Lecture on feminism - Notes PDF

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Ms. Rumi Roy Assistant Professor VSLLS/2020

Reference Readings used for Preparation of the lecture Andrew Heywood- Political Ideologies UGC material on feminism. Time: 2 hours Lecture on A prospective study of feminism waves, phases, issues

Feminism refers to a social movement to empower women. Feminist believe that women should enjoy the same rights in society as men and that should share equally in society’s opportunities. This article offers a very basic introduction to feminist, and several prominent schools of thought in feminist literary criticism there are in three ways namely first wave and second and third wave feminism and also give the gist of phases of feminism. Feminist represents an attempt to give a voice to women and the female perspective. This paper explains major challenges facing feminism are feminist frontier, media, glass ceiling, social inequality and violence against women and also it deals the feminism in critical way. Introduction Feminism is a movement which gained potential in the twentieth century, marking the culmination of two centuries ‘struggle for cultural roles and socio-political rights-a struggle. There have been several prominent schools of thought in feminist literary criticism there are in three ways namely first wave and second and third wave feminism. The movement gained increasing prominence across three-phases waves-the first wave is political, the second wave is cultural and the third wave is academic. According to Toril Moi also classifies the feminist movement into the three phases and feminism faces many problems and feminism is illogical, unnecessary and evil. The Sex/Gender Distinction One of the key contributions of feminist theory is the making of a distinction between "sex" and "gender". Sex as referring to the biological differences between men and women and gender as indicating the vast range of cultural meanings attached to that basic difference. This distinction is important for feminism to make because the subordination of women has been fundamentally justified on the grounds of the biological differences between men and women. This kind of biological determinism has been one of the most important legitimising mechanism of women oppression over the centuries. The challenge to biological determinism is therefore, crucial for feminist politic. Masculinity, Femininity and Cultural Differences

Feminist anthropologists, pre-eminent among whom is Margaret Mead, have demonstrated that what is understood as masculinity and femininity varies across cultures. In other words, not only do different societies identify certain set of characteristics as feminine and another set as masculine. but also, these characteristics are not the same across different cultures. Thus, feminists have argued that there is no necessary co-relation between the biology of and women and the qualities that are thought to be masculine and feminine. Rather, it is childrearing practices which try to establish and perpetuate certain differences between the sexes. That is, from childhood, boys and girls arc trained in appropriate, gender-specific forms of behaviour, play, dress and so on. This training is continuous and most of the time subtle, but when necessary, can involve punishments to bring about conformity. So feminists argue that sexspecific qualities (for example, bravery and confidence as "masculine" and sensitivity and shyness as "feminine") and the value that society attributes to them, arc produced by a range of institutions and beliefs that socialize boys and girls differently. As Simone de Beauvoir put it, "One is not born, but becomes a woman.” So there is nothing natural about the sexual the division of labour. The fact that women and men perform different kinds of work both within the family and outside has nothing to do with biology. Only the actual progress of pregnancy is biological, all the other work within the household that women must do - cooking, cleaning looking after children and so on ( in other words, the whole range of work we may call "domestic labour") - call equally be done by men. But this work is considered to be "women's work." Ideological Assumptions behind Sexual Division of Labour The biological division which lies behind the sexual division of labour is also based on certain ideological assumptions. So on one hand women are supposed to be physically weak for heavy manual labour but inside the household they do the heaviest work like carrying water, carrying heavy loads of water firewood, grinding corn, transplanting paddy, carrying head-loads in mining and construction work. The present subordination of women arises, not from unchangeable biological differences, but from social and cultural values, ideologies and institutions that ensure the material and ideological subordination of women. Thus the feminist view questions of sex-differentiated work, the sexual division of labour, and more fundamentally, questions of sexuality and reproduction, as issues to be extricated from the realm of "biology", which is understood to be natural and unchangeable. The feminist agenda is to relocate these issues in the realm of the political", which suggests that they can and must be transformed. Waves of Feminism

First Wave Feminism (Political)/ Liberal feminism Early stage of feminist criticism, critics consider male novelists' demeaning treatment or marginalization of female characters. The first wave of feminism, in the 19th and 20th centuries, began in the US and the UK as a struggle for equality and property rights for women, by suffrage groups and activist organizations. First wave feminist fought against chattel marriages and for political and economic equality. An example of first wave feminist literary

analysis would be a critique of William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew for Petruchio's abuse of Katherina. Often taken for granted, women in the late 19th to early 20th centuries, realized that they must first gain political power (including the right to vote) to bring about change was how to fuel the fire. Their political agenda expanded to issues concerning sexual, reproductive and economic matters. The seed was planted that women have the potential to contribute just as much if not more than men. The classical liberal feminist text is, of course, Mary Wollstonecraft‟s A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792). In this truly revolutionary work, Wollstonecraft asserts that much of what is perceived as “feminine” and biologically determined, is rather a social construct, viz. Gender. While Wollstonecraft does not use these terms, she denies that women are by nature more focussed on pleasure and less capable of rationality than men. She reasoned that if men were confined to the same cages women find themselves locked in, they would develop the same characters. If denied the chance to develop their rational powers, to become moral persons who have concerns, causes and commitments beyond personal pleasure, men would become overly “emotional”…. What Wollstonecraft wanted for women was the right to be fully human, fully autonomous persons. She rebelled against a frame of mind that saw women as mere appendages, created as a means to the end of masculine fulfilment, and she spoke out fiercely against both masculine and feminine reinforcement of this perspective. But though she demands an equal education for women, she seems to overlook the fact that the socio-economic condition of women at the time did not afford them the opportunity to exercise that education in any sphere other than the strictly domestic Liberal feminism’s central argument is that there exists gender inequality which can be ended when women get the same rights as men, through legal, political, educational and other reforms within the existing system. Liberal feminism holds the view that if society is to achieve gender equality, then it must provide women with the same political rights and economic opportunities as well as the same education that men enjoy. For liberal feminists, the ideal sex/gender system would be one wherein each individual can act as a free and responsible moral agent. Individuals may be free to choose the lifestyle most suitable to her or him without being judged for it- “be it for housewife or househusband, unmarried careerist or part of a dual-income family, childless or with children, heterosexual or homosexual” (Ritzer 2011). This liberal feminist ideal then is consistent with the dominant American philosophical tradition of liberal democracy and capitalism, with its reformist orientation, and its appeal to the values of individualism, choice, responsibility, and equality of opportunity (ibid). Liberal feminists call for the formation of a society in which each individual can act as a free and responsible agent and be able to live the life that is most suitable for him or herself. Liberal feminism’s emphasis on freedom of choice and equality between the sexes, while pushing for change, is more reformist in its agenda than revolutionary, as it does not question the basic roots of inequality and challenge the present sex/gender system itself The fundamental tenets of liberal feminism can be summarized thus: ·

All individuals have certain essential features— they are capable of achieving rationality, moral agency and self-realization. · These qualities can be exercised through legal recognition of universal rights. · The inequalities between the sexes are not based on any ‘natural’ differences but are the consequences of socially constructed patterns of behavior. · Gender equality in society can be achieved through an organized appeal to the human capacity to be moved by rational arguments.

Gynocriticism: Second Wave Feminism/ Socialist femism

The second wave of feminism in the 1960s and 1970s was characterized by a critique of patriarchy in constructing the cultural identity of women. The prominent motto of this phase, the personal is the political was the result of the awareness of the fair distinction between women’s domestic and men’s public sphere. Gynocriticism seeks to appropriate a female literary tradition. Gynocriticism involves three major aspects.  Examination of female writers and their place in literary history. Treatment of female characters in books by both male and female writers -- consideration. Discovery and exploration of a canon of literature written by women. Coming off the heels of World War II, the second wave of feminism focused on the workplace, sexuality, family and reproductive rights. During a time when the United States was already trying to restructure itself, it was perceived that women had met their equality goals with the exception of the failure of the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. Many women during the second wave were initially part of the Black Civil Rights Movement, , Gay and Lesbian Movement and many other groups fighting for equality. Many of the women supporters of the aforementioned groups felt their voices were not being heard and felt that in order to gain respect in co-ed organizations they first needed to address gender equality concerns. Women cared so much about these civil issues that they wanted to strengthen their voices by first fighting for gender equality to ensure they would be heard. Socialist feminism argues that gender inequality mainly stems from the inequalities set forth by the capitalist system. The third wave (1990’s – early 2000’s): The “micropolitics” of gender equality Unlike the former movements, the term ‘feminist’ becomes less critically received by the female population due to the varying feminist outlooks. There are the ego-cultural feminists, the radicals, the liberal/reforms, the electoral, academic, ecofeminists… the list goes on. The main issues were prefaced by the work done by the previous waves of women. The fight continued to vanquish the disparities in male and female pay and the reproductive rights of women. Work continues to end violence against women in our nation as well as abroad. This wave was about acceptance and a true understanding of the term ‘feminism’. It should be noted that tremendous progress has been made since the first wave, but there is still much to be done. Due to the range of feminist issues today, it is much harder to put a label

on what a feminist looks like- leading to a brand new generation rallying for equality and women’s rights….. Radical Feminism Radical feminism (radical as “getting to the root”) is a philosophy emphasizing the patriarchal roots of inequality between men and women, or, more specifically, social dominance of women by men. Second wave‟ radical feminism has from the beginning been concerned with forms of oppression which affect the life chances and human dignity of women, that is, with all forms of oppression. By attributing all forms of oppression to male domination, the early radical feminist accounts linked these together, and provided the beginnings of framework for understanding all forms of invidious hierarchical distinctions between categories of human beings. The main tenets of radical feminism can be summarized thus: · That women were, historically, the first oppressed group. · That women’s oppression is the most widespread, existing nearly in every society. · That women’s oppression is the deepest and hardest form of oppression to eradicate and cannot be removed by other social changes such as the abolition of class society What did these consciousness raising discussions lead to? It led to sexual politics being recognized as a public issue. For the first time, it so clearly brought together the private and public, the personal and political (Willis 1984). One of the most important ideas espoused by the radical feminists was in fact that “the personal is political”. What exactly is meant by this? By this, they meant that women’s private experiences of oppression (e.g., domestic violence, discrimination within the family) are not isolated instances of oppression but part of a larger system of institutional inequality (Shapiro 2007). Through the CR groups, issues such as rape, abortion, domestic abuse and sexuality (which were previously considered individual, personal problems) became politicized issues for feminist movements. While physical and sexual violence against women are obvious forms of oppression, radical feminism highlighted the covert and complex forms of oppression- seen in the exacting standards of beauty and fashion, in the control of reproductive rights, the oppressive ideals of motherhood, the ideals of chastity and purity, heteronormativity, sexual harassment in the workplace, gynecological practices, unpaid labour, domestic violence, pornography, etc. Due to their stance that sexuality is the principal basis of male power in which uneven gender relations are constructed, a major part of the radical feminist discourse was their objection to pornography. They claimed that pornography systematically objectifies women and dehumanizes them, thereby making them more susceptible to violence. American scholar Andrea Dworkin and lawyer Catherine MacKinnon worked to introduce anti pornography legislation in the US, and defined pornography as “the graphic sexually explicit subordination of women… shown as filthy or inferior; bleeding, bruised, or hurt in a context that makes these conditions sexual”. While there were some differences within the radical feminists with regard to the nature of patriarchy, what they all agreed upon the fact that patriarchy was established and maintained through the use of violence- rape, sexual abuse, prostitution, sadistic pornography, female infanticide, clitorectomy, sati, etc. Since men have the advantage of physical force, they use it to establish control over women. This, according to radical feminists, is the reason for the

almost universal existence of patriarchy. Men create and maintain patriarchy not only because they have the means to do so (physical power), but because doing so serves their own interests in multiple ways. Women are exceptionally effective means of satisfying male heterosexual desire. Their bodies are essential to the production of children, who satisfy both practical and neurotic needs for men. Concluding Remarks:

The discussion in the lecture reveals briefly the history of the modern feminist movement, as it originated in the West as well as the two earliest strands of feminist thought. Liberal feminism seeks to explain gender equality as existing in institutions and attitudes within the existing social system. Liberal feminists identify sexist patterns in key institutions such as the law, work, education, family, etc and seek to make changes to these institutions through various democratic means. Contrary to this, radical feminism claims that the existing social system itself is inherently unequal and therefore seeks to overthrow it, rather than make superficial changes to it. As Shulman(1980) argues, “Not even the most ardent feminist can claim to be "liberated" in a sexist society”. By declaring that 'the personal is political', radical feminism attempts to link the many dimensions of women's oppression. Their central analysis of patriarchy and the violence it breeds against women in myriad ways forms the essence of their articulation....