Allison+Moore+RP+Post+5

I am researching what feminism is like in the 21 st century and attempting to define what modern feminism is. So far I have analyzed two poems and a website supporting feminism. The website that I used as a source attempts the spread the word about how women are treated unfairly in our society and how this needs to be changed. They talk about everything from equal opportunities for women in education, careers and salaries to how women should help themselves to get the recognition they deserve. This website is a helpful link not only for my research but also for women who are in need of a resource for any variety of reason. My first poem that I analyzed talks in a critical tone of voice demanding that women and men be equal because all that women do. I agree with the modern, outspoken author that women deserve equal opportunities and that it should be given because we are all humans but I also believe that nothing is ever won without a fair and just fight. As women and feminists we need to establish how women are going to gain the equal opportunities that they deserve. Maya Angelou, who wrote the second poem that I read, wrote about the same topic but took it from a more reserved point of view. Instead of demanding equal rights, she made a plea as to why it is only fair that men and women are treated equal. She expressed what women do every day that does not separate them from men and that they should not be separate in other aspects of life, either. There are many ways to define feminism, the first is “ a belief in equality, defined not as ‘sameness’ but rather as opposition to ranking one sex superior or inferior to the other, or opposition to one sex's categorical control of the rights and opportunities of the other” (Ford). I can also be defined as “a belief that women's condition is socially constructed and historically shaped rather than preordained by God or nature,” or “a belief that women's socially constructed position situates them on shared ground, enabling a group identity or gender consciousness sufficient to mobilize women for change” (Ford). As with many aspects in life there are different beliefs on feminism such as radicals versus liberals, gender feminism, ecofeminism and racial-specific feminism. Feminism cannot simply be defined by one set of rules or one definition. Many different aspects of feminism and modern-day feminists have to be explored in order to fully understand the meaning of the word.