It would be a mistake to expect a brief and clear definition in a sentence or two of feminism or

feminist thought. Feminism, after all, has a long history, going back at least to the 18th century
and the work of early liberal feminist thinkers such as Mary Wollstonecraft and John Stuart Mill.
Feminism is also a response to women’s lives and experiences and the varieties of feminisms
reflects the changing and varied nature of women’s experienceFeminist activists campaign
for women's rights – such as in contract law, property, and voting – while also promoting bodily
integrity, autonomy, and reproductive rights for women. Feminist campaigns have changed
societies, particularly in the West, by achievingwomen's suffrage, gender neutrality in
English, equal pay for women, reproductive rights for women, and the right to enter into
contracts and own property. Feminists have worked to protect women and girls from domestic
violence, sexual harassment, and sexual assault. They have also advocated for workplace rights,
including maternity leave, and against forms of discrimination against women.. Despite these
difficulties, all varieties of feminism agree that women have been oppressed and unjustly treated.
But how feminists conceptualize that oppression, its causes, and the responses to it, varies.
Feminists, they suggest, use a variety of categories to organize and understand women’s social
reality and women’s lives and subordination can be understood adequately only in terms of
several categories.Thus this question seeks to define feminism and feminist and their
connotations in gender studies.

A feminist is a person who believes that men and women are equal (though not necessarily the
same), and should be entitled to equal rights, equal treatment, and equal
opportunity(Boaz,1997).Feminism is a political, social, and cultural movement that aims at equal
rights for women. Its beginnings and extreme controversy in a (Western) patriarchal society has
created stigma and stereotypes associated with the definition(Johnson 1994).Acharya (2007)
cearlydefines gender, as a concept that involves cultural beliefs and distributions of resources at
the macro level, patterns of behaviour at the interactional level, and selves and identities at the
individual level: a concept that takes into consideration the feminine and masculine differences.
Feminists have always advocated for gender equality and equity.By gender equality it means a
process of being fair to both men and women,to ensure fairness measures are often available to
compensate for historical social disadvantages that prevent men and women from operating on a
level of plain field .In addition ,gender equality has been seen as the absence of discrimination on
the basis of a person’s sex and authority ,opportunities ,allocation of resources or benefits and
access to services ,hence it is therefore the equal valuing by society of both the similarities and
differences between men and women and the varying roles that they play(Cornell 2006) .Hence
the feminist have however empowered women in their advocacy for gender equality especially
the recognition of women in their triple roles which are productive ,reproductive and community
development. Thus bringing in a positive connotation in gender studies.

Feminism is a belief that although women and men are inherently of equal worth,most societies
privilege men as a group. As a result, social movements are necessary to achieve political
equality between women and men, with the understanding that gender always intersects with
other social hierarchies(Acharya 2007).The reason racism is a feminist issue is easily explained
by the inherentdefinition of feminism. Feminism is the political theory and practice to free all
women: women of color, working-class women, poor women, physically challenged women,
lesbians, old women, as well as white economically privileged heterosexual women. Anything
less than this is not feminism, but merely female self-aggrandizement.

In addition, belief that women are and should be treated as potential intellectual equals and
social equals to men ,is one expression from feminism and feminists. These people can be either
male or female human beings, although the ideology is commonly associated mainly with
women. The basic idea of Feminism revolves around the principle that just because human
bodies are designed to perform certain procreative functions, biological elements need not dictate
intellectual and social functions, capabilities, and rights(Bhasin 1991). Feminism also, by its
nature, embraces the belief that all people are entitled to freedom and liberty within reason
including equal civil rights and that discrimination should not be made based on gender, sexual
orientation, skin color, ethnicity, religion, culture, or lifestyle. Feminists and all persons
interested in civil equality and intellectuality are dedicated to fighting the ignorance that says
people are controlled by and limited to their biology. Feminism is the belief that all people are
entitled to the same civil rights and liberties and can be intellectual equals regardless of gender.
Thus by enlightening women and men ,it shows that this have contributed much to gender
studies.

Furthermore, feminists have also contributed to gender studies as part of the feminist
approach.The feminist argues that the dominance of men and privilege is the basis of social
relations, sexism is the ultimate tool used by men to keep women oppressed, Women are the first
oppressed group, Women’s oppression is the most widespread and is the deepest form of
oppression. Feminist note that women’s oppression causes the most suffering, women’s
oppression provides a conceptual model for understanding all other forms of oppression.
Feminists further notes that men control the means of tolerable behavior and the only way to
escape men’s oppression is by refusing to reproduce and to air out their views against all social
structures because they are initiated by the patriarchal society. It is the role of the feminist’s
movements to work towards the emancipation of women within all spheres of the community.
The equality of women being one of the aims of women centered gender activities have been
only found to be useful when actually it is the man themselves that have approved it.With this
the feminist to the feminist have an impact in gender studies, the feminist seeks to be the mouth
piece of the oppressed and shows how institutions and property has been used by men to abuse
women.

Feminism as part of the feminist approach has also made a positive conotationin gender studies.
Cultural feminism is a movement that points out how modern society is hurt by encouraging
masculine behavior ,attitude ,movements and actions, but society would benefit by encouraging
feminine behavior,that is more developing,reproductive and has a community development
agenda instead.Shanobi(2012) states that the social feminists advocates for an increased
emphasis on the private sphere and the role of women in the household and create equal and
upheaval opportunities for women in the public sphere ,as means of attaining feminism with
societies. Thus with this idea it shows how feminism has contributed to gender studies.

More, so one can arguethat the feminists have largely contributed to gender studies in the sense
that they have managed to help women to identify their worthy in the society. The domination of
the feminists in gender studies has been as a result of a number of school of thoughts which
have adopted different ideas from different feminists and have seen them as valid, it can be noted
that the feminists are contributing much to the intellectuals of gender studies .

In a nutshell the terms feminism and feminist have contributed much to gender studies .This has
been seen through their ideologies that seeks to emancipate women and advocate for women’s
emancipation. Due to these women have found themselves in better position in the society since
they have managed to identify their rights and obligation within the community .Hence by being
able to know their rights these terms have managed to liberate women from the oppression by
men.
Boaz. D (1997).Libertarianism: A Primer. New York: Free Press.

Conway. D. (1998).Free-Market Feminism. London: Institute of Economic Affairs.

Cornell .S. (2006).Atthe Heart of Freedom: Feminism, Sex, and Equality. Princeton: Princeton
University Press.

Johnson .P. (1994).Feminism as Radical Humanism. Boulder: Westview.

Acharya . M. (2007); Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women: An UpKathmandu,

UNFPA.

Bhasin, K. (1991); Some Question on Feminism, New Delhi: Kali for Women.

Dibie .R (1999) ‘United Nations and the Problem of Women and Children Abuse in Third World
Nations’, Social Justice 26(1): 78–98.
 BINDURA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE EDUCATION
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

NAME : JAWETT TAMUKA DANGA

REG NO. ; B1337113

PROGRAMME : PEACE AND GOVERNANCE

DEPARTMENT ; PEACE AND GOVERNANCE

LECTURER : Dr KUREBWA
DUE DATE : 30 SEPTEMBER 2014
QUESTION : DEFINE THE TERMS FEMINISM AND FEMINIST.WHAT
CONOTATIONS DO THESE TERMS HAVE ON GENDER STUDIES