The Conceptual Journey of Feminism: Redefining Gender-Roles

Abstract

There is a long journey of efforts that made up the conceptual and intellectual face of feminism. Feminism underwent the significant changes through the various theories. Feminist theories suggest some special directions to bring changes in social and environmental factors that create and contribute to dilemmas and problems experienced by women. Feminist theories provide a perspective for evaluating social and environmental experiences of groups and individuals, regardless of sex and gender. Feminism can be defined as a movement that seeks to enhance the quality of women’s life by impacting the norms against the society based on male dominance and subsequent female subordination. The means of change can be noticed in the workplace politically and domestically. Women have come journeying a long way since 19th century. They have been trying to prove before the male dominated society that they have equal dignity with their male partner. Liberal feminism is a gradual approach to improving the position of women in society through legislation. Cultural feminism seeks matriarchal vision the idea that belongs to the cultural changes by powerful women while radical feminism promotes women’s organizations as separate social institution with the view of ‘The Personal is Political.’ Marxist or socialist feminism favors economical power in the hands of women. They think oppression of women is based on the private property system that exists within capitalists, social and economical structure. Existential feminism advocates the self-identity of women with the view that woman is not born but made by society. Ecofeminism argues that the control over environmental resources is in the hands of male therefore women are exploited by men in power for their own profit. Postfeminism focuses on how discourse in society creates social assumptions about how women should be created. All these theories including concepts of identity, destruction of discourse and reassessing the cultural characteristics of the female body generate the wide range of ideology regarding feminism.