Political aspects of feminism

For this weeks reading , our focus centers around the politic aspects of feminism and the personal effects. In Hooks reading of chapter 8 to 14, the main focus is about social classes of females, race and gender, masculinity and violence involved in the home. An important concept that begins in chapter eight is that the feminist movement was thought to be lead by the privileged white class women, while all the other working class, poor, or minority women were simply followers. The ideology that white women in America have more rights than others in third world countries enables them to be leaders is a misconception that mirrors the imperialist racism and sexism Western men. Therefore, in order for feminism to be applicable to all, the barrier of race between individualist must be broken and controlled for. Many do not pay attention to the fact that African American women have different rights than those of white women, and this obliviation causes feminist movement to be short-lived. In addition, the feminist movement remains to be one of the positive interventions to promote awareness of domestic violence. With greater awareness, it has become more known that there is domestic violence in same-sex relations, ad that children are victims of adult patriarchal violence enacted by both women and men.

In Fight like a Girl, chapter four and five focus on how women have always been discriminated against in the society, even today. We must remember that women in the past have fought for the right to vote, and this right should not be forgotten. In the work place, there has always been a “glass ceiling” that is imposed on women and minorities. This glass ceiling is a limit that may not be always acknowledged, but persistently exist in every aspect of women’s lives. One topic in the book involved religion, and it counters the idea that feminism and religion do not go together. Although religion reinforces the traditional gender roles within the home, feminism is multifaceted, but it has often been used to discriminate against individuals. In our discussion class, we discussed how feminism and religion has changed from the older “traditional” aspect to a new “enlightenment” period. As with the changing of times, religion has become more separate from state and our nation focuses on many scientific theories and reason. This challenges the traditional roles of women and demonstrates that women are as capable as men and should be give equal rights, as we are all human beings. Just a note at the end of chapter four which I thought was very interesting was about Wal-Mart and its continuous discrimination against women. 1.6 million Women who have worked for Wal-Mart have been consistently been paid less, received fewer career advancements, and suffered a wide array of discriminatory actions. I definitely have shopped at Wal-Mart before and never even knew large corporation like this discriminated so harshly against women…..very sad…