"Women / Feminism" Essays

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Feminism and the Story of Antigone Term Paper

Term Paper  |  5 pages (1,815 words)
Bibliography Sources: 4


Antigone and Non-Traditional Women of Today

The term "non-traditional" can mean many things. When it is applied to women, it is often not complimentary, and generally used to mean a woman who does not act in a feminine manner. Tomboys are non-traditional women, as are lesbians. However, the term can also be used to mean any woman who does not… [read more]

Medieval Life of Women Research Paper

Research Paper  |  6 pages (1,797 words)
Bibliography Sources: 5


Although some of the women played a role in the growth of the economic well-being of the society, men did not identify the women through their roles. Similarly, during the domestication period, women were caregivers, and one influential Hannah More suggested that "Charity was a calling for ladies." This saw to the hiring or utilization of more women in the same roles. In the same period, women undertook other important roles. For example, women took part in essential fields of occupation, which were dairying, making cheese, milking, making butter, preparing linen and cloth, including textile making.

However, their effort to break out from the bondage of subordination was not possible. This is because in the year 1500, female employment was experienced constant, which saw to the hiring of few numbers of women, further limiting their chances to participate in public realms. In the same context, women gradually came to accept that their role in society was that of subordination to their male counterparts. Literature suggests that when women labor at domestic chores, their minds are at liberty to entertain rebellion, which is true. However, this rebellion happened within them, and they could not come out to approach the men.

Works Cited

Gilchrist, Roberta. Medieval Life: Archaeology and the Life Course. Rochester: Boydell Press,

2013. Print

Howell, Martha. Women, Production, and Patriarchy in Late Medieval Cities. Chicago: The

University of Chicago Press, 1986. Print

Klapisch-Zuber, Christine. Women, Family, and Ritual in Renaissance Italy. Chicago: The

University of Chicago Press, 1985.Print

McKeon, Michael. The Secret History of Domesticity: Public, Private, and the Division of…… [read more]

Awakening in Today's Culture Essay

Essay  |  3 pages (793 words)
Bibliography Sources: 0


It is poignant that Chopin also picked characteristics that many Americans think of as positive such as individualism and strength. A deeper reading of the passage, may even suggest that her children derive their strength from Edna's strength of character. Chopin then contrasts Edna and her children, to the ideal Adele Ratignolle.

Adele Ratignolle, was a true mother-woman, who "idolized their children, worshiped their husbands, and esteemed it a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals and grow wings as ministering angels." (Chopin, The Awakening). Chopin uses lofty words to describe Adele, a reflection of how society thought women should be. Chopin continues to describe her as, "the bygone heroine of romance and the fair lady of our dreams." (Chopin, The Awakening). The heroines of old tales are usually damsels in distress, waiting for their prince charming to save them. They are completely dependent on their male counterparts, unable to free themselves by their own efforts. Chopin describing Adele in such a manner is a critique on motherhood, the expectations associated with the role are too high and therefore, constraining. In order to fit the perfect mold of motherhood, a woman needs to lack ambition, and is completely subservient to her husband and children. Edna challenges this expectation by eventually wanting more for herself and refusing to let the title of mother completely define her.

Chopin criticizes the way motherhood is used to define women. She presents the epitome of motherhood and femininity in Adele, only to demonstrate to the reader that it is an unrealistic expectation. Edna, while not as attentive, is not necessarily a bad mother. Chopin explicitly shows this by demonstrating the strength and independence of her sons. The strength in her sons is a reflection of Edna's inner strength, her determination and character. She wants to be recognized as more than a mother, wants the freedom to do what she wishes. Ultimately, Chopin finds motherhood and the societal institutions constraining, especially for a woman with ambition. Societal expectations take a toll on Edna's psyche and overall well-being. The end of the novel demonstrates this idea. Edna unable to cope with her surroundings needs an outlet that is unavailable to her, therefore she is faced with the option every human regardless of gender can make, whether to live or die. The world around her was so suffocating that she chose…… [read more]

Riverside Press-Enterprise the Political Essay

Essay  |  6 pages (1,715 words)
Bibliography Sources: 6


¶ … Riverside Press-Enterprise

The Political Background on VAWA

There is an interesting, bipartisan history attached to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which was originally authored by then U.S. Senator Joe Biden, and first passed in the Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994. The legislation was the initial major federal approach to try and… [read more]

Black Power Movement Essay

Essay  |  8 pages (2,471 words)
Style: MLA  |  Bibliography Sources: 2


Black Power movement was the most effective means of overtly subverting institutionalized racism and entrenched white power structures that had governed American society since colonization. Figures like Dr. Martin Luther King provided the means by which to achieve black power without seriously challenging white cultural hegemony. As meaningful and remarkable as Dr. King's legacy has been in revolutionizing American racial… [read more]

Social Psychology View: What Ensures Term Paper

Term Paper  |  7 pages (2,368 words)
Bibliography Sources: 15


Oftentimes, however, these problems are exacerbated by their status as minorities who have less socio-economic power and hegemony than Caucasian women do and incur negative stereotypes as a result (Lott and Saxon, 2002, p. 482). Additionally, "Minorities tend to be concentrated in lower paying occupations or in the lower grades of higher occupations" (U.S. Merit, 2009, p. viii). Within the… [read more]

Discriminatory Treatment of Women Research Paper

Research Paper  |  5 pages (1,465 words)
Bibliography Sources: 1+


The percent of utilization of the Family Violence Unit's protective order division provides a snapshot of the relative differences in utilization for male and female victims. Percentages of utilization are compared, rather than comparing males directly to females because of the assumption that women are more likely to be victimized by domestic violence and more likely to have their assaulters… [read more]

Violence Against Women Social Welfare Research Paper

Research Paper  |  4 pages (1,307 words)
Style: APA  |  Bibliography Sources: 8


VAWA resolved the distinctive requirements of this group of sufferers by making visa self-petitioning legal rights for undocumented people whose resident or limited permanent resident (LPR) partners or families have subjected these individuals to battering or intense harshness and whose removal would lead to intense difficulty (Orloff and Kaguyutan, 2001).

Dealing with Victims' Shelter Requirements

Among the most crucial requirements for sufferers of domestic as well as sexual abuse is shelter. Traditionally, beaten females had been expected to go away from their houses as well as their neighborhoods to acquire protection (Goldfarb, 2008). VAWA 1994 offered financing for emergency refuge meant for the countless beaten women's shelters that shaped the backbone of the service agency community for sufferers during the time (Violent Crime Control, 2012). Even though some emergency housing exists for beaten women, they're not suitable for or even accessible to each and every prey of intimate companion abuse. They merely offer a short-term remedy and frequently need the occupants to take part in counseling as well as other tasks which not all survivors are prepared for or wish to do (Olsen, 2007). Advocates dealt with survivors who had been in a position to locate short-term refuge in programs developed for no more than two or three months and pointed out that it had been difficult to attain lasting protection for several of the females in this brief time period (Olsen, 2007).

In acknowledgement of the demand for sufferers to receive much more than emergency refuge and also the demand with regard to long-term shelter solutions to assure their security, VAWA 2000 approved financing for just a transitional shelter grant program that financed as much as 12 months of housing-related help to stop homelessness for all those running domestic abuse (Victims of Trafficking, 2000). The brand new procedures additionally financed support services like transport, therapy, child care solutions or even employment guidance (Victims of Trafficking, 2000). This program had been broadened and enhanced in VAWA 2005 to successfully include financing to assist long-term housing solutions in private and public real estate. Particular reference had been incorporated to raising the long-term stableness of adult as well as youth sufferers of domestic abuse, dating abuse, sexual attacks and harassment who're misplaced or in danger for being homeless (Violence against Women, 2012). Furthermore, prioritization had been integrated for grants or loans to be offered to programs to deliver linguistically as well as ethnically unique solutions to underserved communities, to agencies that incorporate a sexual offensive service agency and Congress aimed that a at least fifteen % finances be appropriated in every financial year to tribal agencies. By doing this, Congress designed much more and distinct types of refuge that mirrored the varied requirements of sufferers looking for security (Violence against Women, 2012).


Goldfarb, S. (2008). Reconceiving Civil Protection Orders For Domestic Violence: Can Law Help End The Abuse Without Ending The Relationship, 29 CARDOZO L. REV. 1487, 1488 -- 89.

Olsen, L. (2007). Battered WOMEN'S SHELTERS: REFLECTIONS 5, available at http://www.wscadv.org/docs/Mar_07_Inside_Scoop.pdf… [read more]

Woman Philosophy Term Paper

Term Paper  |  9 pages (3,162 words)
Bibliography Sources: 2


Women's Philosophy

The issue of gender and sexism received a boost during the early years of the 20th century, when women began to claim their right to vote. Over the centuries, the fight has evolved into various manifestations, including women's battle for equal work and pay, the same civil rights as men, and simply the right to develop themselves as… [read more]

Alexandra Bergsen and the Frontier Woman Essay

Essay  |  2 pages (644 words)
Style: MLA  |  Bibliography Sources: 0



Women during the time of Alexandra Bergsen, who was a character in Willa Cather's novel O Pioneer!, enjoyed different roles than they would have had outside of the western context. They could still not vote, and did not have the ability to do everything that men had the ability to do in the realm of business and politics. However, the westward migration allowed for a fresh start in terms of social and economic opportunities, especially for women. Women like Alexandra were not uncommon, as there was more gender equity in this time. Alexandra could inherit land, which gave her a lot of power due to the fact that the land could be cultivated to yield cash crops. She was an astute businesswoman, as many women in that time and cultural environment were becoming. They did not have the means to make laws or serve on juries, but women could be business people.

In spite of the advantages that women had during this era, there were also significant challenges that women like Alexandra dealt with in their time. For example, Alexandra could not vote. She could not serve on a jury that enabled her to have the power over people's lives as men did. Men had a lot more political power than women, and would until women had the right to vote. Women had more restrictive gender roles in some ways, but as Alexandra's example shows, it was possible to explore love options independently. Alexandra fell in love with the man that she chose, regardless of her social status.

Women were not necessarily constricted to the domestic sphere, and expected to be servile. They were, as in Alexandra's case, more influenced and determined by their socio-economic class status and their race. Women who were poor, or women who were not of white Christian European descent were less likely to attain social and political status in the community. Therefore, it is unfair to…… [read more]

Women's Choice Lead a Celebate Thesis

Thesis  |  12 pages (3,758 words)
Style: Chicago  |  Bibliography Sources: 14


There are few exceptional cases in which women are given the main role or which place the female biblical presence in a positive light, however they fail to compensate the male domination of the biblical text, especially seeing that today's society is rather reluctant to see the woman above her condition of worldly flesh. For instance, Mary Magdalene and The… [read more]

Gender and Sexuality Term Paper

Term Paper  |  4 pages (1,632 words)
Bibliography Sources: 0


Gender and Sexuality

Prior to 1942, which five countries in Latin America had granted female suffrage?

Ecuador in 1929

Brazil in 1932

Uruguay in 1932

Cuba 1934

El Salvador in 1939

From one of your readings, what three aspects of democratic governance were analyzed with respect to their implications for gender equity?

First, democracy was viewed as only existing if… [read more]

Advertisements Analysis of Women Essay

Essay  |  2 pages (545 words)
Bibliography Sources: 2



Analysis of Women's Advertisements

The purpose of this analysis is to analyze how gender is portrayed, and what similarities and differences exist in how advertisers choose to portray gender in their advertising strategies. The effectives of these strategies is assessed, specifically with a discussion of how these advertisements feature women. The use of women's bodies in these ads at times is necessary, as is the case with health-related products, while many, having a full picture of a woman is superfluous.

Advertising Analysis

The five publications used for this analysis include Seventeen Magazine, Architectural Digest, Sports Illustrated, Prevention Magazine (healthcare) and Entertainment Weekly. Gender is portrayed significantly different across each of these five magazines' advertisers. Advertisers in Architectural Digest and Entertainment Weekly rely on tall, thin wealthy women archetypes to convey the exclusivity and celebrity-like aspects of their products. They tend to overstate thinness and body image being correlated to wealth, or at leas the implication is given that the taller and thinner you are, the more attractive you are and the more adept at attracting wealth. Seventeen Magazine and Prevention magazine advertisers use an entirely different approach to women's body images, showing vitality and healthy living. They also underscore the concepts of freedom from having a healthy body as well. Seventeen advertisers also appear at times to use women's images to convey a flirtatious attitude yet don't cross the line into double entrandras of sexual meanings. The only magazine's advertisers that did that was Sports Illustrated with its men's cologne ads and sports drink ads, with the double entranda being about performance while showing a scantily clad, perfectly shaped woman model.…… [read more]

Gender Equality Term Paper

Term Paper  |  4 pages (1,234 words)
Bibliography Sources: 2


Another aspect takes into account men and women's conjugal lifestyle. A Vindication rejects the idea that woman is to be protected, guided and cherished by man, as "the lordly caresses of a protector will not gratify a noble mind that pants for and deserves to be respected" (Wollstonecraft 30) The author also challenges the notion that strength, embodied in man, and beauty, embodied in woman, combine to achieve perfection. In fact, she argues that man is scarcely more than an overgrown child himself and it would be unwise to rest the responsibility of progress entirely on his shoulders, as this can only bring about a negative outcome. What is more, a woman who actively aspires to a stronger body and more able mind will eventually, through family management and practice of virtues, transform her condition of humble dependency into equal-footing partnership.

In addition, Wollstonecraft observes a relevant social example of similarity between men and women in terms of pleasantry which speaks for itself, a generally overlooked scenario which fails to effect the same degrading impression. It is the case of military officers, who as a rule go to great extent to be presentable, agreable, and socially gregarious, a downright example of gallantry, taught to please. Though wallowing in the same conditions, the gallant officers are however still considered superior by nature to women, yet on what grounds this occurs cannot be logically fathomed.

In terms of equivalence between the views of Mary Wollstonecraft, an advocate for freedom from two centuries past, and today's situation, more than one observation can be made.

Women's status is proclaimed to be considerably different in our modern society. Legally speaking, a girl can and will benefit from the same standard education as her boy counterpart, will be offered the same opportunities and choices in life, and will be granted the same rights in a marriage. However, a personal, in-depth analysis of these freedoms and day-by-day experience might testify that situations where women are discriminated are far from exctinct. Women tend to be valued for their physical charms more than ever, an entire industry of film, advertising and pornography fully endorsing their image. What is more, it often occurs that women are treated with condescension and patronization, either at home, at school or in the workplace.

From a broader perspective, A Vindication for the Rights of Woman was part of the innovative Age of Reason current that criticised aristocracy and its perpetuation of oppression. Falling along these lines and much like nowadays, the main goals were thought to be the least possible involvment of authority in citizens' lives, limited coercion and power to the people. Wollstonecraft's contribution was perceived as radical only because she extended these pursuits to include all of makind, making a matter of paramount importance that everyone, man, woman, or child, have a right to an independent mind, to seek out happiness by the full use of their natural capacities translated into personal experience.

To conclude, Marry Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights… [read more]

Deborah Gray White's AR'n't I A Woman Book Review

Book Review  |  6 pages (1,844 words)
Bibliography Sources: 1


Deborah Gray White's Ar'n't I a Woman: Female Perspectives in the Plantation South, is an ominously disturbing read simply because of its subject matter. The author chooses to detail the intimacies of the lot of female slaves during the chattel slavery period in the United States. As such, the licentiously depraved behavior of slave traders and slave masters is uncovered… [read more]

Spheres and Suffrage Essay

Essay  |  3 pages (1,034 words)
Bibliography Sources: 3


Suffragists, women who were working politically to ensure voting rights had a very difficult time convincing not only the government, but also fellow women that they should be allowed to participate in politics. Women who had become accustomed to the Cult of Domesticity were reluctant to give up their place in the home and participate in activities that society had told them were inherently unfeminine. Before the Women's Suffrage Movement, women were not supposed to have political opinions and, if they did, they would reflect the opinions of her husband (Dubois 358). All opinions and beliefs of the wife were supposed to be identical to her husband's. Any woman with a mind or a will of her own was labeled as abnormal and improper.

Two of the most famed activists for Women's Suffrage were Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. At the Seneca Falls Conference of 1848, the women along with other activists revealed a Declaration of Sentiments designed to compare the plight of women in the United States with the colonists before the American Revolution. "By using the Declaration of Independence as their model, women's rights advocates at Seneca Falls drew immediate public attention to their cause, and they initiated a new, activist phase of the women's rights movement" (Wellman 202). The Declaration states that in all things, men have declared themselves equal but women were universally treated as inferior. It is men, according to the Declaration that have created these separate spheres because of a desire to keep women subservient to men. "He has created a false public sentiment by giving to the world a different code of morals for men and women, by which moral delinquencies which exclude women from society are not only tolerated, but deemed of little account in man…He has endeavored, in every way that he could, to destroy her confidence in her own powers, to lessen her self-respect, and to make her willing to lead a dependant and abject life" (Stanton 215). It is men who have decided the norm of womankind in order to keep women objectified and dependant on American men.

Laws of the period which were created and voted for by men would also assist in keeping women subjugated. Men made more money for the same jobs. Married women were not allowed to hold property in their own names. This is just a few brief examples. By being permitted the vote, women could work within the legal system to remove all legislation which was impedimental to their chances of personal freedom.

Works Cited:

Dubois, Ellen. "The Next Generation of Suffragists: Harriot Stanton Blatch and Grassroots

Politics." Creating the State in an Industrialized Nation, 1900-1945. 2002. Print.

McCurry, Stephanie. "Women's Work: The Gender Division of Labor in Yeoman

Households of South Carolina before the Civil War." Creating the State in an Industrialized Nation, 1900-1945. 2002. Print.

Stanton, Elizabeth Cady & Susan B. Anthony. "Declaration of Sentiments." Creating the State in an Industrialized Nation, 1900-1945. 1848. Print.

Wellman, Judith. "The Seneca… [read more]

Gender Masculinity &amp Femininity Femininities Essay

Essay  |  2 pages (673 words)
Bibliography Sources: 0


The pithiest definition of feminism comes from Rebecca West's statement, "Feminism is the radical notion that women are people." Feminism is not about hating men; it is a basic human rights issue no different from any other. There are different types or different expressions of feminism such as socialist, reformist, and radical branches (Feminism 101 document). Regardless of the different approaches and points-of-view, it is important to place feminism within the context of human rights and not just women's rights

One dimension of feminism that is relevant today is how feminism is linked to poverty worldwide. Poverty is, in turn, related to the male domination of political and economic institutions. The Torregrosa (2012) article shows that Cuba is one of the few nations to boast a nearly gender-equal society. "Cuba has a high number of female professional and technical workers (60% of the total workforce in those areas) and in Parliament (43%), as well as high levels of primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment," (Torregrosa, 2012).


3. From your perspective, how has sexuality - behaviors, attitudes, identities - been influenced by society? Provide an example (using television shows, film, media, news stories, history, etc.). How does the course material for this week support (or not support) your argument?

Social norms and values impact personal and collective expressions of sexuality. Sex sells, which is why women also objectify themselves in advertisements, television, or music videos: "female artists frequently turn themselves into sex objects in their own videos," ("Women objectify women in music videos too, researchers find."). Often the objectification of the female self is done in a self-conscious and deliberate way, such as Madonna has done. When the woman owns her own sexuality and self-expression, she is engaging in gender performativity -- which is the deliberate acting out of exaggerated norms related to sexuality. Sexuality and social norms related to sexuality are continually changing, such as the norms related to homosexuality. As Adriaens and Block point out, male homosexuality can be…… [read more]

Revolutionary Women for Liberty Essay

Essay  |  2 pages (588 words)
Bibliography Sources: 0


Her warning proved to be quite accurate, as evidenced by the successful women's suffrage movement to emerge generations later. Another of Adams' more famous calls for gender equality came when she privately urged her husband to "put it out of the power of husbands to use us as they will," and this direct call for the end of female subjugation caused even the progressively minded John Adams to bristle at her demands. According to the widely accepted worldview of the late 18th century, which was largely informed by traditional Christian doctrine, men held a superior status to women in the natural order, and granting equality to females would be an affront to God's will as stated in the Bible. Even so, with indentured servants gaining their freedom after lifetimes spent toiling in the service of others; women across America were slowly becoming enamored with the idea of achieving their own freedom.

The fact that many women risked their own lives fighting in the Revolution, including Deborah Sampson and Molly Pitcher, stirred many housewives and ladies in waiting to reconsider the paths of their own lives. The formation of Ladies Associations in towns and cities throughout America allowed previously sheltered women to explore the worlds of literature and political discussion, and this exposure to new ideas only furthered their personal desire to achieve equal footing with their male counterparts. While students today read tales of glory about the Revolution's many male heroes, a true study of history shows us that liberty may never have been fully achieved if not for the many contributions made by…… [read more]

Women's Modern History Women's Issues Term Paper

Term Paper  |  2 pages (612 words)
Bibliography Sources: 1+


These terms are no longer common place for professionals in the workplace. Many employers advertised in job postings that they are EEO employers in compliance with the EEOC as a selling point. Yet, just about fifty years ago, Title VII and the EEOC were brand spanking new. The event was chosen to point out how a concept that we now take for granted was once a novel idea, meaning that behaviors that went against Title VII ran rampant all over causing numerous traumas and acts of violence and discrimination against women. These behaviors went unchecked until fifty years ago.

There is no perfect country. There is no perfect culture. As much as there still lacks equality toward women in modern times, one cannot deny that in a number of noticeable ways, women have made significant advancements within many societies around the globe. In the United States, for example, there are more women in institutions of higher education, more employed women, more women CEOs & other executive officers of the business world, and two very competent women have held one of the highest positions in the American government for most of the 21st century. Despite political disagreements, this evidence is clear that women are entering fields from which they have been publically and privately banned. Examples like Condoleeza Rice and Hilary R. Clinton are examples of powerful women in the public eye, domestically and internationally. Powerful women like them and others represent cultural attitudes and achievements.


Information Please Database. (2007). Women's Rights Movement in the U.S. Pearson Education, Web, Available from: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenstimeline3.html. 2013 January 19.

Wolf, N. (1999). Timeline Special: Women in the United States. The New York Times, Web, Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/millennium/m2/wolf-timeline.html. 2013 January 19.… [read more]

Wife of Bath it May Be Strange Essay

Essay  |  3 pages (1,113 words)
Bibliography Sources: 1+


Wife of Bath

It may be strange to suggest that the Wife of Bath is a sympathetic figure, especially when William Blake identifies her as a "scourge" and a "blight" (Blake 32). Nonetheless, she is certainly Chaucer's representation of a woman who has not yet met a man who can rule her (White). Hardly the picture of meekness and humility that the Lady Prioress represents, the Wife of Bath is rather long-winded and proud of her ability to dominate the opposite sex. Her "long" preamble, in fact, elicits a rebuff from the Friar, and before the Wife even begins her tale she has already demonstrated her combative nature: not one to be told what to do she is out to prove that she is not a weak, feminine creature that will passively submit to any man that comes along. Moreover, the story she tells is one of a knight's learning to allow woman sovereignty over him. Yet, despite all appearances, this tale may be understood as a reaction to the manly Knight in the company of the pilgrims. There is something in the Wife of Bath that begs to be challenged. This paper will show how it may thus be argued that the Wife of Bath is neither a feminist nor a gargoyle, but a strong-willed woman looking for an even stronger-willed man to whom she might finally submit.

On the surface, the Wife of Bath's tale is told to show how what all women really want is sovereignty over men. One could argue, therefore, that the Wife of Bath is more than a mere prototypical feminist, a "liberated woman" who wants "equality." The Wife of Bath says in her tale that what women want is not simply "equality," but rather sovereignty. When the knight in her tale allows his new wife to choose whether she shall be honest and ugly or beautiful and unfaithful, he passes the "test," and his new wife chooses to be both beautiful and true as a reward for his giving her sovereignty. but, this wielding of sovereignty, of course, is merely a fantasy, an illusion -- as the Wife herself has shown in the long "preamble": her husband Jankin allowed her to rule over him, and in doing so, they "never had debate" (Chaucer 221), but the details of this new arrangement are not provided. All that is known of the Wife's newly won sovereignty is that it did not last: the husband died (cause unknown) and the Wife now seeks a new man.

Thus, the Wife of Bath is not what one might call a proponent of feminism. She is rather a woman who refuses to be chided for her sins or brought into line by a man, who has faults just as she does. Her prologue is a confession of sorts: rather than using her opportunity to tell a story, she chooses instead to tell about herself and to justify her own actions and experiences to the others -- especially the men,… [read more]

Feminism the Canon of Kate Essay

Essay  |  6 pages (1,881 words)
Bibliography Sources: 5


"The first free breath since her marriage seemed to restore the pleasant liberty of her maiden days. Devoted as she was to her husband, their intimate conjugal life was something which she was more than willing to forego for a while." Thus, marriage does not define or confine Calixta and Clarissa in the way marriage does define and confine Mrs. Mallard. Chopin presents feminism as a genuine social and political phenomenon. The only way Louise Mallard can achieve liberation is through death. Chopin implies that if Louise remained alive, she would return to her old role in the marriage and would not give herself the opportunity to taste freedom. It was by then, too late. Patriarchy continues to define the Mallard relationship. The only way to change outmoded relationships is to literally wait until the generation of traditionalists passes away. Women are not to be defined solely by their relationships with men.

In "The Story of an Hour" and "The Storm," Kate Chopin explores the nature of gender, gender relationships, sexuality, and personal identity from a feminist perspective. These two short stories are typical of the author, who remained concerned about feminist matters throughout her career. Chopin's short stories promote an empowering and enlightened view of women. Women can and should control their own destinies, having power over their personal lives. The traditional institution of marriage is not necessarily a confining cage that stifles women's creativity. Rather, it is up to the woman to discover herself and to be independent even as she enjoys emotional and sexual intimacy with men. Both "The Story of an Hour" and "The Storm" offer powerful, uplifting, and positive messages for social change.

Works Cited

Chopin, Kate. "The Storm." Retrieved online: http://classiclit.about.com/od/stormkatechopin/a/aa_thestorm_kchopin.htm

Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." Retrieved online: http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/hour/

Deter, Floramaria. "Kate Chopin: In Search of Freedom." About.com. Retrieved online: http://classiclit.about.com/cs/articles/a/aa_insearch.htm

"Kate Chopin: A Re-Awakening." PBS. Retrieved online: http://www.pbs.org/katechopin/interviews.html

LeMarquand, Jane. "Kate Chopin as Feminist: Subverting the French Androcentric Influence." Deep South v.2. n.3. (Spring 1996). Retrieved online: http://www.otago.ac.nz/DeepSouth/vol2no3/chopin.html… [read more]

How Did Industrialization Change European Women's Working Lives? Essay

Essay  |  2 pages (774 words)
Bibliography Sources: 1+


Industrialization Changed European Women's Working Lives

Industrialization is an irreparable and seemingly an unavoidable process. Whether valuable or catastrophic, the changes associated with industrialization symbolize the most insightful changes in the family. One group that is mostly disregarded in the written histories related to industrialization until recently is women. The process affected them in unique ways just like their contribution in the industrial process seems distinctive.

Revolution transformed the lives of women in many ways. Some of the changes have happened recently as a result of other civilizations. Other changes were mainly typical in the 19th-century. West Industrialization affected women traditional working pattern and protest roles, with an aim of expansion of educational prospects (Saffioti, 1983). Other new work responsibilities and protest outlets, such as feminism started by 1914. Important changes took place in homes as new ideologies and standards elevated their position and created more challenging tasks. Relationships among women were affected by the rising use of house servants. This was a common job in the urban areas for the working women and a new approach by both the middle as well as and low class.

Women have often worked in that the Industrial Revolution did not bring about a new stage in women employment. Nevertheless, the nineteenth century discovered that a woman worker was an object of shame. The social conscience was provoked as never before because of the predicament of both the working women as well as children. Women work being preindustrial because it was home based and mostly seasonal, the work did not interfere with their duties in child care and household chores (Klein, 1963).

Industrialization necessitated workers to execute their jobs far from their homes, which made the industrial process difficult to deal with an unreliable workforce. Consequently, industrialization worsened the challenges faced by a mother as well as made her dilemma more noticeable. They were left alone by husbands who sought employment in the industrial areas, a lot of times shifting the family upkeep burden to the women who remained behind with children.

Industrialization mostly affected women profoundly by being separated from their homes because of their professions. The situation resulted to conflict between their family duties and their capability to be financially independent. This forced the women to finally change their professional choices. They experienced basic reforms in their perceptions…… [read more]

Gender Roles in Contemporary Culture Essay

Essay  |  5 pages (1,703 words)
Bibliography Sources: 1


And role-switching has generated tremendous cultural anxiety. Men said they had "difficulties in assuming primary responsibility for children, with nearly one in five (17%) admitting it makes them feel 'less of a man', 13% claiming they found looking after the children harder than going out to work, and 13% saying they wished they earned more than their partner so they could go back to work" (King 2011).

The ideals of Fight Club tap into the frustrations of men who feel that they have less economic power than ever before and that the traditional physical tools bestowed upon men that give them power are no longer effective. Tyler's anti-capitalism reflects a sense that even the male-dominated market has now failed men, as many women are earning equal salaries. Only through bare-fisted brawling can men assert their domination over women even though they are technically beating up themselves to do so.

Works Cited

King, Mark. "Stay-at-home dads on the up: one in seven fathers are main childcarers."

The Guardian. 25 Oct 2011. [13 Oct 2012]


Paton, Graeme. "Boys more likely to struggle in coed schools. The Telegraph. 11 Jul 2011.…… [read more]

Japanese Women Gender Roles Essay

Essay  |  4 pages (1,164 words)
Bibliography Sources: 3


Even a Shinto shrine that is especially revered as reflecting a compromise between the genders and that is sought after for help in marriage troubles does not provide a picture of true equality or even cooperation between the genders. Instead, it exists because Princess Yamato, married to a deity, became frightened when she saw her husband in the from of a snake. Her husband reprimands her harshly, saying, "Thou didst not contain thyself, but hast caused me shame: I will in my turn put thee to shame" (Tsunoda et al., p. 33). The husband-god leaves and treks up the mountain, abandoning his wife because she showed fear in his presence; she kills herself as a result of her own shame. This story is meant to illustrate the holiness of their union, but it also illustrates the degree to which women -- even a princess and wife of a god -- were expected to be subservient to the point of absolute emotional control. The princess' sin is that she allowed her own natural reaction to come forth, and she pays for this "mistake" with her life.

Even outside religious spheres of influence, women in historical Japan were still largely objectified and subjugated by the patriarchal power systems, as many examples of Japanese literature can illustrate. A brief passage from the Tale of Genji demonstrates precisely how women were viewed in Japanese society, at least by some, and shows the degree of contempt or dismissiveness with which women even of the highest social ranks could be treated. Speaking with a friend about women and love, Genji is told to "divide women into three classes. Those of high rank and birth are made such a fuss of and their weak points are so completely concealed that we are certain to be told they are paragons. About those of the middle class everyone is allowed to express his own opinion, and we shall have much conflicting evidence to sift. As for the lower classes, they do not concern us" (Varley, p. 66). Simply put, women of all classes are objects to be scrutinied, classified, and categorized based on external judgments made by men (it is interesting to note that "everyone" is automatically excluded to "all males" in the above passage), and even after such scrutiny the idea of finding a woman who is truly worthy by some objective standard appears to be rather far-fetched. Lower class women are not even worthy of consideration, middle class women are too difficult to examine because everyone can say whatever they like about such women and thus the truth is hard to find (because it would be foolish, of course, to let each woman's character and identity speak for itself), and finally upper class women are bound to be spoiled. Women have no real place or even identity except as it is defined by the men of society and of their lives, according to this passage.


Japanese culture was not as harsh towards women as certain other… [read more]

Academic Disciplines Communication and Women Research Paper

Research Paper  |  4 pages (1,209 words)
Bibliography Sources: 4


Professional / Academic Associations -- Communication

The American Communication Association is an association of professionals in the field of communication. It is a non-for profit association mainly established for information sharing and learning. It has virtual platform and it invites practitioners and scholars from all over the world to participate in the ongoing discussions and activities.

The purpose of this Association is to promote effective use of technology in the field of communication. Its domain is vast enough to cover all venues related to research, communication instructions, criticism and the modes of communication adopted by human being all over the world.

The main characteristics of the Association include its publishing of peer reviewed journal and online speech textbooks. The association actively arranges a conference on yearly basis to invite communication scholars and experts from all over the world. The Association provides a platform to raise voice about communication laws and policies.

The membership of this Association is free to everybody. The CEO proudly invites experts to join it free of cost as it is completely an online forum. The membership is open to the students as well and the Association offers scholarships to them as well. It has various programs specially designed for students e.g. Certificate Programs, Diploma Programs, Associate Degree Programs etc. (AmericanComm.org, 2012).

There are many organisations which have association with it to promote its cause. National Association of Schools of Music (NASM), National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST) and Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC) are a few important names.

Professional / Academic Associations - Women Studies

National Women's Studies Association is one of the oldest women studies association established in 1977. Its primary objective is to spread awareness about the women and gender studies. It is involved in all activities related to producing, collecting, organising, and teaching, learning and disseminating the information related to women. Its objective is to promote women studies as a complete and independent body of knowledge which should be taught in the universities as a discipline. The degrees should be issues in this field of study and more active participation should be sought from all experts to contribute in the development of this field.

The major characteristics of National Women's Studies Association lies in the fact that its membership is paid. Based on the funds collected from the members, it offers scholarships to the students specializing in women studies. In order to promote its cause, it invites many other organisations to have partnership with it. The Association has defined policy related to awards, prizes and other grants (National Women's Studies Association, 2012).

The Association comprises the largest network of women studies spread across the globe. It arranges its conferences on annual basis and creates employment opportunities in the country. Through its proactive approach for women and their protection initiatives, it has a complete set up of its bureau, elections and webinar. The Association spreads light about the rights and duties of women and guides them about actively… [read more]

Aging Women Essay

Essay  |  2 pages (558 words)
Bibliography Sources: 2


Just as Hant identified several glaring instances of exclusionary bias within widely watched programs like Bewitched and The Sopranos, in which aging females are depicted as the "prototypical older woman & #8230; frail, weak and helpless" and beset by the many "ravages of getting older and being denied her position as a powerful young woman" (2007), many of the television shows currently garnering the highest viewership ratings succumb to the same stereotypes. The trite cliche of the unpleasant and overbearing mother-in-law, perhaps the most pernicious of popular distortions applied to older women in the media, can be found throughout the major networks' primetime schedule. The Emmy award winning sitcom Evrerybody Loves Raymond, which dominated the airwaves nine critically acclaimed seasons, featured elderly actress Doris Roberts as "Marie Barone," the bane of main character Raymond's existence who constantly asserts herself in unpleasant and obnoxious ways. The archetype identified by Hant as the "Jewish Mother" is exemplified perfectly by the character of Marie Barone, because "on the television shows that have a mature woman character, she typically exists only as a mother or a grandmother… and so often the portrayals are the Jewish Mother schtick of the whining, devouring and complaining older woman" (2007). Typified by her domineering and smothering style of mothering her grown children, Marie Barone represent's Hant's conception of aging women as the other, and the wildly successful run enjoyed by Everybody Loves Raymond is a testament to the complacency American society has developed towards upwardly mobile female figures.


Hant, M.A. (2007). Television's mature women: A changing media archetype: From bewitched to the sopranos UCLA Center for the Study of Women, Retrieved from http://repositories.cdlib.org/csw/07_Hant… [read more]

Women in the Time of Jesus Essay

Essay  |  2 pages (535 words)
Bibliography Sources: 0


Women in the Time of Jesus

Susannah clearly has a very strong moral character. When the elders threatened to blackmail her if she didn't lie with them, her moral compass prevailed as she would rather have her reputation ruined than sin in the eyes of the lord. The dilemma that Susannah faced orbited around this situation, because she refused to sleep with the elders, they tarnished her reputation and her husband Joakim, was told about it and Susannah was going to be put to death. Daniel rescued Susannah by saying, "Are you such fools, you sons of Israel? Have you condemned a daughter of Israel without examination and without learning the facts? Return to the place of judgment. For these men have borne false witness against her." Daniel then separated the man and asked them detailed questions about what they had "witnessed"; once Daniel discovered that their stories didn't match up, that was all the proof he needed to convict them of bearing a false witness against Susannah.

2.Holofernes was the chief general of the army of Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians. Joakim was the high priest. Uzziah was the son of Micah and one of the magistrates of the city. Achior was the leader of all the Ammonites. Judith is seen more in terms of her relationship with them.

3. The story of Babatha demonstrates how while she was schooled well in business dealings, Babatha was illiterate, which demonstrates how women were often limited with schooling and education in general. In spite of this, Babatha's story demonstrates how in the first and second century women could…… [read more]

Feminism &amp Gender Theory Essay

Essay  |  3 pages (1,083 words)
Bibliography Sources: 5


' On one hand, the human element of dolls is introduced in the construction of the highly differentiated characters, which are distinct in a manner that the usual boxy protagonists of Legos displays are not. However, the toys offer some comfort for parents who might worry about girls playing with the purely passive Barbie. There is some intellectual engagement involved in the creation of the Lego homes, even while the new pink Legos simultaneously reinforce gender norms by their subject matter and characters. "Unlike tiaras and pink chiffon, Lego play develops spatial, mathematical, and fine motor skills, and lets kids build almost anything they can imagine, often leading to hours of quiet, independent play" (Wieners 2011:1).

The question arises: are these new Legos somehow cheapened by their association with girls? According to one neuroscientist: "If it takes color-coding or ponies and hairdressers to get girls playing with Lego, I'll put up with it, at least for now, because it's just so good for little girls' brains" (Gray 2011:1). Bloomberg Business asserts that today's standard sets of Legos are not for everyone, given that they feature "rows of classic building kits for police helicopters, rockets, and trains soon give way to contemporary releases such as Lego Alien Conquest" (Wieners 2011:1). It is assumed that such subject matter alienates little girls and discourages them from the potential educational experience of Legos.

But why are 'tiaras' and 'chiffon' so denigrated, while the plastic blocks of Legos are so celebrated? Playing dress-up and pretend is not necessarily 'uncreative.' Even feminists view the celebration of girlhood icons like Barbie with suspicion, in contrast to Legos, which gain a certain sense of superiority because of their association with cement and concrete, versus fabric. The devaluation of what is considered feminine seems embedded into the longing of many feminist mothers to inject Legos their daughter's interest in dolls, yet to do so in a way that is still safely part of the pinkness of girlhood toys. Interestingly, before gender stereotypes become ingrained, "girls and boys play equally with Duplo, Lego's bigger bricks for toddlers," but girls interest begins to fall off around the age that they begin to attend school and are socialized into feminine stereotypes (Wieners 2011:2)

Today, women are attending college at higher rates than males and assuming professional positions once thought to be solely relegated to men, such as architects. There is a great deal of cultural anxiety about the increasing power of educated women relative to males. Although males still outnumber women in highly lucrative fields such as engineering and science, which require skills ostensibly reinforced by Legos, the extent to which women can impinge upon male dominance in these spheres is an open question. Parents want their girls to succeed, yet they also want them to be feminine. Legos for girls, in its design, both simultaneously subverts yet confirms such desires.


Gray, Emma. "Legos for girls." The Huffington Post. December 16, 2011.

Available: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/16/legos-for-girls-lego-friends_n_1154227.html [30 July 2012]

Sparke, Penny. As Long… [read more]

Ancient as Egypt Title IX Research Paper

Research Paper  |  8 pages (2,797 words)
Bibliography Sources: 6


32). However, this does suggest that she became ruler only after a male heir was unavailable or proved unsuccessful in the role. Furthermore, simply examining her title suggests that, while Egypt would tolerate and even embrace a female ruler, it was not established for a matriarchal or even a gender-neutral hereditary aristocracy, but, rather, a male-dominated one. For example, Sobekneferu… [read more]

Role of Women in the Family Term Paper

Term Paper  |  2 pages (582 words)
Bibliography Sources: 1


Changing Role of Women in the Family

Role of Women in the Family

In what ways did the role of women in society change during this period?

Two hundred years ago women were not seen as they are today. Married women had little rights back then married women were not allowed to own property, or land, they could not vote or sign any contracts. Women in the 18th century could not speak in public, and their words were always considered to be rumors and could not be taken seriously. The role of women back then was bear and raise children, tend to household chores, and provides care for the family.

In the society as from the graph, it is evident that women were no longer restricted to just bearing and rearing children, the role of women in the society changed, and they were now allowed to work in industries like their men counterparts Education, 2003.

This change in roles made women more aware of themselves and the number of children they conceived started reducing, with each passing decade we can establish that the number of children given birth were reducing. This was also due to the opening of the birth control clinic in 1916 by Margaret Sanger.

Women were now allowed to hold public offices, and they could speak in public for themselves instead of having their husbands speak on their behalf. The first woman in the U.S. To be elected to State House of Representatives was in Denver, CO in the year 1894. This proved that women could also be leaders and they should have the same rights as men. This election paved way for other women to be elected to similar positions. Jeanette Rankin was elected in 1916, and…… [read more]

Sociology Rape Culture &amp Frat Article Review

Article Review  |  4 pages (1,256 words)
Bibliography Sources: 0


The practice of disrespecting women and raping them is a tradition. These guys learned how to behave and what kinds of behavior are both accepted and expected by older brothers, who learned the behaviors and cultural norms from brothers older than them, and so on since the beginning of the fraternal organization. These boys did not suddenly begin to treat women this way; these were learned behaviors.

Furthermore, American culture in general, while one of the more progressive cultures with regard to women's rights, equality, and general feminism, is still a sexist, misogynist & patriarchal culture. Therefore, to reiterate the chicken and the egg question, where did the first frat brothers learn how to treat women? They learned from American culture and American history in general. High risk fraternities operate by the functionalist theory of sociology which argues that each part of society contributes to it, supports it, and reflect it. High risk frat houses are microcosms of greater society. They depend on society and society depends on them, insofar as they perpetuate popular behaviors of American cultures. Hence one of the problems that support high risk frat culture is American male culture.

Another problem is the lack of perspective these young men have regarding their behavior, attitudes, and actions. Though I am not a professional psychologist, I would also gander that part of the problem that causes the problems of high risk frats is psychological. The brothers in high risk frats must feel so bad about themselves that they feel the only way to infuse themselves with adequate self-esteem is to degrade women. I would also guess that a number of them have psychological or emotional issues with the primary women in their lives, likely their mothers. No matter who it is, people who put down others have emotional problems; it is a part of the basic psychology of bullies, and that is what these frat brothers are, they are bullies.

As for my reaction to the article, I found it to be very useful and accurate. I went to one frat party during the first semester of my freshman year and it was at one of these high risk frat parties. I attended the party in a group with guys and girls from my dormitory and from one of the neighboring dormitories. The party experience was virtually the same as the high risk frat parties as described in the article. The whole group left after less than an hour. I did not attend another frat party for a long time. I attended a few frat parties as later on because a couple of my friends are in a band as well as members of the frat and I would attend their gigs to support them. I was very wary of going to their frat based on my past experience as well as the plethora of horror stories floating around about girls and guys at frat parties. What I learned first hand is that my friends' frat is one… [read more]

Women's Right to Vote Essay

Essay  |  2 pages (709 words)
Bibliography Sources: 2


Women's Right To Vote

Women's rights have been one of the most fundamental parts of democratic society in the United States since the suffrage effort in the early 19th century was successful. Many fought and died to ensure this privilege for their descendants, and many did not live to see success. So the female right to vote is considered one of the most important rights that women enjoy today, in addition to the right to enter the professional job market, manage their family choices, and live the lives that best reflect what they consider to be a happy and fulfilling existence. A 2001 statement made by Kansas State Senator Kay O'Connor, however, seems to deny not only the current fundamental rights of women, but also to deny the significance of the effort and sacrifice it took to arrive at this point (Jacobs, 2001).

At the same time, Ms. O'Connor's statement that women should be taken care of by men and should not vote seems to echo many of the recent policy changes positioned by the Republican Party in the country. Most importantly, Mitt Romney and other Republican leadership figures have suggested several health care changes that could significantly impact the rights of women.

Particularly, one such suggestion is the extreme pro-life position that all abortions should be made illegal. This includes legal pregnancy terminations such as those resulting from rape or incest. This significantly impacts upon a woman's right to make choices for her own mental and physical health and, in some cases, for the health of her baby (Gehrke, 2012).

Another recent controversial policy suggestion is to cut funding for planned parenthood, in effect removing the right of women to access birth control. Again, a woman's right to plan her home obligations and to balance these with any sort of professional life is in effect removed. It appears that this is a move towards strengthening the family structure. Weak family structures, it appears are being blamed for most of the social ills currently experienced in the United States.

When these and other anti-women policies come into effect, women will effectively be bound to…… [read more]

Women in the Boardroom Article

Article  |  3 pages (857 words)
Bibliography Sources: 3


Women in the Boardroom

Having women in the Canadian boardroom has been an issue for a long time because the boardroom has been known as a man's place. For example, women are disadvantaged by gender stereo typing and hence will not get an opportunity for career advancement into more senior leadership role. With that, there needs to be a comprise so that women can be treated fairly in the business world. From there, mandating the quota will force the organizations to consider women for senior leadership role which would help them to get to the board room in future. This will create cultural change, which has to occur so that businesses can accommodate diversity. Businesses are in the 21st century. The 21st century is open minded to different aspects of life. If people see that the Board of Directors (BOD) of a company consist of all men, they may take their investments and sales elsewhere because it would appear the BOD is close mined and is not up for change. Along with that, some industries such as cosmetic is targeting women and it make sense to recruited female director that can understand the market better (McMull). Therefore, Canada should implement programs such as mentorship to prepare the working women for servicing as a BOD.

Women tend to be more forward looking because of their role as mothers, they naturally bring perspective of future generations to the table. This is true because women are empathic to people and the society that surrounds them. By being empathic, women gain insight into people's psyche, which can help businesses to appeal to future generations. Plus, women want to build and maintain long lasting relationships, which can be very helpful on the board of directors when coming up with new ideas to appeal to consumers. They would give insight into how to make relationships last with consumers.

"Most women are relationship-oriented... And they don't just build relationships at work or on Facebook, they build relationships with you -- your company, your customer service representatives, even your website (Marketing to Women).

As women can help build long relationships with consumers, gender diversity changes the mentality of the board room. It is less likely to group think if diversify the board members. It is good to think, however groupthink is the tendency of group members to conform to the consensus viewpoint in group decision making. A larger group can create performance anxiety. For larger teams, less personal responsibility possible (diffusion of responsibility) would take place if too much of group think was in the boardroom.…… [read more]

Women's Rights After the Civil War Term Paper

Term Paper  |  4 pages (1,442 words)
Bibliography Sources: 1+


Women's Rights After The Civil War

Given the overlap between the abolitionist and women's rights movements, one might have expected to see a significant change in women's rights at the end of the Civil War, following the end of slavery. After all, the two movements had been so closely intertwined, with advocates in both movements comparing their plights to one… [read more]

Components Case Study

Case Study  |  7 pages (1,745 words)
Bibliography Sources: 4


Once they have become accustomed to this, more women can be brought into the team.

8. What are the possible ramifications of your decision (personal, professional, for the organization?)

The change being slow wouldn't really make situation very difficult for B&M on a professional level but it would definitely give the executives at B&M a sense of satisfaction on both personal and professional level. This is because they would be doing something which is ethically correct and also because they would also introduce the much needed change in these cultures.

9. Why is your decision and ethical decision?

It is ethical because it meets the universal laws of fairness. According to this, any person with ability and desire needs to be considered for a position regardless of their gender. B&M would be doing something very ethical if it gradually allows women to become integral part of its teams abroad.


Korabik, K. (1993). Managerial Women in the People's Republic of China. International Studies of Management & Organization. Volume: 23. Issue: 4. P. 47+.

Summerfield, G. ( 1994). Effects of the Changing Employment Situation on Urban Chinese Women. Review of Social Economy. Volume: 52. Issue: 1. P. 40+.

Crosby, F. Stockdale, M. (2007) Sex discrimination in the workplace: multidisciplinary perspectives. Wiley-Blackwell.… [read more]

Gender Gap Wages Essay

Essay  |  11 pages (3,792 words)
Bibliography Sources: 8


Public Administration

Gender Gap Wages

When economists talk about the gender gap nowadays, they usually are speaking about systematic differences in the outcomes that men and women attain in the labor market. These dissimilarities are seen in the percentages of men and women in the labor force, the kinds of professions they choose, and their relative incomes or hourly wages.… [read more]

Suffrage Susan B. Anthony Essay

Essay  |  3 pages (1,006 words)
Bibliography Sources: 2


Bloomer's writing shows that she understood how women have been systematically oppressed. The inability to vote was just a symptom of that oppression. In any endeavor, women were belittled and treated like children. "It is not a great many years since women sculptors were unknown, because woman's talent was not encouraged," (Bloomer, 1895). Their views on marriage show that these three women sought genuine equality in all spheres of life. For example, Stanton (1898) states that marriage means "mutual help and happiness and for the development of all that is noblest in each other." She advocates the ability for a woman to extricate herself from a marriage that does not accomplish noble goals.

Anthony, Bloomer, and Stanton understood the power of linking their cause with that of abolitionism, too. Their belief system was simple: the American constitution guarantees liberty and justice for all people. The constitution bars the creation of elite classes or groups of people. Using the constitution as a foundation for their argument, Stanton, Anthony, and Bloomer show that it is not possible to simultaneously believe in the validity of the Constitution and also believe that women and people of color are exempt from rule of law.

There are no holes in the logic or nature of evidence in any of the suffragist writings. Although at times the writing seems anachronistic because of the historical context, in general all are making an important point about achieving a more perfect union. Anthony, Bloomer, and Stanton all assume that women do want to procreate and have families, which is not true today. They each want women to enjoy the rights of citizenship even when they do choose to engage the traditional roles of wife and mother. Being a wife and mother does not negate political rights. Similarly, men have a responsibility to their families. The reason why women like many suffragist activists also championed the failed temperance movement was that they believed that alcoholism was preventing men from taking responsibility for their families and making women do all the domestic work and child rearing.

The arguments made by Anthony, Bloomer, and Stanton would be used decades later by Martin Luther King. The fight for civil rights was only beginning when Anthony, Bloomer, and Stanton pointed out the need for gender parity. Martin Luther King and other African-Americans fought against institutionalized racism. The battle for civil rights continues now in the realm of sexual preference. Suffragist writing should be revisited as inspiration for the continued fight for social justice.


Anthony, S. (1872). On women's right to vote. Retrieved online: http://womenshistory.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=womenshistory&cdn=education&tm=443&f=00&tt=14&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.historyplace.com/speeches/anthony.htm

Bloomer, A. (1895). Women's right to the ballot. Retrieved online: http://www.apstudent.com/ushistory/docs1851/suffrge1.htm

Stanton, E.C. (1898). Eighty Years And More: Reminiscences 1815-1897. New York: T. Fisher Unwin, 1898. Retrieved online: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/stanton/years/years.html#XV… [read more]

Women Who Kill Their Abusive Essay

Essay  |  2 pages (741 words)
Bibliography Sources: 1+


For example, women can leave abusive husbands instead of waiting until the situation leads to manslaughter. They can also report the cases of abuse to police or other responsible agencies. It should also be asked whether manslaughter is the legitimate response to abuse in a given situation. Most importantly, not punishing women who kill their spouses for being abusive may set a bad precedent where the legal limbo may be exploited by abusive wives who kill their husbands for the purpose of money, property, or other illegitimate reasons. Wives, just like any other human beings, must be held accountable for their actions, especially when they murder someone.

Although both sides have legitimate arguments, women should still be allowed to defend themselves in court. It is clear that in many cases they have no other option than to use lethal force. The key point one should keep in mind is that allowing women to defend killing of abusive husbands as acts of self-defense does not necessarily mean they will be acquitted in all cases. The argument of this paper is that battered women must have the right to defend themselves because their justifications for murder might be legitimate. It is then up to the judges and the jury to decide whether such women's arguments are justifiable. Punishing them without giving a platform to defend themselves is to reverse the principle of the presumption "innocent, until proven guilty."

Family violence unfortunately is a disturbing phenomenon. Men and women sometimes use lethal force against members of their family. Men who kill their wives are condemned in most cases, but the situation with women who kill their husbands is a bit more complicated because of a crucial difference. While most husband murderers are abusers themselves, most women who murder their husbands are victims of abuse. Therefore, these women should have the right to protect themselves in the court, arguing that they killed their spouses in self-defense.


Ewing, C. (1990). Psychological self-defense: A proposed justification for battered women who kill. Law And Human Behavior, 14(6), 579-594. doi:10.1007/BF01044883

Noh, M.S., Lee, M.T., & Feltey, K.M. (2010). Mad, Bad, or Reasonable? Newspaper Portrayals of the Battered Woman Who Kills. Gender Issues, 27(3/4), 110-130. doi:10.1007/s12147-010-9093-9… [read more]

Ways That Women Are Objectified by the Media Essay

Essay  |  2 pages (591 words)
Bibliography Sources: 1+


¶ … Women Are Objectified by the Media

Not to Play With

For most people, it is fairly common knowledge that women are objectified within the mass media that is largely responsible for pushing a variety of images for public consumption. Two sources in particular, however, highlight this phenomenon with fairly astute observances about what is now a fairly routine practice. Jean Kilbourne's article, "Two Ways a Woman Gets Hurt," and filmmaker Darryl Roberts' documentary, America the Beautiful, both offer analytical perspectives about the different ways that women are objectified within the media. Nearly all of these ways involve sexual exploitation, which has myriad negative ramifications for both older women as well as for young, impressionable girls.

Kilbourne's article discusses how marketing and advertising campaigns, whether in print, on television, or even on the internet, utilize sexuality for both genders to sell products. However, the ways in which women's sexuality is used is decidedly more exploitive than that for men, for the simple fact that women are objectified within most advertising campaigns. What objectified actually means is that a woman's true sense of self (or identity) is either downplayed or non-existent, so that she becomes merely another object like a table or a chair. When a women is objectified for sexual exploitation, however, her very being is simply viewed as the sum of her parts which, in most advertising campaigns, means she is simply an alluring smile, or a nice body, or a form of sexy clothes that accentuates her body, promiscuity, and whatever product she is being used to sell. The following quote from Kilbourne makes this point abundantly clear. "Sex in advertising is pornographic because it dehumanizes and objectifies people, especially women, and because it fetishizes products" (Kilbourne). Women are routinely objectified as…… [read more]

Rosie the Riveter Women Working During World War II Related to Paterson New Jersey Research Paper

Research Paper  |  10 pages (3,439 words)
Bibliography Sources: 10


Rosie the Riveter

"Over 6 million women who had never worked for wages before took jobs, married women's labor force participation doubled, and unions gained 2.2 million women in a matter of 4 years. Not all of this was achieved without resistance, however. At the outset, most male managers were reluctant to employ women in all aspects of the defense… [read more]

Hemingway and Women Is Ernest Term Paper

Term Paper  |  4 pages (1,257 words)
Bibliography Sources: 0


" In other words Margaret and Macomber are on an equal playing field. They are in a mutually beneficial relationship. The scale of power is evenly split. And they are using one another, she's using him for his money; he's using her for her looks. It should be noted that this is an indictment on the vanity of not just Margaret, but Macomber too. If this were a truly misogynistic story (or one-sided story), one could argue that Margaret would be exclusively referred to as a 'gold-digger,' for lack of a better term, and Macomber her innocent victim.

It's clear to the reader that Macomber has his faults too. Not only is he portrayed as a coward, but he is also portrayed as being too forgiving, the narrator says, "Also, he had always had a great tolerance which seemed the nicest thing about him if it were not the most sinister." There are a few points that should be made about this. First, it's interesting that Macomber is given a stereotypical feminine quality, "great tolerance" (he's the character who is most frightened, Wilson calls him a 'ladybug,' Margaret calls him a 'coward'). But it's not tolerance as in, say, racial tolerance; it is tolerance as in not having a backbone. Being absent a backbone Wilson is sinister man, someone who is willing to take the easy way out or put others in harms way to save his own hide (as the reader noticed with his plea to leave during the lion hunt before it had been killed).

The second point, which is a continuation of the first but framed in the larger context of the entire story, is that Hemingway, has created a husband who acts like a wife and a wife that acts like a husband. He has inverted the traditional paradigm. The wife, Margaret, is a strong-willed, governing, cruel philanderer and the husband, Macomber, is a spineless, fearful, and, at times, helpless coward. The overall point is that there's an equal distribution of flaws amongst Macomber and Margaret. And the flaws do not seem to be divvied out along sexist lines (if anything it's the opposite). So, taking this information into consideration, the reader must ask himself, herself, is the narrator saying that sometimes men have personalities that reflect the negative stereotypes of women and vice versa? If so, what does this mean? For men, is misogyny just another form of self-hatred?

These questions are compelling and they push the reader to a far deeper understanding of male-female relationships. That is, and rather plainly put, men are like women and women are like men. In a sense, we're all the same. Therefore, to say that Hemingway hates women, one would have to say he hates men too. The proof for this theory lies in the last scene when Margaret shoots Macomber and Wilson admonishes her, he says, "That was a pretty thing to do… He would have left you too." That is to say, they were both gunning… [read more]

Women's Roles in Early America Term Paper

Term Paper  |  6 pages (2,118 words)
Bibliography Sources: 1+



In other words, if the husband died, the women took over in South Carolina in this era, and that was unique in the colonies, Cody relates. There were "high rates of mortality" so the high-up leaders of the planter "elite" understood that and prepared to empower women to "shore up their own position within the social structure" (Cody, p. 1). And so Carolina women held ownership to property through a number of legal devices; and they did not accrue property and manage it just to benefit themselves, Cody continues. They did it for their families, albeit female property ownership by some women (and daughters) who were wealthy, and others, had been handed down the property with the specific directives to administer.

Moreover, some marriage settlements granted separate estates to women, only because they had been empowered to understand the legal ramifications, and they took advantage of that knowledge. In the book by Anzilotti, she reviewed the lives of six hundred "Lowcountry women who owned or managed property during the colonial period"; Anzilotti apparently gleaned the names and data on these women through "published records and secondary sources" (Cody, p. 1).

While Lydia Taft was apparently the first female to vote in the colonies, becoming a pathfinder for women in early America, Abigail Adams actually assumed the role of one of the first female lobbyists as she argued for suffrage. Adams, the wife of John Adams, wrote to him (her letter is a well-known part of early American Literature) and asked that not all power in the Declaration of Independence be placed in the hands "..of the husbands" (www.thelizlibrary.org). "All men would be tyrants if they could, if particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies," Abigail wrote.

Women will "…not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation," Abigail insisted to her husband, who was in the middle of the authorship of the Declaration of Independence. Men who have "sense in all ages abhor those customs which treat us only as the (servants) of your sex; regard us then as being placed by Providence under your protection, and in imitation of the Supreme Being make use of that power only for our happiness," Abigail concluded (www.thelizlibrary.org).

In conclusion, women also played a role in the American Revolution, which is not very well-known. On April 26, 1777, Sybil Ludington who was 16 jumped on her horse and rode through towns in Connecticut and New York state warning citizens that the redcoats were coming. Her ride was "twice the distance of Paul Revere's" ride (www.thelizlibrary.org). The roles of women, this paper illustrates, cannot be stereotyped because not all women were beholden to males in a stuffy household full of kids and dirty laundry. Women were in charge of important household matters, of gardens, and sometimes they were landowners and advocates for better schools and roads.

Works Cited

Breneman, Judy Anne. (2002). The Not So Good Lives of New England's Goodwives. Retrieved February 23,… [read more]

English Literature Women's Issues Essay

Essay  |  2 pages (722 words)
Bibliography Sources: 0


In the end the whole concept of gender equality should be put aside and people should be judged on whom they are -- just people. Whether a person is male or female should have no bearing on anything. When it comes to jobs and occupations people should be allowed to pursue what ever they feel like they can accomplish. Now if a person gets into something and can't handle it then they should be put out but the rest of the world should not be judged for their failures.

If women want to fight on the front lines then they should be allowed. And if men want to be stay at home dad's then no one should chastise them for that. Everyone on this earth has been given a unique set of qualities that can not be duplicated by another and each should be able to contribute to their full potential. Some people are good at certain things while others are not. Everybody, regardless of their gender should be allowed to follow their calling and give their all in a society that expects everyone for who they are.

The reason that gender inequality still exists today is that the notion that men are better or more superior to women has been around for years. And like many other things in the world because that is what society has always believed people are going to continue to believe it. This should stop. People need to reassess they way that people are viewed and instead of seeing men or women they need to see people who all have the potential to be extraordinary if only given a chance. The chance to succeed is what society needs to focus on instead of the concept of making everyone equal. No one is equal to anybody else, but we are all different from everyone else. People should be allowed to flourish in their own right while do the best that they can.… [read more]

Stoke Advocates in Woman Research Paper

Research Paper  |  2 pages (675 words)
Bibliography Sources: 1+


Stroke Advocacy for Women

Strokes are a major cause of death and serious injury among women, but awareness of the problem is a significant problem. For example, while stroke kills twice as many women as breast cancer every year, women believe breast cancer to be a much more serious health problem (National Stroke Association, 2012). In fact, stroke is one of the most serious health problems impacting women; 425,000 women suffer from stroke each year, 55,000 more than men (National Stroke Association, 2012). Moreover, African-American women suffer a significantly higher number of strokes than Caucasian women and stroke is a leading cause of death among Hispanic women (National Stroke Association, 2012).

Despite stroke being such a serious health issue for women, women are alarmingly unaware of important information about strokes. Only 27% of women are even able to name more than two of the six primary stroke symptoms (National Stroke Association, 2012). The primary signs of stroke are sudden: numbness or weakness in face or limbs, trouble seeing, trouble walking/loss of balance, confusion, or severe headache (U.S.D.H.H.S., 2009). The unique signs of stroke in women include sudden: face, arm, or leg pain, hiccups, nausea, tiredness, chest pain, shortness of breath, or racing heartbeat (U.S.D.H.H.S., 2009). Seventy percent of women are unaware that women are at a greater risk of stroke than men (National Stroke Association, 2012). African-American women and Hispanic women are even less likely than Caucasian women to correctly identify the causes and symptoms of stroke, despite the high risk in both communities (National Stroke Association, 2012).

Stroke advocacy is critical because strokes are largely preventable, and early intervention during a stroke can make a critical difference in outcome for the patient. However, it is clear that American women simply do not have the knowledge that they need to have about strokes. This problem is magnified in the African-American and other minority communities. One of the problems is that women, in general, frequently fail to obtain adequate healthcare for themselves. This problem is magnified among people…… [read more]

Satyricon Women Essay

Essay  |  3 pages (871 words)
Bibliography Sources: 1


Unconscionably young by modern standards and even raising objections in the text, Pannychis "married" to Giton in a public spectacle, and her first experience with sexual activity is only slightly less private, with Quartilla and Encolpius watching through the keyhole. The girl does not offer much resistance in this scene, but when the soldiers take notice of her shortly thereafter, and the plight of women generally in the authority of Rome is clearly exemplified in her reaction. When taken up by a solider, "All Pannychis could do was to throw a veil over her face and resign herself to endure whatever fate might bring her" (xxvi). Like other women, even though she actually enjoys the fulfillment of her own desires to some degree, her enjoyment by no means limits the amount of such activity that she is subjected to -- men with physical strength determine this.

Both Quartilla and her girl Pannychis show certain character details about Encolpius, with his sensitivity and better sentiments showing in his attitude toward the girl especially, and with his weakness exemplified both in his subjugation by Quartilla and his lack of an attempt to help Pannychis despite his attitude. His weakness is again exemplified in a later meeting with Circe. When Encolpius is consistently unable to perform, Circe demonstrates both the extent of her desires and the degree to which women are often frustrated in these desires by men themselves. While of course men might be denied the specific objects of their sexual pursuit, it is generally not very difficult for them to find some willing receptacle for their attentions. Women, on the other hand, must bear both the brunt of men's affections when they choose, and face not only frustration but also the blame for such acts. When Encolpius fails to rise to the occasion, Circe exclaims, "What now? do my kisses revolt you? is my breath offensive with fasting? are my armpits uncleanly and smelling?" (cxxviii). In other words, both the unwanted attention and the unfilled wants for attention end up being insulting and degrading to women in the Roman perspective.

Women in Satyricon are both sexually empowered and subject to the whims and desires of the men around them. Throughout the story, their interactions with the male characters help to illustrate this fact of Roman society while also making certain character and plot elements come more to light. It is their juxtaposition and complexity that allows them to inform the story so fully.… [read more]

Relationship Between Men and Woman After Agricultural Revolution Research Paper

Research Paper  |  4 pages (1,344 words)
Style: Chicago  |  Bibliography Sources: 1


¶ … men and women change after the Agricultural Revolution?

Over the course of time the roles of men and women have changed. Modern feminists may believe that they are responsible for the improved status of women in modern society but they may be surprised to learn that in many ways their efforts have served to return women to the role that they once enjoyed.

Through the information discovered from archeological digs, all of human history can be divided into three broad, and overlapping, periods

The first period is characterized by the hunting and gathering behavior of the individuals who lived during this period. Humans during this period were nomadic and depended on vegetation and wild animals for their sustenance. This period was followed by humans ceasing to be nomadic as they began to grow their own food and tame wild animals. This transition began what became to be known as the agricultural period. Finally, humans began to organize themselves into cities as farming methods improved and the food supply increased to the point that not everyone had to farm in order to eat.

Many experts in the fields of archeology and anthropology argue that women were likely the discoverers of agriculture

. During the hunting and gathering period, women were assigned the responsibility of gathering the vegetation that was used for food while the men spent their time hunting. This familiarity with the vegetation allowed women to know which plants were edible, which grew most easily, and which foods were grown most efficiently.

Women's connection with farming and nature is theorized to be the source of the proliferation of goddesses associated with life and nature

. Women gods were believed by ancient cultures to be responsible for fertility, for the power to heal, for the power to bring life, and the power of life over death. The fact that these cultures determined to honor women in such manner evidences that the role of women was appreciated much more greatly than in either the hunting and gatherer period that proceeded the agricultural period or the urban period that followed it.

The dawning of the urban period brought with it a profound change in the role of women in society. From enjoying near equality in the hunter and gatherer period to being revered in the agricultural period, the urban period saw the role of women in society become gradually subordinated to men. The reasons for this change are arguable but the most frequently cited theory is that it was the result of urbanization. With urbanization individuals began to own private property. Property ownership such as the resources necessary for producing goods, animals, and tools allowed certain men to control the labor of others

. This form of exploitation of other's labor made some men richer than others and these rich men wished to pass their property onto their sons. In order to eliminate the possibility of wives interfering in the process, women began to be placed in a lesser position while… [read more]

Howard Stern the Female Perception Research Paper

Research Paper  |  5 pages (1,561 words)
Bibliography Sources: 1+


All of the sudden, while he's training her he starts smacking her on the ass. This guy is training a woman, a black woman. . . You know when a man walks by a woman and makes a sound like she's a fine horse? He's smacking her on the ass like she's his personal property, like back in the slave days. I was astounded they were showing this on TV." (Flutter, p. 1)

Here, Stern articulated a perspective that some in his audience feel more accurately characterizes him than much of the more academic deconstruction of his role in the objectification of women. As a result, we can see that the way in which female perceptions on Howard Stern divide may have less to do with the way that women perceive themselves than the way that they interpret Stern's behavior. In either event, it is certain that no consensus on the subject will ever be reached. It is not Stern's occupation to take an active role in the way that men and women perceive one another. Quite to the contrary, it is Stern's job to invoke active public discussion on how we feel about these subjects. And if this can be said to help pave a pathway for improvement in the social and cultural status of women, then it can be said that Stern's effect has been inherently positive for women regardless of his intent.

Works Cited:

Attwood, F. (2009). Researching Media Sexualization. Sex Roles, 61(3-4), 288-289.

Flutter, B. (2010). Howard Stern, Feminist? Mamapop.com.

Jurisic, P.…… [read more]

Men and Women Essay

Essay  |  2 pages (628 words)
Bibliography Sources: 1+


Increasing or high levels of testosterone can produce an emotional insensitivity, empathic block and increased indifference to the distress others (Conner, 2006).

At the heart of understanding is the capacity to form, appreciate and maintain relationships that are rewarding. However, even here there are important differences. For men, what demonstrates a solid relationship is quite different from that of most women. Men feel closer and validated through shared activities such as sports, competition, being outdoors or sexual activities that are decidedly active and physical. While both men and women can appreciate and engage in these activities they often have preferential differences. Women feel closer and validated through communication, dialogue and intimate sharing of experience, emotional content and personal perspectives. Many men tend to find such sharing and involvement uncomfortable, or even overwhelming.


In order to improve the relationship between men and women it is important to learn to accept their differences and avoid taking these differences as personal attempts to frustrate each other. It is important to compromise whenever possible. The idea that one gender can think and feel like the other if they truly loved each is absurd. A man or women may act in consideration of the other's needs; however this would not necessarily be rewarding or honest. It is important to be ourselves, to be accepted, and not to be the source of distress and disappointment in the lives of people we love.


Conner, M.G. (2006). Understanding the differences between men and woman. Oregoncounciling.org. Retrieved December 5, 2011 from http://www.oregoncounseling.org/ArticlesPapers/Documents/DifferencesMenWomen.htm

Weigel, D.J., Brown, C., & O'Riordan, C.K. (2011, January -- June). Everyday expressions of commitment and relational uncertainty as predictors of relationship quality and stability over time. Communication reports, 24.1, 38-50. Retrieved December 5, 2011 from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08934215.2010.511400… [read more]

Caryl Churchill's Play Top Girls Essay

Essay  |  2 pages (590 words)
Bibliography Sources: 0


The character of Joyce is a perfect example of why the patriarchal framework is invalid from a feminist standpoint. Joyce is an exaggerated version of domestic slavery, which has plagued women and which true feminists fight against. Thus, Chruchill is able to explore the concept of undervalued female labor. Marlene's inability to care for her children represents the opposite, and unattractive, extreme of a person who has sacrificed her human values for personal gain.

Therefore, another theme of Top Girls is social solidarity, especially in relation to female solidarity or sisterhood. Churchill suggests that the achievement of personal goals such as career goals often comes at the expense of collective awareness and altruism. The more effective feminism is one that uplifts others and empowers others, and not just the self. Women's resistance must always be framed within a political, and not just personal context.

Top Girls is about females who have reached the top of a patriarchal social ladder. Like stereotypical patriarchal males, the females depicted in Top Girls have sacrificed or ignored emotional intimacy and family. They have trodden on the rights of others in order to gain political, financial, and social power. In this light, Churchill asks the audience and reader to examine the role and function of feminism in the post-modern world. Playing the man's game, as Pope Joan, Marlene, and the top girls in the play's career agency have done is an ineffective and meaningless means of which to enact radical social transformation. True feminism, which is second wave feminism, recognizes the interplay of race, class, gender, and social power. Top Girls presents sisterhood as a pathway of social transformation.… [read more]

Women in World War II Research Paper

Research Paper  |  5 pages (2,186 words)
Bibliography Sources: 5


[10: "Women in World War Two." History Learning Site. 2011. Web. Dec. 2011. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/women_WW2.htm] [11: Campbell, D'ann. "Women in Combat: The World War Two Experience in the United States, Great Britain, Germany, and the Soviet Union." Journal of Military History. 57. 1993. 303. Print.]

The Royal Air Force employed women in a department called the Women's Auxiliary Force (WAAF). Like is the ATS women were primarily tasked with domestic chores. The only time that women were allowed to fly planes was in transporting the vehicles from the factories to a military base. It was reported that the women flyers had fewer crashes than the male pilots. Yet women were not allowed to train as pilots in order to fly missions. Many of these women who were allowed to fly these minimal missions did not survive because they were not allowed navigation equipment or radios. Rather they were cooks and maids. Some of them were allowed to participate in radar technology and transmission. One woman pilot stated that she came to love flying and was despondent when she had to give up the occupation following the war. Her husband told her to quit because "You're bound to crash next time and then I'll have to look after the children." This is an ideal example of the woman's role at the time. Even though she loves flying, she must give it up because of her husband. It is her position, her lot in life to take care of the children and abandoning that role in order to fulfill her own ambitions is considered unnatural. [12: "WW2: The Role of Women in the Second World War." The Telegraph. 2009. Print. ] [13: "WW2: The Role of Women in the Second World War." The Telegraph. 2009. Print. ]

As the war was coming to a close, more and more women were needed to join the military. Recruits were being diminished because of death, injury, or capture. When this happened some women were called upon to face direct combat with the enemy. This led to women who were no longer able to conform to their clean and domestic positions within the home after the war ended. According to D'ann Campbell:

Putting these women soldiers into combat constituted a radical inversion of the traditional roles of women as the passive sweetheart/wife/sex object whose ultimate mission was to wait for their virile men folk to return from their masculine mission of fighting and dying for "apple pie and motherhood" (that is, for traditional social values). [14: Campbell, D'ann. "Women in Combat: The World War Two Experience in the United States, Great Britain, Germany, and the Soviet Union." Journal of Military History. 57. 1993. 301. Print.Works Cited:Campbell, D'ann. "Women in Combat: The World War Two Experience in the United States, Great Britain, Germany, and the Soviet Union." Journal of Military History. 57. 1993. 301-323. Print.Hastings, Max. "Women Were Brutalized by World War II but for Millions it Meant Social and Sexual Freedom beyond Their Wildest Dreams." The Daily… [read more]

Women Camp Followers of the American Revolution Term Paper

Term Paper  |  12 pages (3,898 words)
Bibliography Sources: 12


Women Camp Followers of the American Revolution

Women have played a crucial role in history and in its most important developments along time. The status of women in America however has been one of the most controversial issues in building the American democracy. This is largely due to the fact that women, in the 18th and 19th century did not… [read more]

Literary Modernism Essay

Essay  |  6 pages (1,877 words)
Bibliography Sources: 1



Lawrence's novel Women in Love encapsulates the social, political, economic climate of the fin du siecle: especially the phenomena of burgeoning middle class and bourgeoisie. It is within this particular social framework that it becomes possible for women to assert themselves and help transform gender norms in Western society. Underprivileged women, on the other hand, do not have the… [read more]

Woman Maxine Hong Kingston Research Paper

Research Paper  |  6 pages (2,076 words)
Bibliography Sources: 5


Firstly, telling the aunt's story is a direct challenge to her mother and the entire social structure which demands that the aunt be simultaneously forgotten and despised, because the narrator finally refuses to remain complicit in the subjugation of women through silence. However, this refusal does not just confront the dominant power structure, but artfully reveals the means by which it asserts that power, so that the narrator's resistance becomes all the more effective. By recognizing women's complicity in the subjugation of female expression, the narrator reveals one of the most effective means by which the leaders of a patriarchal society reinforce their power and dominance. Thus, the story of the aunt becomes a kind of implicit critical theory which serves to define the hidden avenues of patriarchal control, which is ultimately the first step towards disrupting and destroying those avenues.

Physical resistance is relatively easy compared to the critical dismantling of the hidden structures of power, and indeed, the aunt's suicide may be seen as an example of physical resistance, as "she was a spite suicide, drowning herself in the drinking water" and thus depriving her family and the villagers of the same kind of physical sustenance denied her through the raid. However, this physical resistance may only go so far, because it does nothing to actually dismantle the power structure it is oriented against, such that the aunt's resistance is easily forgotten and her memory discarded. In fact, one may view the aunt's suicide and its relative ineffectiveness in motivating change as a perfect example of the need to critically evaluate given standards of behavior and thought, because only then can physical resistance be directed towards the most crucial targets. This is why the narrator repeatedly makes mention of the traditional means of honoring the dead and compares them to her own physical act of writing; the narrator's physical resistance to the dominant power structure in the act of writing is far more effective in challenging that power structure than the aunt's suicide, because it is informed by a critical perspective on that power structure born out of the narrator's need to understand her own identity as the American child of Chinese immigrants.

In "No Name Woman," Maxine Hong Kingston uses the story of her nameless aunt in order to confront the means by which women's voices are silenced, and specifically the way in which women often work to silence other women through the uncritical reinforcement of traditional standards of behavior and thought. Recognizing her own complicity in this repression of women through her silence regarding her nameless aunt, the narrator seeks to identify and confront this repression by breaking her silence, finally giving some small portion of expression to a woman who was condemned for having her own desires and thoughts while simultaneously confronting the very means by which that condemnation was conducted and sustained even after her death.

Works Cited

Kingston, Maxine Hong. The Woman Warrior. Vintage International Ed. New York: Random

House, 1976.

Manchin, Linda.… [read more]

Women and Commodities Essay

Essay  |  4 pages (1,498 words)
Bibliography Sources: 1


The narrator suggests that Strephon could be happy if only he could "learn to think like me, / and bless his ravishst Sight to see / such order from confusion sprung, / Such gaudy Tulips rais'd from Dung" (Swift 141-144). The narrator is advocating a kind of willful ignorance regarding the role of women in society by suggesting that one… [read more]

Women's History in 17th Century A-Level Coursework

A-Level Coursework  |  5 pages (1,529 words)
Bibliography Sources: 4


American Women's History

There were many differences between Native American Culture and British culture, especially in the gender roles assigned to women. For instance, Native American women of the Powhatan tribe controlled agricultural production. Providing food for the family was considered by the British to be a man's job, therefore, European women were not responsible for agricultural production. Another difference… [read more]

Elderly Women Diagnosed With Nonspecific Research Paper

Research Paper  |  6 pages (1,531 words)
Bibliography Sources: 1


Several of the researchers are most likely students, but there is one listed as the primary of the study who seems to have the credentials necessary to give the study the proper amount of credibility.

Summary Assessment: This study does offer some interesting findings that should add to the knowledge that nurses possess. When a person comes into the hospital with a nonspecific chest pain, it can be anything from simple indigestion or muscle pull, to a full blown myocardial infarction. When it is found that the pain is not dangerous from a cardiovascular standpoint, it may still be a harbinger of some problem to come. The study tried to clarify the risk which was associated with a nonspecific chest pain, and the authors used variables and methods which could reasonably said to answer that question. It can also be said that this research does add to the general clinical knowledge that both nurses and doctors desire when they are examining the complaints of a patient.


Robinson, J.G., Wallace, R., Limacher, M., Sato, A., Cochrane, B., Wassertheil- Smoller, S., Ockene, J.K., Blanchette, P.L., & Ko, P.G. (2006). Elderly women diagnosed with nonspecific chest pain may be at increased cardiovascular risk. Journal of Women's Health (Larchmont),…… [read more]

Women Colonists Pre- Women's Roles Essay

Essay  |  5 pages (1,454 words)
Bibliography Sources: 1+


Anti-tea leagues began to form, to support the non-taxation of tea. Women's organizations also sprang up to help support war efforts, and provide clothing to patriots during the war. Women also wrote stories in local newspapers about the war, and helped play other important roles during the war. One loyalist organization even helped to raise money to buy and outfit… [read more]

Women in Global Business Female Expatriation Article Critique

Article Critique  |  3 pages (920 words)
Bibliography Sources: 3


Women in Global Business-Female Expatriation

A number of eminent, and quite interesting, assertions are both made and proven in "Women in Global Business -- Female Expatriation," which was co-authored by Mari Kooskora and Elena Bekker. It is fairly common knowledge that there is a widely perceived "glass ceiling" that prevents women from achieving upper management positions in numbers as bountiful as that of men. Yet the disparity between men and women in these positions increases nearly exponentially when one considers the numbers of these professionals in international positions, specifically those that require expatriation assignments -- which are typically the most prestigious and require the most accomplished of mangers to fill (Adler, 1984). This article explores stereotypes surrounding the dearth of women in such positions, in an attempt to uncover the true reasons for such lack of female professionals in upper management expatriate positions. To that end, it utilizes a qualitative study of both junior and senior managers who have been employed by international companies within the hotel industry.

One of the most enlightening facets of this paper is the difference in style of management and ways of performing business practices that women inherently bring to organizations. Not only does the employment of such professionals in these top-tiered positions increase amounts of diversity and the effectiveness which such diversity produces, it also provides alternate methods of motivating workers and utilizing means of production that were not previously existent. This notion contrasts starkly with the typical leadership associated with males, as the following quotation readily indicates. "The ideal leader was seen as an independent, tough, individualistic hero. But now a new generation of women is bringing to business a style often described as more consensus-building, more open and inclusive, more likely to encourage participation by others and even more caring than that of many males (p. 71)."

Interestingly enough, in several situations, these same attributes have been perceived as reasons for the lack of women in international expatriate positions. An inclusive, encompassing caring style of leadership may be ideal for a corporation, but when it is mingled with domestic concerns of an equal or even greater degree of emphasis, such character traits may play a role in the scarcity of female managers in such international roles. Women frequently have to choose between their careers and their family at some stage in their lives, and as the following quotation from one of the participants in the qualitative study performed (a marketing and sales director of the Corinthia Nevskij Palace Hotel in St. Petersburg, Russia) indicates, such a choice may be a significant contributing factor. "Respondent 2 believed… also, a lot depends on family situations and most of the women she knew were happy to stay in less in a less challenging position so…… [read more]

Laboring Women Reaction Paper

Reaction Paper  |  3 pages (912 words)
Bibliography Sources: 0


Laboring Women

Jennifer L. Morgan's book Laboring Women: Reproduction and Gender in New World Slavery discusses what happened when black women were brought to the New World, leaving their homes in Africa and being forced into slavery. Not only were the women judged by just how hard they could work, but their self-worth also depended upon if they could have children or not. The word "labor" then signifies both the labor the women could do in terms of work and labor in terms of giving birth. The two labors become tangled together.

Morgan's book is an eye-opener because not only does it reaffirm just how early America needed and exploited black women, but she goes a step further and wants history to affirm that slavery not only exploited these women but it also was the fact that these women were used for reproduction that changes the whole idea about what slavery actually was for these women and how it perpetuated slavery in America. It is appalling to think about how these women were being exploited and enslaved because of the color of their skin, yet they were also being exploited and made slaves of their own bodies by having to give birth to white men's babies (the babies of which then became the property of the white men) and thus the children would go on to become slaves, adding to the number of enslaved individuals in America. What Morgan does, perhaps more than anything in this book, is try to convince the reader that female slaves had a much different type of slave experience than male slaves did -- and she does succeed at doing this. While Morgan is able to show the disparities between female and male slaves' experiences in early modern America and she contends that her work is completely original, it is better said that Morgan furthers the idea about this topic because even for people who are non-scholars concerning slavery, it is not new or even original to believe that the male and female slave experience was different. Women have long been exploited with their bodies through human history. They have been used to give children to more powerful men throughout time. This is not to take away from the black female slave experience in early America because it is undeniable that they were exploited in a way that male slaves were not and this has shaped the legacy of the black female experience in America. What Morgan does do is show how actual physical labor (production) and reproduction both had a major hand in creating what America became.

This book is difficult to read because of the sheer awfulness of what black female slaves had to endure; however, Morgan handles the…… [read more]

Women's Roles During the Civil War Research Paper

Research Paper  |  3 pages (1,112 words)
Bibliography Sources: 3


Women's Roles During The Civil War

There are myriad accounts in the literature as to how the women's traditional roles were impacted during the United States Civil War, and how women responded to the violence, uncertainty, and absence of their spouses. In this paper some of those accounts will be presented.

The Literature on Women and the Civil War

Henry Walker writes that prior to the conflict women's roles were already undergoing serious change, and the war "offered and women embraced even greater opportunities for change" (Walker, 2000, p. 175). Of course many of the men in the South went off to war, leaving the women behind. Walker references other scholarship in asserting that "due to a lack of male companionship, a generation of Southern women was obliged to become self-sustaining economically (175). It was also true that the "internal dynamics of many Southern marriages" were altered in profound ways and moreover, women as a rule gained "greater autonomy during the war" and legislation that was passed after the war bears that out, Walker continues on page 176.

Many Southern women were "disillusioned with men" (who went off to war) for their "failure to protect hearth and home," Walker explains (176). Calling it a "grave weakness" on the part of men, Walker asserts that there is a widely held perception that because the men abandoned their homes and families, Southern women began "asserting their own self-interest" (176). One classic example of how a woman's role was changed by the war can be pointed out through the Clayton family of Alabama. This is a family that had been a "wealthy planter family" for generations; they had 42 slaves and a huge cotton plantation, Walker writes (177). And Henry Clayton was very active in the effort to "increase the number of proslavery voters in Kansas," so he led an expedition -- leading more than a hundred "southern emigrants" into Kansas so it would become a slave state. Did Victoria Clayton stay at home in Alabama while her husband was out promoting slavery in Kansas? No. Certainly not all Southern women stayed home and tended children and crops. She went with her husband, and had to sleep "on the ground, eat from tin trays, bathe when she could, and do without her usual comforts" (Walker, 179). To compound the tough life she was living on the road, she was three months pregnant. She was armed with a pistol to protect the women and children along on the expedition.

Later, when Henry went into battle for the South, Victoria's efforts for the Confederate army were valiant, as she produced (on the Alabama plantation, with help from her slaves and local women she hired) "a bounty of shirts, pants, and socks for the army" (Walker, 185). The role she played showed remarkable resilience; she raised her family, raised sweet potatoes (they served as an adequate coffee substitute when the Union army blockaded many staples like coffee), and used fruit from their orchard to make wine… [read more]

Role of Women in Oedipus Essay

Essay  |  3 pages (858 words)
Bibliography Sources: 1+


Her behavior is even more laudable as a consequence of the numerous suitors stressing her. Jocasta only needs one man in order to forget about Laius.

Penelope's husband, Odysseus, is one of the most praised Greek heroes, while Laius is renowned for his shameful behavior and because of his unethical temperament. Along with Penelope, Athena, Calypso, and Helen of Troy all demonstrate that they are above Sophocles' image of women. Their courage and their character in general promote the belief that women were indeed capable of much more than one might have been inclined to think. Homer's position is most certainly surprising, considering that "The Odyssey" was written several centuries before "Oedipus the King." Women in "The Odyssey" are not submissive characters that are only meant to contribute to the play's general context, as they are actually some of the principal characters in the text. Penelope is one of the principal reasons for which Odysseus is determined to return home, Helen of Troy is responsible for the Trojan War (and for the fact that Odysseus left his home), Calypso is capable to hold Odysseus captive for as long as she wants, and Athena is the motive for which Greek gods fail from preventing Odysseus in his journey back home.

Women in "The Odyssey" overcome their traditional role as supporters influencing men to have success in their activities. They take on the role of protective individuals who are willing to do anything in order to act in accordance with their purpose. Even when they are no longer reinforced by the male characters in their lives, they are capable to survive through difficult situations and eventually bring an important contribution to the play's ending.

Penelope is basically everything that Jocasta is not. In spite of the fact that Jocasta initially appears to be determined in regard to murdering her baby in order to serve a greater good, she eventually proves to be vulnerable. Penelope is a very complex character, as plays several roles throughout the play: as a mother, as a queen, and as a seductress. Despite the fact that she is strong and manages to control matters until Odysseys arrives, she does not hesitate to express her feelings publicly at the time when she is presented with songs regarding the Trojan War. In contrast, Jocasta does not express any lack of enthusiasm about marrying Oedipus at the time when he becomes a Theban hero and appears to consider that her role as a queen is purely ceremonial.


Homer, "The Odyssey"

Sophocles, "Oedipus…… [read more]

Woman of Willendorf Fertility Fetish Term Paper

Term Paper  |  2 pages (665 words)
Bibliography Sources: 1+


¶ … primitive female statues featuring women with pendulous breasts and engorged stomachs are nowadays named fertility images. This may, however, be a misnomer since the design may have represented various meanings foremost among which may have been female health, or the ideal picture of female beauty or some symbolic, transcendental, or spiritual meaning. Relating them, therefore, to fertility may be mislabeling them and according people the wrong idea of their use. On the other hand, being that parts significant to reproduction are singled out and that other less significant parts are abstractions, it may well be that these statues did serve as wishful instruments for fertility.

The label fertility idol when applied to these images is, as Gardner (1991) notes, subjective, being that these statues existed in a prehistoric period before written records existed, we can only guess that they are fertility images and that their purpose was likely to serve as some sort of amulet or positive omen for fertility. This, however, is a well-educated guess rather than certainty and comes from the markings and representations of the figure. Moreover, one could argue that the figures were a primitive way of illustrating women in general. Other contemporary female figures, for instance, such as the 'Woman from Ostrava Petrokovice' and the 'Woman from Brassempouy', although not fertility images were also created in an abstract manner, whilst the artist was won't to create in a way known as a 'memory image' focusing on generic shapes. In fact, oen of the states was named the 'Virgin' possibly indicated an ideal of female beauty.

The female statues, therefore, could have served multiple purposes including as artifacts of what was then considered ideal female beauty; as abstractions of particular ancestors or historical female models; as images of health; or as models for feminine roles for young girls (Stokstad, *). Since the topography of the body indicates that many were created by pregnant women (Gardner, 1990), they may also indicate the state of mind, or serve…… [read more]

Women's Suffrage the History Research Paper

Research Paper  |  4 pages (1,334 words)
Bibliography Sources: 4


As the 1890's came about, the advances made by women were beginning to be cut back, and women were being silenced once again.

The next main push for Women's Rights came with the creation of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) which was formed on October 10, 1903 by Emmeline Pankhurst. Women at this time were faced with ridicule from politicians, and "the press responded to suffrage movement with what amounted to a press blackout." (Jorgenson-Earp, 1999, p. 20)

The WSPU was formed to combat the fact that Women's Rights issues were being ignored by those in power, and they decided to use militant tactics. And the very first militant attack came in 1905 when two women burst into the Free Trade Hall in Manchester England and demanded from a leading member of Parliament, Sir Edward Grey, an answer to the question "Will the liberal government when it takes office give women the right to vote?" (Jorgensen-Earp, 1999, p. 238) And for this they were arrested and sent to prison. This was just the first wave of the new militancy that was part of the WSPU, an "in your face" attitude that would eventually lead to the right to vote.

Similar tactics were being adopted in the United States where by 1909 women's rights groups had organized a strike by more than 20,000 women workers in the garment district of New York. But it was not only working class women who supported the cause, wealthy women instituted a boycott in support of the women workers. This strike was an important link between the Labor movement and the Women's Rights movement. Other women, like Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, took a more militant stance and began strikes, protests, and other acts of civil disobedience in order to draw attention to the cause of women suffrage.

It was then Woodrow Wilson, the famous progressive president, who finally came out and issued a statement which was the impetus for the federal government to pass a law which would give women the right to vote everywhere in the United States. But even so, it took several more years, until 1919 when the Congress passed the nineteenth amendment and the states did not finally ratify it until August 18, 1920. While women had the right to vote, they were not major participants as political figures. Women were elected to public office, and did hold government jobs throughout the first half of the twentieth century, but they were few and far between. It was the Civil Rights movement in the 1950's that spurred the renewal of the Women's Rights movement in the 1960's. And when Richard Nixon signed the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 it became a federal crime to discriminate on the basis of sex, as well as race, religion, color, or national origin. (EEOC) Since this time women have had the same legal rights as men, and now routinely hold public office of at all levels, run companies, are lawyers and judges,… [read more]

Women Today and Yesterday in "The Story Essay

Essay  |  2 pages (630 words)
Bibliography Sources: 1+


Women Today and Yesterday in "The Story of an Hour"

Kate Chopin's short story, "The Story of an Hour," tells the story of Louise, a woman who finds a new lease on life when she hears her husband is dead. Her story is also a commentary on the women of the eighteenth century. Looking at Louise through this lens, we can see just how much society has changed in regards to women. Louise represents the oppressed women and, sadly, death in this tale represents freedom. Louise shares very few experiences with contemporary women.

Louise is different from contemporary women because she is a prisoner in her own home. Women of today enjoy their homes and experience joy in their homes, whether or not they choose to raise a family. The home is as much the wife's castle as it is the husband's castle. However, in the eighteenth century, women were not so lucky. Louise's home, while it may be nice, is her prison. They only place she can go for a few moments alone is her bedroom. The truly sad aspect of this life is that she can never leave. Brentley keeps her locked in and when she hears that he is dead, she goes to her room to process the news. She "would have no one follow her" (635) and there, in those moments, she discovers something wonderful about this misfortune: freedom. Through death, she is free and she experiences the "delicious breath of rain in the air" (635). In the home from which she could never leave, she finds she can literally taste freedom and this excites her more than anything else does.

Marriage was a trap for Louise and many like her. At the news of her husband's death, she realizes there would be "no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and believe that have a right…… [read more]

Muslim and Hispanic Women Essay

Essay  |  2 pages (843 words)
Bibliography Sources: 1+


"Given the opportunity, Muslim women, like women everywhere, will become educated, pursue careers, strive to do what is best for their families and contribute positively according to their abilities" (2). Whether a woman chooses to wear a burka or not is not emblematic of her indoctrination into the culture, but rather a symbol of her choice to either embrace or reject the traditional garb.

Another heavily stereotyped culture is that of Latina women. Stereotypes say they are hot-tempered and usually of lower class. Again, the Mexican and Spanish cultures are predominantly patriarchal and the stereotype Latin woman is primarily a mother (usually to a large brood of children) and wife. Her focus on activities outside of the home is secondary to this stereotypical position. For the author of "The Myth of the Latin Woman," she has been haunted by the media-portrayed versions of Puerto Rican women for her entire life. "I resented the stereotype that my Hispanic appearance called forth from many people I met" (1). Although she is well-educated, a chance encounter with a drunken Irishmen reminds her that no matter how many degrees she has earned, there is a part of her that will always be associated with the stereotypes of Puerto Rican women. In the piece, the author lists other similar events where her ethnicity dictated how she was treated, at one time being accosted with filthy lyrics in a hotel and another time being assumed to be a waitress at an event where she was a speaker. The essay is a first-hand account of the nature of cultural ignorance and how it can cause frustration and doubt in the abilities of talented individuals who should not be forced to overcome the ignorance of others.

Both pieces talk about cultural ignorance that stymies not only minorities but women as a gender. Women on the whole are perceived as the weaker sex by the population at large, at least the male members of that population. The more patriarchal the society, the more difficult it is for a woman to obtain a position of power and autonomy in that culture. What these three women truly prove is that the stereotypes have no basis in a world where understanding and information is so easily accessed. No one has an excuse for ignorance in the modern world.

Works Cited:

Al-Marayati, Laila and Semeen Issa. "An Identity Reduced to a Burka." Women's Muslim

League. 2002.

Cofer, Judith Ortiz. "The Myth…… [read more]

Role of Women in Le Term Paper

Term Paper  |  2 pages (646 words)
Bibliography Sources: 1


There are two other types of women that seem to break away from this typical depiction of women. Reda and his father meet two matronly women at different parts of the journey: the first on their way to Belgrade, and the second at the well stop toward Damascus. Both times it is Reda's father who feels the need to show respect to these women. The father agrees to let the foreign woman in the car and Reda drives her to as far as a hotel, where both men leave her to fend for herself. In a touching moment, Reda's father utters "May God help her" after they rush away from the woman (Ferroukhi). In the same thread, Reda's father gives away portions of his money to a woman and her child en route to Damascus, which angers Reda. While these women are expected to step down the line and let men ahead, there is still a degree of respect that men give to the older women.

Then there is the modern-day woman, shown distinctly as those who are not dressed in full, Muslim covering. These women -- shown through the image of Reda's girlfriend Lisa and that of the brazen young lady at the bar -- seem to embrace modernity. The traditionalism for these women creates a sort of disconnection between the lifestyle that Reda is used to and the lifestyle that Reda's father is used to. While the more traditional lifestyle seems to portray a dutiful woman who nurtures and cares for their men and their children, the non-traditional lifestyle (where Reda belongs to) includes women who work, study, and dress as casually as men do.

Works Cited

Le Grand Voyage. Dir. Ismael Ferroukhi. Perf. Nicolas Cazale, Mohamed Majd. Pyramide Distribution, 2004. Web. 20 May 2011. .… [read more]

Political Activity of Women Hillary Research Paper

Research Paper  |  4 pages (1,271 words)
Bibliography Sources: 4


During her first time in the White House, Mrs. Clinton fought to bridge the political gap and improve adoption and foster care systems, as well as reduce teen pregnancy and provide health for millions through the Children's Health Insurance Program. As First Lady, she also traveled to many countries, championing human rights wherever she went. Furthermore, Mrs. Clinton became famous for her speech in Beijing in 1995 according to the U.S. State Department website, which also advocated women's rights. This speech galvanized an entire generation of women worldwide. [4: "Clinton, Hillary R." U.S. Department of State. Web. 08 May 2011. . ]

In 2000, Hillary Clinton "made history as the first Lady elected to the United States Senate, and the first woman elected statewide in New York." During her stay in the Senate, Secretary Clinton served on numerous committees and worked across party lines to build support for important causes. According to the State Department, Mrs. Clinton was one of the strongest advocates for the rebuilding of New York after the September 11 attacks. Furthermore, due to her commendable efforts she won reelection to the Senate in 2006, while at the same time prepared and began her historic campaign for President. After President Obama and John McCain were elected as the two candidates, Mrs. Clinton campaigned for the Obama side, and eventually was nominated by President-elect Obama to be Secretary of State. [5: "Clinton, Hillary R." U.S. Department of State. Web. 08 May 2011. . ] [6: "Clinton, Hillary R." U.S. Department of State. Web. 08 May 2011. . ]

The position of Secretary of State allowed Mrs. Clinton to further pursue her political passion, and she has continued to do so admirably with remarkable wit and talent. Mrs. Clinton was part of a team that has travelled to many of the nations in need in this world, especially to Afghanistan and Iraq, to offer justice, guidance and a helping hand. Furthermore, she is part of an integral team that is leading our country today, which is a very high position. In the past few days, great news broke in the United States that Osama Bin Laden had been killed. It was seen that Mrs. Clinton was among the handful of people who actually watched this action and her strength was also shown in the speech which she gave after this momentous event.

During this speech, Secretary Clinton how terrorist have targeted innocent populations in a very intelligent yet descriptive way. She has been very adamant that justice was served in killing one of the most wanted criminals in the world. Mrs. Clinton was also thankful for the leadership of the country, for the law enforcement, for the diplomats and especially for the courageous team on the ground. Giving thanks is a very noble way of Mrs. Clinton to praise others, which not praising herself, and this is a sign of humility, which is a great characteristic of this leader. [7: "YouTube - CNN: Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton 'Taliban… [read more]

What Is Distinctive About Black Feminist Thought? Essay

Essay  |  6 pages (1,983 words)
Style: Harvard  |  Bibliography Sources: 6


Black Fem. Thought

A History of Alienation: Distinctions in Black Feminist Thought

Several distinctions abound in Black feminist thought that differentiate it from virtually any other type of other feminist theory, as well as from traditional patriarchal notions of social concepts. The historical accounting of such women plays a large role in determining their ideologies. Whether originally from Africa, the… [read more]

Women Objectification Women Research Paper

Research Paper  |  7 pages (2,395 words)
Bibliography Sources: 1


These findings support objectification theory (Frederickson & Roberts, 1997) in that the process of evaluating one's internal value based primarily on external appearance leads to negative consequences.

In order to further examine the role of self-objectification on eating disorder pathology, Calogero, Davis, and Thompson (2005) conducted a study with 209 women in a residential treatment facility for eating disorders. They… [read more]

Women's Rights: Equality Term Paper

Term Paper  |  12 pages (4,388 words)
Bibliography Sources: 15


FWI has positioned itself so as to assist policy makers in high places.


The Center for WorkLife Law identifies the gender pay gap as a discrimination law issue. The Center views the gender pay gap as an undesirable default behavior that is permitted in the absence of modernized statutes and enforced best practices in employment law and employee relations.… [read more]

War on Women Violence Against Essay

Essay  |  7 pages (2,241 words)
Bibliography Sources: 7


War on Women

Domestic abuse is one of the most prevalent social and criminological problems worldwide, affecting between 15% and 71% of all females (World Health Organization 2009). In fact, most violence committed against women occurs in the home in the form of domestic abuse (WHO 2009). Framed as a human rights issue, violence against women is a symptom of… [read more]

Makers of Angels for Women, the Control Thesis

Thesis  |  5 pages (1,393 words)
Bibliography Sources: 5


Makers of Angels

For women, the control of their reproductive rights, of the most private parts of their bodies, is one of the most important ways in which they define themselves to themselves, to their families, and to their larger communities. Being able to have control over their reproductive options is one of the most important ways in which women can affect their fertility and so the persona with which they interact with the world. Without full control over their own sexuality, which includes the right to engage in sexual behavior without the risk of unwanted childbearing, women's relationship to themselves as well as others is fundamentally compromised.

The brilliant legal scholar Laurence Tribe wrote that the debate over abortion that has seized and sometimes seemingly paralyzed the political and cultural dialogue in this nation most vehemently since the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade is a "clash of absolutes." His phrase has a powerful resonance because, of course, at one level the question of abortion is indeed a question of absolutes: A woman either has an abortion or does not. Just as one cannot be a little bit pregnant, neither can one have part of an abortion.

Other aspects of reproductive health and freedom are not so black and white. Women make decisions every day about their bodies and their reproductive freedom in degrees. They may choose to have sex with a partner when they do not really want to, for example, because they are dependent on that partner for economic support. Such an act is not rape, because the woman has given consent, but it is a limited form of consent. Most of the decisions that women have to make are like this: For women, even in an age in which at least some women have access to reliable birth control, sexuality cannot ever be undone entirely from fertility.

Thus in asking how a woman's reproductive options affect her self-concept and the ways in which she relates to her family and to her larger community, the question can also be parsed as the question of the absolutes of abortion and childbirth. There are aspects of reproductive freedom that are also absolute, including sterilization (although this is potentially reversible) to female genital mutilation. These two must be looked at as proving to be very problematic in terms of how women view themselves as well as the others in their communities.

The less permanent the choice that is made by women or for women, the less of an effect in general it will have on the ways in which the choice affects the women's relationship to self and the social world around her.

Even when the reproductive issue is one of absolutes like abortion, the choices that women face and the psychological consequences are complicated and messy, and while it is certainly possible for a woman to know with great certainty that either the choice to have an abortion or to carry a pregnancy to term is the right… [read more]

Mary Wollstonecraft "Freedom, Even Uncertain Essay

Essay  |  6 pages (2,495 words)
Style: APA  |  Bibliography Sources: 6


1978). With this equal treatment women can enter any profession and have careers just the same as men.

The most radical of all theories by Mary Wollstonecraft was proposing that boys and girls should be educated together; such an idea was never brought forward before. The idea of co-educational schooling was simply regarded as nonsense by many educational thinkers of… [read more]

Immigrant Chinese Women Thesis

Thesis  |  5 pages (1,534 words)
Bibliography Sources: 5


Though Li and Gillett thought that most Chinese women will not reach their true potential, they did mention that with the right support groups, with thorough education or re-education and with persistence, it is possible that some women will achieve their true potential and "triumph in the face of societal barriers" (Li & Gillett, 1995).

It is clear that Chinese women have endured plenty on their moves overseas, but also in their new societies. These studies and articles have proven a difficult path lies ahead, but with perseverance, one can overcome discrimination and achieve one's full potential, especially in the Chinese immigrant communities of Canada.


Anonymous. (2001). But Women did Come: 150 Years of Chinese Women in North America. Multicultural History Society of Ontario. Panel 1-5. http://www.mhso.ca/ggp/Exhibits/Chinese_Women/panel1.html

Anonymous. (2011). About Us. Chinese Professional Women of Canada. 1. http://www.cpaasv.org/hannie/cpwc/

Li, S. & Gillett, M. (1995). Chinese-Canadian women in Montreal: case studies in the importance of education. 15-23. http://digitool.library.mcgill.ca/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=23226&local_base=GEN01-MCG02

Poy, V. (2005). The Equality Deficit -- Chinese Immigrant Women in Canada. Women's Legal Education and Action Fund -- LEAF. 1. http://sen.parl.gc.ca/vpoy/english/Special_Interests/speeches/Speech%20-%20LEAF_021105.htm

Salaff, J. & Greve, A. (2003). Chinese Immigrant Women: From Professional to Family Careers. Social Transformation in Chinese Societies. 3, 19-35. http://homes.chass.utoronto.ca/~agreve/Salaff-Greve-Professions-family-STCS.pdf… [read more]

Rethinking Orientalism: The Woman Warrior Essay

Essay  |  4 pages (1,300 words)
Bibliography Sources: 4


Rethinking Orientalism: The Woman Warrior

Orientalism is defined as the exoticism of the 'East' in the eyes of the 'West.' It is a colonial understanding of non-white, Asiatic peoples as 'other.' It views the East as feminine, foreign, mysterious and submissive. As a postmodern concept it is not attached or intrinsic to the nature of the person practicing the ideology. Much as women can be sexist and discriminate against other women, non-white people can also use the tropes of Orientalism. However, Maxine Hong Kingston's memoir of growing up as a Chinese-American, the Woman Warrior, uses the images of Orientalism, not to objectify China, but to embark upon a journey of self-discovery as a writer. Kingston takes a deliberately ironic view of the construct of Orientalism and of the genre of memoir itself. She blends folk tales, second-hand personal accounts, and tales of her familial past in China and American as a way of reflecting upon Chinese-American identity and the immigrant experience.

Kingston's memoir is not a straightforward, linear, chronological coming-of-age narrative. It suggests the experience of a people, rather than an individual. Long stretches of the narrative are told in the third, rather than in the first person. The history of modern China during the Cultural Revolution is woven seamlessly in with the stories of Kingston's own family. Like any memoirist, Kingston is a selective narrator, and she purposefully chooses incidents that highlight the themes she wishes to address in her life history: the role of women, the fear of losing one's mind, and the need for individuals to speak across the barriers of time and language.

Unlike the classical Caucasian Orientalist, Kingston does not use the contrasts between China and her own life in America to show the superiority of the West or East, but instead to search for the truth. For example, when telling the story of a relative who drowned herself after giving birth to a child out of wedlock, Kingston imagines various scenarios that could have lead the woman to her fate. The stereotypical image of the repressed Chinese woman with her feet bound is given new life in Kingston's ideation. Kingston first wonders if the woman was raped, then if the woman was highly sensual, and then finally Kingston takes comfort in the fact that rather than being consigned to dust and forgotten, through her words the 'No-Name' woman will always be remembered. But even though she is able to speak for the woman, Kingston is also aware of the fact that she can only present her imaginative versions of the relative's tale. The tale is already twice-told, passed down from mother to daughter. This is also true of all of her mother's experiences, like the story of her mother 'Brave Orchid' attempting to reunite her sister Moon Orchid (Kingston's aunt) with her American husband. Unlike the traditional Western Orientalist, Kingston is at least self-conscious about the fact that Chinese culture cannot be perfectly translated into English prose.

Some of the images of China that… [read more]

Women in Education Research Paper

Research Paper  |  9 pages (2,563 words)
Bibliography Sources: 10


Women in Education

Educational opportunities for men and women are now equal under the law, but that was not always the case. American women made slow progress during the nineteenth century in securing their rights to expand their intellectual horizons beyond the roles of wives and mothers to which society held them. The struggles of women to be seen as… [read more]

Osteoporosis in Young and Old Women Article Review

Article Review  |  3 pages (1,005 words)
Bibliography Sources: 3


Osteoporosis in Women

Osteoporosis is a disease that relates to the loss of bone density, especially among women but men also suffer from Osteoporosis. According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), one in three women over 50 (in the world) will experienced "osteoporotic fractures," and one in five men will also have osteoporotic fractures. Also, the IOF says that osteoporosis effects an estimated 75 million people in Japan, the U.S., and Europe. By the year 2050, the IOF projects, the incidence of hip fracture in men worldwide "is projected to increase by 310%, and in women it will increase by 240%. The Applied Clinical Trials journal also reports that according to the IOF, almost 75% of spine, hip, and "distal forearm factures" occur in patients that are 65 years or older. This paper reports some of the reasons why women get osteoporosis and what can be done to enhance women's chances of avoiding this disease.

The Literature: According to the Journal of International Women's Studies, osteoporosis (OP) is a "chronic complex health problems" for millions of women the world over. Of the women who are stricken with osteoporosis, eighty percent are postmenopausal (Lubna, 2010, p. 1). As women go through life and get older, into middle adulthood, they experience a "variety of physiological and psychological changes," Lubna writes, and those changes have a direct effect on her health. Osteoporosis -- a systemic disorder that causes a loss of bone mass and the "thinning of bone tissue" that lead to a risk of fractures to the spine, the wrist, and the hip, Lubna writes.

According to the Osteoporosis Society of Canada, one out of every four postmenopausal Canadian women have OP, Lubna continues. In the United Kingdom, there are 150,555 cases of OP annually, and the cost (medical expenses related to fractures) is about $75 million. In the United States there are an estimated 7 to 8 women currently with OP and about 17 million women have "low bone mass" putting them at risk of OP and the resulting broken bones that go along with OP, Lubna explains.

The study that is presented in the Journal of International Women's Studies' scholarly article reviews women and OP in Jordan, where women "gain status and security by bearing many children" and the social, economic and cultural factors in Jordan "…may negatively impact women's health throughout their lives," Lubna points out on page 1. Only 3% of Jordanian women are over 65 years of age, but the estimate that the author uses is that 25% of women over 60 in Jordan will suffer "an age-related fracture." Previously Jordanian healthcare resources were mainly director towards "acute care services" but lately the focus in Jordan has been more towards "chronic illnesses" like OP, Lubna explains.

What vitamins are known to be helpful to women in terms of lessening the chances of getting OP? A study in the peer-reviewed journal Alternative Medicine Review (Karkkainen, et al., 2010, p. 1) -- titled "The Osteoporosis Risk Factor and Prevention-Fracture… [read more]

Interrelations Between Race Gender Class and Sexual Identities Essay

Essay  |  2 pages (560 words)
Bibliography Sources: 2


Asia Fem

Views of Feminism in Asian-Identified Women

The issue of feminism is often seen in a Western, or perhaps more appropriately a Euro-American-centric, context, with the simple consideration of women in a patriarchal society standing as an independent issue. Though this narrow view has long been questioned and subverted through research and commentary, certain views on the subject have only come to light in the past few decades. The implications of postcolonial society on feminism, and vice-versa, have become a subject of increasing scrutiny and expression, and different constructs of sexuality, identity, and gender can be clearly observed in texts produced from this perspective. Two such texts are Hiromi Goto's novel Chorus of Mushrooms and Deepa Metha's film Fire, both of which deal with sexuality, aging, and the nature of femininity and feminism from a unique Asian-European/American (or Canadian) context.

Chorus of Mushrooms begins with a clear and immediately recognizable depiction of aging, even though it is actually a wind being described rather than a person (3). In this way, Goto manages at once to convey an immediate and strong sense of cultural attitudes towards the aged that are held by a Euro-American society while at the same time setting up a clear conflict with this view in the temerity of the narrator's voice and choice of comparison. Sexuality and the concepts of femininity and feminism are dealt with similarly in the novel, with the diction an symbolic choice obviously mimicking (or drawing on) Asian styles of storytelling and emotive expression, while at the same time evoking both modern feminist strains and cultural symbols of the West. Identity is formed -- or fails to form -- based on juxtapositions…… [read more]

Traditional Woman and the "New Essay

Essay  |  4 pages (1,160 words)
Bibliography Sources: 5


¶ … Traditional Woman and the "New Woman"

The woman's traditional gender roles are changing at the beginning of the twentieth century. The "New Woman" seeks to experience life and express herself beyond the social limitations of being a wife and mother and living solely for her family. The role of the woman in the changing social environment is an important one to writers of the period (West, 1955). Through William Dean Howells's "Editha" (1905) and Edith Wharton's "Roman Fever" (1934), the reader can see the evolution in the social freedom of young women over two generations. While Editha and Mrs. Slade exhibit a tension between falling into more traditional gender roles and desiring freedom from them, the young women of "Roman Fever" suggest that they are indeed experiencing a social liberation their mothers could not enjoy.

A young woman living at the end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth century, Editha embodies the struggle between being independent and assertive and falling into the traditional role of the young woman looking to get married. When George comes to tell her that the United States is going to war, Editha contemplates her relationship with him and how she came to be with him. She details typical courting of the day: "She had always supposed that the man who won her would have done something to win her; she did not know what, but something" (p. 1080). While love could be a part of courting, there is also the aspect that the man "wins" the woman. While Editha understands the traditional role she plays in the courting process, she is also confused by it because she "did not know what" a man might do to win her over. Editha is strong willed, and she has strong beliefs. Why would she be confused about what she wanted in a husband? Perhaps it is because Editha does not picture herself in the traditional role of a wife, the more submissive in the marital relationship.

Very early in the story, Howells makes it clear that Editha wants to assert herself and her desires; she wants to be in control. As Editha tries to get George to see that the war is a noble cause, George suggests that Editha is probably correct. If he's in disagreement with her, then he's probably in the wrong. This brings out a strong emotional response in Editha: "A generous sob rose in Editha's throat for the humility of a man, so very nearly perfect, who was willing to put himself below her" (p. 1081). George sees Editha as his moral and intellectual superior, and this is not lost on her. The defined gender roles of the time are switched -- Editha is masculine and assertive, and George is yielding and feminine.

However, Editha is a young woman of her time; because of her position in society, she must live out her fantasies vicariously through George. Editha is arrogant and controlling. She's extremely patriotic to the point of… [read more]

Yellow Woman Story: Linda Hogan Term Paper

Term Paper  |  4 pages (1,112 words)
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These women are unsupportive and petty. They are not close to one another, although they will get together and gossip about someone else, and they attack the narrator's favorite person which causes the narrator to have contempt for them (Logan 278).

The narrator is a mixture of the two types exhibited in the yellow woman legends. She is young and does not want to conform to the traditional roles. She sees Bess Evening as an authentic person, but she respects her mother even though she as contempt for what her mother represents. She is drawn to Aunt Moon, and her style of life, not only because it is different, but because it is free. The narrator seems to envy the relationship that Aunt Moon fosters and the life that she lives.

The main stories main plot is about the awakening of a young woman to the possibilities of her womanhood, and that is quickened in the relationship that Bess Evening begins with "her young man." He is a drifter who wanders into town from points unknown and he has the added mystery of being a full blooded Indian. Most of the people in the town are of mixed heritage, so this adds to his intrigue. The town's people watch as Bess forms a relationship with the young man and the gossip that ensues (Hogan 276). In the story, Bess becomes pregnant by the stranger and then he goes away for a long while. Eventually he does return and it is learned that he has escaped from jail. He was there because he was selling illegal herbs (Hogan 279).

This part of the story also has significance to the narrator and to the yellow woman stories. The yellow woman may have been someone who did not take on traditional roles, but that does not mean that she did not eventually lead a conventional life. The fact that Aunt Moon does get pregnant and get married, does not mean that she is still not the yellow woman. The legendary figure is more about the possibilities of the gender, that has been suppressed, than about the letter of the tale. Aunt Moon may accept more traditional roles, but she is still an individual.

The narrator learns that she does not have to be a puppet to culture, but that she can be a strong woman also. The end of the story finds the narrator leaving the small town to live with her cousins in Denver. With her, she carries a bag filled with herbs and a feather (Hogan 281). The symbolism is that she has left the traditional that her mother symbolizes and embraced the difference of the yellow woman that Aunt Moon symbolizes.

The story is a perfect reflection of three characters that tend to exist in the yellow woman myths. A strong woman is able to live out her life apart from the tradition and gossip of the crowd, and the traditional character wants her daughter to embrace the cultural role… [read more]

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