In this novel, Julia Alvarez manages to capture and express the true feelings of women which deconstructs the stereotypes through Yo. Feminism is defined as “a political movement that works to achieve equal rights for women and men” (Hirsch 113). For the past ages, women were seen in the society as inferior to men and were greatly excluded from education and the right to property ownership. A British feminist named Mary Wollstonecraft argues, “educational restrictions keep women in a state of ignorance and slavish dependence” (Blake 117). The shattering of classifications and stereotypes, and the subversion of traditional gender roles, and the concept of sisterhood or unity among women are among the main tenets of feminist criticism.
In "An Appeal To The Women of the Nominally Free States", Angelina Grimke, an American abolitionist and women's rights advocate in the 1800s, talks passionately about the mistreatment of black women in the North and South. Grimke had a deep commitment to women’s moral equality and was unique because she was a white southerner who lived her life in the North and cared very much about women slavery and racism. In her appeal, she criticizes Southern women for oppressing black women, but she is especially critical of the Northern women due to the hypocrisy that they are guilty of. The Northern women say they are abolitionists, but in reality they are not sympathetic to the prejudice and cruelty of the black woman around them. Throughout her appeal, Grimke repeatedly states that all women “are our sisters”, because she wants everyone to realize that all women are women no matter what color they are.
Over the years women have fought long and hard to be able to obtain and maintain legal rights and privileges that the male gender is born into. Females were molded and primed to play the part as an obedient wife and mother with instruction that your thoughts and opinions are kept to yourself. The perseverance of brave women helped today’s generation of women such as myself have the same equal rights as that of men. With all things you must have a burning passion in the pit of your belly to want to advance and defeat the injustice of this world. In order to put laws into effect there must be a group of people who all agree that new laws should be implemented because of majority vote.
“You sho is one aggravatin’ nigger woman!” In today’s society one might find that language degrading and offensive, but in the 60’s when woman’s suffrage was at its peak, this type of verbal abuse towards females was often tolerated. In the Zora Neale Hurston’s short story “Sweat”, she tells of the abuse a young woman living in the south has to endure by her husband and the empowerment woman have gained since there oppression. Delia's ability to survive her everyday life and overcome all of the obstacles given in front of her by Sykes, we can see Delia's capability to maintain her pure nature and heart through dealing with the hardship. All while displaying her empowerment which grows throughout the story. Zora introduces
The project of finding a voice, with language as an instrument of injury and salvation, of selfhood and empowerment, suggests many of the themes that Hurston uses as a whole. Zora Neale Hurston draws attention towards her novels because she uses black vernacular speech to express the consciousness of a black woman and to let the reader know exactly how statements are said. This use of the vernacular is particularly effective in Their Eyes Were Watching God. Their Eyes Were Watching God exposes the need of Janie Crawford's first two husbands for ownership of space and mobility with the suppression of self-awareness in their wife. Only with her final lover, Tea Cake, who's interest orbit around the Florida swamps, does Janie at last glow.
Through her writing, however, she is able to stand up for herself and give voice to her experiences as a lesbian Chicana and thus to fight the oppression she encounters. There is this poem I liked as well which is, “Trying to be Dyke and Chicana by Natashia Lopez (84).” And what I like about it is how people label everyone, so she literally talks about how to call her “dyk-ana”, “dyk-icana”, “chyk-ana”. She is not ashamed to be a dyke Chicana. And that is how most people should feel, not to be ashamed of anything, you are who you are, that is what makes you so special. And another one that I liked was, “Porque el sentido de la vida es la misma by Lidia Tirado White (23).” She says, “La sexualidad es gran parte de la vida.
Saying the same word would add emphasis and help the speech to flow. Another word that she used quite often was ‘we’. When Stanton says ‘we’ she is referring to women as a whole. She uses this word in attempt to unite all the women under one cause. Women would not have felt empowered at the time because society was male driven.
This is why is was so important to Alice to be an active part in securing equal rights for all women. Alice Paul epitomizes the lessons in the QBQ book by taking personal ownership, being a role model, showing great leadership skills, and refusing to allow herself to be victimized. Alice takes personal responsibility to fight for women's equal rights. She takes ownership of the problem, something not many people want to admit they must do. Instead of passing the problem on to the next generation of women, she chooses to help lead the fight.
Along with “Civil Peace” and “Sugar Baby” the story “Girls at War” forms Achebe’s masterful trilogy of short stories that is set during and im¬mediately after the Nigerian Civil War (1967-70). Achebe uses the title “Girls At War” ironically to make emphasis on the vulnerability of women especially as victims in times of war and turmoil. This title does not mean physical fight between girls but rather the psychological, emotional as well as moral struggles among girls in times of difficulties as in the case between Gladys and her girlfriend Augusta. The girls compete among themselves for favours from men in order to survive. This is typical of our society today where girls are fond of dating men in authority and of wealth in order to gain security and comfort.
Tsitsi Dangarembga's portrayal of women in her novel Nervous Conditions is a striking reminder that African women are under a double yoke when it comes to making their voices heard as they must not only liberate themselves from the influences of colonial rule they are also fighting the effects of patriarchal traditions in the history of their culture (Uwakweh,76).Through the use of female characters in her novel, Lucia, Tambu, Maiguru, Nyasha and Tambu’s mother and their relations with males in their lives, Dangarembga successfully explores gender relations within the patriarchal society. Dangarembga portrays three types of women in Nervous Conditions, the entrapped, the rebellious and the escaped that represents the future female generation.Tambudzai is the main female protagonist in the novel and through her Dangarembga represents the future generation who are able to escape the bounds of male dominancy in a patriarchal society.Tambudzai as a girl is not given the privilege of education unlike Nhamo her brother, when determined to go to school after she had been forced to drop out because of lack of money for school fees at home her father says, “Can you cook books and feed them to your husband?” (15). Females are not deemed fit to receive education as they will later be married and instead benefit their husband’s family. Even the males within the society young as they are are aware of this; Nhamo declares that Tambu cannot go to school because she is a girl (p 21).Nhamo the only male heir was selected by the elders of his family to receive an education .Chosen by default to receive an education after the death of Nhamo there is controversy on the usefulness of her being educated since she would eventually be helping out her husband’s family and not hers. Tambu holds Babamkuru in awe, and even goes to the