WHAT IS FEMINISM AND HOW MIGHT IT INFORM POLITICAL ANALYSIS - Essay Example

WHAT IS FEMINISM AND HOW MIGHT IT INFORM POLITICAL ANALYSIS Feminism may be defined as the quest for a greater recognition of the female folk as equals of their male counterpart via organized social movements, moral philosophies, Economic and political thought, policies with the sole aim of liberating the women from male domination. Central concerns to feminist (1) are discriminatory practices against women in the political, economic and social environments. The demarcation of humans on the grounds of gender or sex is believed by many feminists to be a social construction. Having identified and adopted as basic, the need for a greater recognition of the woman, certain grey areas still exist among feminist. Issues like roots of inequality, best approach to attain equality, the criterion or criteria to serve as basis for evaluating gender related issues, probably all of these differences emanate from increasing pressures for women to be aligned to traditions which may have originated as a result of the male dominated society. A particular school of thought with liberal inclinations believe that both sexes should be considered as equals socially, socio-politically and economically, without regards to whatever differences there might be when physiological analyses are made. The elimination of a society where certain groups dominate as elites is the driving force behind certain radical feminists. Still there are the modern feminists whose primary concern is centered on the right of women on the integrity and autonomy of their bodies as pertaining reproductive health rights that incorporates abortion rights, contraceptives use right maternity cares etc; rights of women at workplace that entails the right to maternity leave and equal pay; the right to be protected from violence within and outside a domestic relationship such as wife battering, sexual harassment and rape, ultimately encompassing all other kinds of discriminations that arise as a result of gender differences. With feminism, the advocates, through grass root mobilization intend to cross boundaries that are based on social status, race culture and religion, with the definition of an effective feminist movement as one that deals with issues which are universally recognized as detrimental to the women folk consisting of rape, prostitution and incest while at the same time addressing issues which may not be obtainable everywhere at the same time like Bureaucracies that seeks to impede the advancement of women beyond certain levels in the corporate world, as it obtains in the west, female "circumcision" otherwise known as female genital mutilation observable in parts of Africa, and the middle-east. Feminists also abhor the scenario where women are viewed primarily as sexual objects neither do they appreciate patriarchy (2) and oppression against women (3) the core of the different kinds of feminism that obtained today is, the general well being of the women that takes into consideration their rights, interests and every other issue as it relates to them. The different feminist types have advanced different ideologies. Egalitarian and protectionist distinctions in feminism has been postulated by certain feminist who argue that while equality of both male and female gender is the primary pursuit of egalitarian feminism, the use of legal means to shield women against abuses such as masculinist (4) employment and divorce laws. Yet there are other schools of thought among feminist with a more radical approach who believe there is no clear cut distinction in feminism and argue that without a legal framework in the first place egalitarian feminism would fail considering that it would need the law for a successful campaign. Within the radical feminist, advocates of separatism have also been observed whose major campaign thrust is the complete separation of human beings in the society based on gender differences. The definition and classification of a human being along gender lines is seen by yet another class of feminist as constructions of the society. These different subtypes of feminist have been able to attract sympathy from certain male organization that believe current societal inclination towards patriarchy promotes oppression against the women and is detrimental to male progress. Certain feminist adopt a totalitarian approach to politics that stems from a famous remark by Martin Luther King Jr. on how a threat to justice anywhere undermines justice everywhere. These feminists lend their support to other pressure groups. Since women are an integral part of the polity, it is therefore expected that their views should be taken into consideration in the general analysis of public affairs and government. An example of how feminist might affect political analysis is depicted in a campaign embarked upon in the early years of the nineteenth century by the women's right movement in the united states to seek the enfranchisement of the women as was granted their black male counterparts, they argued then that there was no use of a franchise that does not include the women and that if they were not to be beneficiaries the franchise should be withdrawn from both sexes. Similar views by feminist led to the enfranchisement of women in Great Britain early in the 20th century. This phenomenon has no doubt being intensified over the last couple of years. The resultant is evident in the ever-increasing recognition in various forms currently enjoyed by women, furthermore, a greater number of women have taken and are continually taking up sensitive positions in government and a lot more of them gaining political consciousness and taking active part in politics today. Women heads of government have emerged in some countries around the globe as a result of the changing perceptions in political analysis. However the term "feminism" has the capacity to ignite feelings of hatred towards the women folk and as such for a political advantage the terminology is not employed even though the ideals of feminism can be promoted using the political plat-form while masculinity may have driven the institutionalization of certain injustices meted out to the women folk, feminism advocates are propelling campaigns aimed at redressing these societal imbalances by challenging the structural frameworks which gives them legitimacy. It is evident that the lot of women has improved significantly particularly in western societies where they now enjoy wages almost at par with that of their male counterpart in addition there are better working conditions and employment opportunities, other privileges they also now enjoy are the right to divorce, contraception and abortions not excluding educational rights. Courtesy of feminist movement more women are being nominated into national legislative chambers. These feminist movements are not altogether without criticisms. There are criticisms against certain types of feminism and hard hit among them are the radical feminist ideology and the female experience universalization. The argument is that there are certain classes of women for whom the immediate challenge is not gender related but rather have racial or caste discriminations. For such categories of women the implementation of the ideologies of feminism might be herculean. Reactions have also trailed certain feminist ideologies as being extreme arguing that the issue of equal rights has fundamentally being achieved. They also contend that feminist in the course of their actions, have discriminated against men and are also alarmed that lesbian sympathetic women occupy key positions in some feminist campaigns. Footnotes (1) Liberal feminist like Gloria Steinem (2) Patriarchy as the recognition of male headship (3) Modern Feminists (4) As pertaining to the male gender WORK CITED 1. Walters, Margaret, "Feminism: A very short introduction". Oxford 2005 (ISBN 0-19-280510 - x) 2. Mitchell, Julie and Ann Oakley (EDS) "Who's afraid of feminism: Seeing through the backlash" New press, 1997. (ISBN 1-56584-385-1) 3. Silver Brenda. "Virginia Woolf: Icon" University of Chicago press 1999 4. Section 28 gender work burden, and time allocation (PDF) United Nations Human development Report 2004 Section 28. United Nations (2004) 5. Women in National Parliaments, November 2004 6. Poloma M.M. Garland T.N (1971). "The married professional woman: A study in the tolerance of domestication" journal of marriage and the family 33(3): 531 - 540 Read More