Sample Research Paper On What Is Feminism?

ABSTRACT:

Feminism is a term that describes a wide range of social, intellectual, academic, philosophical and political movements that challenges traditional patriarchal societal structures. Feminism has many enemies, and is very diverse collective of people who advocate for a variety of woman’s rights issues. As a result, feminism has come under attack since it emerged as a defined force in the early twentieth century as part of the temperance and suffrage movements. These critiques come from both external forces, such as conservative ideologues like Rush Limbaugh, who calls feminists “femi-nazis”, and from inside the movement, from writers like Joan Didion, who compared the movement to Stalinism. Political and academic critiques of feminism focus on the one-dimensionality of the movement, being comprised mostly of white, middle and upper class woman with little real experiences involving exploitation or subjugation. Ultimately, the core foundations of feminism are universally recognized as being civilized, modern, democratic and fair. However, feminism has been used to promote radical agendas that have created societal dissent. Today, feminism is extremely relevant, and part of a national discourse on serious issues including campus rapes, domestic violence, unequal pay and perceived female encroachment on male spaces and subcultures, as seen in the “Gamergate” controversy.

WHAT IS FEMINISM?

Feminism is a term used to describe a wide range of social movements, groups and ideologies that advocate for women’s equality. As a loose affiliation of individuals and group with different goals and ideas, defining feminism can be difficult (Offen, 1998). As a political ideology, it also gets complicated, distorted, extremely biased and controversial. However, there are some common themes that unite the feminist community. Feminists believe in educational and employment equality, women’s rights, safety, and “bodily autonomy” (Offen, 1998, p. 121). Since the women’s temperance and suffrage movements of the early twentieth century, feminists have fought for the right of women to be independent, autonomous and free from the tyranny of restrictive and unfair traditional gender roles. Politically, feminists fight for issues like equal pay and reproductive rights. Feminism is also an academic philosophical framework, used to analyze history contemporary issues. Despite its enduring presence in society, there are a number of criticisms of feminism. In “Defining Feminism” Offen (1988), warned that “to many people, inside and outside of the academy, the word "feminism" continues
Sex, religion, politics and money are the four topics you are not supposed to talk about in polite company (“(Not So) Small Talk” , 2011). Feminism is about all four, and the women’s rights movement has created backlash, both as a movement and a sociopolitical ideology. Feminism challenges male privilege and traditional societal structure, usually patriarchy. At its best feminism celebrates the power and positive contributions of women to society and embraces a more civilized and modern way of living and understanding gender:

Feminism opposes women's subordination to men in

the family and society, along with men's claims to define
what is best for women without consulting them; it thereby
offers a frontal challenge to patriarchal thought, social
organization, and control mechanisms. It seeks to destroy
masculine hierarchy but not sexual dualism. Feminism is
necessarily pro-woman. However, it does not follow that it
must be anti-man. (Offen, 1988, p. 129).

In the most positive sense, feminism is about overturning centuries of backwards,

antiquated and misogynistic cultural artifacts, that are unfair, sexist and against
democratic ideals. In many ways, it is similar to the civil rights movements of the

1960’s, which fought for equal rights for African-Americans.

However, feminism is much broader than a social movement, it is also an
intellectual, political and philosophical movement.  Feminist theory, which emerged in 1970’s and has been used as a framework to analyze everything from history, psychology to economics and movies. (Chodorow, 1989, p. 14). Feminist theory is used in a variety of some disciplines to examine social gender issues by examining women’s roles and experiences in society. Most feminist in academia are white and middle class, which has been criticized as offering only a one dimensional perspective (Offen, 1988, p. 131).
As a response, feminist theory has compensated by emphasizing multicultural experiences and issues in their work. For example, some feminists (Gunning, 1991) focused on the issue of genital mutilation in Africa. Other sociologists and anthropologists attacked this movement. Lane and Rubinstein (1996) warned “Western feminists not to condemn the traditional genital surgeries performed on women in some non-Western cultures. Coming to moral judgment is not the end of the story; we must also decide what to do about our judgments. We must learn to work respectfully with, not independently of, local resources for cultural self-examination and change” (p. 31). Feminism is heavily weighed by a general vibe of political correctness that permeates the discourse. Any criticism can be seen as a form of oppression, which is what the entire movement is fighting against.
Feminism is a divisive issue. In her seminal 1972 essay “The Woman’s Movement,” writer Joan Didion expressed her ambivalent feelings about feminism.
She argues that feminism started with a “breathtaking” idea, that feminism was more than a civil rights struggle for equal rights. It was about defining women as a separate “revolutionary” class (Didion, 1972). According to Didion, this “inventing women as a class” was too much, and hurt the cause. She went so far as comparing feminism to Stalinism, and was really about much more than just objecting to being “discriminated against”; it was actually an “aversion to adult sexual life itself” (Didion, 1973). Didion believed feminism had gone beyond advocating for equal rights; it was sucking the fun out of being a woman. She suggested injecting some fun into feminism, and concluded that feminism was “not longer a cause, but a symptom” (Didion, 1972). This predicted the criticisms that would come later from conservative Americans like talk show host Rush Limbaugh, who calls feminists “angry femi-nazi’s” (Limbaugh, 1992, p. 64). One ever-present criticism of feminists is that they are sexually frustrated, male-hating lesbians or just generally not fun and happy people (Bordo, 2003, p. 12-14).
Other criticisms of feminism usually revolve around what feminists neglect in their analysis. For example, inequality is part of life, and in a society where socioeconomic status rules, the idea of “equality of opportunity” is a fantasy (Ehara, 2005, p. 7). This pragmatic analysis sees feminism much like is sees socialism, a well meaning but impossible idea of a utopian social structure. Poor white men, blacks, and woman were all in the same boat. Therefore, feminists should approach their analysis from a socioeconomic and not a sexual perspective. Moreover, there is no cohesive “sex class”, poor black woman and wealthy educated white woman have very little in common (Ehara, 2005, p. 8-9). Many criticisms focus on “radical feminism”, which portrays men as an enemy oppressor and makes sweeping assumptions about male and female psychology. It is clear that not all male and female relationships involve exploitation and oppression. Many critiques of feminism are not about their core ideals and goals, but about “going too far” and using feminism as a way to manifest radical political ideologies (Ehara, 2005).
Women have more rights and privileges today than ever before, but society is far from equal. Feminism is more controversial than ever. There is in-fighting amongst the ranks of hardcore feminists and many researchers in woman’s studies programs are unwilling to identify as feminists (Bordow, 2003, p. 44). It has become a very loaded word. Many assert that they are advocates for woman’s equality, but are not feminists. Other feminists are criticized for oppressing other feminists:

When “sisterhood” becomes a means to silence dissent, a blanket

term thrown back in the face of marginalized women in feminist spaces
for their criticisms, it is not sisterhood at work. It is oppression
(Rankin, 2013).
Since feminism is an amorphous idea, with good intentions but complicated applications, it is naturally controversial (Chodorow, 1998, p. 4). It speaks on sex, money, religion and politics. However, there is definitely a need for feminism in today’s society, which is why it still exists in its myriad forms. There are clearly problems that women face that need to be addressed, including domestic violence, sexual harassment, campus rapes, unequal pay in the workplace, body dysmorphia and unrealistic expectations and representations in the media. Recently, “Gamergate” thrust feminism back into the spotlight, when computer gamers lashed out at woman entering a male dominated subculture (Rawlinson, 2015).
Power, control and politics lay at the foundations of society, and feminism seeks to address fundamental problems in many different spheres of life. Feminism is a way of looking at the world, and has different meanings for different people. It threatens conservative patriarchal fundamentalists, it angers men who feel like they are being attacked and labeled unfairly, and gives support and encouragement to woman who feel abused or exploited, or want to feel more empowered. Feminism starts with a noble philosophical foundation: women are different but equal to men, and deserve to be treated fairly. From there, individuals have manipulated it for various agendas and purposes. Feminism should not be a dirty word. All things to all people, it is easily deconstructed and attacked, but its longevity as a cultural force in society indicates if fulfills a need and provides a more progressive framework with which to understand gender in society.

References

Bordo, Susan. Unbearable weight: Feminism, Western culture, and the body. Univ of California Press, 2003.
Chodorow, N. J. (1989). Feminism and psychoanalytic theory. Yale University Press.
Didion, J. (1970, July 30). Retrieved March 13, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/30/books/didion-movement.html?_r=0
Ehara, Y. (2005). Feminism in the Grips of a Pincer Attack—Traditionalism, liberalism, and globalism. International Journal of Japanese Sociology, 14(1), 6-14.
Gunning, I. R. (1991). Arrogant perception, world-travelling and multicultural feminism: The case of female genital surgeries. Colum. Hum. Rts. L. Rev., 23, 189
Lane, S. D., & Rubinstein, R. A. (1996). Judging the other: responding to traditional female genital surgeries. Hastings Center Report, 26(3), 31-40.
Limbaugh, R. (1992). The way things ought to be. New York: Pocket Books.
(Not So) Small Talk: 5 Topics You Should Avoid Talking About At Work. (2011, December 3). Retrieved March 13, 2015
Offen, K. (1988). Defining feminism: A comparative historical approach. Signs, 119-157.
Rankin, L. (2013, May 8). Mainstream Feminism Has Alienated a Lot Of Women, and This Needs to Stop. Retrieved March 13, 2015
Rawlinson, K. (2015, January 21). Gamergate victim starts help site. Retrieved March 13, 2015, from http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30900559
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