Gender issues

Assignment
Topic: Feminism

Submitted to: Dr. Naveed shibili

Submitted by: Khansa Sarwar

Class: Bs 4th Psychology

Feminism:
Feminism is a range of social movements, political movements, and
ideologies that aim to define, establish, and achieve the political, economic,
personal, and social equality of the sexes.
Before moving to the feminist movement and theories we have to know
about the basics;
The basics
Feminism: Belief in and desire for equality between the sexes. ...
Patriarchy: A hierarchical-structured society in which men hold more
power.
Sexism: The idea that women are inferior to men.
Misogyny: Hatred of women.
Misandry: Hatred of men.
Hostile sexism: The one most people think about.
These basics lead towards feminist movement or liberty of women.
History of feminism:
The history of feminism comprises the narratives (chronological or
thematic) of the movements and ideologies which have aimed at equal
rights for women. First-wave feminism of the 19th and early 20th centuries
focused on overturning legal inequalities, particularly addressing issues of
women's suffrage.
Waves of feminism:
Feminists and scholars have divided the movement's history into three
"waves".
The first wave refers the movement to obtain the right to vote which lasted
72 years. The women's movement of the 1960s and 1970s is generally
referred to as the second wave. The more recent efforts led by women in
their 20s and 30s is generally called the third wave.
Types of feminism:
  Liberal Feminism.
 Radical Feminism.
 Marxist and Socialist Feminism.
 Cultural Feminism.
 Eco-Feminism.
Radical Feminism
Perhaps the stereotype of feminists that we discussed before is most
closely associated with our first type of feminism, called radical feminism.
Radical feminism is a movement that believes sexism is so deeply rooted in
society that the only cure is to eliminate the concept of gender completely.
Socialist feminism:
Radical feminism is the most extreme form. The second type of feminism,
called socialist feminism, is slightly less extreme but still calls for major
social change. Socialist feminism is a movement that calls for an end to
capitalism through a socialist reformation of our economy. Basically,
socialist feminism argues that capitalism strengthens and supports the
sexist status quo because men are the ones who currently have power and
money. Those men are more willing to share their power and money with
other men, which means that women are continually given fewer
opportunities and resources. This keeps women under the control of men.
Cultural Feminism
The third type of feminism we'll discuss in this lecture is cultural feminism.
Cultural feminism is a movement that points out how modern society is hurt
by encouraging masculine behavior, but society would benefit by
encouraging feminine behavior instead.
Liberal feminism:
Liberal feminism uses the personal interactions between men and women
as the place from which to transform society. According to liberal feminists,
all women are capable of asserting their ability to achieve equality,
therefore it is possible for change to happen without altering the structure of
society.
Eco feminism:
Ecofeminism is a branch of feminism that sees environmentalism, and the
relationship between women and the earth, as foundational to its analysis
and practice. Ecofeminist thinkers draw on the concept of gender to
analyse the relationships between humans and the natural world.
Feminist movement:
The feminist movement (also known as the women's movement, or simply
feminism) refers to a series of political campaigns for reforms on issues
such as reproductive rights, domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay,
women's suffrage, sexual harassment, and sexual violence .
It's referred to series of political compains or reform about issues like;
• reproductive right.
• domestic violence
• matters of maternity
• women suffrage in society
• sexual harassment
Before we proceed let me briefly explain what we when talk about
reproductive right. Reproductive right are legal right and freedom related to
reproduction and reproductive end that varing in various country around the
world. The femisnt movement also discusses domestic violence. Domestic
violence is a broad term and it vary across the globe with different
countries, religion and society. Domestic violence is also name as do
domestic abuse and family violence. It is related with violence on other
abused in domestic setting like in marriage and Co habituation. Domestic
violence refers to sometime violence that is committed by a spouse or
partner in an intimate relationship against the other spouse or partner. It
can take place in heterosexual or same sex relationship or between former
spouse or partner. In the domestic violence include violence against
children, parents, elderly. It takes place in various forms like;
(a) Physical abuse
(b) Verbal abuse
(c) Emotional abuse
(d) Economic abuse
(e) Religious abuse
(f) Reproductive abuse
(g) Sexual abuse.
It's taken place in many forms like
(a) Martial rate
(b) physical abuse such as beating
Acid troughing causing was disfigurement content these are cases many in
Indian society. As compare to with other countries of the world the
domestic murder also falls under the domestic violence. The other
important aspect that is relating with feminist movement is matter related
with maternity live many kinds of live Coexist with this kind of live e.g.
paternity live or be adoption live. The feminist movement also include
compains of women or equal pay rights. These also covered women
suffrage and such situations perhaps are there due to the western intense
of people those come out these privileges those are already available in
western cultural. Women's suffrage means the right of women to vote a in
election women. The next aspect that is related with feminist movement is
sexual harassment a type of harassment technique. With implicit or explicit
sexual over tone including un welcome or in appropriate promise of reward
in exchange for sexual favor. Sexual harassment includes a range of a.
From verbal transgression to sexual abuse.
Feminist theory:
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 uneven power relations. Radical
feminism, in particular, considers the role of the family in perpetuating male
dominance (note that “radical” means “at the root”). In patriarchal societies,
men’s contributions are seen as more valuable than those of women.
Patriarchal perspectives and arrangements are widespread and taken for
granted. As a result, women’s viewpoints tend to be silenced or
marginalized to the point of being discredited or considered invalid.
Patriarchy refers to a set of institutional structures (like property rights,
access to positions of power, relationship to sources of income) that are
based on the belief that men and women are dichotomous and unequal
categories of being. The key to patriarchy is what might be called the
dominant gender ideology toward sexual differences: the assumption that
physiological sex differences between males and females are related to
differences in their character, behavior, and ability (i.e., their gender).
These differences are used to justify a gendered division of social roles and
inequality in access to rewards, positions of power, and privilege. The
question that feminists ask therefore is: How does this distinction between
male and female, and the attribution of different qualities to each, serve to
organize our institutions (e.g., the family, law, the occupational structure,
religious institutions, the division between public and private) and to
perpetuate inequality between the sexes?.
Gender differences:
Some feminist theory provides an analytic framework for understanding
how women's location in and experience of social situations differ from
men's.
For example, cultural feminists look at the different values associated with
womanhood and femininity as a reason for why men and women
experience the social world differently.
Gender Inequality
Feminist theories that focus on gender inequality recognize that women's
location in and experience of social situations are not only different but also
unequal to men.
Gender Oppression
Theories of gender oppression go further than theories of gender difference
and gender inequality by arguing that not only are women different from or
unequal to men, but that they are actively oppressed, subordinated, and
even abused by men. Power is the key variable in the two main theories of
gender oppression: psychoanalytic feminism and radical feminism.
Psychoanalytic feminists attempt to explain power relations between men
and women by reformulating Sigmund Freud's theories of human emotions,
childhood development, and the workings of the subconscious and
unconscious. They believe that conscious calculation cannot fully explain
the production and reproduction of patriarchy.
Structural Oppression
Structural oppression theories posit that women's oppression and inequality
are a result of capitalism, patriarchy, and racism.
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