'The Future Of Feminism' - Essay Example

?PART I With regards the information related above concerning the realities that constrained women in the post-suffrage era, it can be understoodthat Kerber and DeHart have adequately and effectively define the situation as it existed. The reason that this student fully integrates with the information that Kerbera and DeHart presented is due to the fact that the historical record proves that the level of development and individual freedoms that women were able to enjoy immediately after winning the right to vote, as well as several decades into the future, was not nearly to the range or depth that the original movement had hoped for or anticipated. One of the largest causal factors with relation to this was the fact that the women who were tasked with carrying forward this early gender revolution were necessarily constrained by the mores and norms of the time. Rather than being able to definitively demonstrate a level of freedom and choice, these women were oftentimes unwilling or unready to continue the struggle against the high level of patriarchal society that existed within that time. Moreover, with regards to the idea that many women believed that they were in position to choose freely, the reality of the situation was that many of the freedoms that this generation of women believed they could engage with were newly one is still seemingly unbelievable. Accordingly, the desire and need to continue to press the revolution forward and demand equal and greater rights was constrained by a level of satisfaction with regards the sacrifices and victories of the past. In such a way, the statement that Douglass and McCarthy make significantly reinforces the traditional understanding of how gender roles were understood by both groups involved in this process of change, consideration, and resistance to revolution. PART II # 3 One of the most interesting dynamics with regards to the way in which feminism has been understood is with respect to the way in which the woman’s role within the workforce has continually morphed and re-evolved as extant needs within the workforce have been noted. The generation of the flappers saw a situation in which women have the right to vote; however, they were not typically expected nor particularly well represented within the workforce of the time. However, even the very small inclusion of women within the workforce of the 1920s saw a dramatic increase with regards to the workforce of the Depression years. Due to the fact that the Great Depression necessarily constrained the entire economy, it forced every able-bodied individual to do their very best as a means of providing for themselves and their families. Such a reality encourage women to enter into the workforce as a means of providing for themselves and lessening the economic hardships that were very much a reality of that time. However, once the depression years and more or less drawn to a close, women were once again pushed out of labor and encouraged to behave in the way that “proper women” should behave; tending families and focusing upon child rearing as the main goal and reality of their lives. However, before this particular approach could set in, World War II was soon a reality. As a function of this, all unavailable labor was encouraged into the factories and production plants around the nation. This, perhaps more than any other factor, was one of the defining moments in which women were able to finally break free of many of the gender norms of the era. Due to the fact that the war years lasted for over half a decade, the stereotypes and mores of the era were fundamentally changed and rewritten. Yet, once again, after was complete, and the men had returned home from war, women were expected back into the home and to seek raising families as the ultimate object of their desire. Once again, the “pawns” of the economy were highlighted. In this way, the need of the current era was the ultimate driving force with regards to how women were viewed in what was considered proper at any given time. PART III #6 For one of the most important aspects of freedoms and civil rights is with regards to how they can so easily be lost as soon as the individuals for whom they are designed and no longer treasure, understand, or appreciate them. As a function of this, the new agenda on behalf of the women of the 21st century must necessarily be concentric upon how women engage with, understand, and realize the importance and overall assessor the of the civil rights and freedoms that so dearly been bought for within the past. In this way, the new agenda would necessarily be named: “Remember the Hard Fought Victories”. Although it cannot be assumed that the overall level of freedom and civil rights that women experienced within society currently is indicative of absolute equality, it has approached the level to which the quality is both possible and realistic within our lifetimes. However, rather than focusing upon pushing the remainder of the way and risking alienating many other women within the system, this next movement must be concentric upon explaining to all female and male stakeholders why the hard-fought victories of the feminist must never be forgotten or lost. Ultimately, even though it may seem that we are far removed from the era of a patriarchal society in which religion and tradition dominate the ways in which individuals understand the world, the fact of the matter is that all of these threats are still very much in existence within the current model. Ultimately, the new focus of the next phase the feminist liberation must necessarily be directed outside of the traditional society. Once not need to look very hard in order to find a litany of situations surrounded to radical aspects of Islam, or even Christianity, they continued upon the lives of many women within the United States and around the world (Gutteridge 564). In such a manner, feminism should focus upon confronting extreme religious views head-on as a means of reducing the level of overall opposition to integrating with the agenda of the 21st-century woman. Reference Gutteridge, Izzy. "Review Of 'The Future Of Feminism'." The Sociological Review 60.3 (2012): 563-566. PsycINFO. Web. 4 May 2013. Read More