Projected by

Joseph Mendes
Roll number-90
Class-T.Y.B.A

Female, Feminine, Feminist
Patriarchal structure
Domination/subordination
Oppositional voices - feminism

First wave Early twentieth century -
Concerned with equal opportunities for
women

Liberal womens rights movement equity
feminism

Challenged the cult of domesticity

Suffrage for women



Liberal womens movements linked with the
Socialist movements- latter focused on the
problems of working class women

Mary Wollstonecraft A Vindication of the
Rights of Women (1792)

Virginia woolfe A Room of ones own (1929)

Simone de Beauvoir The Second Sex(1949)
Second wave feminist wave late 1960s and
1970s-Radical feminism

o Protests associated with Miss America Pageant
in 1968 and 1969

Red stockings influential radical feminist
groups of the 1960s

o Protested against patriarchal commercialized,
oppressive beauty culture
















































































































Radical feminist believed that women could
collectively empower one other.

Claim for sisterhood and solidarity despite
differences

Kate Millet Sexual Politics (1969)

Andrienne Rich On Lies, Secrets and
Silence(1980)

Audre Lorde Sexism, Racism and Classicism
( 1984)



Against heterosexuality - compulsory
institution to perpetuate patriarchy

Rise of lesbian politics womens right to
their bodies sexuality of their own

Disconnected from the obligation of marriage
and motherhood
Differential identity politics two methods

An interest in understanding differences
among women as constitutive
A search for authenticity and continuity in
womens cultures
o Second wave feminism strong influence on
the academia women studies departments

Anglo American concerned with the
understanding of literary texts

French feminist Julia Kriesteva ,Helen
Cixous ,Luce Irigary influenced by post
structuralism other than literature
language, representation and psychology

Language Ecriture Feminine against male
centric language

Third Wave of Feminism 1990s Transversal politics
Performance ,mimicry, subversion- slut walks

Trans - Feminism Mirrors the diversification of
womens interest

Right to define ones identity

Make decisions regarding ones body

Lesbianism alignment with gays homosexuals -
Queer Theory (focusses on mismatches btw sex and gender)
distinct politics society and academia
Social structure caste and class nexus
interlinked to gender
Pre- vedic societies hunting and gathering
communities men and women equal status
Vedic age emergence of caste system
Endogamy and female sexuality basis for
the perpetuation of the caste system
Women as procreators transmitters of a
lineage
Patriarchy and subjugation of women
necessary- Womens purity synonymous with
caste purity
Female sexuality pivotal role in upholding the
honor and prestige of the family
Women need to be controlled in the patriarchic
grid kept away from public spaces.
Idealization of family roles, glorifying
motherhood, emphasis on female modesty
The concept of pathivratha extreme devotion
towards the husband
Women personified as shakti incorporation of
female goddess in the andro-centric framework
Does not deter patriarchal norms



Brahminical rituals represents the
patriarchal framework of castes
Marriage kanya Dhan
Principles of caste a clear distinction
between domestic and public space
Women play an important role in maintaining
the sanctity and purity of the home
Men pure - women intrinsically impure
menstruation kept away from domestic
spaces
Widowhood her role as procreator ceases-
as a transmitter of a lineage non- utilitarian
sati kept in seclusion as impure very
sight - pollution
Graded patriarchies Brahminical patriarchy
apex
Rigidities upper caste women
Women castes lower in the ladder lesser
restrictions widow re-marraige allowed -
constructed as loose in morals Vs purity of
upper caste women
Men of the upper castes access to the lower
caste men - as landlords /yajamana
controlled the men and women
Kerala Namboodiri and Nair women -
Menon
Rajasthan Rajput bride takes a Daroga
women to her husbands house . Daroga
women and Rajput men - Khoswal Rajputs
Pratiloma and Anuloma
More labour force for the upper castes
Devadasi system Institutionalized
prostitution
Fight for womens liberation colonial
administration advent of modernity - started by
men
Social reformers Nineteenth century- Raja Ram
Mohan Roy, Jyotiba Phule , Periyar , Subramaniya
Bharathiyar
Women in Nationalist movement Gandhian
followers
Pre independence First wave of feminist
movement in India
Against sati and child marriage - Womens
education suffrage - traditional role as mother
and wife not challenged.

Post independence lack of a unified feminist
movement against dowry, bride burning- female
infanticide - Telengana movement against
alcholics- chipko movement protecting the
environment
Lack of representation of the problems of Muslim
women
o Post Mandal clear distinction between upper
caste women and socially marginalized women
o Rise of Dalit feminist movement - problems of
Dalit women different from upper caste women
Muslim women movement- still a distant reality

6
Th
century B.C. Buddhist Bhikkunis
Therigatha
Bhakti movement anti brahminical written
in the vernacular - veerasaivite movement ,
Varkari tradition women part of the Bhakti
movement Akkamma devi , Muktabai,
Bahinabai, Soyrabai
Meerabai devotion towards Krishna A
space away from familial structures

Womens education early twentieth century
journals exclusive columns for women
Savitribai Phule, Pandita Ramabai
Self respecters' journal
Womens publishing houses kali for women
Present status of women Educated,
economically independent new woman
Absence of radical feminism as in the west
familial ties are stronger
Ideological shifts ?
o Residual ideologies of caste rituals?