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Introduction
The concept of feminism appeared in European countries in the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. Now the concept of gender equity in the social, political and economic realm of life is spread around the world. Many writings and social researches related to feminism and criticisms on gender inequality were bringing forth the eminent women writers of these eras. It is clear that the socio-demographic files, economical and political situation of their era strongly influenced these writings. This essay looks into the lives of three prominent sociologists namely Harriet Martineau, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Marianne Weber and contributing factors for their writings.
Main Body
Harriet Martineau was born on June 12, 1802 in Norwich in a well established England family. She suffered from hearing disabilities and she lost the abilities of tastes or smell at the early childhood. But she was well acquitted with different theories on womens rights at the early period of her life itself. Later, it helped her to become a creative writer about the common peoples issues ranging from womens equal rights, abolition of slavery prevailed in England society in 18th and 19th century. She wrote the subjects related to education, economics and politics and travel. Harriet Martineau is considered a foremother to sociology and the feminist movement.
The second writer, Charlotte Perkins Gilman was born on July 3, 1860 in Hartford, Connecticut. From her childhood she was influenced by few women supporters, who were advocates, for the equal rights of women in the society. In 1884, at the age of 24 she got married but soon after the birth of her first child she suffered from a nervous breakdown. Due to her ailment she got divorced and moved to California. It led her to become financially unstable and she turned to writing as a source of income. Gilman wrote poetry, and short stories and she is also well known for her lectures on women topics. She strongly believed that the economical empowerment of women will only lead to the social and political empowerment of women in Europe. In her writings she pointed out the need of gender equality in family as well as work place. Third feminist writer, Marianne Weber was born in 1870, in Oerlinghausen, Germany in the prestigious Weber family. She went through several hardships during her childhood. She lost her mother an year after giving birth a second time. She grew up without a mother and her father was a rare visitor to her family. She also experienced poverty in her childhood. But at the time of her childhood years Germany was one of the most powerful economies in the world. This economical and political prosperity of Germany played a significant role in the formation and molding up of a strong self-determined personality of her own. Later during the First World War she acted as a peace maker and had a great presence in the sphere of political and social activities in Germany. During her visits to America she was attracted to other feminist ideologists and she created her own intellectual salon where feminists were able to exchange their ideas. Through her writings she always advocated for the equal rights of women with men and remarked the importance of financial self-sufficiency among women in the society. Harriet Martineau, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Marianne Weber clearly attributed the social economical and political situation in Europe of 18th and 19th Century with longstanding interests in the constructions of their works. Despite the growth of industry, urban centers and immigration, women were considered as the second class citizens in the society. But through their writings they challenged the customary approach to male dominated society and gender inequalities among the European society. They highlighted the necessity of moving beyond the familiar mode of social norms and values and justify the relevance of the gender mainstreaming among the public. Hence, the above mentioned three authors works act as a milestone for the development and mainstreaming the gender equality in the society.
The provocative ideas, public stances and/or political activities show off their sociological imaginations and provide early models for what we now call feminist sociology and public sociology?
Sociology is now firmly entrenched in academies. But a century ago vibrant and women-centered public sociology coexisted with academic sociology. It helped to form an alternative vision for sociology and sociologists and it has a greater implication in the 21st century. Harriet Maetineau herself a model of womens accomplishment for later feminists, was often a genuine promoter of other women. She wrote that the inequalities of women in the society correlated with local situation of her society. During her travels to United States for two years she wrote several books. She is the first Englishwoman to make a full analysis of the situation of American women in her book Society in America. She and her book received far more attention, both positive and negative criticism from the public. Through her writings she always made strong argument for equal pay for equal work. In her writings on womens work Martineau repeatedly expressed a concern for health as well as pay. She wrote in several pieces concerns about the quality of life and well being of servant women because of the crushing demands of their employers. Martineau was also very outspoken for the equal education of women. Moreover, her writings and remarks give an indication of the emergence of feminism in nineteenth-century England and America. It also served as a theoretical foundation for the feminist sociologist in the contemporary era in the field of sociology. Thus, Maetineau was known for her feminist views and also remembered for her empathetically approach to the social work profession in the 19th Century.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a prominent social activist and a leading intellectual of the American womens movement in the beginning of 20th century. Her brilliant and ingenious writings explored courageous women through social reforms, and acted as a role model in overcoming personal hardships. From her childhood she suffered lot of agony from males which helped her to build a strong personality with effective participation in the public sphere of the society in later stages of her life. She illustrated her personal life and argued for personal freedom for women through her famous short story called The Yellow Wallpaper, in which she draws a picture of a young womans mental breakdown based on her own experience. She gives a description about the environment in the story that she finds very offensive. The wallpaper is symbolic of the boundaries that women are expected to obey. She observed the role of women in society and put forth her social theories in Women and Economics. In this work she argues that culture and not heredity has forced women to be dependent on men. She wrote on topics including sexual equality, socialism, and utopian societies. In sum, Charlotte Perkins Gilman through her works tried to propagate the idea of women self-sufficiency, self-esteem, economical independence and social reform among the women in the male dominated society. Gilman participated in several important intellectual movements like cultural feminism, reform Darwinism, Fabian socialism etc. Through her remarkable writings, as well as correlation of her struggles in her personal life to the writings, Charlotte Perkins Gilman was truly a woman of great significance and pioneer in the feminist movement.
Marianne Weber was one of the most profoundly influential thinkers of the twentieth century. She was greatly influenced by the economic and political situation of Germany. Weber was a dual personality with involvement in both academic work and political sphere of Germany. She has a very intellectual relationship with the feminist group of her era. She became the first female Member of Parliament for Baden, in 1920, and the president of the Federation of German Womens Organizations. Through her work she criticized the dominant order of the existing society. She mainly made her sociological theory on the basis of three core concepts such as the need for female autonomy, the significance of womens work in the production of culture, and the situated and unique standpoint of women. In Marianne Webers work on marriage, she pointed out that only men could achieve greater autonomy and self-fulfillment through conventional marriage. She always advocated for the economical independence of women which leads to empowered and self esteemed women in the society. She also called for gender equality through women leaving the household and the concept of wage earners. As she converted theory into practical life by establishing salon which provides public sphere for feminist to share their ideas and for the formation of a better equipped society for the empowerment of women folk.
Conclusion
In todays world women are not being given equal priorities with men in all aspects such as distribution of economical and social resources. In developing countries women are more exposed to poverty and its aftermath. But in western societies, women have become commodities who are treated as objects to sell goods and services. The post-modern feminism believes in scientific knowledge rather than early fictions. Now we need a collaborative and network effort of both men and women to provide equal rights and respects for women. The post-modern techniques of mass media like internet, electronic media and civil society can coordinate these efforts in association with our post-modern feminist movements. Along with government efforts, civil society and non-governmental organizations have their own specific role to improve the situation of women folk around the world. In short, the feminist movement and social theories of three eminent writers have great relevance in this era.
Works Cited
Charlotte, Perkins Gilman. Free Essays. 2003. 2009. Web.
Gracia, Jodi Di. Charlotte Perkins Gilman 1860-1935. 1998. 2009. Web.
Kotalik, Tiffany., Byrd, Laura., and Oetjen, Shawn. Women Sociologists. 2009. Web.
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