Dear participants welcome to the fourth week
of the module. In this module we would be
focusing on discussions related with feminism
and gender issue. We will begin with the development
of the feminist arguments, move on to the
beginnings of gender, to masculinity and queer
studies. The last module would be based on
media and gender issues. Feminism and gender
these are two words which are often discussed
and which are often a part of our daily vocabulary.
Feminism is an ideology and movement. These
two aspects are so important simultaneously
that we cannot disassociate them from each
other. Unlike various other theoretical arguments.
Were ideologically takes precedence, for example,
Marxism they find that feminism is a movement
which is interlinked with ideology in a very
unique manner. The ideology and movement is
for socio political change which wants to
challenge male privilege and women’s subordination
within any given society.
Feminism believes that the biological differences
have resulted into a symmetrical status of
women and their exploitation in patriarchal
societies. Whereas gender is a socially projected
component of human sexuality. Wherein understanding
of basic feminism has started with this idea
that biological differences have resulted
into two different types of status for men
and women.
We find that gender is an understanding of
how society perceives human sexuality. Perhaps
the best way to understand gender is to understand
it as a process of social presentation. Gender
roles are also delineated by behavioural expectations
and norms. Once individuals know that these
are the expectations and norms in the given
society related with a particular gender they
can adopt behaviours that project the gender
they wish to portray.
So here we find that the societal interpretations
become important and therefore the perceptions
of gender maybe different in different societies.
It is also said that in the first three years
of a child’s life the gender awareness takes
its roots. So the cultural component as far
as the gender construction of identity is
concerned is very important.
Feminist theory is sometimes explained as
a point of view of, for and by women. Because
outside this framework but there is nothing
which we can call as being a feminist perspective.
It is also not a mere intellectual curiosity.
It is not something which has started only
as an academic debate. It was there because
the need was felt by women as well as by men
also. In todays world we find that it is perhaps
the only culturally viable option.
Because if we do not adopt it we find that
half of the population would not be able to
contribute to the growth of the system. In
terms of its overwhelming significance it
can be compared with Marxism and psycho-analysis.
No discussion of humanities and social sciences
as well as other fields would ever be complete
now without incorporating the angle of gender.
So we have the inclusion of feminism
And gender in every aspect in every discourse
related with human philosophy. Therefore,
it has also exposed the incompleteness of
previous systems of knowledge. Because feminist
studies also show us that the previous systems
of knowledge were only male centred and they
had isolated women from it and therefore they
represented only half of the population of
the world. It is also true that perhaps there
are no straight jacketed definitions for feminism.
And therefore as the title of this slide I
have taken up this phrase a point of view
of, for and by women. Because we can have
only working definitions of feminism because
depending on the societal structure the needs
and the requirements of feminism become also
different. Also remember that this is not
an ideology which exists in exclusion. This
is an ideology which is linked with the movement
as well as societal needs.
Therefore, it is also focused on action. If
we take out action from it, we find that it
does not remain viable at all. At the same
time, it is not a proactive philosophy and
this is a very interesting aspect of feminists
development of thought. We find that wherever
a particular philosophy takes shape the woman
becomes a part of it gradually and the feminist
interpretation of that particular theoretical
approach emerges.
It is through not only about the theoretical
grounding and women’s participation in it.
We find that in every field gradually as woman
have started to enter and participate the
feminist perspective has emerged. So now we
do not talk anymore only about feminism as
an academic debate in the context of literature
and philosophy. We talk about feminism in
terms of law, we talk about feminism in terms
of scientists.
We also talk about feminism in terms of environment,
space sciences so on and so forth. So it is
not a proactive one and therefore it is also
basically pluralistic. Because it can be fitted
into different approaches. So therefore we
have different perspectives and different
types of feminism which are available to us.
For example, Liberal, Marxist, Radical, Psychoanalytical,
Anarchic black feminists, Eco feminist etc.
Because they respond to a particular philosophy
or a particular need or a particular development
in the society. Despite all these differences
we find that the basic approach of feminists
is the same. It wants to oppose systematic
social injustice because of sexual differences
by incorporating constantly emerging critical
approaches.
The origin of the term are quite interesting
also. The first print reference which we get
for this term is an Athenaeum a magazine which
was published in 1895. So April 27, 1895 issue
of Athenaeum has used the term feminism for
the first time. Originated from Femina it
was considered that it is something which
is related with women. The first dictionary
entry is found in the French edition of the
Dictionary de Philosophie.
In which in 1901 edition it was adopted and
defined as a state of being womanly. It was
only in 1906 edition of the same dictionary
that it was redefined as a position favourable
to the rights of women. In 1906 only it was
a part of the Oxford English dictionary. The
feminist philosophy as an argument as an academic
development maybe rooted in the 20th century.
But we find that as a movement. And this awareness
it has even in the western world at least
four to five centuries old tradition.
The first recorded indication is found in
the writings and in the works of Christine
de Pisan who was associated with the French
court and had written several books basically
to sensitize the women of the court. But she
had also incorporated the feminist argument
which were not exactly accepted by the contemporary
French court. All of us are also familiar
with the famous book by Mary Wollstonecraft
published in 1792.
A Vindication of the Rights of Women which
contains the genesis of almost all contemporary
feminist demands and talks about the significance
of education for women. In this tradition
we find that not only women were participants,
some men also contributed to the awareness
towards generating equality for women and
most prominent name in the western theoretical
development is of J. S. Mill who had introduced
in 1867 the suffrage bill in the British parliament.
Though it was not accepted at that time still
it created an awareness and also generated
a debate about starting political rights for
women. Ultimately we find that in 1848 in
the US Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments
and Resolution which was signed by more than
70000 women during those times. There was
a tangible demand in terms of demanding political
rights. Basically the right to vote in the
western countries.
And ultimately it led to the provision of
incorporation of suffrage rights for women
in USA in 1920 and in the UK in 1918. So sometimes
it is questioned and people often wonder as
to how it has taken up so many centuries for
people to understand that women should have
a place of equality in this world. So there
are several reasons which may be given for
them and they are termed as being Feminine
Mystique, Misogyny
And also scientific information of a negative
feminine stereotype. The phrase feminine mystique
is a very popular word as far as our understanding
of the feminist philosophy is concerned. It
is a recurrent glorification of the conventional
roles of a wife and a mother in the society.
The roles of wife and mother are glorified
to such an extent that we women were never
given an opportunity to think beyond these
means.
There was a certain type of misogyny also
which was inbuilt in the western tradition.
In fact, in all the traditions. But since
we are talking about the western context we
are limiting our discussions to this. So,
in legal religious and literary text we find
whether it is Aristotle’s works or whether
these are the works of St Thomas Aquinas a
certain type of message initially is in built
in which it is commented that
A woman’s brain is never developed as much
as it is developed in the case of men. So
with this type of a Misogyny it was very difficult
for women to challenge these notions. Somehow
we also find that the scientific confirmation
of a negative feminine stereotype is also
important. During the Victorian days it was
thought that since the size of a woman’s
brain is smaller than the size of men’s
brain the woman’s capabilities of the intellect
would somehow also be inferior.
And we find that even now these type of feminine
stereotypes in a negative manner continue
in different types of social research and
scientific investigation. So feminism as a
movement and ultimately this movement resulted
into an ideology. It can be divided into different
phases.
During the medieval era, the 19th century
and the 20th century. During the Medieval
era we find that women were satisfied with
the existing roles. They never thought that
these existing roles, the primacy of the role
of a wife or a mother should be challenged
or should be added by some other roles also.
All they wanted was a betterment of the situation
so that they can live their life in a peaceful
manner. During the 19th century we find that
women started talking of freedom within predefined
roles of their gender. And they focused more
on legal and political rights and particularly
they started to fight for the right to vote.
Because they thought that if they would have
better participation in the governance
They would perhaps be able to improve their
situation. Still by and large they wanted
a political right to vote and gradually the
demands for owning property, the demands to
enter into different professions were also
added. It is in the 20th century that we find
that there are major developments in the feminist
movement and the feminist academic philosophy
also. In the 20th century we can have these
three different phases.
This idea of phases I have taken up from Marshalier.
You would find that sometimes different types
of ears sometimes different types of chronological
developments are associated with the development
of these different phases of feminism. So
by and large we find that there is a consensus
as far as the decades are concerned. But the
exact year can be different so for my discussion
I have based my argument on Marshalier.
Marshalier there has said that the first phase
is during the early 20th century where women
wanted political and legal reforms only. When
these political rights that is the right to
vote was given to women, they thought that
perhaps the things would be better. They did
not and therefore they started to talk about
the legal reforms. The second phase is 1960s
decade that is the decade of vehement protest.
In the Western world we find that there was
an all-round protest and dissatisfaction after
the world wars. The economic system, the society
itself was crumbling and feminism also entered
into a vehement face during the 1960s. This
is also the time when the academic contribution
of various feminist philosophers came to be
noticed and feminist philosophers started
talking about the significance of cultural
conditioning
As far as the product which is named as woman
is prepared. During the 1980s the face of
post-feminism begins. The term post feminism
has been used by Toril Moi to look at different
configurations between postmodernism and feminism.
So post-feminist is a term which is used to
denote different configurations in relation
to postmodern approaches. Later on we find
that later this the post-feminist phase ultimately
leads to our understanding of gender.
So in order to understand gender theories
we also have to understand what exactly is
the feminist theory. Feminist started to talk
about the differences between men and women
which resulted into a secondary position of
women and ultimately it led us to we add to
an enhanced sensitivity towards gender differences.
In the first phase we find that during the
medieval times and in the first half of the
20th century women wanted only political rights
and social betterment. They simply wanted
to focus on political rights after the Seneca
Fall Resolution and gradually we find that
right to work in different professions was
also a major demand. Women were not allowed
to enter any other profession except that
of teaching and later on that of being a nurse.
Higher education was not open to them so we
will also started to fight for that in the
first part of the 20th century. They also
wanted that women should be given the right
to own a property and to initiate their own
business houses also. Still in the first half
of the 20th century in the first phase it
was considered that homemaking and childcare
were the primary occupation for women. Whereas
it was considered that women should work they
should get educated. But the question was
also asked should women also work.
So normally education and work was considered
to be the domain of those women who were either
not married or did not have children so that
the primacy of their duties towards homemaking
and childcare do not suffer at all. In the
second wave movement of feminism we find that
the idea of cultural conditioning was started.
During the second wave feminism during this
decade of 1960s. We find that there were offshoots
of different other protest movements also.
The questions regarding civil rights had started
fresh. The issues about racial apartheid had
also come to the foreground. So, several women’s
liberation groups were formed in America,
in Britain and Germany in and around 1960s.
And these groups started positioning women’s
issues within socio cultural frameworks.
Prior to that these issues were not positioned
strongly within the socio cultural frameworks.
The work towards the movement for equality
of women was also supported by the academic
writings of writers like Virginia Woolf, Simone
de Beauvoir, later on Betty Friedan, Kate
Millett. They suggested, these writers suggested
that the different experiences and processes
of socialization result in different behaviours
among men and women. Simone de Beauvoir is
particularly known for this quote.
“One is not born but rather becomes a woman”.
In 1959 he French edition of the Second Sex
was published in 1961 it was translated into
English by Parsley and then it became a war
cry for women associated with feminist movements.
Simone de Beauvoir was the first thinker who
suggested that the role of the cultural conditioning
is important to impart femininity to a woman
and masculinity as it is considered in our
world to a men.
And therefore she says one is not born but
rather becomes a woman. The true woman as
it is understood in our society is an artificial
product that civilization makes as formerly
eunuchs were made. Her presumed instincts
for coquetry, docility are indoctrinated.
It is during this time that we find that even
the literary authors had talked about how
the social conditioning has a major negative
impact over the lives of women.
The first significant name is that a Virginia
Woolf who not only in her literary pieces
but also in her discursive writings talk about
the situation of women. In her two text A
room of One Own ad Three Guineans she has
talked about the isolation which women had
to suffer, the secondary position which they
had to suffer in terms of education and amenity
and she has said that the literature of the
world is basically a literature of and about
men.
It is written only about men it is written
predominantly by men and whatever impressions
we get of women is decided by the male perspective
of the author. So women there is a silence
about women in our literature. She also has
presented how lack of an extended purpose
in a woman’s life results in an inner vacancy
which sometimes they try to fill up with activities.
And a very interesting example is presented
in a novel Mrs. Dalloway.
Where Mrs. Dalloway and elite housewives throws
parties and by the arrangement of these parties
she tries to find out some type of semblance
of purpose in her life. They also said that
the repetitive nature of women’s chores,
the household chores and hence the loneliness
of women because they never since the completion
of any work which is given to their lot. Betty
Friedan in her book The Feminine Mystique
has taken up a problem that has no name.
And she has talked about the situation which
was prevalent in the USA after the Second
World War. The pervasive despondency of American
women in the 1950s and early 1960s was linked
by Betty Friedan by the education system,
woman’s magazines in the media. She has
talked in detail how the education system
and courageous a particular type of priorities
set as far as women and girls are concerned.
And how particular roles are always eulogized
in women’s magazines by the media, by the
advertisements also. Up till this moment in
the development of the feminist thought.
The phrase anatomy is destiny was considered
to be a very significant phrase. It was used
by biological determinism to support generalizations
about men and women. It also suggested that
the different cultural conditioning which
we have in our societies is justified and
these suggestions and generalizations were
always used by phrases like “men are naturally
more able in maths and technology” or “women
are naturally suited to domestic duties”.
Biological determinism also asserted that
certain behaviours are justified and unchangeable
because as they say boys will be boys and
girls should be girls. In these phases we
can also notice that when we use will in the
context of boys there is a sense of determinism.
On the other hand when we use the auxiliary
verb should in the context of girls it also
suggested something which is contrived.
Something which has to be moulded. So biological
determinants was prevalent particularly in
the 20th century in the first half of the
century and then it was gradually came to
be challenged by the second wave feminist
critics also. The feminist critics in the
second phase pointed out that there are certain
stereotyped gender characteristics which are
eulogized by literature by media by our education
system in general.
And these characteristics ultimately are projected
as being the ideal behaviour for girls and
boys.
If you look at the colour coding of feminine
characteristics and masculine characteristics
we find that the pink has been used for woman
and blue has been used for boys. So you would
find that the colours also become significant
for our understanding of the gender. So in
a traditional perspective we find that a woman
is expected to be submissive, dependent, emotional,
receptive etc.
Whereas it is expected that a boy or a man
would be dominant in dependent would take
lead but be analytical and would be socially
responsible. So, these different sets of characteristics
which were somehow in built in the process
of social conditioning in our educational
patterns in our behaviour towards young girls
and boys ultimately resulted into a particular
set of personalities for the men and women.
This also made the second wave feminist consider
and believe
That the patriarchal social organization has
always had a bias in favour of men. They wanted
to initiate a cultural change to ensure a
sense of equality between gendered relationships
and therefore the second wave feminist refuse
to accept biological differences as determiners
of destiny. They started to challenge it and
they also questioned the validity of prefixed
roles and the authenticity of prevalent notions
of gender.
Simone de Beauvoir has specifically mentioned
how gradually a young child is trained to
be a girl or trained to be a boy is encouraged
towards a particular set of behaviour and
is discouraged or even severely punished when
a gender in appropriate behaviour is displayed
particularly by a boy. If a young girl behaves
in a tomboyish fashion and Simone de Beauvoir
was writing towards the middle of the 20th
century.
So Simone de Beauvoir has written that if
a girl exhibits tomboyish qualities they are
still somehow accepted tolerated by the parents
in the hope that soon she would be able to
overcome that. But the same type of tendencies
in a young boy is never tolerated. If a young
boy wants to dress up like his elder sister
wants to play with dolls then is also severely
punished and scolded. So you would find that
in the sexual binary the place of a man
And the place of a woman is already fixed.
And this is exactly what the second wave feminist
have started to challenge. So, they demanded
equality with men in terms of social political
and economic rights so that women are able
to eschew cultural constraints and can define
their own preferences in life. So feminist
theory ultimately is rooted in certain ideas.
The sense of being a woman is merely the product
of sex coding processes of social practices
is one of the fore most arguments which has
started with the second wave feminist theories.
It is not only the literary theory not only
the educational practices and not only the
cultural behaviours which are responsible
for it but the systematic institutionalisations
of religion also has resulted into this.
Now Kate Millet has argued that women’s
operation is rooted social conceptions of
femininity and her major work Sexual Politics
which was published in 1969. So just like
Simone de Beauvoir the gender is culturally
constructed. She defines sexual politics as
arrangements which allow a group of persons
to control the other. And she also says that
stereotyping of the female also results in
patriarchal domination.
Because the individual differences are always
oversighted.. For example, a woman is either
a prostitute or a virgin or an unchaste woman
or a sexual anorexics or a wife or a mother
outside these socially defined roles she does
not have any other identity.
These controlled and conditions sexual relationships
extent also into the domain of ideology, biology
and socio cultural institutions. We find that
they become dominant in organizations like
family, religion, education institutions and
workplace also. Millet has pointed out how
the Christian mythology has also always suggested
that men is better than a woman. So, in the
Christian mythology Adam is treated as the
racial type
Whereas Eve is projected only as a sexual
type. It is Eve who eats the forbidden fruit
of life and goads Adam to the to do the same
but it is not her fall but it is the fall
of Adam the male which leads to the fall of
humanity. Various feminist thinkers have also
suggested that while as young children and
adolescent they were going through these biblical
passages. They were also facing certain guilt
about being a woman.
So you would find that these cultural processes
which ultimately become a part of our understanding
of the world become important to understand
the idea of feminism. The global idea of feminism
refers to the belief that men and women deserve
equality in all opportunities, treatment,
respect and social rights. So feminists are
people who try to acknowledge social inequality
based on gender and stop it from continuing
in that manner.
So feminist point out that in most cultures
throughout history men have received more
opportunities than women. And while this basic
idea of feminists seem simple enough we find
that there are many people who misunderstand
the goal of feminism. In fact, often we find
that feminists are projected as angry bitter
woman who only want to subjugate men but these
are stereotypes also have offended various
people
Who are associated with the feminist movement
in theory. So they have started to work in
the direction of understanding the differences
which exists between the stereotype and reality
when it comes to anything related with feminist
ideas. At this point I would reiterate certain
things which I have mentioned earlier.
Firstly, feminism is not a proactive philosophy
and therefore it has resulted into various
types of feminism. It is always a response
to a situation to an ideology etc and therefore
there are also similarities with other protest
movements. The second wave of feminism is
known for the anger and bitterness which is
in built in it. But we find that in the early
days most of the movements are bitter and
angry.
Whether these are the movements related with
racial apathies, these other movements related
against related with Dalit consciousness protesting
against the exploitation in a society and
feminist movement is also not an exception.
But by the time we enter the third wave of
feminism we find that this anger and bitterness
has gradually moved to a different area. So
because of these reasons we find that there
are different types of feminism.
Liberal feminists, Marxism feminism and black
feminism, eco feminism etc. So in our next
discussion we would look up the different
types of feminisms, what are the commonalities
and what are the differences in these movements
and gradually we would also see how collectively
these movements moved towards a post-feminist
understanding of this scenario. Gradually
leading way to our understanding of the issues
of gender. Thank you.
