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Erin MalsackPHI 201-01 Professor Wade Johnston5 May 2015Tidal WavesTime has an amusing way of changing how people view themselves and the world around them. Consider the evolution of self-portraits. Self-portraits have been around for centuries. A wealthy aristocrat would spend hours posing in their finest clothing so that a master painter could create a perfect replication of the individual. This activity was saved for the skilled, affluent, and elite. Compare this with what pop culture today calls the “selfie.” Today, virtually everyone has the means to take multiple pictures of themselves and share them with a countless amount of friends and strangers. Presently, there is a certain negative connotation that comes along with taking selfies. A person is seen as vain, self-absorbed, superficial, and potentially even stupid. Certain factors – overexposure, technological advancements, and negative associations – have caused a paradigm shift in the way that people view self-portraits. These types of changes are not always fair or correct, but they continue to transpire across the broad spectrum of human experiences. One exceptional example of this is the topic of feminism. Over the course of history, feminism has evolved from an unpopular theory, to a powerful movement, to becoming somewhat taboo in various paradigms of the world: the government, society, and within Christianity.Feminism had its inception long before the first wave of feminism came in the late 1800s. Some people will trace feminism all the way back to ancient Greece or medieval times. While there is evidence of feminist thinking at these times, the notion did not gain great attention until the late 1700s and early 1800s. There are several reasons for why there is so little recorded in history concerning the role of women. One reason is that history – especially early history – focuses on public events such as wars, revolutions, political power, and great contests. If individuals were specifically names related to these topics, they were likely males. With the exception of a few prominent women like Queen Elizabeth I of Joan of Arc, women were identified by their relationship to men. Even if a woman had an advantageous birth or marriage, recognition was gained through connection with men. This is why it is difficult to find strong examples of feminism prior to the end of the 19th century. Even with such stipulations still in place, two women – Mary Wollstonecraft and Jane Austen – played a large role in bringing the theory of feminist thinking into the spotlight.Mary Wollstonecraft examined and evaluated gender paradigms and lifestyles in the late 1700s. Although she expressed her views with a revolutionary spirit, Wollstonecraft was seen as a ridiculous radical in society. Wollstonecraft was among the first people to suggest that “women, like men, are rational creatures.” Many of her arguments concerning the subject were met with ridicule and even mocked. Thomas Taylor went so far as to write a farce on one of Wollstonecraft’s books, applying her arguments concerning rationality of women to animals. Aristotle himself had significant stereotypes against women. He viewed women as “merely imperfect males” because they lacked the semen necessary for determining the sex of a child. Scientific arguments such as Aristotle’s were more readily accepted than the rational approach that Wollstonecraft was taking. Despite being met with so much opposition, Wollstonecraft continued to express her views on feminine morality, virtue, and reputation.Mary Wollstonecraft laid the foundation for the feminist works of fiction of Jane Austen. Austen supports Wollstonecraft’s theory that women are rational beings through her character development in her novels. “Austen’s heroines navigate through the minefields of their lives by using their heads.” Austen tends to create a humorous yet realistic portrayal of the role and view of women. For example, Austen’s novels often focus on the prospect of marriage for women. As Austen writes in her popular novel Emma, “The most incomprehensible thing in the world to a man, is a woman who rejects his offer of marriage!” While this statement may seem comical, it also speaks to the harsh truth of the time: women should be thankful for and accept a proposal of marriage. This is a lighter take than Wollstonecraft takes in Maria, “These varying emotions will not allow me to proceed. I heave sigh after sigh; yet my heart is still oppressed. For what am I reserved? Why was I not born a man, or why was I born at all?” Wollstonecraft’s directly conveys the distressing situation without adding humor. While these efforts were not necessarily received well, they did cause people to take notice of the role and treatment of women within society. Austen’s great success combined with Wollstonecraft’s blunt critique of society’s perception of women laid the groundwork for the first wave of feminism.The closing of the 18th century brought the beginning of the first official wave of the feminist movement. This wave focused on creating equal opportunities for women, especially focusing specifically on suffrage. The goal of this movement was to end the dominance of men in political and social life. A convention in Seneca Falls, New York is often considered the birthplace of the U.S. Women’s Rights Movement. At this meeting, a declaration was drawn up to address issues of male oppression and equal rights for women concerning marriage, education, religion, employment, and politics. Feminism took shape in constructing the status of women.At this time, the Women’s Rights Movement was able to gain a lot of momentum by combining forces with other movements. The struggles and successes of the black civil rights movement helped propel feminism. A perfect example of how these movements work together is in Sojourner Truth’s Ain’t I a Woman? speech in 1851. In her speech, she talks about her personal experiences with the physical strength of women. She argues that since she has been oppressed by being both black and a woman, she has needed to provide and defend herself against injustices in ways that more than equal her to any man. She even a sarcastic approach when speaking about the intellect of women: “If my cup won't hold but a pint, and yours holds a quart, wouldn't you be mean not to let me have my little half measure full?” Truth makes an interesting ethical point by saying this. Even if women were not considered equal with men on an intellectual level, should that disqualify them from receiving basic human rights? Posing thoughtful ideas such as this reflected the previous theories of early feminists like Wollstonecraft. Wollstonecraft’s ideals are finally taken into action.After the Civil War, the both the Women’s Rights Movement and the black civil rights Movement gained the attention of society and the government – thanks to activists like Sojourner Truth. This is best demonstrated at the high point of this era when the 19th Amendment was added to the U.S. Constitution in 1920. From that point, feminist social reforms dominated life in the coming decades. Women held prominent positions in constructing and implementing the New Deal. It was not until the late 1940s and 1950s that the feminist movement began to die out. The generation of women who led the first wave were growing old and retiring. With no newcomers to replace them, the movement that had been so successfully accepted came to an end.It was not until the 1960s and 1970s that the second wave of feminism came around. Like the first wave, this wave too gained momentum and attention thanks to a war: the Vietnam War. The occurrence of a new war reminded people that there were minority groups that were still being treated unfairly. While women were active in the workforce, they were forced to stay within the confines of certain professions. Within these limited career paths, women were still paid significantly less than their male counterparts were and were not given opportunities to advance within their career because their mangers anticipated women leaving to have children. It was the compilation of these cases that led women to feel unfulfilled in society. It was this lack of satisfaction that led to the second wave of feminism that focused on societal views of women, mainly pertaining to employment and reproductive rights.The second wave of feminism was supported by a new organization called NOW – National Organization for Women. This organization focused its efforts on advocating and supporting the Equal Rights Amendment. This amendment was not widely accepted by feminists at first. Some women feared that passing this revision would invalidate women protective laws and therefore, cause working conditions for women to deteriorate even more. This anxiety faded quickly when it became visible that measures put in practice since the first wave of feminism – such as Title VII – were already being used in court for the protection of women. The success of the Equal Rights Amendment had helped NOW grow immensely. NOW gained a broader, more diverse support base, and they used this growing support to advocate more controversial topics, such as abortion and gay marriage.Taking a more radical stance on societal stigmas did not always resonate positively with the public. By arguing for reproductive right like birth control and abortion, feminists were taking stance on a detailed ethical debate. Requiring corporations and insurance companies to provide birth control may go against certain religious affiliations or be cumbersome for government funding. Not supporting these changes, and a company may be considered discriminatory. Abortion is still a hot topic of discussion today. At that time, women argued that abortions were taking place even though it was illegal. Examples of rape were often given as secondary support. Taking a pro-choice stance was at odds with Christianity. Christian women who stood for legalized abortions needed to resolve this cognitive dissonance. This was a challenge for the general populous as well. The new radical actions in feminism did gain the attention of society, but this attention could be neutral, negative, or even strictly opposed.Another side effect of the second wave’s extremism is the image it created for feminism and feminists. Feminists, even women in general, were seen as “humorless, ugly, man-hating shrews.” Some supporters of the movement went past feminism into misandry. Male values and ideals were banned while their female counterparts were glorified, Feminism no longer was about fighting for equal rights and fair treatment between the sexes. It became a power struggle as to which sex should be considered dominant. Although the second wave of feminism had succeeded in many of its endeavors, the aftertaste of these feminists would have a negative cultural impact on the third wave of feminism.The third and final wave of feminism began in the 1990s and continues to this day. This movement vastly differs from the previous two waves. In this wave, women are hesitant, to identify themselves as feminists at all.Emma Watson, the Goodwill Ambassador or the U.N. Women, launched a campaign in September 2014. This campaign called HeForShe is advocating not only women’s rights, but also gender equality across the globe. Watson states that women are choosing not to identify themselves as feminists for fear of appearing “too strong, too aggressive, isolating, anti-men, and unattractive.” This is an example of a ramification from the second wave of feminism. Being a feminist became synonymous with many radical and unappealing terms. Watson advocates that “it’s not the word that’s important; it’s the idea and ambition behind it. The fear of being labeled a feminist causes many women to stay silent, but the word itself is not essential to the cause. Creating a united feminist movement is what will have a real impact on society.The third wave of feminism seeks to vindicate gender equality for both females and males. Gender stereotypes are thought to only apply to females, but males are not immune to societal categorizations. The current feminist movement – especially emphasized by HeForShe – calls for a change in cultural paradigms for both genders. “If men don’t have to be aggressive in order to be accepted, women won’t feel compelled to be submissive.” It is for this reason that the current third wave of feminism stands apart from other feminist movements. It actively analyzes how both genders are viewed, and the ramifications because of it. This thinking reflects back, once again, to the writings of Mary Wollstonecraft: “…the reputation of chastity is prized by women, it is despised by men…” Each gender is subject to different regulations of judgment. In order for feminism to be effective, both genders must be considered fairly and equally. Feminism is not about the rights of women. It is about the rights of human beings.The third wave of feminism has other surprising characteristics when compared to the first two movements. Young feminists today embrace trends and styles considered to be items of male oppression in the first two movements, such as lipstick, high heels, and low cut necklines. Members of the previous feminist movements often view this behavior as showing contempt for their efforts in the past. They feel that today’s women are showing a disregard for the hardships and triumphs they endured for the sake of equality. The feminists of the third wave argue that they are “defining feminine beauty for themselves as subjects, not as objects of a sexist patriarchy.” Young women are seeking to gain power and recognition through how they decide to present themselves. They determine their own self-worth and self-value apart from the opinions of others.Responses to the multiple waves of feminism vary across the board. A great amount was met with acceptance as evident in numerous government policies. While there is still much support for the feminist movement, there has always been an opposing force. Many say that gender equality has already been achieved, or that because gender stereotypes affect men as well, female gender stereotypes are nothing special. Currently, the general populous views feminism in a very negative context. “The political, social and intellectual feminist movements have always been chaotic, multivalenced, and disconcerting, and let's hope they continue to be so; it's a sign that they are thriving.” Feminism has come a long way, but it still has more to accomplish.Throughout the centuries, there has been an obvious gender disparity present in various aspects of society: occupational, religious, and societal. Today many modern women are fighting back the traditional gender roles assigned to them throughout history in hopes of gaining equality with men. Much of society has aided women in this pursuit and encouraged such women to achieve goals they had previously not been permitted to chase. Amidst all of this revolutionary thinking, there is one establishment that refuses to change their stance – the Christian church.Christianity – especially Lutheran Christianity – holds to the Biblical construction of gender vocation. Specifically, the Bible explains and expands on the equality, purpose, and submission of women. These concepts are not designed to hold women back from a male-dominated society. Because humanity is corrupted by sin, these vocations can sometimes be perverted and manipulated to achieve selfish ambitions. Nevertheless, they are guides which can be used to create a healthy partnership between men and women to live and work as God intended.God had called women to fulfill a unique purpose for him. “God has not made us duplicates or clones of each other in how we carry out our various God-given callings.” God designed men and women to be different. If men and women were the same, there would be no point in creating two genders. One asexual super-gender could dominate the planet, but God in his wisdom created two genders. Therefore, the biblical view of women is not in opposition with feminism. God created two genders for the mutual benefit of either party. Both are alike in sin and redemption. Their equality in Christ allows them to complement each other in society. Separately, they would not have much success, but their various talents combined allow them to accomplish tasks that neither could on their own. “Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.” The Christian worldview of the genders sounds exceedingly similar to that of the third wave of feminism. Both seek a better society through understanding, acceptance, and validation of both genders.The history of feminism has had mixed reviews from the government, society, and religion throughout the course of history. With all of the ups and downs undertaken feminism has endured, it has succeeded in one aspect: creating thoughtful discussion on how the world view genders. How people perceive feminism and gender today is not the same as 10 years ago, 100 years ago, or even 1000 years ago. Paradigms shift based on location, context, education, culture, status, and many other factors. That is why it is important to find a solid foundation upon which to build a worldview. That foundation can only be found in Christ.BibliographyEmma Watson, “Launch of the HeForShe Campaign,” UN WEB TV, accessed April 15, 2015, watson.Eric Foner and John A. Garraty, “Feminist Movement,” The Reader’s Companion to American History, (Houghton Mifflin, December 1, 1991), accessed April 23, 2015, Austen, Emma, Good Reads, accessed April 4, 2015, J. Boxer and Jean H. Quataert, Connecting Spheres: European Women in a Globalizing World, 1500 to the Present (Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press, 2000).Martha Rampton, “The Three Waves of Feminism,” Pacific University Oregon, last modified October 23, 2014, accessed April 4, 2015, Wollstonecraft, Maria, or The Wrongs of Woman (New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1975).Miriam Ascarelli, “A Feminist Connection: Jane Austen and Mary Wollstonecraft,” Jane Austen Society of North America, last modified 2004, accessed April 23, 2015, .“Roles of Men and Women,” Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, accessed April 23, 2015, Truth, “Ain’t I a Woman?” (1851), accessed April 4, 2015, , Clancy, and Wayne Vaught, Morality and the Good Life: an Introduction to Ethics through Classical Sources (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1984).“The 1960s-70s American Feminist Movement: Breaking Down Barriers for Women,” (E-Collaborative for Civic Education, 2015) accessed May 3, 2015, . ................
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