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Name: Abdul Nafio Roll No: 2481 Section: A Subject: Assignment Submitted To: Jamil Asghar Jami Submitted By: Abdul Nafio
Name: Abdul Nafio Roll No: 2481 Section: A Subject: Assignment Submitted To: Jamil Asghar Jami Submitted By: Abdul Nafio
Section: A
Subject : Assignment
History
According to Simone de Beauvoir, Christine de Pizan's Epitre au Dieu d'Amour
(Epistle to the God of Love), which she penned in the fifteenth century, was
"the first time we see a woman take up her pen in defense of her sex." In the
sixteenth century, Modesta di Pozzo di Forzi and Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa
both produced works. Francois Poullain de la Barre, Anne Bradstreet, and
Marie Le Jars de Gournay all wrote in the seventeenth century.
A political, cultural, or economic movement focused at giving women the same
privileges and legal defense might be referred to as feminism. Feminism is a
movement that promotes equal opportunity for women and works to advance
their rights and interests. It also includes political, sociological, and
philosophical theories and philosophies that address issues of gender
difference. Despite the fact that the terms "feminism" and "feminist" were not
become widely used until the 1970s, they were already part of the popular
lexicon much earlier. For instance, Katherine Hepburn refers to the "feminist
movement" in the 1942 movie Woman of the Year.
The history of feminism, in the opinion of Maggie Humm and Rebecca Walker,
can be broken down into three phases. The nineteenth and early twentieth
century saw the beginning of the first feminist wave; the 1960s and 1970s
saw the second; and the 1990s saw the third. These feminist movements gave
rise to Feminist philosophy. It shows up in a few academic fields, including
feminist history, feminist geographical location, and feminist literary criticism.
The prevalent viewpoints in many facets of Western society, from culture to
legislation, have been influenced by feminism. Feminist activists have fought
for women's legal rights (such as the right to vote, the right to own belongings,
and the right to enter into contracts); for women's right to autonomy and
physical integrity; for the right to an abortion; for the just to a healthy
pregnancy; for the defense of women and girls from sexual misconduct,
domestic violence, and rape; for workplace rights (such as maternity leave
and equal pay); and against misogyny and other forms of sexism.
In the majority of its existence, Western European and North American
middle-class white women have led the majority of feminist groups and
theories. But since Sojourner Truth's 1851 address to American feminists,
women of other races have put forward different feminisms. The Civil Rights
movement in the US and the end of European colonialism in the African
continent, the Caribbean, some of Latin America, and Southeast Asia also
contributed to the acceleration of this movement in the 1960s. Since then,
"Post-colonial" and "Third World" feminisms have been presented by women
in the Third World and former European colonies. The ethnocentrism of
Western feminism is criticized by certain Postcolonial Feminists, like Chandra
Talpade Mohanty. Angela Davis and Alice Walker, two prominent black
feminists, hold this opinion.
What are the waves of feminist literary theory?
Since the mid-19th century, organized women's activist developments within
the Joined together States have called for more prominent political, financial
and social opportunity and balance for ladies. However not all of these
developments have sought after the same particular goals, taken the same
approaches to activism or included the same bunches of ladies in their
energizing cry. Since of these generational contrasts, it’s common to listen
woman's rights partitioned into four particular waves, each generally
comparing to a diverse time period.
(1) First wave of feminist theory
This notion of the "feminist wave" first emerged in the late 1960s to
distinguish the then-nascent women's struggle from the early women's rights
movement that emerged at the 1848 Seneca Falls convention. At the same
time, the concept of a "second wave" associated the movement with early
women activists in the long and valuable effort for women's rights.
Furthermore, Black feminists like Sojourner Truth and Ida B. Wells were
largely ignored or marginalised by the women's suffrage movement. Although
ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920 achieved the primary objective of
the first wave of feminism—guaranteeing white women the right to vote—
Black women and other women of colour continued to confront challenges
until the implementation of the Voting Rights Act in 1965.
(2) Seond wave of feminist theory:
Betty Friedan claimed in her 1963 book The Feminine Mystique that women
were dissatisfied with the restrictions their roles as wives and mothers placed
on them. The book, which sold 3 million copies in three years, was a major
success and contributed to the second wave of feminism. Second-wave
feminists, who drew their inspiration from the civil rights movement and anti-
Vietnam War protests, called for a reexamination of socially dictated gender
standards and the elimination of sexism.
As Bella Abzug, Gloria Steinem, and Betty Friedan established the National
Women's Political Caucus in 1971, feminism—or "women's liberation"—
became more powerful as a political force in the 1970s. The Equal Pay Act and
the historic Supreme Court rulings in Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) and Roe
v. Wade (1973) concerning freedom of reproduction were among the high
points of the second wave. The Equal Rights Amendment was ratified by
Congress in 1972, but despite this, a conservative backlash prevented it from
receiving the required number of state ratifications.
Second-wave feminism, like the fight for suffrage, came under fire for
emphasising affluent white women, and some Black women started their own
feminist groups, such as the National Black Feminist Organisation (NBFO).
Despite its successes, the cause of women's liberation had started to wane by
1980, the year Ronald Reagan was elected president by conservative forces
(3) Third wave feminist theory:
The movement that formed in the early 1990s concentrated on addressing
issues that remained, such as sexual harassment in the workplace and a
dearth of women in positions of power, despite the fact that second-wave
feminism's achievements had clearly increased women's equality and rights.
While seeing Anita Hill speak before the Senate Judiciary Committee about her
allegations of sexual harassment against Supreme Court candidate Clarence
Thomas, Rebecca Walker, the mixed-race daughter of second-wave pioneer
Alice Walker, declared the advent of feminism's "third wave" in 1992. There
were a record-breaking amount of women elected to Congress in that same
year, which was dubbed the "Year of the Woman."
Third wave feminism also aimed to be more racial and gender inclusive. In
this field, Kimberlé Crenshaw's work on the idea of "intersectionality," or how
many forms of oppression (based on race, class, gender, etc.) can overlap, has
had a significant impact. The work of gender theorist Judith Butler was also a
source of inspiration for third-wave feminists, who supported trans rights
through intersectional feminism.
(4) Fourth wave of feminist theory:
Though some contend that fourth wave feminism is simply a continuation of
the third wave, there is no doubt that the development of the Internet has
given rise to a new type of social media-driven activism. The #MeToo
campaign, which Tarana Burke started in 2007, really took off in 2017 after it
was made public that influential film producer Harvey Weinstein had engaged
in sexual misconduct.
Fourth-wave feminists are focusing on the institutions that allow such assault
to happen in addition to holding prominent men responsible for their crimes.
They continue to struggle with the idea of internationalist and how the
movement may be inclusive and representative regardless of sexuality, colour,
class, and gender, just like their forebears in the feminist fight.
Key concepts of feminist theory and criticism
Sex, gender, racism, discrimination, equality, difference, and choice are at the
heart of feminist thought. Systems and mechanisms already in existence work
against people based on these characteristics as well as against equality and
equity. The conviction that truths can be discovered by exploring these
present circumstances in the current social order is a necessity for research in
critical paradigms. But more importantly, this investigation can raise
awareness of repressive organizations while also fostering platforms for many
voices to speak up for themselves .
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