As a woman, it is hard to believe such simple things were denied to us barely 100 years ago. In The declaration of Sentiments, we realize not only how limited we were by politics, but by men. The fact that women were stripped of responsibility in the eyes of the law is one of the most degrading points in the reading, and something we should look back on with a bitter taste in our mouths.
Looking at all three of the readings, we see different viewpoints from different women in society. In "Ain't I a Woman?" the author touches on what we started discussing in class on Tuesday, the fact that Women of Color needed and wanted different things out of the Feminist Movements. Whereas in the other two readings we see strong groundbreaking women who are demanding rights. In the article by Sojouner Truth, we realize that although the rights of women are in mind, to her, more important matters like living free also plague her speech. What we can see from these initial wave feminist articles is belief, and a sense of determination. These women believe in each other, and although they are not all fighting for exactly the same thing they are determined to make progress. These inspirational women show that they are tired of being oppressed, and are willing to fight for an end to slavery, as well as more rights for women.
When we look at all the situations where women are denied proper rights in society we find a very appropriate quote in The declaration of Sentiments "The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyrranny over her." We know man used to dominate over a woman, and of course things have changed drastically.... But do men still control us? From the previous readings there are arguements about the "Liberation" women are getting from this sex consumed wave of feminism. Do we do it for men? Can the feminists of today really be classified in the same group as the ones who have come before? Is the cause as important as the olden days, and more importantly, is what we are doing today for the right reasons? Is this feminism today truly for the betterment of women?
Brittany's final paragraph really resonated with me -- of course men used to dominate women in all aspects of life, and yes, things have drastically changed . . . but are there still many instances in which men dominate over women in today's world? The feminists of the past crusaded for equality rights and opportunities among men and women, so that one day they might have the fortune of seeing their own daughters and granddaughters grow up in world where they weren't second-class citizens, rather equals with their male counterparts.
ReplyDeleteI think that many women who call themselves feminists have lost sight of the goals of the past. Like Brittany points out, a lot of today's feminism is about sexual liberation of women. Is this a misguided goal? Is the ultimately goal of sexual empowerment and liberation for women mostly about sexual pleasure of men, as we've discussed in class? This topic is a hotly debated issue obviously, and I think that the main point is that yes, today's feminism has somewhat lost sight of what should be most important to the woman's movement -- equality is still not entirely evident in today's society, and it's important to keep this goal in mind for the betterment of women, rather than simply focusing on the sex-crazed notions that surrounds a lot of today's feminist goals. More equality can be achieved in the workplace, in the environment, not just in terms of sexuality.
It's interesting to read about the first-wave of feminism and see how much progress has been made since the Seneca Falls Convention and the inability for women to even speak at an abolition meeting. However, as Brittany and Lisa have both pointed out, although there have been drastic improvements in the opportunities for women in the past century, perhaps feminism still has a long way to go. Women have clearly acquired equal opportunities that men have in the work place, academia, political influence and the list goes on, but there has also been a change in attitude by both men and women acknowledging the capabilities and rights of women. For example in both the first and second wave of feminism, men have directly suppressed women based on their gender, as seen through the prohibition of women to even speak at an abolition meeting. However now, whether or not men still believe they are better than women, they do not publicly suppress women as they did in the past century. Now, it is not only the attitudes of men worth changing but the attitudes of women as well.
ReplyDeleteDespite the progress that feminism has made, has the vision that was once created by its initial leaders been achieved? I believe most people would agree it has not, and clearly the vision towards gender equality has changed through the past century and to an extent lost sight of its initial goals, but isn't change in any movement inevitable? If so, then we must ask has feminism changed for the better or for the worse? Again, it is very difficult to examine feminism because it is such a general term and both women and feminists have many different opinions of what it means. Yet I agree with Lisa and Brittany and the notion that perhaps feminism took a wrong turn with this sexual revolution and "raunch culture" that Levy explains. Whether or not the intentions of this sexual revolution were to ultimately achieve gender equality, its means of doing so, by embracing the objectification of women and willingly giving into this male-dominated system seems to hinder the ability of women to gain the respect and equality that they rightfully deserve.
Like Lisa, Brittany’s questions made me think about the differences between the beginning of the feminist movement and the feminist movement of today. To answer her question, I don’t think feminists of today should be considered in the same category as feminists of the past. The women of the past had to fight for many rights that are considered basic today. I think the battle has stemmed away from many of the equality issues that were in the readings, and instead it has been focused on asserting women’s sexual liberation. The problem as we’ve discussed in class and as shown by CAKE is that there seems to be a disconnect between the ultimate goal of liberation and how to actually go about it. Instead of throwing parties to emphasis how free and accepting women are of their sexuality, organizations should focus on gaining equality in certain areas in the work place that still display signs of inequalities. Big corporations, for example, still have a majority of men working in the higher branches of the company. Somehow along the way, the original intentions of feminism have changed. A part of the problem, as Levy would agree, is this raunch culture that has woven its way into today’s society. Levy explains to us that this disconnect can do more harm rather than good, because while women are chanting they are doing certain things to express their sexual liberation, men seem to be the main benefactor of their behavior.
ReplyDeleteBrittany's main post did an excellent job at summarizing the readings for the day and incorporating previous class discussions. One of the most interesting things I thought while reading this post was how astonishing it is that women just 100 years ago had little rights. I find it almost hard to believe seeing as most women today grow up in households where the motto, "girls can do anything boys can do and BETTER," dominates. However, at the same time like Brittany brings up, women used to have more camaraderie amongst each other to bring about change. Today, I feel that rather then reinforcing women's independence and equality with men, we have to some extent become apathetic and are not phased by the issues of raunch culture. Nevertheless, overall Brittany does an excellent job at summarizing the readings and setting the stage for further discussion.
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