Essays on Feminism

Essays on Feminism

Feminism is the principle that values women’s experiences and ideas; feminism also emphasizes that women and men should be socially, economically, and legally equal. Feminism is to be a voice of advancement towards women’s rights and to also advocate for the equality of all types of people. Everyone should be advocates for equality of everyone, looking past sex, whether it be differences on legal standpoints, religion, morals, sexual orientation, etc. Women, however, tend to carry a heavier role in this advocacy because women tend to have experiences and ideas of peace and understanding in such a way that men cannot grasp. Both exemplify the advancement of women in the past and current climate as well as the fight for equality. But, to contrast, although the book's definition does not blackball other types of people, it does only state that men and women should be socially, economically, and legally equal making it vague to me.

Men can be feminists and play a role in feminism. These men that are in support of feminism are called profeminists. Profeminists support feminism and they want to eliminate destructive aspects of gender, such as gender stereotypes, gender inequalities, and gender-related violence. The pro-feminist men can also be known as allies, providing support to groups other than their own. Men are stuck between the rock and the hard place: wanting to help and be an ally for feminist, but, due to the virtue of their birth, they don’t tend to have the experience that goes with gender-based oppression which makes it hard for them to offer help, or is turned down by the women who “hate men”.

What most people don’t know, feminism has many different branches that entail many different ideas and outlooks on feminism. These are the four different theoretical approaches to feminism: liberal feminism, cultural feminism, radical feminism, and women-of-color feminism. Starting with liberal feminism, this stresses the goal of gender equality by giving the same rights and opportunities to both women and men. This group believes that there can be laws passed to equal the rights of both genders. Cultural feminism underlines the positive qualities that are stronger in women than in men, for example, nurturing and caretaking. Cultural feminism more because shines a light on positive qualities that woman possesses that man don’t. But, some of these qualities are brought upon a woman, not by choice, but because she is solely a woman. Cultural feminist considers reconstructing society to benefit both the working man and woman as well as emphasizing cooperation. Another approach to feminism is radical feminism, arguing that the basic cause of woman’s oppression lies deep in the entire sex and gender system, rather than superficial laws and policies. This as a way of saying that men are “scums”. This approach is usually portrayed in media making certain people turn down the idea of feminism. The organization known as Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity stated that “both men and women function best and have the richest relationships if they can move beyond the traditional definitions of gender roles” (SPSMM, Division 51 of the American Psychological Association, 2010). The last idea of feminism is women-of-color feminism which points out that the other types of feminism overemphasize gender, whereas woman-of-color states that feminism must pay attention to other dimensions such as ethnicity and social class.

In the Feminist Perspective Scale (Henley, Meng, O’Brien, McCarthy, & Sockloskie, 1998), statements are given and are rated based on readers' opinion. For liberal feminism, some statements include “The government is responsible for making sure that all women receive an equal chance at education and employment”, “A socialist restructuring of businesses and institutions is necessary for women and people of color to assume equal leadership with White men”, “Legislation is the best means to ensure a woman’s choice of whether or not to have an abortion”, “It is the capitalist system which forces women to be responsible for child care”. These statements blame the government for not having an active voice in feminism and gender equality. Statements such as “The availability of adequate child care is central to a woman’s right to work outside the home”, “Men should follow women’s lead in religious matters because women have a higher regard for love and peace than men”, “Women’s experience in life’s realities of cleaning, feeding people, caring for babies, etc., makes their vision of reality clearer than men’s” lean more toward cultural feminism, in my opinion, because they focus on gender differences and a woman’s qualities that makes her a woman. “Racism and sexism make double the oppression for women of color in the work environment”, ” Sex-role stereotypes are only one symptom of the larger system of patriarchal power, which is the true source of women’s subordination”, “Rape is best stopped by replacing the current male-oriented culture of violence with an alternative culture based on more gentle, womanly qualities”, “Rape is ultimately a powerful tool that keeps women in their place, subservient to and terrorized by men” indicates ideas of radical feminism because oppression lies in the sex and gender system rather than laws and policies. Lastly, woman-color feminism shows differences not only lie in gender but in ethnicity and social class: “Women of color are oppressed by White standards of beauty”, “Much of the talk about power for women overlooks the need to empower people of all races and colors first.”

 

Read More
We've found 399 essays on Feminism

Essay examples

Essay topics

information

Feminist Interpretation of Hemingway’s ”Hills like White Elephants”

Hemingway’s works have largely covered the subject of feminism, and his short story ”Hills like white elephants” perfectly portrays a woman who breaks the norms of a society dominated by men and masculinity. As we all know, feminism is a social movement , an ideology …

FeminismHills Like White Elephants
Words 1401
Pages 6
Metaphor in “The Yellow Wallpaper”

The beginning of the 19 the century is characterized by strong discrimination and oppression of women in society meaning that women were something like private property being able only to keep house and to bear children. Gilman comes from a long list of freedom fighters …

FeminismSexismYellow Wallpaper
Words 1108
Pages 5
Motherhood and Its Challenges

The word mother means a female parent who brings up a child, takes care of her and loves absolutely by putting the needs of her children over her own. A mother takes the whole duty of parenting with both her words and her actions. Being …

ChallengesFamilyFeminismLoveMotherMotherhoodParenting
Words 2084
Pages 8
Haven’t found the relevant content? Hire a subject expert to help you with
Essays on Feminism
$35.80 for a 2-page paper
Get custom paper
essays on topic icon
Gender Approaches in Development: WID and GAD

Gender by definition refers to the characteristics, trades, attributes or even roles that are expected for males and females by a given culture or society. Some can say the general social meaning of being male or female. The WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT (WID) this approach was …

FeminismGenderSocial Issues
Words 1010
Pages 4
Summary of The Radical Idea of Marrying for Love

Summary of “The Radical Idea of Marrying for Love” In the essay “The Radical Idea of Marrying for Love”, Stephanie Coontz surveys the history of marriage throughout the world, revealing its historical purposes and the philosophies surrounding it. Coontz gives examples of how once people …

FamilyFeminismLoveMarriage
Words 347
Pages 2
The Changing Role of Women in Society

Changing Role of Women in Society How was the status of woman and their rights represented in western society in the 1600 to early 20th century? For centuries, woman and their rights have been oppressed by the dominance of man. There has been continued struggle …

FeminismWomen
Words 3158
Pages 12
Doris Lessing’s To Room 19 Symbols

Women in patriarchal societies are brought up to have certain values, like to have a desire to be good mothers and good wives. However, as much as they try to do these things, they find that their passions and instincts are put down and this …

AngerFeminismHuman Nature
Words 102
Pages 1
Women’s Emancipation in the 21st Century

Name: Lola Purba SCN: 1223420 Subject: Writing Teacher: Ms. Jane Persad Women’s Emancipation in The 21th Century “…When you educate a man you educate an individual, when you educate a woman you educate a whole family…” Johnetta B, Cole wisely stated. Cole’s quotation draws an …

21st CenturyFeminismIndonesia
Words 634
Pages 3
Everything’s Arranged

The short story ‘Everything’s Arranged’ by Siew Yue Killingley is about a Ceylonese girl named Rukumani that having a secret affair with a Ceylonese boy named Devanayagam while studying at University. Both of them love each other deeply. As they went for longs term vacation, …

Essay ExamplesFeminismGenderWomen
Words 1744
Pages 7
Womens Basketball Essay

The average man also tends to be faster ND stronger than the average woman according to Livingston. Com. Women, nonetheless, are very athletic and skilled in their own right and deserve the same recognition as athletes as men receive. The reason their games are not …

BasketballFeminismSportWomen
Words 1365
Pages 5
Pioneers, oh pioneers

“Pioneers, Oh, Pioneers. ” The author Jean Rhys was born in 1890 and brought up in Roseau, Dominica. Her father was Welsh and her mother Creole, so she grew up between two worlds. Savory underlines that this is manifested in her divided attitude towards cultural …

CaribbeanColonialismEssay ExamplesFeminismSlavery
Words 3633
Pages 14
Feminism in Education: Gender Equality

Prior to 1870 education was not formally recognised and only available to the elite few who could afford to educate their children privately or at private schools. The poorer people of society would have to rely on the education of the church and its moral …

EducationFeminismGenderGender BiasWomen
Words 925
Pages 4
Wizard of Oz- How Is Dorothy a Feminist Hero?

In what ways can Dorothy be described as a feminist hero? In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum has made sure there is a feminist hero in his book. This is because everyone should see an example of a good feminist hero, especially …

FeminismHeroes
Words 878
Pages 4
Our Barbies, Ourselves: Emily Prager’s

Why does Prager say that “suddenly a lot of things made sense” when she discovered that Barbie was designed by a man? Is she referring here only to Barbie’s looks? Emily had doubts whether the Barbie Doll could have been designed by a woman. Barbie’s …

FeminismGenderHuman Nature
Words 83
Pages 1
Is Patriarchy the Main Cause of Gender Inequality?

This view is held by Radical feminists, they believe that patriarchy is society is the reason that women are oppressed and exploited by men, and Marxists for example hold the view that the capitalist system is the reason for the gender inequality. Feminists believe that …

FeminismGenderGender InequalityHegemonic MasculinityMarxismWomen
Words 1208
Pages 5
Literary Theory: Feminist Literary Theory

Women have been suffering since the beginning of the history because of patriarchal order. Feminism is a clash of women against patriarchy. Suffering of women created the concept of feminism as a gender based political and social movement. In public and private sphere, women have …

FeminismFeministGender
Words 1195
Pages 5
Elizabeth Keckley

English 248 12 December 2009 Elizabeth Keckley: Is She a Pioneer of Womanism? Keckley was born a slave in Virginia. She was an excellent seamstress and dressmaker. Using her skill and contacts she bought her freedom in 1855. After she was freed, she made her …

CultureFeminismWomen
Words 1413
Pages 6
Feminism in Pakistan

Out of the fifteen people asked, 53% of the survey population responded negatively to the question inquiring whether men were equal to women. Zahra Mania, a secretary for a business organization claimed that in our society, there is a substantial gap in the rights of …

FamilyFeminismGenderOppressionWomen
Words 904
Pages 4
The Importance of Communication between Creative Directors and Clients

Johnson informed her that Dave Burns, the creative director had phoned him to discuss the direction of the “Rust No More Muffler” project. The problem is if Amelia need to take up the situation with Jim Paglia, the COO of Tassani Communications. Rogers, Burns and …

FeminismHuman NaturePsychology
Words 1020
Pages 4
Becoming the Woman or Man You Want to Be

In present society, men and women alike are still bound to the stereotypes assigned to their respective sexes. While the gender situation has definitely improved today as compared to the past decades, the discrimination between the sexes is still present. The gender impositions are clearly …

FeminismGenderSexWomen
Words 46
Pages 1
Tacitus Germania and Women

Germania, written by the Roman Cornelius Tacitus in 98 A. D, is a historical work on the warlike Germanic tribes located north of the Danube and the Rhine rivers. Anthropology is the study of societies, cultures, and origins of human races. In Germania, Tacitus describes …

FeminismWomen
Words 69
Pages 1
Feminism in Pop Culture

Many myths and misconceptions float around the term ‘Feminism’. It is a movement that is frequently projected as being violent, aggressive, and full of ‘bra burning’ extremists. The word alone often evokes reactions among people that are negative, uncomplimentary and stereotypical. The disturbing of the …

FeminismGenderPop CultureWomen
Words 2119
Pages 8
Discuss How Far Sociologists Would Agree

Many sociologists (e. g. Goran Therborn) argue that the typical nuclear family has disintegrated due to many different reasons, for example, the rise in feminism and women gaining more independence; higher diversity of relationships for example higher divorce rates, higher number of families co-habiting. his …

CohabitationDivorceEssay ExamplesFamilyFeminismMarriage
Words 693
Pages 3
Gender and the Importance of the Social Construction of Gender

“Gender” and the Importance of “The Social Construction of Gender. ” Gender is an individual’s natural sense of themselves existing as a male or female, which may hold opposing views from their biological sex. I believe sex and gender are two terms used interchangeably. Sex …

FeminismGenderSocial Construction
Words 854
Pages 4
Black Feminism

“Feminism in general is a collection of movements and ideologies aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for women. ” Black Feminism is a strand of feminist thought, which highlights the manifold disadvantages of gender, class and race that shape the experiences of …

FeminismGenderOppressionWomen
Words 1956
Pages 8
Hamlet Feminist Criticism

This lack of prior knowledge of her being allows the reader to question the importance of her history. The question of the importance of her life is delegated and her current presence Is the only one that matters for the existence of the play. This …

FeminismFeminist CriticismHamlet
Words 629
Pages 3
Why Women are obsessed with Appearance

The human physical appearance is very vital in the development of social relations with the others as they interact. The appearance is also important in relation to an individual’s personality. Because human beings are influenced by what they can see, physical attractiveness of a person …

BeautyFeminismLoveMarriageObesityWomen
Words 3713
Pages 14
Jane Eyre: Relating to Feminism and Bertha Manson as an Alter Ego

The novel, Jane Eyre, describes the transformation from childhood to adulthood of an orphaned girl named Jane. Bertha Mason, is portrayed as the alter ego of the orphaned girl, Jane Eyre. This statement could be interrupted in many ways. One being-for an example- Bertha being …

FeminismGenderJane EyreWomen
Words 524
Pages 2
The Women Suffrage Movement (1840 -1920)

It would seem unbelievable that the women who lived before the 19th century were confined to their homes and actually had no freedom to choose the leaders that they wanted simply because they could not vote. This was not until the suffrage movement was formed …

1920FeminismWomen
Words 749
Pages 3
Using Satire to Create Awareness of Gender Roles: Egalia’s Daughters

Egalia’s Daughters and “Sultana’s Dream” Egalia’s Daughters and “Sultana’s Dream” both portray examples of what it would be like to have gender roles reversed in societies. They both criticize gender roles and show people how gender discrimination leaves the submissive gender in suppressed conditions. Poking …

AwarenessFeminismGenderGender IdentityNaturePollution
Words 1932
Pages 8
check icon

Find extra essay topics on Essays on Feminism by our writers.

Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that societies prioritize the male point of view, and that women are treated unjustly within those societies.
Information


Feminist organizations

  • National Organization for Wom...
  • Association for Women...
  • UN Women
  • Global Fund for Women
  • Feminist Majority Foundation

Feminist books

  • We Should All Be Femi...
  • Bad Feminist: Essays
  • The Second Sex
  • A Room of One's Own
  • Men Explain Things t...

Frequently asked questions

What is feminism short essay?
Feminism is a social and political movement that seeks to achieve equality for women. It is the belief that women should be treated as equals to men in all areas of life, including political, social, and economic rights.The feminist movement has its roots in the late 18th century, when women began to assert their rights to equality with men. In the 19th century, the movement gathered momentum with the publication of seminal works such as Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) and John Stuart Mill's The Subjection of Women (1869).The 20th century saw significant progress in the fight for women's rights, with the passage of landmark legislation such as the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution (giving women the right to vote) and the Sex Discrimination Act ( outlawing discrimination on the basis of sex).Despite these advances, women still face discrimination and inequality in many areas of life. The feminist movement continues to campaign for equality in areas such as pay and work opportunities, education, and political representation.
What is feminism in your own words?
Feminism is the fight for gender equality. This includes fighting for women's rights, but also for the rights of other groups who are discriminated against based on their gender, such as trans women, non-binary people, and genderqueer people. Feminism is about challenging the systems and structures that uphold gender inequality, and working to create a more just and equal society for everyone.
What are the main points of feminism?
The main points of feminism are that women are equal to men, and that they should have the same rights and opportunities. Feminists believe that women have been oppressed for centuries, and that they should be given the chance to live their lives as they see fit. They also believe that women should be able to choose their own partners, and that they should be able to have careers and families if they so choose.
What is the importance of feminism?
Feminism is a movement that advocates for the political, social, and economic equality of the sexes. Feminists believe that women have been and continue to be disadvantaged in these areas, and they work to end discrimination against women and promote their equality.There are many reasons why feminism is important. First, feminism is important for women's rights. Feminists believe that women should have the same rights as men, including the right to vote, the right to own property, and the right to work. They also believe that women should be free from violence and discrimination.Second, feminism is important for economic equality. Women make up a large percentage of the workforce, but they are often paid less than men for the same work. Feminists believe that women should receive equal pay for equal work.Third, feminism is important for social equality. Feminists believe that women should be treated as equal members of society. They should have the same opportunities as men, including access to education and jobs. They should also be free from discrimination and violence.Fourth, feminism is important for political equality. Feminists believe that women should have the same political rights as men, including the right to vote and the right to hold office. They also believe that women should be equally represented in government.Fifth, feminism is important for human rights. Feminists believe that all human beings, regardless of their sex, should have the same rights. This includes the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.Feminism is important for all of these reasons. It is a movement that advocates for the equality of the sexes, and it works to end discrimination against women.

Save time and let our verified experts help you.

Hire writer