Antonio Gramsci and Feminism: The Elusive Nature of Power Analytical Essay

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The article in question dwells upon feminism in terms of political and private life. Ledwith contemplates her experiences and reveals her way to understanding the essence of such concepts as feminism, oppression and hegemony. The author touches upon several important issues which can help people to look at the feminist movement from a different perspective.

Thus, Ledwith argues that woman are suppressed on different levels, e.g. in their private lives as well as in the political life of their countries (686). The author reflects upon her experience as an activist of an organization. Ledwith admits that men did not take them seriously, and even women were not interested in any political activity (690).

The author argues that women are so inert as they are taught to be like that. Ledwith articulates a very interesting idea that education is that hegemonic power which makes women feel subordinate and which trains “agents of the state to maintain the status quo” (695). The author also touches upon the link between capitalism and patriarchy.

However, one of the major findings of the article is the author’s three-dimensional model which can help to “explore the intersections of oppression, thereby identifying potential sites of liberation” (Ledwith 694).

These dimensions are difference (race, gender, class, etc.), contexts (political, economic, cultural, etc.) and levels (national, local, global, etc.). Admittedly, this three-dimensional model provides a comprehensive pattern which can be used to analyze such notions as feminism and hegemony.

It is important to note that Ledwith has touched upon issues which have been discussed by many researchers. Thus, the author focuses on hegemony and oppression. The author claims that oppression is present on every level (political and private life). Harris also deals with the oppression he has witnessed being an educator and being biracial (212).

The author states that he as well as other biracial people is suppressed on some occasions, but this oppression can be diminished as the societies develop and people are more open now. Fine and Johnson also touch upon the topic of oppression in their article (203). The authors contemplate their own experiences as their family is multinational.

Fine and Johnson notice various constraints their African American sons have to endure (206). Finally, Huling et al. also dwell upon developing relationships between women of less privileged classes (85). The four articles focus on quite different facets of oppression. However, they also have much in common. In the first place, the articles reveal personal experiences of the authors.

Another striking similarity is that the four articles reveal the great importance of education (be it a formal education or education within a family) in forming the right outlook in young people. The authors claim that young people will soon be able to reshape the world which is now characterized by oppression and hegemony.

The four articles are extremely important for the field of Communication Studies as the articles reveal personal experience of authors who touch upon important issues concerning gender, race, class, etc.

These articles can be helpful as they reveal specific behavioral patterns which can be useful to develop proper communication across cultures, genders, races, etc. One can work out specific communication patterns which will be helpful in the modern world.

Discussion Question: Based on the article by Ledwith, explore different types of oppressions in terms of the three-dimensional model.

Works Cited

Fine, Marlene, and Fern Johnson. “Creating a Family across Race and Gender Borders.” Our Voices: Essays in Culture, Ethnicity, and Communication. Eds. Alberto Gonzalez, Marsha Houston, and Victoria Chen. New York, NY: Roxbury Publishing Company, 2011. 202-210. Print.

Harris, Tina M. “I Know It Was the Blood: Defining the Biracial Self in a Euro-American Society.” Our Voices: Essays in Culture, Ethnicity, and Communication. Eds. Alberto Gonzalez, Marsha Houston, and Victoria Chen. New York, NY: Roxbury Publishing Company, 2011. 210-216. Print.

Huling, Nekita, Creshema Murray, and Marsha Houston. “Sister-Friends: Reflections on Black Women’s Communication in Intra- and Intercultural Friendships.” Our Voices: Essays in Culture, Ethnicity, and Communication. Eds. Alberto Gonzalez, Marsha Houston, and Victoria Chen. New York, NY: Roxbury Publishing Company, 2011. 85-93. Print.

Ledwith, Margaret. “Antonio Gramsci and Feminism: The Elusive Nature of Power.” Educational Philosophy and Theory 41.6 (2009): 684-697. Print.

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