Please remember to write your name on the blog post each time! Also, you should be able to write about both of these topics no matter what your sex or gender!
Chapter 3, “The Rhetorical Shaping of Gender: Women’s Movements in the US,” provides an overview of various “feminisms,” and women’s movements. As you saw in the first week’s video clip, feminists come in a variety of sizes, shapes, colors, sexualities, genders and sexes – and we know that the media narrative thread has tended to “freeze” feminists at a certain stage and in their most extreme form.
Prompt: Choose the kind of feminist that you find the least appealing in this chapter of the Wood text and write an argument about why it is the best type of feminist to be. (You clearly do not have to believe your own argument, but you must take it seriously by trying to understand why someone else would choose that particular world view!)
Chapter 4, “The Rhetorical shaping of Gender: Men’s Movements in the US,” provides an overview of various men’s movements. Many of you were probably surprised to learn that there are so many men’s movements and that many are sympathetic to the goals of equity for all people.
Prompt: Choose the kind of men’s group that you find the most appealing in this chapter of the Wood text and write an argument about why it is the best group to be a part of. In this one, it’s important for you to believe your own argument!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSeparatism: Why is it the best kind of feminist to be?
ReplyDeleteSeparatisms remove themselves from the problem. They believe that men have been oppressing women and therefore, they do not want to be around men. They have removed themselves from the company of men and have removed themselves from the company of oppression. In these exclusively female communities women do not have to worry about men and their expectations for women. Women are free to be whatever they like and however they like. They do not have to conform to what men tell them to do because of their beliefs of what women “should” be like. In these all female communities, women are free to become more connected with other women, animals and the earth. If one does not like something, it is best to remove oneself from the situation.
Profeminist: why is it the best kind of men’s movement?
This type of men’s movement encompasses many different types of men’s and women’s issues. Profeminist men are feminists (as the name implies), and they are working towards equality for all genders and sexes. Knowing this, one can come to the conclusion that, because they are working for the equality of all genders, they are also against violence by men to women and other men. Profeminists also work to change others discriminatory behaviors. They are told to discourage discriminatory behaviors from family, friends, and co-workers. They want to spread the word of equality. Profeminists also encourage men to be the kind of men they want to be, instead of relying on what society views as “masculine”. They want men to move beyond the boundaries that society sets and figure out who they are for themselves.
Lesbian Feminism, unlike other forms of Feminism, recognizes the root cause of women’s oppression. Other types of Feminists are impeding their own progress by continuing to orient themselves around males and accepting a second-seat role. Only when women have experienced life completely without a dominant male influence will they be able to free themselves of the burdens in our male-dominant society. Lesbian Feminism also gives women greater unity by relying only each other, not men, to meet all of our needs. This empowers women in a way that other forms of Feminism fail to do.
ReplyDeleteI couldn’t identify with just one particular form of Feminism, and I really didn’t find that any of the men’s groups mentioned in Chapter Four appealed to me. When I first read about Profeminists, or male feminists, I felt that the movement was very inclusive, focusing on equal rights and opportunities for women and men. However, as I read on about the specific organizations and groups that surfaced as part of the Profeminist movement, I realized that many of them worked to achieve this in a way that continues to support a dichotomized idea of gender. I just think that by terming any movement or group “male,” it already defeats the goal of equality. I believe that feminist goals are more likely to be achieved when we unite as humans and fight together collectively for human rights. It seems that when we try to unite based on what makes us different from each other (whether that’s sex, gender, race, or class) we are only fighting ourselves.
-Maryann Glascock
M. Forbes
ReplyDeleteCh. 3 Response
After reading through Wood's text and description of the different kinds of feminists and feminist movements in America, the kind of feminist that struck me as the least appealing is the seperatist feminist. In these seperatist communities, women "live independtenly in mutual respect and harmony" (Wood 78). I dislike this variety of feminist becuase of its exclusivity and proautonomy ideals about the world, and the refusal to incorporate mne into their society. I would call myself a feminist, a straight white woman feminist, and the main reason I dislike the seperatist ideas is because I happen to love men. But, for the purpose of this assignment I will try to argue for this type of lifestyle and ideal.
The seperatist feminist make an extremly valid point in their beleife platform, and that is that they beleive "women are fundementally different than men" which I beleive to be correct. There are many factor that prove men and women are different, although these factors may be socially constructed, at this point in time they do exist. It is also correct that a lot of value and characteristcs of women such as being burturing, caring, gentle, are not valued in our capitalist and patriarcal society. That being stated, it is easier if women just exclude themselves from this society that does not value their qualities and importance, and create their own society that does.
Ch. 4 Response
All of the male feminist groups duscussed in this chapter are fantastic, but the one that I really love the most is NOMAS, National Organization for Men against Sexism. First off, I love that the title is to the point and direct, these are men who are against sexism! This gorup is great becuase they admit and focus on understanding that fact that men have habits that lead to sexism becuase of a variety of influences, one being the "restrictive social views of masculinity" (wood 99) that have influenced their emotional development as a man. The other main reason NOMAS is a great organization and is making posisitive change in the world os feminism and reducing violence against women is they focus on real interaction and workshops with men, talking about issues. This takes the form of "consciousness-raising groups" where men talk with one another about issues of sexism and women. These face to face interactions with men talking about these issues are real progress and is a direct example of an organization working to end sexism and raise consciousness and awarness to women's issues.
While reading chapter three of “gendered lives” there were numerous types of feminists’ mentioned. One of the types of feminists is the liberal feminists. The liberal feminists advocates for women in every aspect of women’s lives. Liberal feminists continues to challenge practices, policies, and laws that exclude women or limit their rights, which is why liberal feminists are improving women’s lives constantly. These feminists not only fight for rights of your everyday lives, but they also focus a lot of their effort towards political issues involving all women. “Liberal feminism uses the personal interactions between men and women as the place from which to transform society.”
ReplyDeleteChapter 4 of “Gendered Lives” discusses men’s movements in the United States. Just like women’s movements, men’s movements are constantly evolving with new movements constantly coming about. Progressive men or male feminists seek to add male voices to feminism and advocate change by women as well as men in their gender relations and social, political and institutional structures. Pro feminists men have a goal that there should be a sympathy for feminism revolving around a simple acceptance that men and women are equal and should be treated equally, so women should have the access to jobs and areas of public life as men do. They also have a strong belief/understanding that there is a passionate and profound commitment that has changed every corner of their lives.
Because they believe that both sexes should be treated equally, male feminists support women’s battles for equality between both sexes. Even thou society has kind of implanted in men’s head that it’s wrong, male feminists want to develop the emotional capacities that women have.
Chapter 3:
ReplyDeletePower Feminism is probably the least appealing feminism to me. However I can find valid points that may cause other people to support and follow it. Perhaps society does not oppress women, but rather oppresses everyone. Or perhaps you can argue that society does not oppress anyone. Women should not simply take on the roles of victims and feel that they are helpless against society. Women hold the power to determine what happens to them, and so it us up to each and every woman to create her outcomes. As Wolf explained, if women constantly think that they are victims, then they will live their lives accordingly as a victim.
Women need to focus on empowering themselves and not focusing on spreading their victimized feelings. Events like Take Back the Night do not help empower women but rather emphasize that they are victims. Power feminism will allow women to move further ahead in today’s world and prove their significant role in society. By shedding the role of victim, women can control how successful and powerful they want to be.
Chapter 4:
All though many of the men’s groups were appealing to me, NOMAS is the group that I would choose to be a part of. I think one of the most important steps to ending discrimination and violence against women is for men to take the initiative to end sexism. NOMAS clearly proposes to teach men about how society has manipulated their masculinity into holding back their true selves. I like that NOMAS condemns terms that describe masculinity as aggressive, violent or emotionally insensitive as well as embraces assets that are shared with femininity such as courage and ambition.
I think NOMAS tackles a broad variety of social issues that are important in order to create a better life for all people regardless of race, gender, or social class. Acknowledging that men should not be more powerful or more privileged is a very important step to creating an equal society for both men and women to share. Ending violence against women is key to this group because it understands that a lot of men commit violence against women. NOMAS is also working on ending homophobic views, which come from these erroneous attitudes of masculinity. NOMAS provides men with various ways to learn and spread their newfound awareness. They have workshops, a newsletter, and conferences to allow men to connect with other men and heighten their learning experience. I think that although NOMAS could probably focus on more and wider varieties of issues, it is taking one huge step to help inform the male population. By equipping them with knowledge and the connections to continue spreading their values, they help defeat ignorance and the restrictive views of masculinity that society has imposed on us.
-Nadia Quiroga
Chapter 3
ReplyDeleteThis assignment, to argue on behalf of the women’s movement I find least appealing, was a challenging one. I had to think about the word “appealing” and accept the definition of “attractive; likeable.” Several definitions of the verb “appeal” are “beseech, beg, implore” or “please, charm” which really got me thinking about gender roles! After reading about the various movements in the text (I still am reading from the edition published in 1994) and then venturing to some outside sources, I find the movement that is the least attractive to me is the one described as structural, or modern-day cultural, feminism. This is the movement that, according to Wood, sees “woman’s place as in the roles traditionally prescribed by society” (p.102).
So, now I will make the claim that structural feminism is the best kind of feminism. Everyone knows that women are different from men. Our traditional place in the home and family has enabled us to develop values and characteristics that benefit everyone. Being responsible for the care of our families and homes is challenging and rewarding work. We are unlike liberal feminists who seem to want more participation in public and professional life as the equals of men. As wives and mothers and daughters, we nurture, cooperate and support our loved ones. These behaviors have great value in holding our society to a higher moral standard.
Chapter 4
ReplyDeleteThe Responsible Fatherhood Movement has adherents in both the larger profeminist and promasculinist men’s movements. It holds the most appeal to me because I believe it emphasizes relationships rather than gendered roles. In the course of my lifetime, I have witnessed a profound alteration of family structure and family relationships. Statistics show that in 1960 about 9% of children lived in single-parent households; in 2008 that percentage was 32%, most of which were in single-mother households. Children suffer when their fathers are absent; everyone suffers when fathers do not behave responsibly.
The Responsible Fatherhood Movement has been a key force in calling attention to and providing support for the needs of teen fathers, custodial and non-custodial fathers. It has helped raise awareness of the importance of healthy father-child relationships. Finally, it has enabled our society to express expectations of “good” fathers as those who are actively involved in the lives of their children, whether they live in the same household or not.