1. Definition & Connotations
Feminism, as a theory and practice including the belief in equality between men and women, also represents an ideology of social change, aiming to eliminate the oppression and discrimination against women as a social group in the economy, society, and politics (Dominelli, 2017).
The connotation of feminism is deepening with the development of feminist research. From the overall principle of the feminist legal theory, some scholars define the concept of feminism as a critical interpretation of women’s subordination (West, 2018). Some scholars also interpret the feminist consciousness as a victim consciousness, that is, women are aware of the unfairness of social power distribution and that they are victims of such unfairness (Jackson, 2018). And the concept of feminism is interpreted as that the submission of females as a group to males as a group is the basic determinant of all other aspects of social life (Dominelli, 2017). To sum up, this article argues that feminism should involve all aspects of social life, including political power, economic order, ideology, ethics, education, law, and sexual control and submission.
In a larger social context, the connotation of feminism can be further expanded as follows:
1. Opposing oppression and discrimination in any form
Although the focus of feminism is to strive for more equality and social rights for women, on a larger level, feminism is more focused on the marginalized groups of society, criticizing the traditional social structure and system from the perspective of the weak group, and seeking specific solutions to social problems.
2. Opposing all gender discrimination
Gender discrimination against women is not manifested in a single level of family, society, or law, but in many details of all aspects of social life. To this end, combating gender discrimination is to strive for women’s equal rights in all social fields. Therefore, the oppression and discrimination that feminism opposes are to endeavor for more equal rights from the perspective of all weak social groups and individuals.
2. Etymology & History
Feminism originated from French, and its meaning is synonymous with women’s liberation. In the 1980s, it became a commonly used English word, of which the core interpretation is the idea of gender equality generated by natural human rights (Mohajan, 2022).
In western society, the attention to gender equality has a long history. The concept of “misogyny” in ancient myths and legends extremely depreciated women, resulting in long-term social oppression of females. Nevertheless, in the ancient Greek period, the concept of “female revenge” also emerged. Plato, Aristotle, and other great philosophers thought about the natural conditions of men and women and put forward the original idea of equality between two genders (Pomeroy, 1995; Bates, 2021). During the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, a number of thinkers broke through the shackles of metaphysics and theology and proposed ideas such as natural human rights, freedom and equality, equal rights between men and women, and women’s right to education (Botting, 2016). Modern feminism inherits the humanistic thought since the Renaissance, devotes itself to paying attention to the status and rights of females in family and social relations, and constructs relevant theories such as modern women’s liberation (Landes, 2013).
In the 20th century, feminism has had a new theoretical turn. Its focus has shifted from criticizing the patriarchal society and the struggle against patriarchy to the root cause of discrimination against women, that is, the male-centered social and cultural systems, in order to strive for more women’s equal rights from men. It can be said that modern feminism is an ideological trend of struggle to eliminate the oppression of women’s politics, economy, and life (Dominelli, 2017). Until the second half of the 20th century, the feminist theory had a broader understanding, began to emphasize the individual characteristics of women, and more fully respected gender equality. Feminists pursued women’s own values, and then analyzed the source and solution of gender inequality in a patriarchal society from the perspective of women’s gender (Mohajan, 2022).
As per the research and analysis of its history, the term “feminism” can be deemed as a concept with its specific era, national boundaries, and cultural meanings. Concerning the origin, it specifically refers to the trend of anti-sexism and striving for gender equality among middle-class women in the mainstream society of developed countries in Europe and the United States.
3. Context & Examples
Contemporary feminism believes that if men and women want to make progress together as human beings, they shall establish and maintain benign, harmonious, and equal gender relations. This ideal gender relationship also reflects the ultimate appeal of feminism in the sociological sense, that is, to achieve gender equality in a real sense in multiple fields and contexts.
3.1. Gender equality in discourse power and space
Female media provides a place to construct female discourse. In the feminist media, it turns its attention to the group of women. The report mainly focuses on women, reflecting their living conditions and values, which objectively creates their own discourse space for women. The feminist culture was once lost under the hegemony of male discourse (Peng, 2021). The rise of female media and the establishment of women’s dominant position undoubtedly provided a great opportunity to rebuild women’s culture. Women’s desire is closely related to their political requirements, and women’s anti-traditional writing style should be regarded as the expression of women’s desire and the political action of feminism (Celis & Lovenduski, 2018).
On the issue of discourse power, liberal feminism believes that the existing authority and power are utilized to rule and exploit all individuals, Marxist feminism believes that power is the power of the ruling class to rule the ruled class, and postmodern feminism defines power as decentralized and diffuse, rather than concentrated in a certain institution or group (Mohajan, 2022). In the past, women were generally believed to value things more than words. For example, they pay more attention to the problems of low wages, rape, and infanticide, rather than being marginalized in historical documents. In this regard, contemporary feminism advocates a mode transformation within the women’s movement, that is, from focusing only on things to paying more attention to discourse. They firmly believe that discourse power is one of the most fundamental powers to promote feminist movements and reforms.
3.2. Gender equality in the workplace
In the workplace, men and women should form a team partnership formed by completing the common career ideal. Specifically, there may be relationships between males and females, such as colleague relationships, superior-subordinate relationships, cooperative relationships, etc. The three levels of communication should also be based on equal labor relations. It should be emphasized that the relationship between men and women established through labor relations is still mainstream at the current stage. In such a relationship, equal treatment of men and women and equal pay for equal work should be the most basic guarantee, which is also emphasized and pursued by contemporary feminism. At a deeper level, in terms of promotion, human resource training, leader election, and other aspects, employees of different genders should also be given the same treatment and opportunities for promotion and selection (Macdonald & Charlesworth, 2018).
At present, with the continuous efforts of feminism, the problem of equal pay for equal work for men and women has been solved to varying degrees in most countries. However, in the context of the workplace, women still face a lot of potential discrimination and injustice, e.g., it is rare for women to be the top leaders. Most women in the workplace are still in positions to assist male leaders. In the process of electing leaders, women should have been able to participate more in executive management by adding more female candidates, whereas the real answer is no (Mavin & Grandy, 2019).
3.3. Gender equality in politics
In the past decades, feminism has made some progress in the struggle for gender equality in politics, but it still fails to change the dominant position of masculinity in politics. Under the long-term promotion of feminism, women have gone through the process of striving for the right to participate in politics, and have made significant progress in obtaining the right to attain top political leadership positions and power. Especially in recent years, many countries have witnessed the first female president or prime minister, which is the practical representation of feminism promoting social progress (Celis & Lovenduski, 2018). Whereas, most of the women in the highest political positions are single, divorced, or unmarried. From a certain point of view, their personality is still representative of men, and these female politicians are often regarded with masculine characteristics, and cannot represent general women in the political field in essence (Mavin & Grandy, 2019).
4. Conclusion
Throughout the development and evolution of feminism in the past two hundred years, feminism, with the core goal of studying women’s issues and seeking women’s liberation, has achieved a historical development from birth to growth with the change of social structure and historical evolution and has become an important theoretical position that makes the majority of women’s personality be highlighted and their personality be fully respected. In the view of feminism, women are the resplendent history of human individuals, with independent and ideal brilliance, and they play an irreplaceable historical role in the development of human society. At the same time, females are also a force easily underestimated by the world. The emergence of feminism has greatly disintegrated the social structure of the male-dominated society and patriarchy, making it possible for women to improve their subjective consciousness and realize individual liberation against oppression.
References
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