Historical Shortcomings of the Feminist Movement

The feminist movement refers to women's social movement, mostly practiced in the U.S, whereby women seeking equal rights and opportunities in their daily activities, politics, and also in their personal lives. However, the feminist movement has historical shortcoming. Firstly, women saw themselves as the special gender and they separated themselves professionally and personally from the rest of the society. Secondly, feminist movements made women to undermine the traditional values, it influenced the western world and culture in a major way.

Thirdly, despite the amendment of the anti-discrimination laws, women had equal employment opportunities but the law of protecting women at work had not been enforced. The goal to meet women's equality wasn't met as well. Hence, their claims were not entirely addressed up to date. Additionally, when the western feminists joined together for their rights, they did not get full support from the Islamic feminist who wanted to create their own identity and also to separate themselves from the Western feminist's traditions.

However, the women universalization in the mainstream feminist has been problematic as well, it misled women from the traditional values and liberals, it also emanated out of the social democratic. Actually, it did not fight against the white womanhood cultural norms (Davis, 1997).

Question 2

Nations are considered as imagined communities because members from largest to the smallest nations barely know their fellow members, hear of them or even meeting them. Nevertheless, in the back of their minds, they have a communion image. Despite the fact that these people might have the same interest, they may never know or meet these members face-to-face. Additionally, a nation could be imagined as a community because of the horizontal comradeship irrespective of the actual inequality. However, these communities are supposed to be differentiated by the style they are imagined to be and not by their genuineness or falsity (Davis, 1997).

Imagined communities can either be sovereign or inherently limited. A nation can be considered as inherently limited since even the largest of most of them, encompass probably billions of people or rather living human being, its elastic boundaries are actually finite. On the other hand, the nation could be imagined as sovereign because the conception was created in an age where revolutions and enlightenment destroyed the legitimacy of the ordained divinity. However, even after its maturity, human history was still devoted to some universal religions (Davis, 1997).

Question 3

Muslim women do not need to be saved by Western feminists because they are also powerful enough to save themselves; again their courts are religiously different from the western courts. Also, these Muslim women might be facing some problems in their country but don't mean they need help from the west. However, it's wrong and inappropriate because Muslim women and the Western women belong in distinct idiosyncrasies, hence perceiving things differently. Therefore, the Muslim women probably want to follow or respect their customs, they have a right to devote to their God the way they want. They do not need saving if they don't feel oppressed in the first place (Davis, 1997).

Additionally, most Muslim women say that they would not want to be oppressed by men but at the same time, they wouldn't like to be imposed by other women's ideologies as well. The idea of western feminists alone on saving Muslim women makes them feel like little creatures that are probably in need of some desperate help from the western powerful women. Even according to the cultural relativism, it's not appropriate to save others behind their backs.

Question 4

According to Yuval-Davis women frequently symbolize the national collectivity, its spirit, its roots and its national project since they are expected to play the social role of mingling with other generations, most of these women also tend to fall in love with an enemy, probably from another culture. However, women's behavior signifies cultural and ethnic boundaries.

Question 5

Black women's hair is an embodiment of their intersectionality because it's symbolic and spiritually connects them to their culture; it's basically their cultural code. However, black women or the feminists of color find it difficult to face the world through the intersectionality lens. Additionally, intersectionality is considered as a very intense focus especially on the identity of race and ethnicity. It's also perceived as a political identity (Davis, 1997).

Question 6

Beauty industry framed beauty in terms of whiteness as well as exoticism of ethnic women because it caused a collision between races and gender which led to misrecognition of beauty experience. Beauty can affect a woman hence, the beauty industry considered whites more beautiful than the blacks, which was entirely inappropriate. Black women are also allowed to be considered as beautiful. Therefore, these beauty ideals were entirely unrealistic.

Definition of key terminologies

Race- this refers to the genetic categorization of human groups, based on their social, character, physical, cultural, or genetic traits.

Ethnicity-this term refers to the people's culture in a certain geographical area or belonging to a certain social group which has a common tradition.

Racism- this is the act of antagonizing or discriminating someone or a certain social group directly.

Gender- this refers to the characteristics of the society, it's demarked as feminine or masculine.

Sex- refers to the state of being a female or male, it's typically the biological differences.

Sexism-refers to any cultural elements that can promote discrimination of gender or person's sex, however, sexism can foster rape, sexual harassments or even sexual violence.

Intersectionality-this term is defined as a sociological theory that describes various discrimination threats of social group categories such as gender, race, class, ethnicity, age, or even other characteristics

Globalization-according to the feminist perspective, globalization is the economic, cultural, social, political, communications and migration.

Neoliberalism- refers to the ideology of transferring economic control factors from the public sector to the private sector. It is considered as a process of privatization.

Representation-this refers to the act of portraying something or someone in a particular way, also it is considered as acting on behalf of someone.

Orientalism-this refers to some character traits of people and their culture especially in Asia, where people embody a colonist attitude in a stereotyped manner.

Ethnocentrism-this is the practice of evaluating other cultures in accordance with the preconception of customs or standards of the culture they have originated from.

Cultural relativism- theoretically this term refers to the beliefs, values, customs, and people's practices based on their own culture.

The "Other"-basically this refers to an individual belonging to a certain ethnic group

Colorism-this refers to the act of discriminating people with dark skin or blacks in the same racial or ethnic group.

Reference

Davis, N. Y. (1997). Gender & Nation. SAGE Publication Ltd