Tamara Tanis

April 2, 2015
UWRT 1103
Feminism: A Fight for Supremacy or Equality?

Feminism is a popular and sensitive topic that has not only impacted our
generation, but also the decades before us. This topic is very interesting because it is
talked is touched on in every outlet we use to gain information. In the 21 st century,
Feminism either gets accused for being harmful to men, or it a movement that has lost
its momentum. Through research, it is becoming more prominent to see that this fight
has evolved into a different format to gain more ground and to disprove certain labels
that go along with it.
To have a rigid definition of Feminism is contradictory to the progression that this
movement has made over the centuries it has existed. Defined by the Merriam-Webster
dictionary, Feminism is the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the
sexes. Another definition is the belief that men and women should have equal rights
and opportunities. As a society, we create our own definitions, but for some reason,
Feminisms definition does not quite add up to what is portrayed in the world. In order to
have a better understanding of what this movement entails, I had look back at the
history of Feminism and how it came to be.
By reading the article written by Martha Rampton, Feminism has phases or
waves as they are called. From the Ancient Greek times, women felt like second class
citizens when it came to Olympic competitions. So when the first wave of Feminism

came around in the late 19th century, women wanted to move out of this home maker
stigma and create a new environment where they had a say in social politics and other
laws concerning them. The main focus at this time was Woman Suffrage, or the right to
vote. Yet still, after getting the right to vote, women were still not given the same
opportunities as men in the work place. At the beginning of the 1960s, the second wave
began which was more radical. We saw women protesting in harsher forms; many
creating the idea we all go by now as the man-hating creature which doesnt shave its
legs and is all about feminine supremacy. But if we look closer, we can see that it was
this radial for several reasons. For one, they want to get rid of sexism entirely, which
added to the class struggle. Another reason is because it combined with other
movements, like the civil rights movement, to evoke a more distinct voice.
Over the later 20th century, women were beginning to embrace their femininity
and were still wanting to be empowered. When the third wave of Feminism, called
Lipstick Feminism came along, the ideal persona of a feminist changed. Women are
now more confident and are gaining more recognition in occupations that were
predominately carried by men. What is more remarkable is they flipped the ideal of what
it means to be a Feminist in 2015. Instead of opposing men, they now encourage men
to join in the fight because it is such a global issue. Many advocates like Emma Watson,
accompanied by her He for She Campaign, say that women can be equal to men, but
they still need their help to abolish this scene of competition.
Ordinarily, people would think that this struggle to equality would be over, but
there are some major underlying issues that hinder the progression towards gender
equality. For example, how gender roles are taught in and outside of the home,

particularly in schools. The media has a huge influence on how boys and girls act not
only as adolescence, but even before that. From pre-school age, boys are taught to be
stronger when girls are taught to be care takers simply by role playing in class. Another
way children learn about these roles is through movies, mainly Disney movies. The
story lines are really heroic for certain characters like Tarzan, Hercules and so on who
go on to save the day and solve their problems with ease. In the interim, women or girls
are shown as possessions or awards for them to win or protect. What about the
females? Most of them are shown in a light that always has them react passively to
troublesome situations like Cinderella and the treatment she got from her stepmother, or
Jane seeming as though she cannot ever save herself even though she tries again and
again. In other adult films and music, we tend to show women in two lights: either shes
living in innocence, or shes a bossy female. Rarely do we see women being subtle with
authority, thus confuses us and generates a feeling of low self-esteem and confidence
within the women psyche because she cannot measure to what is displayed on the
screen.
Thats where it gets contradicting. Do women want everything in one or just
power? It confuses mostly men because they feel as though their rights in society are
being challenged, which clashes with the definition of Feminism that was stated
previously in the paper. This is one of many elements that contribute to the reason why
society doesnt understand Feminism. From these contradictions, we also see antifeminists movements who see this movement as a harmful addition to the global
culture.

By studying and watching the presentation created by Dr. Linda Salane, there are
three basic reasons why feminists still have issues the 21 st century. For one, women are
conflicted by trying to have it all without looking too possessive. Women do not want to
upset the balance of society, yet they want to jump out of their comfort zone and
challenge the norms. Salane goes on to add that we should not be afraid to ask the
hard questions that have to deal with our position in our social order. For example equal
pay. Secondly, women tend to favor the opinions of others before considering their own.
Thirdly, women have a habit of competing with each other when they should be trying to
be encouraging. You cannot have a successful drive as a group when all the members
are bashing each other.
Though there may be complications with this sensitive topic, Feminism has made
positive strides. For example, in my home country of the Cayman Islands, women
outrank men in job positions in current working class. Even though women still make
$0.82 out of the dollar man does in 2014, at the beginning of the decade women only
make $0.77 out of a dollar. We can blame the media for all of its influence, but because
of the music and movie industry we have feminist activists like Beyonc, Emma Watson,
Amy Pohler and others who are good role models for girls to look up to for support.
There are many other reason why Feminism is an issue or a solution, but has to
be researched more thoroughly. Because this topic is so controversial and
psychological I decided to compose a spoken word book. I believe that in this way, I can
show the research stated above in an artistic way, which is how Feminism is shown in
the 21st century. I also included a survey I started which I thought would make my
research less bias. Feminism is a broad topic that covers many studies, sub-topics,

information outlets and generations all alike. As you can see, it goes deeper than just
fighting for equal pay (which is still being debated, even though a law was just passed
about it), respect, or a better job. Feminism believes in the equality of all sexes in order
to move closer to a normal world where a human being is just simply human being.
In conclusion, we should think about how much we are consuming from the
media and the messages it may portray about dehumanizing each other. We should
also try to question why stereotypes still exists and if they control lives and the decisions
we make to better ourselves. Feminism may have been radical at one point, but today it
is trying to include anyone from any sex or race to move one step closer to gender
equality.

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