Why Feminism Matters

The question of why we would need to know about the three major Feminist movements within the United States was posed to me this week. While I'm sure that there are many very suitable and fine answers to that question, I can only think of one that resonates with small "t" truth for me. And that answer is very simply this: Because as has already been stated in class, most of the work being done on gender today is being conducted and composed by females, namely Feminists of one ilk or another (mostly post-feminists, 2^nd or 3^rd wave devotees).

This is an extremely important piece of information. In order to analyze and understand a piece, we need to have an idea of the time in which it was written and a grasp of the ideology behind it. We must understand (or at least be able to identify) these various Feminist movements and their goals so that we may have a more workable understanding of these author's perspectives.

Sun Tzu, the famous militarist strategist, believed and taught that one should be able to analyze and critique the armies of both your allies and your enemies. By knowing them (i.e. understanding their beliefs, attitudes, values), you have the advantage. You can anticipate their strategies, methods, movements, etc...

What does the above paragraph have to do with the Feminism question? I think Sun Tzu's approach to war is applicable to scholarly research as well. I don't want anyone to start making plans to smite their enemies in the Academy, but even Sun Tzu said that all battles are fought in the mind.

If we endeavor to understand something of the author (their frame of reference for example) then we ourselves gain insight into the article. This is an invaluable skill for the serious student for the more insight we can gain, the more knowledge we may gain. Or, in plainer terms, if we understand where the author is coming from, we may understand the article's messages better.

To begin with the three major Feminist movements in the United States makes perfect sense for another reason as well. Most of the scholarly works on gender were generated because of these movements, either in support or opposition of them. We have to be able to identify the individual movements time period and goals to have a foundational base to work from while reading these articles.

Ironically, one of the first things that we read was a D.H. Lawrence defense of his most famous novel. This novel was written well before the Women's Movements, but because it conceivably had a large part in helping to start Women's Movements, much as Betty Freidan's The Feminine Mystique did, it also ties into Feminism in a very real way.