StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Feminist Movement in England - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
This essay provides with contrasting views on the feminist movement in England of different authors. Feminism is a set of social premises and political practices that are significant of earlier and current period’s social relations and above all encouraged and reported by the practice of women. …
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER92.1% of users find it useful
Feminist Movement in England
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Feminist Movement in England"

Argumentative Essay Feminism is a movement derived from the west in the early 20th century. Feminism is a set of social premises and political practices that are significant of earlier and current period's social relations and above all encouraged and reported by the practice of women. In general, it absorbs a critique of gender discrimination; more particularly, it contains the encouragement of women's interests and welfare (Duggan, 1979). It can be said that the movement started in the early 1920s which started to change the stance of women all over the world. The essay would further provide with contrasting views on the feminist movement in England of different authors. Women have always been seen as a sign of disgrace and they have to struggle from the very start of this world to get their rights. In England, the movement of feminists has been quite successful to an extent. O'NEILL declares in his study that the major change for women in the history of England is about their employment. Even in the times when England is facing the problem of unemployment it is surprising that the employment rate of women is seen to increase. This shows that the working class of women is rising to a level that would match up to the men's level. Hence the employment prospects for women have increased significantly in the past years. Women who are mostly in their mid ages get hired by different firms (O'NEILL, 1969). Recently a renowned economist told a group of individuals who were leaving their school that it would be not them who would get hired but their moms. This clearly shows that women in their middle ages have brighter prospects of getting employed. However this statement is true to an extent but at times it can also mislead the women. On the contrary Mohanty & Alexander state that this situation of employment cannot be compared to the situation in wartime when the women took over all the job opportunities they could get i.e. even the job of a man (Mohanty & Alexander, 1997). The women today in England are working in such a way that even the man wouldn't consider doing. The twenty years of the movement of feminism in Britain has greatly influenced the whole system. The employment rate among women has increased significantly and this shows that the movement of women has been quite successful in England. The revolution in the employment sector started from the 18th century as Engel's in his book describes the revolution. Mohanty & Alexander further explains that the industrial sector was experiencing a change and many individuals were replaced by modern technologies (Mohanty & Alexander, 1997). As men were removed from their labor women got a chance to enter the arena of employment. Comi states that women were the first to enter the work of maintaining and servicing the machinery which was bought in by the industries. In the recent times there have been a lot of developments in the world of women in England. Women are increasingly getting the rights which they should get (Comi, 2003). However, on the other side of the story, Dervin declares that women are still facing some difficulties while living in England. Even now the problem of rape and discrimination occurs in England. The cases of rape and trafficking of girls is still found in England. Other sorts of discrimination among the genders are also taking place (Dervin, 1997). Dixon claims that the United Kingdom consists of more than fifty two percent of the women's population. But still the percentage of the women which work in the government departments is far much lower than that of the males. 18 percent of the women signify for the Member of Parliament 23 percent for the civil department and 36 percent for the government employments. This shows that in all these departments there is discrimination amongst the women as they are not on the higher posts like the males. Thus it can be said that the males are dominating the society in England (Dixon, 2001). However the percentage calculated here is far better than the percentages analyzed when feminists movement wasn't there. Dixon further reveals that the policies which are made for the public are man made and therefore these policies over look the lives of women when formed. This is a factor which affects the population of women on a whole. Thus it is necessary for the women to be a part of the formulating commission. The lives of women differ than that of the men's lives as women are the most likely individuals who suffer from poverty. Forty percent of the women population has a gross income of less than 100 a week. This percentage is half of the percentage of men i.e. 20 percent men live below this mark of income. Women are more involved in their housing responsibilities and mostly homes which are headed by one single parent are lead by woman (Roberts, 2006). On the other hand, Frankenberg states that the feminist movement has not been able to curb all the issues related to the society which represents women. Even now in the UK it can be noticed that women are being raped and murdered. Women even with the help of the feminist movement are facing difficulties which are not faced by men. This shows that men are still dominating the society which mainly consists of women. Though women have progressed in terms of getting employed there is still a long time for them to reach the path of success (Frankenberg, 1993). Discrimination and unfairness is highly prevalent in parts of England. Though new laws and regulations are being passed by the government of UK still it can be seen that the feminist movement has a long way to go before it reaches the successful point. As it is seen that though the women are the majority in the population still they are not getting the specified quota. One woman is designated a judge out of the total of 12 judges in the House of Lords. There are a total of 43 police chiefs out of which five are women. Similarly there are 42 Chief Officers of Probation out of which only 18 are women. Same is the quota in all the governing bodies and the department of the governments. This shows that the women still are behind men in terms of employment. Though there is a steep rise in their employment rate since the feminist movement. Similarly there are other fields in which women are being discriminated to men. Their right to work, their sense of responsibility, their sociological factors and their family related problems. Men even now in England consider themselves superior to the women. Work environment provided to the women differs than that of the men. Women in England are still not paid like the men i.e. discrimination amongst both of them (Crdova, 1998). The environment in which the women work is not considered to be safe as even now women are faced with the fear of harassment. Similarly in the recent years more acts of discrimination are taking place in England which shows that women require a great revolution to progress in their long lasting history of feminism. There are still issues that have to be dealt with. E.g. the principle of battered women's syndrome came into public consciousness and academic debate in the 1980s the legal system was slow to accept the syndrome as a mitigating factor in murder cases. The global situation of women is one of curious contradictions, obstacles where women's have expected progress where women may not expect it. The 1914-1918 War started in the Balkans and was fought between armies of men. 6 million men were killed and wounded. The nature of war has changed. Systematic rape of women is now used as a weapon of war to humiliate the enemy. Over 60,000 women have been raped in the past 7 years of conflict in the Balkans, and many more in civil wars in Asia and Africa (Razack, 1998). Some authors are of the view that feminist movement has not been successful in England, while some are of the view that feminist movement has proved to be successful. However the arguments of both sides are satisfactory and have their own validation. Bibliography: O'Neill, William L. The Woman Movement; Feminism in the United States and England. Historical problems: studies and documents, 5. London: Allen and Unwin, 1969. Dervin, Daniel. Matricentric Narratives: Recent British Women's Fiction in a Postmodern Mode. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellon Press, 1997. Comi, Dana Rose. "In the Shade of Solitude": The Mind of New England Women, 1630-1805. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Brandeis University, 2003, 2003. Dixon, Joy. Divine Feminine: Theosophy and Feminism in England. The Johns Hopkins University studies in historical and political science, 119th ser., 1. Baltimore, Md: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001. Duggan, Elizabeth Ann. Sisters, Bondswomen, Arise!: Socialism and Feminism in England, 1820-1845. Thesis (M.A.)--Sarah Lawrence College, 1979. Alexander, M. Jacqui, and Chandra Talpade Mohanty. Feminist Genealogies, Colonial Legacies, Democratic Futures. Thinking gender. New York: Routledge, 1997. Comi, Dana Rose. "In the Shade of Solitude": The Mind of New England Women, 1630-1805. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Brandeis University, 2003, 2003. Roberts, Caroline. "Divine Feminine: Theosophy and Feminism in England (Review)." University of Toronto Quarterly. 75. 1 (2006): 347-348. Frankenberg, R. "Growing Up White: Feminism, Racism and the Social Geography of Childhood." FEMINIST REVIEW. 45 (1993): 51. Cordova, T. "Anti-Colonial Chicana Feminism." NEW POLITICAL SCIENCE. 20. 4 (1998): 379-398. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Feminist Movement in England Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words”, n.d.)
Feminist Movement in England Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/history/1515939-feminist-movement-in-england
(Feminist Movement in England Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 Words)
Feminist Movement in England Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 Words. https://studentshare.org/history/1515939-feminist-movement-in-england.
“Feminist Movement in England Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/history/1515939-feminist-movement-in-england.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Feminist Movement in England

Greenham Common Womens Peace Camp

Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp University Date The establishment of Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp began in 1981 with the primary aim of protesting the siting of nuclear weapons at RAF Greenham Common in Berkshire, england.... As the camp gained fame and publicity, the aims of their movement increased.... The women camp was largely considered a feministic movement, and this raised different reactions from different people.... The fact that Greenham was a women only camp many people thought that it had become feminist....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

First Wave Feminism: Issues and Debates

The main aim of this feminist movement was to retain the rights of women in the country.... The women of the first feminist movement proved quite successful in achieving their objectives but on the other hand they were... However some argue that the In my view the movement was quite successful in achieving its goals but it still did not provide all the rights to the women living in the United States because of which a second and third feminism wave followed the first wave....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Feminism and Politics Today

Feminists from england, France, and the US have had a significant success in involving women in organizations entrusted with decision-making.... hellip; Feminist activism is a movement whose objective is, having equal rights for both men and women.... The essay "Feminism and Politics Today"  examines feminist activists who fighting for several rights that affect women's social well-being....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Globalization and modern britain

The more “passive” feminist movement of the Victorian Era (Brown, 2003) has evolved into a cultural insistence on gender equality.... The 1970s saw the so-called “second wave” feminist movement motivated by the determination to abolish all sexism wherever they found it.... The third wave, as it is currently called, begun in the early 1990s, seeks to challenge or avoid the second waves tendency to define femininity and its focus on the educated professional woman, thus applying the feminist movement to a wider swath of women....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Relevance of Feminism to Contemporary Young Women

in england and the United States, the mark of middle-class status became a wife who remained in her home while her husband earned money in trade, commerce, or the professions.... Profit-making politics, aiming to protect the materialistic status quo are in opposition to the feminist movement towards large-scale social change....
11 Pages (2750 words) Coursework

The Historical Importance of Law to Feminism and the Women Movement

Some of the most important breakthroughs for the women's movement have involved the establishment of legal precedents to ensure that progress is enforceable by law.... There is a general consensus, outlined by Naffine2 and Cain3, among others, that the historical links between law, feminism and the women's movement can be divided into three main phases.... nbsp;… In the first phase of feminist legal critique, from the mid-1960s, the vision of the law as a generally rational and fair institution was not much questioned....
11 Pages (2750 words) Assignment

Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body

hellip; The feminist movement led to major changes in the actions and perceptions of women.... nbsp; The movement also assisted in the empowerment of women, mostly in reference to civil and political rights.... This assignment "Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body" discusses the post-feminist argument that in Western societies, women are empowered to choose whether or not to engage in beauty practices.... nbsp; Western societies are now seemingly perceived by the general population to be post-feminist....
7 Pages (1750 words) Assignment

Feminism as an Act of Advocating the Rights of Women

here has emerged a feminist's theory that aims to create an understanding of sexuality, power relations and gender inequality.... According to Elaine Showalter, feminist's theory has been established in three phases.... The first phase is called the feminist's critique, the second phase is called the gynocriticism and the third phase is called gender theory....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us