Women’s Studies Test, Essay Example

Define each of the following:

1. Women’s Studies are designed to address the bias of gender differences in society and such effects on women. It further seeks to define and understand the pressures and differences women face with regard to legal and ethical rights in today’s society. It looks at women’s contributions such as social contributions and power with relation to power and gender.
2. Patriarchy is defined by a social system in which the man is the head of the household. Women and children are normally totally dependent upon the man for their survival. The man is considered the supreme authority over the family.
3. Sexism is a belief that stereotypes sexual roles in a family. It is usually discriminatory against women where the man is superior. It is discriminatory based on the sex gender alone.
4. Misogyny is defined as a hatred of women or females. It is usually justified by a pure distrust of women. People who share this feeling usually want to hurt women simply because they are female and for no other reason.
5. Social Construct is developed by society as a part of everyday speech. It is further a social phenomenon of how social situations develop in a society. It is a known perception of an individual group in society such as a perception of women.
6. Women’s Suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. This came about through much of a struggle for women. It originated in France in the 1780’s.
7. Racial Feminism argues that race and feminism are inextricable from one another.
8. Cultural Feminism emphasizes there are distinct differences between men and women especially biological differences. Women are considered superior to men for these virtues that they have. Feminists believe the white man is in charge of rights and privileges of women.
9. Liberal Feminism states there is equality of men and women which is asserted through legal and political channels. There has been much reform over the years that have helped to bring this equality about.
10. Nature versus Nurture Debate discusses how much of whom we are shaped by our genes whilst some say we are shaped by our environment in which we live. Many ask if you have learned certain differences from your parents or were you genetically disposed to have them inside of you? We may never know what was pre-determined by DNA and what learned behavior was.

Short Essays:

1. Consider what common media images of women communicate about social and cultural attitudes about women in our culture. How do these images function in women’s lives?

The media images portray women that are totally unrealistic leaving other women feeling low-self esteem. These false ideals are emulated out of the normal woman’s reach. Most women simply cannot accomplish a super thin, great skin and model look. What real women should realize is that this is a false image of the modern women and they are not expected to live up to these false photogenic images on the media and television. They should be able to separate fact from fiction by seeing these women as only representations of something to strive for but not to be.

2. Describe the three main waves of the feminist movement of our times. Which forms (cultural, liberal, radical, socialist) of feminism, if any were prominent in each of the three waves?

The waves commenced in the United Kingdom and moved to the United States.  The main focus was on mandated inequalities. The protests ended with the commencement and introduction of the Nineteenth Amendment.  The second wave was during the 1960’s to the 1980’s. It focused on unofficial inequalities. It encouraged women to deeply understand their personal lives if any changes were to be made. Education was a key change. The Civil Rights Act was passed during this movement. The third wave began in the 1990’s. It is a backlash of the failings from the second wave and still continues today.

Works Cited

Mountain Writer (2010) Feminism in Waves: A Brief Overview of the First, Second and Third Wave Retrieved November 14, 2010 from, http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/392800/feminism_in_waves_a_brief_overwiew.html?cat=75

Encyclopedia, Black Feminism November 14, 2010 from, http://www.encyclo.co.uk/define/Black%20feminism

U.S. History Women’s Suffrage Retrieved November 14, 2010 from, http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1097.html