Preview

Feminists Should Be Femininity

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1352 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Feminists Should Be Femininity
Why Can’t Feminists be Feminine?

In the fight for gender equality, some feminists feel that they have to purge themselves of their femininity to achieve the level of acceptance that they hope to reach, while others are proud of being feminine and feminist. This has become a point of contention amongst many women, causing women to question whether femininity and feminism can coexist. If we abandon femininity, we are creating a new stereotype. While being strong and achieving gender equality is a noble cause, no one should be required to sacrifice their femininity; unfortunately, many women are.
All over social media, women are bombarded with two sides of an argument. Magazines scream “Beauty is being a size 0 with a D cup”. Meaghan Ramsey,
…show more content…
According to NBC news, “Women with children under 18 earn less than women without minor children, while men with kids under 18 earn more than men without younger kids.” (Linn). These women shouldn’t earn less if they are putting in the same work. Working women epitomize the coexistence of feminism and femininity. They balance it all and rock at it. Ever since women joined the workforce, they have been competent and have gone to great lengths to fulfill their roles as mothers, homemakers and valuable members of society and the workforce. Their style reflects the beautiful union of power and femininity. The most classic attire of a businesswoman is a structured suit with a soft, feminine blouse and pearls with pumps, the perfect example of the cohesion of feminism and femininity. Clara Barton, a woman who revolutionized women’s roles in war, was never regarded as lacking in femininity, and was seen as the bravest woman alive at the time. At 17, Ms. Barton took on a job as a teacher, which she held for 12 years, worked as a patent clerk, and served as America’s most famous nurse on the battlefield in the Civil War. She later founded the American Red Cross, one of the largest disaster relief effort organization’s in the world. Ms Barton’s Andersonville testimony proves her an equal to her male peers, and displays a quiet courage in …show more content…
They denounce marriage and motherhood, enjoying feminine things, and the choice to be a stay at home mother. It is perfectly fine for women to not feel comfortable for these things, but they should not be shamed if they do. Looking closely at this situation, it becomes apparent that feminists are practicing the very inverse of their preaching. Where men that they fought degraded them for working and achieving, for not following the norm, they degrade women who don’t mind a bit of tradition in their lives. Where men once wrote women off as silly and emotional, feminists write men off as stupid and a hopeless

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    If one glances at a magazine or turns on the TV, you got a good idea of what media’s definition of an attractive woman looks like: she’s tall, has long, flowing hair, is surgically and digitally enhanced, blemish-free, and very thin. In fact, academic research tells it like we see it: studies show the women we see in media these days are much thinner than the real world, and very often thin enough to be considered anorexic by world health standards. In a world where a constant flow of media images far exceeds the number of people we could ever see face to face, this abnormally thin and digitally enhanced ideal has become the norm. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld highlights the controversial topic of…

    • 969 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Feminism In Penny Weiss

    • 116 Words
    • 1 Page

    Feminism has been born through decades of ignorance and misguidance, a perception of a weaker sex, and a belief that equality is not truly meant for all. Because of this deprivation of equality and privileges that exist exclusively for men, decades of work have been put forth from the feminist movement to ensure that no woman will any longer be held back or have opportunities revoked simply for having the status of a “weaker” gender. Before taking this class, I was hesitant to ever label myself in such a manner and questioned those who had, but after reading Penny Weiss’ revealing piece “I am not a feminist, but …” I no longer have that same reluctance.…

    • 116 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although America is an ever-changing country some things never change. Within many years women have fought through countess barriers yet haven't gotten too far from the original stereotypes of them. The conventional gender identities shape women in present society, while creating a war within the women whether to be ideal feminine and motherly, or sophisticated corporate and selfish.…

    • 446 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Feminist criticism derives from a critique of a history of oppression, in this case the history of women’s inequality” (Mays 2347). Women have always been second to men in mostly everything they are competing in. Even if the man and woman have the exact same job, the man is probably making more money just because he is a man. Women barely got the chance to vote less than fifty years ago! Women still have a long way to go to catch up where the men are, because men have always had a say in how to do things, and the woman would just agree about what he had said. Feminist are here to change all of that though. With protests showing women are equally compatible to do the same thing as men can do. “One of the first disciplines…

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Throughout the decades of time, society has been continuously determining the perception of what it is to be "beautiful." The American standard of beauty is often reflected upon advertisements that convey an unrealistic expectation for most everyday women. Whereas, teenagers have grown to interpret advertisements as a model for how they should appear physically. Marilyn Monroe was perceived as the epitome of beauty in the 1950s. The well-known sex symbol was recognized because of her curvaceous build. But for instance, Twiggy, a popular model in the midst of the 1960s, later set a misconstrued standard to what was beautiful. With the rising of her stardom, the glamorization of being thin was beginning to take a turn on a more positive note. That is until the famous 90s heroin chic model, Kate Moss, hit the scene taking the modeling industry by storm in an unhealthy manner with her campaign "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." As time continues to inevitably move forward in American culture, as will the image and conception of what beauty truly is in the eyes of our society.…

    • 1245 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Women have spent decades trying to become men’s equal in the United States, instead of being treated as objects. Now, the emphasis that our society has placed on appearance and body image has women yearning to be the prettiest, sexiest ‘objects’ around. As women look around in the world today, it is hard not to see advertisements or videos that suggest ‘beauty is everything’. The media is constantly turning attention onto young women with make-up caked faces and, even sometimes, underweight, unhealthy bodies. Esquire editor Alex Bilmes stated at a panel discussion on feminism “One of the things men like is a picture of pretty girls. So we provide them with pictures…

    • 1166 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The effect of feminism on the world during the past century has been massive – but not enough. Equality still does not prevail between the two dominant genders of society – male and female. Everything that deals with being weak is still associated with femininity and frailty. Women who try to defy the norm of being gentle, submissive, and soft-spoken are seen as masculine and raunchy. What’s even worse is that women further bury their own gender by slut-shaming other women, implying that what men do to them to undermine their worth – catcalling, objectifying, and trivializing – is acceptable. In Gwendolyn Brooks’ “the mother,” she talks about the struggles of a woman who goes through abortion. While in Ariel Levy’s “Women and the Rise of Raunch…

    • 1657 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    From the dieting tricks that promise to shave off weight within weeks, to the constant gossiping of the fashion trends of a femme fatale, the message is clear: the appearances of women matter. Especially prevalent for the past few decades, the pressure for young women to meet a certain physical standard has been growing ever since. Through the influence of the media and the scrutiny of others, women face the stress of carefully choosing each change they add to their appearance, going so far as to permanently change their genetic features in order to conform to what society has defined as beautiful, and such an issue calls for change.…

    • 667 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Feminism is defined as, "the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men" yet all around women seem to be taking a step back from such "progress" they have so called "fought" for. Not only as a traditional Chicano male but as a Christian I believe that there are certain things a woman must and mustn't do. Feminists want to be seen equal as a man but can't live up to what they claim. If a woman wants to be seen equal as a man why must she use her sexual appeal to gain what she wants? Last time I checked that is NOT an act of feminism. Why must women complain about certain things men do? If a woman believes that she, "can do whatever a man can do perhaps even better" she has no reason to complain.…

    • 263 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    ENGL 111 Definition Essay

    • 804 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In order to establish what feminism is, it may be most helpful to first describe what it is not. Part of the attention that feminism is getting lately is based around the pushback from some people who believe that to be a feminist means a person is anti-man, or believes women should be in a better position than men. Recent comments from actress Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting helped to further the misconception about what exactly feminism is. When asked by Redbook Magazine if she is a feminist, she answered, “Is it bad if I say no? I cook for Ryan five nights a week: It makes me feel like a housewife; I love that. I know it sounds old-fashioned, but I like the idea of women taking care of their men. I'm so in control of my work that I like coming home and serving him. My mom was like that, so I think it kind of rubbed off.” What Cuoco-Sweeting fails to realize is that the feminist movement does not care if she cooks for her…

    • 804 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    No one can forget the history lessons, as they remember Susan B. Anthony fighting for women’s suffrage in the early 1900s, her face plastered on the silver dollar. Further down the line, women used feminism to break away from their traditional gender roles as matrons of the house, as females all across the country went to work in the ammunitions factories while the men were at war (think Rosie the Riveter). These concepts were seen as first-wave feminism, essentially the foundation for both second-wave and third-wave feminism, both of which go hand-in-hand. These particular ideals are founded upon the notion that women should have the same pay, opportunities, and playing field as men. The feminists you see today, are of the third-wave of feminists. Third-wave feminists are of the mindset that their bodies are their own, that they own exclusive rights to who and what enters their bodies. They strive to maintain that they deserve as much as men. They are perhaps distinguished as the most “crazy” of the bunch, seen as misandrists; but this is, of course, a generalization of all feminists. Perhaps they believe the only way for them to prove their point is to take it to the…

    • 562 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Modern Day Feminism

    • 914 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a powerful leader in the modern day feminist movement, once said in a speech presented at TEDxEuston, We Should All Be Feminists, “Some people ask: ‘Why the word feminist? Why not just say you are a believer in human rights, or something like that?’ Because that would be dishonest. Feminism is, of course, part of human rights in general—but to choose to use the vague expression human rights is to deny the specific and particular problem of gender. It would be a way of pretending that it was not women who have, for centuries, been excluded. It would be a way of denying that the problem of gender targets women.” The actions of the F1 generation of feminist women who sparked the women's rights…

    • 914 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The relationship between and femininity and feminism can only be achieved at the expense of the other.…

    • 238 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Firstly, what is Feminism? Feminism is the movement that fights for the overall rights of women. If you are a feminist, you believe women should be treated the same as men, not because we’re better, but because we’re human. *(Cavanagh). While some would argue that women are already viewed as equals, this is simply not the case. America has made strides in distancing itself from its past of various horrible acts of hate, but things can’t change so simply. The overall fight for equality in the United States has been put into four waves, each addressing its own distinct issues. Currently, we are experiencing the fourth wave, and *feminism no…

    • 518 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The emergence of the slender body type as a beauty standard for women is especially salient in the mass media, and several researchers have demonstrated how the female body depicted in the media has…

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics