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Feminism
means different things to different
people. According to the dictionary
definition it is: "the full
social, political and economic
equality of men and women."
I support this and also believe
that we aren't there yet. (For
me, it means that I have the
knowledge and the resources
to make informed choices/decisions
about my life. That I can choose
to be an astronaut or a full-time
stay-at-home mother; I can choose
when and whether to have children.
That I can wear short skirts,
be confident about my body image
because of my own standards,
not because of a male or societal
standard. It also means that
I can have men in my life who
are feminists.) Given this,
I think that feminism is a "full
idealogy" because it involves
an entire restructuring/rethinking
of much of what we have experienced
in our lifetimes---and even
for most of this country's and
your country's existence. (Of
course, this does not take into
account the Native Americans
and Canadians whose way of life
does give examples of this equality.)
However, it is also "a movement
that permeates political discourse"
because it needs that constant
outside influence to bring us
closer to our goals.
The most frequent misconception
about feminism is that feminism
is solely about "women's issues."
"Women's issues" are everybody
issues. Also, feminism by nature
of it being about equality also
works to liberate men from their
"roles." Examples of what has
changed as a result of feminism
should not be limited to women's
lives, but also include the
fact that feminist and feminist
discourse/thinking has always
been at the forefront of the
gay/lesbian movement; the civil
rights movement; children's
rights movement; labor rights
movements; peace movements...
Because of feminist influence
in all of these areas, I think
that the world is beginning
represented in a way that mirrors
what it really is. We have begun
to change our language - chairman
to chair; "girl" to "woman;"
"My mother doesn't work" to
"my mother doesn't work outside
of the home". It has also changed
our choices - women have now
entered almost every career;
however, men have yet to make
the same transition. It has
also changed our goals.
While the past 300 years have
brought us closer to this goal,
we still have a long way to
go. Some of the most obvious
examples of the continued necessity
of feminism are:
- The
fact that in the U.S. women
are 52% of the population
yet we have yet to see a female
President or Vice President;
our Senate is only 9% female
and our Congress is less than
20%.
- Women
still only make on average
.71 cents per every $1.00
earned by men.
- Women
are still 90% of the world's
illiterates.
- Have
you ever heard a man talk
about how he will combine
his career with child rearing?
etc...
Unfortunately, I don't know
enough about Canada to give
specific examples. Perhaps you
can use the above as a guide
and ask similiar questions of
your government.
I hope this helps—good
luck with your paper and please
let me know if you need more
examples. I would be happy to
put more thought to it.
—Amy
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