Throughout the 2016 presidential election, feminism and its influence on politics was a driving force for men and women alike in support of the first female presidential nomination Hillary Clinton; however, the election of Donald Trump has inspired a new wave of feminism in response to the administration of those in office, particularly seen during the International Women’s March.
In order to understand the present day feminist movement, one must understand how feminism originated and the basic definition of feminism. What comes to mind when you hear the word feminism? For many, phrases like “man-hater” and “feminazi” have become equated with feminism. However, feminism is quite simply defined as “political, economic, and social equality of
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In one infamous video released by the Washington Post, viewers can actually hear what has become one of his most widely known quotes, “grab them by the pussy.” Furthermore, one can hear his complete lack of respect for women in the video, saying other statements such as “I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait”, going back to the idea women are simply objects to men, a main point Simone de Beauvoir was trying to combat in The Second Sex. This is not the only instance of Trump being misogynistic and degrading towards women. A said by Fox News reporter Megyn Kelly, “You have called women you don’t like ‘fat pigs’, ‘dogs’, ‘slobs’, and ‘disgusting animals”, to which he replied “[I don’t] have the time for total political correctness.” His sexualization of women has continued for years and is the exact stereotypes feminists are working to break free …show more content…
More than 600 of these marches took place all over the world, the largest being at the nation’s capitol in Washington D.C.. Those who participated did so for a multitude of reasons. Marching for not just equal rights for women, but for equal rights for the LGTBQIA+ community, for Black Lives Matter, for raising awareness about climate change, and much, much more. The hashtag Why I March has garnered up millions of Instagram posts, Tweets, Facebook updates, and articles, all from men and women standing up for their beliefs. The coordinators of the Women’s March on Washington put together a document outlining their guidelines and principles, and illustrate modern day feminism very well. They go over the basic principles that human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights. It also demonstrates intersectionalism, calling for an end to police brutality, reformations for the criminal justice system, an end to human trafficking, rights for immigrants and refugees, among many others. Just as the first women’s convention in American history drew up a doctrine, the guiding vision and definition of principles of the Women’s March is eerily similar to the Declaration of Sentiments and Grievances written 169 years
To admit or to label oneself as a feminist is to accept a whirlwind of judgment from those around you. It is without a doubt that the word “Feminism” or “Feminist” turns heads, and not necessarily for the right reasons. Many have resorted to mocking, disagreeing, and/or hating Feminism without even having a good grasp of what it is. The stigmas that feminists face are that they are radical, extremist, liberal, lesbians who hate men, refuse to shave and enjoy burning bras (Lee).Conversely, feminists are principally advocates for social justice and equality as well as aim for the establishment of equally divided power between the sexes. It is obvious that many are unaware of and uneducated on the misogynistic injustices plaguing our world and the toxic environment we all live in- both women and men. Feminism is a positive concept that works to eliminate injustices between both sexes and to establish the value of women, thus should be treated as such a concept instead of being a forbidden idea.
When thinking about feminism in today’s society we tend to direct our minds and thoughts to a more radical and powerful train of thought. Feminism has been going on for centuries, with two main ideologies at the forefront; liberal and cultural feminism. Someone who identifies as a liberal feminist is someone who believes that women and men are a like and equal in most respects and deserve equal roles and opportunities (Wood & Fixmer-Oraiz, 2017, p. 58). And cultural feminism is someone who identifies as someone who believes that men and women are fundamentally differently; you have different rights, role and opportunities (Wood & Fixmer-Oraiz, 2017, p. 58). The women’s rights movement can be understood and broken down into three “waves”.
Feminists today are viewed as raging, man-hating bitches, but feminism in its true sense simply advocates women’s rights. While there are extremes on either side of the scale, most feminists fight
Looking back with a historical lens, it’s evident that the fight for women’s rights has progressed in a step wise process. The nineteenth amendment opened a new door of opportunities for women to take advantage of. In modern times, the continued push for equal rights is evident through the fight for reproductive rights and equal pay. Even with the right to vote, women are still being under represented and out of control when it comes to their reproductive rights and in the workplace. Opposing beliefs regarding feminism have prevented the progression of more gender equality in the United States. What originally started as a plea for a political voice helped to shape the history of the nation. Women’s suffrage paved the way for countless groups and further feminist
The Women’s March was a protest that took place in multiple cities across the world on January 21, 2017, the day after President Donald Trump was inaugurated. The march was organized for a number of issues going on surrounding the Trump administration. The participants advocated human, LGBTQ, reproductive, and women’s rights along with other issues such as immigration and healthcare reform, racial equality, religious freedom, and workers’ rights. The march took place because of the current social and political climate surrounding the inauguration of President Trump. This date was chosen because the inauguration of President Trump, who was threatening the rights of all the different groups. It gave everyone a new drive and force to push towards equality and freedom. This march shows how feminism has changed greatly over the years and it is a strong example of intersectional feminism. Feminism served as a unifying force in the past and it still is, as shown in such a large protest. Even more than basic rights and equality for oppressed groups, these protesters fought for reproductive rights, something falling under feminism and women’s rights. Trump’s campaign outlined the defunding and/or takeaway of healthcare and Planned Parenthood, two events sparking much debate and controversy among the citizens of the United States. Many different ethnicities, races, and religions have been targeted ever since Trump’s campaign began.
What does it mean to be a Feminist? Does it automatically mean you hate men or does it mean you're an activist for women's rights? Contrary to popular belief, feminism is not about establishing a superior gender. It is about fighting for equality and destroying the social, cultural and historical norms set upon women throughout the world. The Twenty-first century has brought change and growth to female empowerment. Although, in many parts of the world women are given the same rights as men, they are still treated and viewed inferior to men. G.I. Jane perfectly illustrates the struggle women have gone through, even when given “identical” opportunities as men.
On January 21, 2017, millions of women, and even some men, joined together in various cities to march for civil rights. According to the March on Washington’s official website, these people exerted their energy in union to inflict liberation, “joining in diversity to show our presence in numbers.” These citizens were unhappy with the acts and rhetoric of our current federal power holders, and they acted. People of all colors, genders, beliefs, and backgrounds joined together to uphold the rights for marginalized people. In fact, in the Women’s March’s mission they state, “defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us.” As Americans, these people had the right to protest and spread their beliefs, and generated a historic event. Therefore, peaceful resistance to laws is, in fact, an imperative aspect to a free
The great race that happens every four years in U.S. is getting close to the finish line, and the contestant are pulling all out to win the necessary votes to win. One of the central topics that is very likely to determine the presidential seat this year, is the topics that revolved around women. Women around the U.S. are keep their eyes peeled on the race as it is the second time in the history of the U.S. to have female candidate, and first time to have serious contending to win the whole race. As the race is narrowing to the finish line, it is clear that the most vocal candidates are Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders. Each of the candidate have their own views on the central topics of women’s right, Sanders and Clinton shares
Since the mid-1800's, women in the United States and around the world have organized political movements to obtain the same social, economic, and political rights that men have traditionally enjoyed. These feminist movements have sought to change the laws to prevent discrimination against women and to provide them with equal opportunities in all aspects of life, including education, employment, and government representation.
It 's unfortunate that when some people hear the term feminism, they automatically place that as a negative word and it becomes something they don 't want to be associated with. It is unfortunate that people will try to avoid it however, people will still embrace the feminist politics. As feminist scholar Susan A. Mann (2012) describes, when people refuse to identify as a feminist they create the "I 'm-not-a feminist-but" syndrome. This refers to when people understand the importance of struggles with gender issues, such that include the wage gap or domestic violence, but they will still reject the notion that it may actually mean they are a feminist if they are fighting for that cause. Feminism has a simple definition, it means that women seek gender equality through political, social, and economic gain.
The definition of feminism is very elusive. Maybe because of its ever-changing historical meaning, it’s not for certain whether there is any coherence to the term feminism or if there is a definition that will live up to the movement’s variety of adherents and ideas. In the book “No Turning Back,” author Estelle Freedman gives an accurate four-part definition of the very active movement: “Feminism is a belief that women and men are inherently part of equal worth. Because most societies privilege men as a group, social movements are necessary to achieve equality between women and men, with the understanding that gender always intersects with other social hierarchies” (Freedman 7).
Through organized agitation by picketing, parading, street speaking and demonstrations, women's struggles resulted not only in the right to vote, but also in their continued legacy of the right to free of speech, free assembly and the right to dissent. From past to present, great achievements have been made in the progress toward equal rights for women. However, the Equal Rights Amendment introduced in 1923 has still never been ratified by sufficient states for inclusion in the Constitution to truly provide equal justice under the law for women. Currently women live with many inequalities. Due to the recent Presidential election and the possibility of overturning of legislation that offers some measures of protection, women are concerned about a return to days of encroachment on individual rights. Millions of women peacefully participated in the Women’s March on Washington, not just in our nation’s capital, but all over the country and world. They took to the streets to be seen and heard. It was their intent to inform the new President that women will speak out about the concerns they face that affect their lives. The march was a huge, visible show of unity against what is feared to be an anti-feminist administration. Participants exhibited their concern for other groups marginalized by the government turnover, especially LGBTQ
Feminism is considered a political concept. It is an analysis of why and how women are oppressed. It is a vision of a society where women are liberated and sex role stereotypes are no more. It is also a conviction that oppression of women is a contradiction in society. Women feminists fought for their right to not be property, rights to their inheritance, rights to an education and to a religion that was not patriarchal. Even though feminism had been seen for quite some time, the actual term "feminist" was not first used until 1912. "The modern feminist movement began a as result of sweeping social, political and industrial changes in Europe and the United
While Trump was talking to Billy Bush of “Access Hollywood” on the set of “Days of Our Lives,” Donald Trump made his famous comment regarding women. Trump explains that “You know, I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything”. This single line, was the last straw for millions of women who were sick and tired of hearing all of the sexist comments that were coming out of Donald Trump’s mouth. The final plan was to launch a protest and a march for women's rights and equality on January 21, 2017 in the nation’s capitol. According to Marcel Altenburg and Keith Still, crowd scientists at Manchester Metropolitan University in Britain, there was an estimated 470,000 people participating in the protest in the areas just around the National Mall alone. Along with those participants, hundreds of thousands of other American citizens also participated in 673 sister marches worldwide, with an the total number of participants at almost five million. Five million people are fighting to have their voices heard and to speak out for women’s rights and equality and are finally being
The closest working definition feminism holds states: feminism is a social and political movement that seeks equality of opportunity for all people, regardless of gender; and when there is no equality of outcome, feminists wonder why. However, not everyone is aware of