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Feminism and Stereotypes
There are many stereotypes associated with feminism and the feminist movement. The movement itself was started as a way to combat the stereotypical view of women's role in society. Even after many years of working for women's civil rights, still it remained that "women were automatically expected to take notes at meetings, make coffee, do all the housework, and often be available as sexual partners for male co-workers." (236) Along with beliefs that women were weaker, less intelligent, and overall unequal to men in many ways, these stereotypes were the target of the women's movement for freedom and equality in America. However, stereotypes have infiltrated and plagued the feminist movement for decades. There are stereotypes held by many feminists regarding other women, stereotypes held by society about feminists, and stereotypes about specific ethnicities, such as Black and Indian feminism. Although some women may find that taking care of the domestic needs of their families to be very rewarding and true expression of themselves, it can be met with a great deal of scrutiny from members of the feminist culture. Feminism often creates a stereotype that the housewife is being oppressed by her husband and that the homemaker is a slave to her family and a disgrace to free women. This stereotype can be traced back to Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique," published in 1963, wherein she described the typical family as a "comfortable concentration camp." Modern feminism took from Friedan's description of the homemaker a stereotype that no healthy woman would chose this life. Other…
Many feminists cannot see being a housewife or homemaker to be a viable or honorable option for women. Although some women may find that taking care of the domestic needs of their families to be very rewarding and true expression of themselves, it can be met with a great deal of scrutiny from members of the feminist culture. Feminism often creates a stereotype that the housewife is being oppressed by her husband and that the homemaker is a slave to her family and a disgrace to free women. This stereotype can be traced back to Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique," published in 1963, wherein she described the typical family as a "comfortable concentration camp." Modern feminism took from Friedan's description of the homemaker a stereotype that no healthy woman would chose this life. Other stereotypes that have been noted in the feminist movement include that feminists think poorly of heterosexual women in general, or women that are "effeminate" rather than "butch." The feminist movement is generalized as not being concerned with the problems of other social groups. Some people complain that feminists today raise awareness of the single mother's terrible social situation in our society, but that they stereotype all men as having it easy, even though there are many impoverished men and single fathers suffering from social inequalities as well. Others say that feminists stereotype all men as abusers, and while fighting for the rights of battered women and female rape victims, ignore the plight of battered and abused men and male rape victims.
However, the stereotypes that are supposedly held by feminists may not truly be a part of feminism, but rather a fabrication of the stereotypes held by others about feminists. Among the stereotypes applied to feminists include that they are all white and middle-class. The stereotypical lesbian does not shave or wear dresses, bras, or high heels. Stereotypical feminists do not wear makeup or concern themselves with aesthetics of any sort. Of course, feminists are also viewed to all be lesbians and fit the "Femi-Nazi" image of a woman holding all of the above mentioned stereotypes regarding other people.
An example of how such stereotypes were put onto feminists early in the movement is the Miss America protest of 1968, where "the media portrayed the protesters in fairly negative terms, such as coining the term bra-burners to denote all radical feminists, even though no bras were burned." (241) These negative stereotypes have prevented many women who would otherwise be a part of the movement from identifying as
Feminism & Gender Theory 'No boys allowed:' Legos for girls In her book, As Long As It is Pink, author Penny Sparke notes the great 'distaste' she felt when wrapping up some glass ornaments she had bought for her mother. She knew her mother would delight in such items, but for her, these glass, ultra-feminine delicate 'dust collectors' signified being held hostage to both class and gender. Even the Victorian middle class
Feminism and "A Doll's House" In the globe, feminism is a common practice in the social customs of both developed and developing nations. This is because, in both cases, there has been an apparent similar portrayal of women, who have gone through various phases of social levels compared to the consistent social dominance, which is evident in almost every society in the globe. Feminism seeks to know why women continue to
Once women were exposed to feminism, and along with it the freedom to express themselves politically in the ways that they choose based upon informed decisions, by and large, feminists embraced a more liberal political mindset (Inglehart, et al., 2000). This is not to say that they abandoned their family and religious values, but perhaps it is more correct to say that in more left wing thinking, feminists were
Feminism The feminist movement, like many other social movements in American history, has become tainted and infected by the negative opinions of those within and without the feminist circle. Stereotypes have been a significant hindrance as well as motivational factor to the feminist movement. One way in which stereotypes are interwoven with feminism is the stereotypes about women that have been held long and hard in Western culture which gave birth
Dara Birnbaum's Technology/Transformation: Wonder Woman is meant to discuss gender roles from society's perspective. The Wonder Woman character in the film constantly changes from a secretary into a super hero and has audiences concentrate on a few particular issues. Birnbaum emphasizes the fact that television is meant to trick people in ignoring several otherwise obvious things. Instead of focusing on the matters that they usually considered when seeing Wonder Woman-related
Stereotype In my daily encounters I normally encounter gendered assumptions that are prejudicial to both male and female gender. In these encounters, gender role stereotypes are manifested. The human race behaves in gender stereotypical ways without taking their time to reflect on such behaviors (University of Toronto, 2010). Our society is programmed in such a way that when a person strays from gendered expectations; s/he has to face the consequences (Kemeck,