significant campaigns that have been undertaken to enable women to vote to give them
access to higher education and to equal pay and conditions in the workplace" (35). Inequality between genders has gone on for thousands of years. This
inequality began to change in America in the 19th and early 20th century, when the first wave of feminism began. The first wave of feminism focused
on voting rights, property rights, equal education, and recognition under the law for women. In 1848, at the Seneca Falls Convention a declaration

Feminist Theory
Feminist Theory
Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, or philosophical discourse, it aims to understand the nature of gender inequality. It
examines women's social roles and lived experience, and feminist politics in a variety of fields, such as anthropology and sociology, communication,
psychoanalysis, economics, literary criticism, education, and philosophy. While generally providing a critique of social relations, much of feminist
theory also focuses on analyzing gender inequality and the promotion of women's rights, interests, and issues. Themes explored in feminism include art
history and contemporary art, aesthetics, discrimination, stereotyping, objectification (especially sexual objectification),...show more content...
When it comes to implementating the feminist theory into our cliental there are a few thing that we need to take into consideration and understanding.
Poverty, depression, stressful life conditions, traumatic events, physical health problems, substance abuse, stigma, and social isolation. The one article I
found on this touched my heart and opened my eyes to what we as women go through and experience in our daily lives.
"At the heart of a social justice perspective generally, and a feminist perspective more specifically, is a recognition that the individual struggles
experienced by so many people are rooted in oppressive social, political, and cultural forces (Atkinson, Thompson, & Grant, 1993; Morrow &
Hawxhurt, 1998). According to this view, helping clients from oppressed communities to explore the psychodynamic or co nitive contributors to their
emotional difficulties, although potentially valuable, can do no more than help people adjust to an oppressive status quo; feelings of alienation,
disempowerment, or despair experienced by so many oppressed people cannot truly be resolved without changing the systems and structures from
which they arise (Goodman, Belle, Helms, Latta, & Weintraub, 2004). This idea has placed many social justice–oriented psychologists and social
workers in a quandary: How can

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Feminist Theory
Weaknesses of Feminist Theory The main weakness of feminist theories is that they are from a woman centered viewpoint. While the theories
also mention social problems not strictly related to women, it still comes from that viewpoint. This creates a weakness of perspective, men and
women do see the world differently. If you have a theory that is solely from the perspective of men or women then you are removing something
intangible from that theory. Theories should be put forth that take into account a woman's perspective, but the theories should also have the male
perspective so that both viewpoints are clearly visible. It may seem a small complaint, but this small complaint can be the difference between
seeing the bigger picture, or missing something critical because you only took a cursory look. How Theories Address Privilege and Oppression
Feminist and critical race theory both address privilege and social oppression in society. Though both theories seek to address the same issues,
they have wildly different approaches to understanding the mechanisms behind them. It is imperative to know how these theories acknowledge
oppression as well as privilege in order to decide whether it is appropriate to utilize them when practicing as a social worker. In doing so, the social
worker will be able to more effectively know when to correctly apply one of these theories as well as when it would be inadvisable to do so. Social
Oppression and Privilege in Critical Race Theory Critical

Feminist Theory Essay
Feminist Theory
Introduction
Feminist Theory is an aspect of considering feminism as having been based on socio–phenomenon issues rather than biological or scientific. It
appreciates gender inequality, analyzes the societal roles played by feminists in a bid to promote the interests, issues and rights of women in the
society. It is also based on the assumption that women play subsidiary roles in the society. The whole idea offeminism has however experienced hurdles
in the form of stereotyping by the wider society. This paper tries to examine some of the effects of stereotypes that feminism goes through, what other
philosophers say and the way forward towards ending stereotyping.
To begin with, according to many philosophers, it would...show more content...
To this extent it is clear that the philosophy was intentionally aimed to alienate women (Deleuze & Guattari, 1994).
This portrays that such philosophers are not informed by reason or any rationality but by their lifestyles that is brought about by their culture. Men,
being the majority of philosophers selectively chose topics that ignore the welfare and plight of women but those that are related to their lifestyles. All
these philosophies only encourage stereotyping on not only feminists but also women at large. In fact partly due to the actions of some of these male
philosophers, the society has adopted some universal stereotypes on feminism. The kinds of these stereotyping include assumptions that sometimes
border on myths that feminists are all the same, hate men, unattractive and angry. Feminists have also been regarded as lesbians, bra burners and sex
haters. They also hate staying at home.
These stereotyping have got implications that might work to erode the gains of the affirmative actions that are slowly seeing the light of the day in
recent times. It conversely also has some positive effects on the victims. Some of the effects of this stereotyping include low performance by the
victims of the negative stereotyping. From the moment when the stereotyping happened to a woman to through her times at work and at home, her
work performance would likely be affected. Even at school, women who are stereotyped are likely to

Feminist Theory Feminism
By touching upon the feminist theory approach, this paper criticizes the patriarchy society and discusses how feminists faced many obstacles along the
way since the mid 20th century. To better understand the violence against women, Abraham and Tastsoglou (2016) look at the micro, meso, and macro
levels of this issue. Women who were victims of domestic violence were discriminated based on gender roles and stereotypes; hence why they started
the anti–violence movement to promote pursuit of equality and justice in the society. This feminist movement successfully gained the support of the
state and the criminal justice system in both the US and Canada. Also, there has been many different organizations, policies and legislations made for
supporting victims of domestic violence. However, this paper also argues that not all women who are victims of domestic violence get involved with
the criminal justice system, due to their dependence on their partner or other insecurities. Therefore, the paper states that there must be other policies
and strategies put in place to deal with this issue more in–depth. Women from lower social class, minorities and immigrants are shown to be more likely
to be victims of domestic violence. The article discusses the steps taken by the feminist groups as well as the state to address these issues.
This article falls under the social–conflict theory, where issues such as feminism and gender conflict are met. This type of theory focuses on the
inequality

Feminist Theory And Gender Inequality
Feminist theory analyzes the gender inequality that women have faced throughout the years due to a patriarchal society. Women were expected to fit
the traditional female and conform to the gender norms that society has constructed. According to A Brief Introduction to Critical Theory, "Feminism
embodies a way of reading that investigates the text's investment in or reaction to the patriarchal power structures that have dominated Western culture"
(227). Patriarchal power has oppressed women economically, socially, and politically. Women were associated more with domesticity than with politics
and financial situations. They were not provided the same educational opportunities as men. These issues have been addressed by people, such as Mary
...show more content...
Due to their lack of educational opportunities during the Victorian era, women were more educated in domesticity, while men were taught in various
subjects. Wollstonecraft describes the education that women receive to be "a disorderly kind of education" (161). If women were given equal
educational opportunities as men, then it would allow them to become more empowered. Wollstonecraft states, "Strengthen the female mind by
enlarging it, and there will be an end to blind obedience..." (163). Meaning that by providing women with a educational equivalent to men, then it
would put an end to women having to be reliant on men and be able to independent. Therefore, women will not have to feel inferior to their male
counterparts. She encourages women to become more empowered and challenge the gender constructs of society. On that note, in Jane Austen's Pride
and Prejudice, Elizabeth, Mr. Darcy, and Miss Caroline Bingley discusses what makes awoman "accomplished" during the early nineteenth century. For
instance, "'A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages to deserve the word...'" (Austen
26). Mr. Darcy further adds, "'She must yet add something more substantial, in the

Feminism And The Feminist Theory Essay
The feminist theory takes the motion of the feminist equal rights movement and transforms it into a theoretical study. This rather new approach
explores the status of females and equality activists as well as their role in society relating to others. The feminist theory explains what is relevant to
women and the women 's movement as well as how definitions are changing over time, whether they are sociological, philosophical, or psychological
(Grosz, 2010). As the gender gap closes in our society, equality becomes imperative to study and discuss freely. Many theorists have studied feminist
theory, but one theorist in particular sticks out.
Theorist Simone de Beauvoir was a primary contributor to the feminist movement as she laid the path for scholars and women in general in the
mid–1900s. The Second Sex (1949), a novel of women through time, including the controversial role of women at home as well as how women were
treated as if they were the inferior sex. While this book did not directly contribute studies or articles towards the feminist theory, it did lay out the
foundation, viewpoints, and attitudes towards women, revealing patriarchy and supposed subservience (Marshall, 2006). The radical view supporting
women's independence in The Second Sex (1949) was rare for its time and sparked an interest that would soon become second wave feminism and
contributed significantly towards the feminist theory.
The role of the woman at home was examined by Beauvoir and contributes to

Feminism : A Feminist Theory
WGS 3600: Feminist Theory
Frankie Snyder and Jax McMillian
Due: 12/10/2015
Feminism is gender liberation
Feminism needs to be more broadly defined in terms of gender liberation to encompass individuals from all walks of genders (or nongenders).
Separating gender nonconforming issues from feminism is erasive; marginalized gender nonconforming individuals should not be told to fend for
themselves and their own rights due to a multitude of oppressions experienced by these individuals (based on the prejudicial gender assumptions the
patriarchy puts on them). In all, feminism should encompass gender nonconforming rights because to do otherwise would be to align with the
patriarchal system in which feminists are fighting against; including gender nonconforming issues in the sphere of feminism will help strengthen the
discourse of general gender equality as has been argued for centuries.
Definitionally, much like feminism, nonbinary and gender–nonconforming can often be ambiguous and varied from person to person. For the sake of
this paper the reference to nonbinary individuals is a reference to anyone who at any point has identified outside of the gender binary at least some of
the time. This encompasses a broad range of identities including genderqueer, agender, demigender, genderfluid, and an accepted lack of identification
in the gender realm altogether. Further, gender–nonconforming will be defined as the expression/behavior that doesn't match masculine and feminine
gender

Essay Feminism and feminist social theory
Feminism and feminist social theory unlike other theoretical perspectives is woman–centered and inter–disciplinary, hence promotes methods of
achieving social justice. The feminism and feminist social theory takes into consideration three questions, what of the women? Why is the present
social world as it is today? Additionally, how can the social world be changed to make it more just for the women and all people alike? In recent
developments, feminist theorists have begun questioning the differences between women. The areas under question include race, ethnicity, class, age
intersect, and gender. In summation, the feminist theory involves the concern with giving women world over voice, and highlighting how they have
contributed to the...show more content...
The term gender refers to the characteristics of a person despite the person's biological sex. Gender role, which is the focus of sociologists, is the
anticipated attitude and behavior that a certain society connects with each sex. With this definition, gender is placed evenly in the sociocultural context.
Events that previously occurred had a vital impact on gender roles. Due to this, the study of gender emerged as one of the significant disciplines in the
field of sociology in the twentieth century. The gender issues were studied using various research and theory. The research on gender issues provided a
testament that all social interactions that occur, and the institutions where they occur, are gendered in one way or the other. Sociologists explain gender
roles with respect to various theoretical perspectives. The perspectives are the ways of perceiving social reality that guide the process of research and
provide a method for understanding the data. The sociological perspectives on gender roles include functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interaction,
and feminist sociological theory (pearsonhighered.com). The functionalism theory is also known as structural functionalism and lays claim on the fact
that the society is composed of interdependent portions each of which adds to the functioning of the whole society. Functionalists break

Feminist Synthesis Essay
Tyson explains the basic concepts of feminist theory, and the ways in which readers can use the theory as a lens to examine the social pressures and
gender roles within a literary work. To examine through a feminist lens, theorists need to first look at the different characters' genders to determine
whether their roles and responsibilities "conform to traditional (patriarchal) gender roles" (Tyson 84). "According to [patriarchal] gender roles, men are
naturally rational, strong, protective, and decisive," but "women [are] naturally emotional..., weak, nurturing, and submissive" (87). Moreover, "anyone
who violates traditional gender roles is [looked upon as] unnatural, unhealthy, or...immoral" (86). Therefore, due to the "oppression of women" in

Feminism is a figure of social philosophy and radical movement predominantly centered on and determined by the familiarities of womenfolk. Whereas,
commonly delivering an evaluation of social interactions, countless advocates of feminism likewise, concentrate on studying gender discrimination and
the advancement of women's privileges, benefits and problems. Feminism is the idea that women must have financial, social and political egalitarianism
with men. This concept signifies a political movement that helps to increase equivalence within a masculine and feminine relationship. In a
heterosexual relationship, both the male role and the female role ought to be identical. Equivalent in various ways; they need to trust one another, take
on the same responsibilities, listen and admire one another.
Feminist theory is based on socio–phenomenon matters relatively than biological phenomenon. The theory understands masculine and feminine
disparity, but studies the social positions acted by feminists to encourage the curiosities, concerns and moralities of women in society. Spotlights on
gender legislations, supremacy affairs and sexuality. The theory is also established on the belief that women participate in supplementary positions in
the society. They take on the household, education, children and other positions within a day. The concept of feminism has, nevertheless, faced
obstacles in the shape of stereotyping by the close–minded individuals in society.
On the other hand,

examine the scarcity of jobs and the patterns of inequality that arise when comparing who gets hired and who doesn't. Or it could attempt to explain
how people who are born into poverty may find it difficult to change their financial status. Through this theory, sociologists can infer why inequalities
exist, what perpetuates them, and who is responsible. It should be noted, though, that this theory doesn't reflect the ways in which conflict isn't
necessarily always a negative. Conflict and struggle often bring people together and motivate them to work hard. This theory takes a pessimistic view
of society, because it assumes that people with power and wealth try to keep others away from it. It seems that most people are more optimistic than
that, and they think that they can improve their lives through their own efforts. Conflict theory may be useful to point out inequalities, but it fails to
convey how people view them.
Feminist theory is the sociological paradigm that focuses on gender inequality (Carl, 2011). Feminists seek to understand why there are differences
between the way men and women act and are treated, as well as how this affects their lives. The core belief of feminist theory is that men and women
are equal, and therefore, should be treated equally in society (Carl, 2011). This means that they should have access to the same jobs, pay, education,
and rights. While it is true that women in America are allowed to vote, attend school, and apply for jobs, this

Feminism as a Theory of Law Essay
Feminism as a Theory of Law As a concept, feminism is very much a modern notion within legal circles, which aims to eradicate any prejudice against
women's rights. This in a society strongly founded upon a male–orientated legal system, which historically fails to recognise the social and legal rights
of women, and instead focuses upon "male–orientated theories and ideologies."[1] It is this patriarchy that feminists thrive to eliminate. The essence of
patriarchy is emphasised by the Marxist legal theory, developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the 19th Century, which places no emphasis upon
gender, and consequently belittles the feminists fight for gender equality....show more content...
The key to this goal, in turn, is a socialist revolution that creates a state–centred economy operating to meet the needs of all. Such a basic
transformation of society requires that women and men pursue their personal liberation together, rather than individually, as liberal feminists
maintain."[4] 3) The third form of feminism is radical feminism. This, as the name suggests is the most extreme version of feminism, it disregards the
liberal theory as "superficial and inadequate,"[5] and they claim that even a socialist revolution would not end patriarchy. Radical feminists strive to
create a society free from any gender inequality by completely abolishing the cultural notion of gender. To look at these three forms of feminism an
observer would be ignorant to discard feminism as having no legal influence, as it is clear to see from these that support for such movements is vast
and comes in various forms, all of which attack the same enemy, patriarchy, albeit in differing manners. These differing methods are accentuated by
recent developments and movements in society, particularly in the 20th Century these can be clearly highlighted by looking at the actions of the
suffragettes in 1910, which illustrate a more active approach to campaigning.
As previously mentioned feminist legal theories are a contemporary

The Feminist Theory Essays
Feminists rely chiefly on the contention that the traditional analysis of world politics is fundamentally gendered. Gender–sensitive analysis begins
with the premise that societal institutions are made by humans and are therefore changeable by humans. Feminists systematically deconstruct the
notions traditionally held by realists and taken for granted as how the world works.
Gender–sensitive analysis takes many factors into consideration that the realist does not. As history dictates, the world, both in the domestic and
international scenes, has been predominantly ruled by men. Women have historically been almost entirely excluded from policy–making positions
throughout the world. Until recently there have been almost no women...show more content...
Through gendered analysis, i.e. without taking into consideration those qualities we have come to categorize as 'feminine', traditional realist theory has
ignored what may well be a fundamental aspect of human nature.
Feminist theory questions the traditional Waltzian levels of analysis. They contend that the individual, the state and the international system are
arbitrarily determined and are not discrete levels of analysis. They hold that they are, in fact, "mutually reinforcing constructs, each based on behaviors
associated with hegemonic masculinity" (Tickner, 131).
Feminists attack what some have termed "economic man" and "political man". These figures, constructed out of masculine characteristics, have been
defined by autonomy, independence, power–over relations, and an instrumental notion of reality (Tickner, 131). These constructs have become an
integral part of the traditional analysis of world politics. Feminists attempt to deconstruct these (traditionally) highly valued notions by contending that
there are other human characteristics, such as the desire for community, interdependence, and cooperation that define human nature as much as the
traditional.
Some feminists argue that male–dominated foreign policy making marginalizes the importance of individuals and their families "in the name of an
abstract conception of the 'national interest'" (True, 121). Christine Sylvester specifically

Feminist Theory Of Feminism

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