Feminism can be defined as a way of thinking in terms of power ownership; that is who has power, how power is used or misused by the ones who hold it in relation to gender. It looks into the way power relations are considering the chances that are available for different genders for instance the job opportunities and public service.
The world before feminism is a world that, if brought back to this time, we know would be unrecognizable to the young women today. There have been key changes in society that were brought about by the feminist movements. Young women rejected the old ways of their mothers and started embracing news liberal ways that were defined by feminism. Although in this struggle they were branded anti-motherhood, they pressed on and never gave up.
Before the feminist movements, there existed a patriarchal society in which the power was in the hands of men, and women were discriminated against, not because of any particular reason but simply because they are women. With the rise of feminist movements, there was the questioning of the system. This questioning had an implied questioning of the legal system that had allowed this system to be in place. This led to the transformation of the legal system that protected women from discrimination by men. These changes were pushed for by the branch of feminists referred to as liberal feminists. The greatest and “most powerful challenge the feminine mystique war was the pressing for participation in the labor force.” (Rosen, R. The World Split Open: How the Women’s Movement Changed America. pg 20).
There was another branch of feminists called radical feminists. They sought to transform the sexual culture in America. They addressed issues on prostitution, abortion, pornography, rape, and sex. They looked at the involvement of women in these activities.
The feminist movement’s initiative brought about changes in the women’s lives in communities whereby there was an initiative from them to excel in academics, religion, and even at job areas. Women developed in academic leadership, entrepreneurship, and even in politics. Their participation and success created a completely different picture which eventually brought about permanent changes for instance women being employed in key positions in American society, later. Initially, the success was ignored by all including the media and the leaders, but they had to work for attention. “They wanted equal rights that men had at work in the society.” (Rosen, R. The World Split Open: How the Women’s Movement Changed America pg 242).
Feminism also fought racial and social oppression, especially the fights that originated in African American and the Mexican American society where racial oppression was prominent.
Initially, there had been women organizations that did not do anything to fight for the liberalization of women. They were sectarian, that is, they rigidly held on to the set of doctrines that had been laid down earlier without considering the views that the feminists wanted to bring in, those of having the rights of women respected and avoiding discrimination. This was through the creation of the movements through which they aired their views. An organization like the National Organization of Women (NOW) was considered to be one example of a sectarian organization. It was dismissed by the young feminists as being a mother’s organization. The young feminists wanted to form their own dogmas that could reflect their time and represent their need for a socially just society.
Because of the ignorance and lack of attention that the feminists got from the leaders and the public, including the media, they decided that they would use all minas to ensure that their goals were met. This included even advocating violently in their actions, which is associated with masculinity more than felinity. They took to these men-like ways because there had never been any women’s way of rebelling. They copied the male visions of rebellion in all its forms, that is, sexually, academically, and socially.
In conclusion, although feminism was not presented as a single voice, did not have a unified strategy from the different groups and their procedures were not unified, it inspired, and still inspires people with its impressive notion that is far-reaching that the future of a baby should not be controlled by the mere fact that it belongs to a certain gender but is reflected by the ideals and the creativity the baby is born with. This mental picture has aggravated people to transform their thoughts and their society in a significant way that is constructive and symbolizes development to the society.
Works Cited
Weiss, J. Review of Rosen, Ruth, World Split Open: How the Modern Women’s Movement Changed America. The H-Women H-Net Reviews. 2002. Web.