Background and History
Women's roles in the past century has really been challenged by society. Many women and activists pushing toward equal rights such as: the right to vote, the right to own property, the right to equal pay. These are just a few examples. All over the world social and political groups have been formed to push toward equality. I'm not sure where it all started that women were thought of as inferior or less deserving of basic rights but it seems to be trend across the world according to my research. The German Austrian culture handles the feminist movement a little differently compared to the Irish culture. Through a series of interviews and a few pictures hopefully a better understanding will form about how feminism impacts the roles of women. Analyzing women's roles in different countries provides insight into how these countries handle the topic.
The feminist movement began in the eighteenth century during the French Revolution. This was regarding the fact that all human beings are rational creatures who enjoyed the same basic rights. A women by the name Mary Wollstonecraft wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Women. It was later published in 1794. This unfortunately didn't do much. The Emperor Napoleon's Civil Code denied legal rights to women (Pugh, 1997). Throughout the next 6 years the feminist movement was at a stand still.
It wasn't till the 1800 when the ‘first-wave’ of feminism happened. This movement went until the twentieth century. This was a time when they pushed for the right to vote. Putting great emphasis on women's intellectual abilities and access to education. Feminist won this battle, now receiving education and voting rights (Dean, 2015). The ‘second-wave’ for feminism was devoted to the emergence of feminist activism in many European countries. They also focused on the workplace, sexuality, family and reproductive rights. Wave debates are noticeable still today. Especially for the ‘third-wave’. (Dean, 2015 p.379) says, “though some definitions of waves see the third-wave feminism as a ‘thing’ that can be studied, as a rigid set of positions, or as a particular cohort of people, we think it's more helpful to see it as a set of discourses that have different meanings and take on different effects in different contexts.” He is referring to more than just feminist. He is talking about gender with ethnicity, class, sexuality, disability and sometimes religion. Some feminist don't engage themselves with religion because they think religious groups should not be given formal rights. For example, religion should not be considered a protected equality characteristics like ethnicity or gender.
(Duffy, 2000 p.220) says, “A person fills multiple roles in society and constructs a vision of herself with that society. This self definition, this identity, is subjective in nature and tied to cognitive images of the self in relation to others in society and, particularly, to members of social and or demographic groups.” When communism took over some countries of Europe would let women enter the workforce. It was said that entering the workforce never really led to greater freedom for women, but to a double burden, as women were never freed up from their family role assignments in their private lives.
The communist era did complete a couple things for women. One of them was give women accommodation (formally and informally). This is basically a benefits package. Formally It included: extensive maternity benefits, earlier retirement age, day care, medical facilities, etc. Informal benefits looked like this, it was permissible to leave the job to shop for groceries. Anything that supported family responsibilities. However it was rare that a women were considered serious contenders for management and higher decision making positions. (Duffy, 2000 p.221) says, “Traditional values combined with a practical need for men and women to work together for purposes of cultural and family survival.” Women had the power in the private sphere. This allowed forms of any aggressive agents. Abuse, rape and brutality were common.
Depending on the era that a women lived in the feminist movement was in progress. Each wave was making strives toward something different, all focusing on equality. They might not have made extreme strides but it was in the works. Looking at today cultural norms and comparing it to years ago will give insight on how women act today.
References
Dean, J., & Aune, K. (2015). Feminism Resurgent? Mapping Contemporary Feminist Activisms in Europe. Social Movement Studies, 14(4), 375-395. doi:10.1080/14742837.2015.1077112
Duffy, D. M. (2000). Social Identity and its Influence on Women's Roles in East-Central Europe. International Feminist Journal Of Politics, 2(2), 214-243. doi:10.1080/14616740050137447
Pugh, M. (1997, March 27). The Women's Movement. Retrieved October 12, 2017, from http://www.historytoday.com/martin-pugh/womens-movement