Part I
A new spirit exists among women today; more than ever, females are exploring non- traditional domains. May it be known that women might just be at the peak of an emergence from a period of subjection. Women today hold a new kind of collective and cooperative devotion for the search of knowledge, and a social revolution has hence inspired scholarship in areas previously not explored among women’s culture. Their focus in fields of anthropology, history, legal studies, etc., has resulted in a number of innovative and important works. It is no exaggeration to say that these fields will never look the same again. According to Shambaugh (2008), more than a third of Fortune 500 companies are managed by women, half of graduates today at the master level are women, and interestingly enough, 9 million more women voted in the last presidential election as apposed to men. Facts should undoubtedly make an argument that the progressive woman ought and could have the prominent ability to be the next leader of today and tomorrow.
In spite of the increasing scholarship among women, comparatively they are rare in top levels and positions; it seems as if only gifted females are drawn to these nontraditional fields. Supporting text, Arnold, Noble, and Subotnik (1996) states, “society looks to exceptional individuals to lead its institutions, transform aesthetic expression, solve significant problems, and produce ideas that change profoundly our conceptions and material lives,” (p. 2) and until recently the vast amount of these individuals have been men. It is from a male perspective in which the knowledge of talent development has been taken. Society has shaped females to believe there are factors which inhibit women’s talents of exceptional ability, and that there isn’t a need for them among a real world accomplished by men. Obstacles have been consistently placed in her path by a society which routinely seems to devalue the female gender. Without doubt, women throughout history and across nations have paid unnecessary prices being victimized to a social order not conducive for the benefit of their human development (Randour, 1987).
The concept of woman’s “inferiority” to man has been ingrained in global society for centuries. Even some of the earliest doctrines proclaimed women to be subordinate to men. In chapter 11 of the book of Corinthians in the New Testament, it says, “For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.” Mohammad wrote in the Koran, “Men are superior to women in account of the qualities in which God has given them pre- eminence.” Depicted in early Greek mythology traditions, during the time of Plato, legends read that Pandora, the first woman, brought evil and misfortune to the world, and Aristotle is quoted in Sophocles’ Ajax- “ a modest silence is a woman’s crown” (Okin, 1979). Depictions insinuate the idea of subjection to the male sex.
Conversely, authors of the 19th century, Bachofen & Morgan suggested in evolutionary theories that perhaps there were societies in which women were publicly recognized as equal to or more powerful than men, and that in earlier stages of human progress social statuses were organized upon the principle of matriarchy. This argument roots from mythical female goddesses, queens, and women rulers of tales and remembered through remains of archeology finds from burial sites, statues, etc. The idea of matriarchy excited recent feminists. However, most academic anthropologists dismiss the view to hold any merit, and believe that these archeological finds of the ancients do not reflect the civilization’s history but are expressions of the culture’s dreams and fantasies. Anthropologists also tend to agree that while there may have been societies in which women achieved social recognition, none had a culture where women received power and authority surpassing men (Rosaldo & Lamphere, 1974). Inferiority of women within these original cultures and traditions habitually carried over into others through the years, and has rightly played into the significance of determining assumed roles between genders.
Male dominance over the females stretches across practically all domains, and it is a wonder in that “any woman managed to get beyond her lot in life” (Arnold et al., 1996, p. 23). Historically, women have lacked independence, property, employment in male leading fields, and access to education. Relatively speaking, females received a devalued status and being treated as deviant was a standard feature of life. As a female, one was attributed with negative stereotype portrayals. There is no question today that the women’s liberation movement sparked an interest in understanding and analyzing women’s lives while breaking barriers and footholds in order for the female sex to make advancement in society. Modifications did not occur immediately, and even today there is still not a complete essence of equality between genders. However, it is thanks to the some of the first outspoken, gifted and eminent women whom paved the way for an entire social order revolution.
Part II
While the feminist movement and theory in itself, has many variants each focusing perceptions on particular phenomena, it has often been conceptualized to political liberalism in terms of equality. The aim was to defend and entitle women to social equality in relation to men. Efforts sought to encourage gender socialization by seeking to change customs and laws, honor and give respect to women in society, as well as, emphasize negativity with male control, domination, and aid in the violence of women’s oppression (Unger & Crawford, 1996). Among all labors, holistically, the span of the Woman’s Movement aspired to affirm valid equality in relation to men and women’s lives - to make them equally valued under the law; the goal was to view “equality as acceptance” and eliminate linear thinking of the prevailing male norm as the legitimate one and women as deviant (Taveris, 1992).
Many believe the Women’s Movement has run its full course; it has even been deemed in certain declarations that efforts have been unsuccessful in achieving aims. However, in some ways these assertions should not be taken seriously. “History stands as overwhelming… evidence to the patriarchal myth… yet it is unlikely that we shall bequeath such a … legacy to our successors” (Spender, 1982, p. 195), for the modern feminist movement brought reform to women and empowerment capable of changing social arrangements.
In time, the feminist movement produced various historical advancements, along with efforts of gender equality, and established women as a “positive” figure. Until this point,
Arnold et. al. (1996) illustrates: Eminence is a man’s game, rooted in hierarchical power structures, driven by competition- sort of a gentleman’s war, with the victor gaining a permanent place in history. Traditionally, men have set up rules of the game, and women have not been allowed to play. [Only] now… women are permitted in the game. (p. 41).
Applying the work of Naranjo and Ornestien (1972) to the reformation, the attainment of liberation can be viewed through the eyes of a female where “an age of self- satisfaction is over, and we have entered an age of seeking” (p. 3), to mean that a time of cooperation of an inaccurate portrayal and performance of an unknown character ended, and an era of sovereignty and self- actualization has begun. The first women to seek entrance to nontraditional fields demonstrated a sense of great disposition while presenting talents and succeeded in spite of opposition. We can argue that these forewomen are attributed as gifted, and emphasized in current definition of eminence (Arnold, 1996). Even among all benefits stemming form the feminist movement, whether they are women’s rights or the entrance of distinguished females, perhaps the most remarkable element to the entire phenomena lies within the creativity of the movement in itself, as women establish the capability of adjust existing conditions within culture and make structural changes among an obstinate social order.
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