Feminism in Pop Culture Essay Example
Introduction
Many myths and misconceptions float around the term ‘Feminism’. It is a movement that is frequently projected as being violent, aggressive, and full of ‘bra burning’ extremists. The word alone often evokes reactions among people that are negative, uncomplimentary and stereotypical. The disturbing of the patriarchal paradigm was a phenomenon that became prominent only in the Twentieth Century. Historically speaking women have always numerically outnumbered men, but through the system of patriarchy they have been suppressed by political, economic and social machinery.
The difference between Gender and Sex
When trying to examine feminism we must keep in mind the subtle difference between ‘gender’ and ‘sex’. For example, if a man were to dress or behave like a woman, it would not change the fact that he is still biologically a man, and here is where the difference lies. When we use the term ‘gender’, we are referring to a social construct, a store knowledge that has developed over generations that helps us in our identification of a person as a man or a woman. A person’s sex on the other hand is purely biological. A primary argument of feminist theory is that arbitrary allocations such as this that are constructs of society are completely devoid of any genuine value. Thus the duty of feminism, in one sense, involves the subversion of existing patriarchal paradigms by questioning phallocentric, or penis-centred, sources of power.
Patriarchy and the Woman
The term ‘Patriarchy’ itself can be broadly defined as an ideological system of belief that privileges males over females. This is a complex system that employs androcentric values, rituals and practices in order to maintain status quo. Another means of control involves patriarchy passing itself off as the so-called ‘norm’ or the ‘right’ way in which a society must divide itself, and regards the Female as a departure from this ‘norm’ and treats her as ‘the other’, a notion that only reinforces the
Many myths and misconceptions float around the term ‘Feminism’. It is a movement that is frequently projected as being violent, aggressive, and full of ‘bra burning’ extremists. The word alone often evokes reactions among people that are negative, uncomplimentary and stereotypical. The disturbing of the patriarchal paradigm was a phenomenon that became prominent only in the Twentieth Century. Historically speaking women have always numerically outnumbered men, but through the system of patriarchy they have been suppressed by political, economic and social machinery.
The difference between Gender and Sex
When trying to examine feminism we must keep in mind the subtle difference between ‘gender’ and ‘sex’. For example, if a man were to dress or behave like a woman, it would not change the fact that he is still biologically a man, and here is where the difference lies. When we use the term ‘gender’, we are referring to a social construct, a store knowledge that has developed over generations that helps us in our identification of a person as a man or a woman. A person’s sex on the other hand is purely biological. A primary argument of feminist theory is that arbitrary allocations such as this that are constructs of society are completely devoid of any genuine value. Thus the duty of feminism, in one sense, involves the subversion of existing patriarchal paradigms by questioning phallocentric, or penis-centred, sources of power.
Patriarchy and the Woman
The term ‘Patriarchy’ itself can be broadly defined as an ideological system of belief that privileges males over females. This is a complex system that employs androcentric values, rituals and practices in order to maintain status quo. Another means of control involves patriarchy passing itself off as the so-called ‘norm’ or the ‘right’ way in which a society must divide itself, and regards the Female as a departure from this ‘norm’ and treats her as ‘the other’, a notion that only reinforces the