Discussion 8

Personal Statement

Name

Date

Women and Feminism

Presently, the society is a far cry from what it was back in the way, with the women choosing to keeping their head down and paying no heed to what is going on around them. These women try to make themselves small, so that they may blend in. They made an effort to minimize themselves so that they wouldn’t be looked at too closely, stared down, and, if push comes to shove, molested. They considered themselves nothing more than a fly on the wall, or a part of the pavement. However, while the present age holds room for improvement, it remains indisputable that the public spaces belong to women as much as they belonged to men. Unfortunately, a better part of the male centric society fails and refuses to believe that. They would much rather have the public spaces look predominantly male or completely asexual but have proper representation, equal representation of both the genders in society. In this way, rights are rather gender centric within urban spaces.

In the west, a number of huge advances have been made for and by women in the past century or so. However, the society as a whole is still reluctant to consider the terms “women” and “power” in the same sentence. It refuses to give women an equal status to men, regardless of her potential and intellectual capabilities in comparison to those men. Today, more women than ever are overcoming barriers and are trying to bring in leadership and influence change. They are shattering the glass ceiling and making a name for themselves despite the struggles.

Gloria Steinem, in her own words, wanted to bring about revolution as opposed to reformation. Departing a career in journalism, she turned into a full-time activist. She worked towards learning the issues faced by most women and proving to all the women around her that their issues were the same, their problems were the same, thus they need to come together in order to bring effective change. This effort of hers to change the way people saw women and how women themselves could work on their personal value of life and themselves make room for positive change. Everything she did was in the favor of women, including making them work towards their common good and achieve a common goal. One of the best amendments to the constitution was carried out by Gloria Steinem, especially with ratification and implementation of the Equal Rights Act or ERA. So was her presence that between her and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, they were, are, and have always been one of the most famous feminists of all times.

Biblography

ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Allen, Amy. The Power of Feminist Theory. Routledge, 2018.

Beebeejaun, Yasminah. “Gender, Urban Space, and the Right to Everyday Life.” Journal of Urban Affairs 39, no. 3 (2017): 323–34.

Tillet, Salamishah. “Why Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Gloria Steinem Still Matter.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 42, no. 3 (2017): 790–92.