What Are Women's Oppression?

Words: 577
Pages: 3
Open Document
While reading the articles and a poem I found myself reading the literature like I would read in my ethics class, which was tough. I would go back and re-read and research topics that I came across and didn’t really understand and it would take awhile. I would find myself digging deeper and I was able to connect some of the ideas from these readings to my previous classes.

The first article “Feminist scholarship and the social construction” brings up Levi-Strauss who wrote during the second wave of feminism in the U.S wrote Elementary Structures of Kinship (1969). He believed in social order and that “woman are the gifts that men exchange between each other.’(Greene 7) This meant that men had all of the power and were in charge of the women, …show more content…
I was wondering since Greene said,
“The oppression of woman is both a material reality , originating in material conditions, and a psychological phenomenon, a function of the way women and men perceive one another and themselves.” (Greene 3) Would this make another woman the oppressors or the men the oppressors? In the Making a Difference: Feminist Literary Criticism article by Sydney Kaplan she states “the works of female authors might also concentrate on the ways in which such images reveal woman oppression” (Kaplan 38). Is what Kaplan said suggest that women oppress themselves by reading and writing about these strong female roles in the books? In the poem Girl written by Jamaica Kincaid the whole poem was about how oppressed she was. There was line after line of her being told what she needed to do or act. In some cases in this century there are women who are still told “don't squat down to play marbles-you are not a boy, you know” (Kincaid 1340) ladies are still being told they can’t be firefighters because it isn’t what a lady does. Who should be the one telling the ladies that they can’t do something just because they don’t have both an X and a Y chromosome? Then when I read more about the Literary Canon, I read that it is mostly guys who judge a piece of literature. I’m sure they are fantastic judges but, would it really
Show More

Related Documents: What Are Women's Oppression?

Women's Oppression In History

Battle of Oppression Women were abused and enslaved for many years with no rights to themselves or property. Stuck under the control of men and victim of the traditional roles passed on through the generations, these women felt trapped in routines and it needed to end. Women wanted to own their own things, be a part of the work force, and wanted the right to vote. From the help of a few great women that had the courage to speak up, the women’s oppression movement became a great deal in history. The…

Words 780 - Pages 4

What Is Lila Abu-Lughod's Oppression Of Women?

associated with terrorism and oppression of women. Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, the veil has become highly politicized and the ultimate symbol of Muslim women’s oppression. In her article “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?” Lila Abu-Lughod criticizes the United States for using “liberation” of Muslim women to justify a “war of aggression in Afghanistan”, which was really an imperialist conquest. Abu-Lughod suggests that the burqa is not an object of women’s oppression because it can also serve…

Words 1515 - Pages 7

women studies Essay

Study Guide 1 WGST 200 Winter 2013 1. What is the path of least resistance and path of active resistance? 2. Why is there a need for women studies? 3. Know two of the identifying references from the cycle of socialization; where is socialization taught? 4. Newspaper editors were unsupportive of the Seneca Falls Convention and wrote scathing reports, these reports intended to be negative actually helped to publicize the women’s cause in a way they had never imagined or could have managed…

Words 947 - Pages 4

The Feminist Activism

changes to our society in how woman are viewed, their rights, and how gender issues are understood. The first wave mainly focused on women’s right to vote, own property and obtain an education in the public sphere. The second wave focused on how opportunities woman suffered in the public realm to the roles they in the private sphere. These included issues on women’s sexuality, reproduction, domestic labour and domestic violence. Both waves however highlighted the inability…

Words 811 - Pages 4

Intersectionality And Women Equality

America's glorified women's rights movement of the 1800's and early 1900's was for some women the beginning of equality and for others another false victory. Black suffragettes, and black women in general, not only faced racism but gender oppression, from both suffragettes and the ranks of black men fighting for racial equality. The barriers that white women had to face getting the vote was doubled for black women, as “being black and being female required a dual focus” (McGoldrick 271), and apparently…

Words 666 - Pages 3

Types Of Feminism

explain and change the position of women in society. It is therefore both a theory of women’s subordination and a political movement. There 3 main types of feminism: liberal, Radical and Marxist. The roots of feminism can be related back to the late 18th century Enlightenment. Feminists argued that since both sexes had the same power of reason, these principles should apply to women as much as to men and that women’s emancipation must be included as part of the Enlightenment project. However poststructuralist…

Words 1929 - Pages 8

Oppression In Persepolis

Oppression of Women in Persepolis Marjane Satrapi is an Iranian artist and writer who was born in November 22nd, 1969, during the Islamic Revolution in 1979 which resulted in the oppression in women with significant symbol of the veil. In Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi the main character, lives in Iran and during her time all women were required to wear the veil; it had no age limit. With the fear of consequences and punishment, this caused women to wear a veil that only leaves their face uncovered…

Words 1415 - Pages 6

Characteristics of the Hybrid Wolfdog Essay

transformed dramatically the political panorama. Women of color are feminist fighters, multi-racial, with same goals: to fight against the historical social justice and make a society where they are also visible. They are knowledgeable in explaining oppressions that benefit other but not the women. Women of color strengthen politics by unifying to a common cause and making a change. Additionally, they are capable of acting quickly and precisely when it matters the most. The same way they did when the politics…

Words 798 - Pages 4

The Pros And Cons Of Feminism

forms.” There are many different kinds of sexism in the world that have been a cause of conflict, disagreement, controversy, and numerous other problems. Feminists disagree about what sexism consists in, and what exactly ought to be done about it; what they generally disagree is about what it means to be a women or a man and what social and political implications/suggestions gender has or should have. Feminism can be seen as an alternative vision of a just world. Philosophically, feminism does not only…

Words 1069 - Pages 5

Essay on Black Feminist Outline

Alfredo Williams SOC 311 SI# 004524818 June 10, 2015 Intersecting Oppressions 1. Epistemology: the study of knowledge a. Knowledge is what you know; it is the fact or condition of knowing 2. Human knowledge is disturbing a. We are not sure what it is, where it comes from, or how it can be validated 3. There are two main philosophical schools that attempt to address this: empiricism and rationalism a. Empiricism-holds that all knowledge comes from and must be tested by sense experience; data that…

Words 978 - Pages 4