Category: Women’s Movement

Introduction

Women have been known to face oppression since time immemorial. The feminist groups came up in as early as the late 1960s to speak up against the oppression of women. These feminist groups took various forms of speaking up for these rights. Poetry was one of these ways. The power of the spoken and written word is known to possess infinite power. Slogans like “The Personal is Political” came up around this time too.

This slogan has been under scrutiny for the longest time, with various scholars trying to delve both the plutonic and deeper meaning. Kelly observes that the phrase the personal is political was conceived as connecting the women’s experience of exploitation and oppression as political issues (p.122). This work seeks to look into the works of a poet and how they incorporated the phrase and its meaning into their works.

The concept of the personal being the political in a woman’s life is one that never gets tired or obsolete. It is a concept that defies time and is always relevant regardless of time and space. It applies to every woman as women are still facing some of the issues that these feminists were protesting against back then. This concept means that most of the personal problems that women undergo are not in their making or fault but are brought about by systematic oppression (Winter, para.5).

This means that women are not to blame for things they go through; also women should not feel guilty, contrary to what many of the women are brought up knowing. Many women in different cultures are put down and made to feel bad. All this is because they are women and that they exhibit female traits that are natural. Women are made to feel stupid, weak, emotionless, hysterical, mad and ashamed of their sexuality.

For the longest time, the society has sought to bring women down and lock them in cocoons so that they suppress their real power and potential. In many cultures, even today, women are still not allowed to hold leadership positions since they are considered weak and emotional hence they are prone to poor judgment.

The phrase “The personal is Political” establishes the notion that most problems that women are said to have are not their fault. This has only been forced upon the women. The phrase is still relevant in the world today as women are still not yet liberated totally. In fact, some are still bound by unreasonable cultures that demean their rights and dignity.

Thesis Statement: The poet Janice Mirikitani was protesting against the issues Violence, anger and silence which women put up with, as she argues the phrase “The Personal is Political.”

Janice Mirikitani

In her poem “Breaking Tradition”, Janice Mirikitani explores how every woman has a secret longing to break out of the inhibitions and restrictions that society locks them in and to break the shackles of silence, violence and anger that haunt them. This poem shows how each generation of women wants to break out of the cocoon they have grown up in, and which has also sucked their own mothers. Mirikitani brings out the issue of forced silence very strongly in this poem.

Line seventeen says “I am like my mother she kept her room neat with silence” and goes on “defiance smothered, passion and loudness wrapped, steps confined…” Such phrases are used to bring out the reality that women were there to be seen and not heard. Their opinions and feelings did not matter in any setting or environment. Most Mirikitani’s poems cry out in protest against the internally or externally imposed silence on women (Lashgari p.292). Mirikitani says in her poem: “Guilt was passed in our bones.”

This means that women are brainwashed to think that they cannot think on their own and challenge existing ideals in the society. Therefore, they are forced to silence by that inward guilt. Externally, the society seeks to suppress the potential of women by making them feel stupid for possessing ideas, which promptly ensures they remain silent.

It is anger that pushes the persona in the poem to free her daughter. The persona understands the implications that the political aspect has had on her private life and how the two are interconnected. She wants to free her daughter form the same and ensure that she never has to face the same. She “wants to tell her daughter of the room and about herself”. Knowledge is power, and it is the only way women will be liberated.

The society has managed to keep women in shackles by withholding the truth from the. The truth about what women is that, they are not weak, stupid, and useless. Also, they can contribute to the society just like their counterparts, the men. The poem uses imagery of an open window that provides possible escape from the cocoon. Mirikitani has had her own share of the political influencing her private life.

The poet is embittered by her parent’s silence about what she went through while at a tender age. This is because of having survived violence and sexual molestation at a tender age (Ho & Antonio, p.376). That anger pushed her to fight for the liberation of women. Though she represents the persona in the poem, we cannot help but notice her desire to enlighten her own daughter. She looks determined to free her daughter from the prison of silence and oppression in which the society wants to imprison her.

The last part of the poem portrays civilization and a breaking of traditional ways and culture. The daughter of the persona is engaging in activities that the society she comes from might not approve. She is dancing to modern music “Salsa, the Stones and Teena Marie”. Mirikitani says that her daughter is copying her. She is breaking tradition and thus she will become free. The mere act of her daughter mirrors her own desires and wishes, and in this, she finds hope.

Conclusion

It is without question that women are not yet totally liberated, especially in some parts of the world, but we cannot ignore the fact that this liberation process has made quite some milestones. Women these days can be listened to in the society, some of the practices that undermined their dignity has been done away with globally.

The most glaring impact is in the fact that women can now take up leadership positions in societies, organizations, local government and even nationally. The battle for the liberation of women is still ongoing, but there is hope that women will one day be totally liberated and that the political affecting the personal will be a thing of the past.

Works Cited

Ho, Fred W, and Carolyn Antonio. Legacy to Liberation: Politics and Culture of Revolutionary Asian Pacific America. Brooklyn, NY: Big Red Media, 2000. Print.

Kelly, Christine A. Tangled Up in Red, White, and Blue: New Social Movements in America. Lanham [u.a.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2001. Print.

Lashgari, Deirdre. Violence, Silence, and Anger: Women’s Writing as Transgression. Charlottesville [u.a.: Univ. Press of Virginia, 1995. Print.

Winter. Feminism 101: The Personal is Political. 2001. Web.

Wars have been the most horrifying experiences of the humanity since the beginning of the human history. The horrors and sufferings the wars bring to people and the damage they cause to the countries are immense. This is why various ways of conflict resolution and prevention of armed conflicts have been created and applied in different situations, but it is a well known fact that when the things get out of control it is very hard to do anything to change the situation and find the compromise. Most of the wars happen and go on for years because the conflicting sides have very little points of agreement and this makes the compromise basically unachievable.

This was the case in Liberia during the First and Second Civil Wars that happened one right after the other. The conflict was finally resolved by the Women’s Movement led by Leymah Gbowee. This nonviolent movement united thousands of women of Liberia praying and shouting for peace. The Women’s Mass Action for Peace put an end to the Civil War and changed the political landscape in the country bringing democracy and understanding. This event has become a unique happening in the African history demonstrating the power of women and of faith, it showed that nonviolent persistence can make a difference and help save millions of lives and stop the heated armed conflict that lasted for fourteen years. The Award-winning documentary about the Women’s Mass Action for Peace in Liberia made by Abigail Disney reveals the horrific experiences these women were put through before and after they joined the Action, the reasons that forced them risk their lives and raise together joining their efforts in the fight for peace, it uncovers the ways the women of Liberia applied to find understanding and help the parties reach an agreement in spite of all the different goals and desires.

The documentary about Liberian women’s movement is called “Pray the Devil Back to Hell” because the Action first started as a union of Christian women and communities in the struggle for peace. It later united Christian and Muslim women of Liberia and brought them together in their Action for Peace. Prayers and faith were what these women based their beliefs on. Religion was the main source of power and confidence for the activists. The themes raised in the documentary are the agreement between people of different religions, the achievement of mutual understanding in the situation of an aggressive and uncontrolled conflict, the ability of love to defeat rage, the clash of female and male approaches towards conflict resolution, the nurturing wisdom of women and the role of culture in the society and its ability to change the political landscape of the whole country.

Since ancient times, all African cultures were based on deep respect towards women as the creators of life. The role of men was to conquer and provide protection. Males and females in the original African cultures were the equal parts of the whole creating harmony by uniting and co-operating. The social status of women in Africa was largely affected by colonialism. First of all, it created the economical dependence of women from the men, and as a result, it brought patriarchal structure to the society and women lost the opportunities of obtain leading roles. The Liberian Women’s Movement was the action created to awake the power of women and heal the wounds of the war by love and prevention of violence.

Even though the Civil Wars in Liberia that lasted for fourteen years brought a lot of aggression, abuse, wild disrespect, sufferings and humiliation to women of all ages the remains of genuine African cultural background and respect towards mothers and sisters was still there. Women headed by Leymah Gbowee worked hard to make the men of Liberia see reason, forget about aggression and start working for peace (Pray the Devil Back to Hell).

What I liked the most about the documentary is the observation that the women’s attitude towards the raging men. Soldiers and warlords were treated as children that became too excited about the game and forgot about reality, got sucked into the process, lost control and needed the reasonable and wise mothers to help them realize that it was time to stop acting on impulse and passions and start using common sense finally. This attitude was the best and only way to forgive and let go the horrible crimes committed by soldiers, most of who, in fact, were misled and lost children deeply unhappy with their lives (Pray the Devil Back to Hell). Of course, it was painful to hear all the awful stories of Liberian women starving in camps, being constant refugees in their own county and trying to save their children, but without knowing these stories one cannot realize the importance and value of the heroic act of these women.

The Women’s Movement in Liberia served as an excellent example of the difference women can make if they unite the efforts. Liberian Action for Peace put an end to the wars and started democratization of the country, respect of women’s rights, political liberalization and created a massive international influence in Africa (Tripp, Kwesiga, Mungwa, 30).

Works Cited

Disney, Abigail E. Pray the Devil Back to Hell. 2011. Web.

Tripp, Aili Mari, Isabel Casimiro, Joy Kwesiga, Alice Mungwa. African Women’s Movements: Changing Political Landscapes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Print.

Feminism can be defined as a way of thinking in terms of power ownership; that is who has power, how power is used or misused by the ones who hold it in relation to gender. It looks into the way power relations are considering the chances that are available for different genders for instance the job opportunities and public service.

The world before feminism is a world that, if brought back to this time, we know would be unrecognizable to the young women today. There have been key changes in society that were brought about by the feminist movements. Young women rejected the old ways of their mothers and started embracing news liberal ways that were defined by feminism. Although in this struggle they were branded anti-motherhood, they pressed on and never gave up.

Before the feminist movements, there existed a patriarchal society in which the power was in the hands of men, and women were discriminated against, not because of any particular reason but simply because they are women. With the rise of feminist movements, there was the questioning of the system. This questioning had an implied questioning of the legal system that had allowed this system to be in place. This led to the transformation of the legal system that protected women from discrimination by men. These changes were pushed for by the branch of feminists referred to as liberal feminists. The greatest and “most powerful challenge the feminine mystique war was the pressing for participation in the labor force.” (Rosen, R. The World Split Open: How the Women’s Movement Changed America. pg 20).

There was another branch of feminists called radical feminists. They sought to transform the sexual culture in America. They addressed issues on prostitution, abortion, pornography, rape, and sex. They looked at the involvement of women in these activities.

The feminist movement’s initiative brought about changes in the women’s lives in communities whereby there was an initiative from them to excel in academics, religion, and even at job areas. Women developed in academic leadership, entrepreneurship, and even in politics. Their participation and success created a completely different picture which eventually brought about permanent changes for instance women being employed in key positions in American society, later. Initially, the success was ignored by all including the media and the leaders, but they had to work for attention. “They wanted equal rights that men had at work in the society.” (Rosen, R. The World Split Open: How the Women’s Movement Changed America pg 242).

Feminism also fought racial and social oppression, especially the fights that originated in African American and the Mexican American society where racial oppression was prominent.

Initially, there had been women organizations that did not do anything to fight for the liberalization of women. They were sectarian, that is, they rigidly held on to the set of doctrines that had been laid down earlier without considering the views that the feminists wanted to bring in, those of having the rights of women respected and avoiding discrimination. This was through the creation of the movements through which they aired their views. An organization like the National Organization of Women (NOW) was considered to be one example of a sectarian organization. It was dismissed by the young feminists as being a mother’s organization. The young feminists wanted to form their own dogmas that could reflect their time and represent their need for a socially just society.

Because of the ignorance and lack of attention that the feminists got from the leaders and the public, including the media, they decided that they would use all minas to ensure that their goals were met. This included even advocating violently in their actions, which is associated with masculinity more than felinity. They took to these men-like ways because there had never been any women’s way of rebelling. They copied the male visions of rebellion in all its forms, that is, sexually, academically, and socially.

In conclusion, although feminism was not presented as a single voice, did not have a unified strategy from the different groups and their procedures were not unified, it inspired, and still inspires people with its impressive notion that is far-reaching that the future of a baby should not be controlled by the mere fact that it belongs to a certain gender but is reflected by the ideals and the creativity the baby is born with. This mental picture has aggravated people to transform their thoughts and their society in a significant way that is constructive and symbolizes development to the society.

Works Cited

Weiss, J. Review of Rosen, Ruth, World Split Open: How the Modern Women’s Movement Changed America. The H-Women H-Net Reviews. 2002. Web.

Today, women in developed countries have the right and opportunities to see a doctor regularly and monitor the state of their health. However, even nowadays, there is a high risk for a woman to feel uncomfortable while visiting a doctor because many topics regarding the women’s health are not discussed openly. In this context, it is important to analyze the ideas regarding the topic claimed by Barbara Ehrenreich, a feminist, and by the representatives of Boston Women’s Health Collective in the 1970s-1980s. These women were among the first activists of the women’s health movement who drew the public’s attention to the problem of sexism related to the provision of health services for women.

Three specific notions can attract the attention of the reader reviewing the first chapters of the work Women and Their Bodies presented by Boston Women’s Health Collective in 1970. These notions are ‘mystification’, ‘objectification’, and ‘alienation’ (Boston Women’s Health Collective 6). On the one hand, it seems that these ideas have no relation to the issue of women’s health and medical services. However, the closer analysis of the issue indicates that Boston Women’s Health Collective were the first women who clearly stated that females can face such barriers while asking for the medical consultation as ‘mystification’ because male doctors exaggerate their significance and ‘power’; ‘objectification’ because women can be perceived as ‘stupid’ sex objects even by doctors; and ‘alienation’ because women experience barriers in discussing their personal health problems. Therefore, female patients are perceived as ‘females’, rather than ‘patients’. From this point, the booklet was important to present the information on women’s problems when they visit doctors in a form understandable for each female, while avoiding sexism and biased notes.

The work by Boston Women’s Health Collective had the revolutionary effect on the women’s vision and their awareness of rights regarding the own health. In their article, Stephenson and Zeldes state that Women and Their Bodies helped women focus on their personal experiences and understand that many women have the same problems to be discussed openly (Stephenson and Zeldes 1742). The similar opinion is argued by Ehrenreich in her discussion of the women’s health movement. Ehrenreich’s position regarding the necessity to discuss women’s personal health issues as social and political ones due to the helplessness of women to oppose the everyday pressure in the healthcare facilities sounds rather provocative (Ehrenreich par. 4). Nevertheless, it is possible to agree that the idea was a result of prolonged discussions of problems experienced by women in their struggle for the healthy life. Therefore, Ehrenreich’s view on the problem was in line with the feminists’ ideas characteristic for the era of the 1970s-1980s.

It is possible to state that the authors’ ideas regarding the necessity of focusing the attention on the women’s health experiences are ground-breaking for the late part of the twentieth century. However, it is also important to note that there was a need for starting the open discussion of the problems in the society in order to avoid the progress of such problems as discrimination, violation, victimization, and humiliation in the sphere of health care and medicine. The reason is that women need to know about their bodies and health as much information as men, and they have the right to receive the medical assistance without being derided and humiliated.

Works Cited

Boston Women’s Health Collective. Women and Their Bodies (1970). Web.

Ehrenreich, Barbara. Body Politic: The Growth of the Women’s Health Movement (1984). Web.

Stephenson, Heather, and Kiki Zeldes. “Write a Chapter and Change the World”: How the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective Transformed Women’s Health Then – and Now”. American Journal of Public Health 98.10: 1741-1745. Web.

The Women’s Liberation Movement

The women’s liberation movement that gained momentum in the 1960s was not an entirely new social phenomenon. Lee calls this a second wave because the first attempts to draw attention to women’s problems were made earlier (25). Through the efforts of small groups and widespread protest campaigns, in the second half of the 20th century, women from different countries actively promoted the protection of their rights. Bruley examines the course of this movement in the UK and notes the role of post-war reforms as triggers for females to demand changes in their social status and gain more rights (68). In general, this movement is part of the spectrum of a broad feminist idea that has influenced social and other spheres of life, including art. This paper is aimed at analyzing four different art objects that are relevant to feminism and either anticipate or summarized the events of the 1960s.

Music Video

As an example of an art object that touches on the idea of ​​feminism, one can cite a modern music video by Ava Max, a famous dance-pop singer. Her song is a hymn to feminine power and emphasizes females’ value in a world they could rule (Ava Max – Kings & Queens). Notably, there are no men in this music video, only women. Released in 2020, the video is a retrospective of the events of the women’s liberation movement and concerns it indirectly. In addition, this art object does not condemn the lack of women’s rights but speaks about the potential opportunities that women could achieve in their world, which also underlines the indirect connection. However, the current situation differs from that more than half a century ago, when, as Lee states, feminism manifested itself in more radical forms (27). Ava Max does not pursue special political views, but her work shows that from a social standpoint, she is ready to speak out against the oppression of females. Thus, the proposed music video differs from art objects in the era of active movement by its less aggressive and categorical presentation.

Book

Another example is the book The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan, published in 1963. The author calls gender inequality “the problem that has no name” and emphasizes the importance of women’s struggle for freedom in various fields, including education, politics, labor, and other areas (Friedan 15). The book is a contemporary of the liberation movement and can be considered one of the catalysts that prompted a massive wave of protests. Friedan directly emphasizes the importance of proactive action by ordinary women and presents the image of “the suburban housewife” who cannot fulfill herself in life (31). Based on the author’s position, this is clear that she adheres to radical views, including in politics, since one of her demands is the admission of women to the ruling elites (Friedan 25). This book was a breakthrough in feminist literature, and Bruley cites it as an influential work (75). Therefore, this art object is one of the strongest from the perspective of the effect on the masses.

Poem

Adrienne Rich is the author who devoted a substantial part of her creative career to poetry on the theme of women’s oppression. An example of one of her famous poems is “Diving into the Wreck,” which entered her collection and became one of the vivid reflections of the author’s anxiety (Rich 22). The collection was published in the early 1970s, although the poem itself was written earlier and was a direct retrospective of the recently developed liberation movement. While Rich does not talk about humiliation directly, she uses understandable symbols about oppression, such as “the book of myths,” to show the deceitful nature of equality (22). This poem has retained its value and is considered an outstanding call for change associated with the poetess’s personal experiences. She does not express her political position directly, but the social context is clear: “you breathe differently down here,” which can mean gender division (Rich 23). Thus, this poem is consistent with the 1960s mood, although the author’s style differs from the radicalism of other writers and poetesses.

TV Series

As another example of the pop culture movement for equality, the American TV series called Sex, and the City can be cited. It represents a modern adaptation of emancipation when four successful and free women have an opportunity to realize themselves in life and choose their individual paths (Sex and the City). It does not directly reflect the events of the liberation movement, but its background is associated with the idea of ​​the struggle for gender equality, which manifests itself in the freedom of choice. The main focus of the TV series is on social life, and political nuances are omitted. Sex and the City is a hymn to women’s independence and the result of the active work of activists in the 1960s. Thus, it highlights the success of the previous efforts, although the events in the series have little to do with those earlier. At the same time, Bruley mentions social mobility as one of the aspects to which women of the 1960s aspired (76). Sex and the City fulfills this goal and reflects total freedom, thus showing the value of the liberation movement.

Works Cited

“Ava Max – Kings & Queens [Official Music Video].” YouTube, uploaded by Ava Max, Web.

Bruley, Sue. “’It Didn’t Just Come out of Nowhere Did It?’: The Origins of the Women’s Liberation Movement in 1960s Britain.” Oral History, 2017, pp. 67-78.

Friedan, Betty. The Feminine Mystique. W. W. Norton & Company, 1963.

Lee, Choonib. “Women’s Liberation and Sixties Armed Resistance.” Journal for the Study of Radicalism, vol. 11, no. 1, 2017, pp. 25-52.

Rich, Adrienne. Diving into the Wreck: Poems 1971-1972. W. W. Norton & Company, 1973.

Sex and the City. Created by Darren Star, HBO, 1998-2004.