Feminism, according to the “Feminist Politics Where We Stand,” is defined as “a drive to end chauvinism, sexist mistreatment, and oppression.” Feminism implies a program that is used to campaign for women’s or female rights based on sex that has been violated. Issues on sexual liberation, violence, divorce and custody laws changes, and reproductive rights for women have been worked on by activists.

Earlier, my thinking on feminism was that only women take part in the campaign against female exploitation and oppression. The paper shows that there is no gender in campaigning against the wrongs or violations of female rights (Hooks 1). Therefore, both male and female activists can participate in the feminist movement. Both men and women live a mutual life; hence, we live a life that has a vision, living with interaction being shaped by mutuality. Men and women have entered the workforce and need equal pay for equal work as men. Domestic issues, for instance, are known to be a female working all the house chores in the patriarchy. This should not be the case, according to this paper. This is because females have attained the same qualifications as men, and therefore they have to share equally what they do at home.

Gender is the roles that females and males are culturally and socially expected to do based on their biological sex (Hooks 29). ” According to sex and gender 101”, gender can be put into three categories; gender identity, gender assignment, and gender expression. A person is either categorized to be feminine or masculine based on his or her external genitalia. Also, the thinking or thought that an individual has on his or herself concerning gender is identification. In addition, one expresses his or her gender identity by the way he or her clothes, walking style, and makeup. Gender and sex can be used together, though sex majorly is based on biological differences (Hooks 32). The range of identities that are not based on either the female or male is denoted by gender. According to me, gender was either feminine or masculine, putting into consideration their differences in cultural and social life. There is not much difference in my thinking and that of “sex and gender 101”, though it shows further clarification or explanation of my understanding of gender.

In life, gender is a word always used in dealing with the identification of people in society, depending on roles and their thinking. Sex and gender are similar though more clarification is given to sex in regards to biological issues.

Bell Hooks defines feminism as “a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression.” I’ve always struggled with the meaning of feminism because I feel like there’s no right answer. To me is women’s rights. It’s a movement that women did to fight to have the same rights as men. Quickly after reading the sentence, “Masses of people think that feminism is always and only about women seeking to be equal to men. And a huge majority of these folks think feminism is anti-male” As I kept reading Hooks, informed me more about the word feminism and how “As contemporary feminism progressed, as women realized that males were not the only group in our society who supported sexist thinking and behavior – that females could be sexist as well – anti-male sentiment no longer shaped the movement’s conscious- ness.” After reading this I now have more of a better understanding and my mind has shifted in definitely. There is no better or bigger gender. She also mentions how the media has portrayed in all of this. I 100% agree because I am someone who’s always on social media and go based on what I see. For example, women are rallying together now because of abortions and blaming men because they are the ones making these laws but I also see women in the comments agreeing to these laws. Reading this defiantly opened my eyes on this movement.

After reading Sex and Gender 101, wow! Growing up, when I was in school we use to use straight, gay, or lesbian. It wasn’t until I was older that we learned about transgender. I never gave in to learn more about it, not because I didn’t care but because after a while it started getting more and more confusing. Til this day I am still not 100% educated on the LGBTQ community. I know I love them all, I see you the same, a human. I don’t care, as long as you’re happy. I knew about gender, basic biological sex when it came to male, female and instersex but didn’t know about sexual orientation. I didn’t know about “cisgender” or “pansexual” so this reading defiantly educated me. I also agree that gender expression does change over time! I’ve witnessed this overtime and I feel like everyone should “Choose-Your-Own-Adventure!” Growing up I had friends that wanted to get their feet wet and experience having sex with their same sex and I don’t think there’s nothing wrong with that. I personally want to take a swim in that pond one day

I will say my idea of feminist was not far from the one the text provide. But i do think the understanding of it is what is wrong. I like how the text clarify that feminist is not about being anti-man but more of equality and how sexist do not necessarily have a target sex but rather can go either way. Also it goes father then a sex it is behaviors and thinking. Clearly feminist is always seen as a female that can be breaking culture stereotypes and somehow “disobedient” but as Sex and gender 101 explain there are a difference between sex , genders, sexual orientation, etc I think this goes along with the text because it is important to know the difference before cataloging a word or act under something which does not necessarily means that.

Another word that caught my attention was pansexual which basically you don’t like the either sex but like the person personality is a completely new word to me and find it really interesting because i do happens a lot. This article has been a great source to clarify many question.

before I read a chapter of the book feminist politics I had heard of the word feminism before I heard of definitions of it but never truly understood what it meant as a women. I come from a women and I am a women yet I was never sure what being a feminist meant. then later on I heard someone say that feminism is basically a word made up by women who started to fight to have equal rights as men. that women thought that if we both are humans why should men be leaders what gave them the right to decide that we women are weak , that we should follow the man and never be a leader that women we born to breed and cook and take beatings from their husband because they took the bread home and all they did was sit home all day. what I understood from this quote ” a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression.” is that being a feminist is a movement to end being judge because of our sex, being exploited because we are women and being oppressed and told what to do with our own bodies because we were born with a female genital at least that’s what I’m getting from this quote. what this quote and the definition of feminism means are kinda different to me now because before my definition of it was different I thought that it meant just being allowed to do the same thing that men do but its not just that, is being able to being free and do as we pleased without the judgement that we can’t do it simply because we women. how we have to dress a certain way to be respected , how we gotta talk a certain way if we want to be listened . everyday we combat sexism and we try out best to end it . how we fight to be equal in a way that doest let men determine our worth. lastly reading sex and gender 101 made no different as I had already an idea of what gender was excluding pansexual and cisgender those two definitions is definitely something new to learn because I had always heard of those words but not the definition of It . I also learned that gender doest necessarily means that’s who we are It just defines our sex but not our personality , how even if we have sex with the same gender doesn’t mean it changes out sexuality its just something some people like to try at least once in their life.

When I was reading the essay ” Feminist Politics Where We Stand” Belle Hooks defined feminism as “a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression” this definition that the author gave means that the movement is not about anti male, the major problem here is sexism they just didn’t want to have equal rights to men they wanted for the neglect towards women to stop. The word feminism means ” the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes”. Besides the sexism there was also racism. The quote the author stated was “Early on most feminist activists (a majority of whom were white) had their consciousness raised about the nature of male domination when they were working in anti-classist and anti-racist settings with men who were telling the world about the importance of freedom while subordinating the women in their ranks.” So black women did have much support in this movement. But black women were working towards civil rights and black liberation and Native American women were fighting for indigenous rights. This definition compares to what I thought feminism meant but it was similar because I originally thought feminism meant women who were fighting to have equal rights to men but thats not the full definition it’s part of it. When I was reading ” Sex Gender 101″ I had the same definition as everyone else did about gender. The definition for gender is either of the two sexes (male and female), especially when considered with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones. The term is also used more broadly to denote a range of identities that do not correspond to established ideas of male and female. Their definition of gender is Men have XY chromosomes and that develops to the male sex hormones, the testosterone, and male reproductive organs like the testes and penis. Puberty for men develops secondary sex characteristics such as facial, pubic and body hair and a deeper voice. For us females we have XX chromosomes, this develops the female sex hormones for example estrogen, and female reproductive organs like the ovaries, uterus, and vagina. Puberty for women is a bit similar to puberty for men, we have secondary sex characteristics such as breast development, pubic and body hair and wider hips. People have one mentally about gender, but “Gender refers to the social and cultural roles that males and females are expected to subscribe to based on their biological sex”. But my point of view has changed for both definitions of gender and feminism.

Feminism has been a widely discussed subject throughout recent history. There is much discourse about feminism, about what it means and what it stands for. The general concession is that it is a movement put forward to improve the socio-political standing of women. It sounds like a reasonable enough definition. After all, the word itself is closely related to “feminine”. This has led many to believe that feminism is solely for the benefit of women, that it is anti-male, that it promotes the superiority of women rather than equality. While it may had started out that way, early feminists filled with righteous anger at the injustice and domination leading the movement, feminism is far more nuanced than just a “he v/s she” issue. It is about ending sexism, irrespective of the gender and making the world an equal level playing field for everyone.

In the essay Feminist Politics Where We Stand, author Bell Hooks defines feminism as “a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression”. What she means is that feminism is not just the battle against systematic and historic domination of women, it is against sexist notions, perpetuated by patriarchy, that disadvantage men as well. It is as much about destigmatizing emotional vulnerability in men as it is about giving women equal opportunities in the workforce.

Hook understands that the feminist movement isn’t without flaws and that women aren’t absolved of all responsibility simply because they are women. In fact, she highlights the disconnect within the women, separated by race and class. She says, “By accepting and indeed colluding with the subordination of working-class and poor women, they not only ally themselves with the existing patriarchy and its concomitant sexism, they give themselves the right to lead a double life, one where they are the equals of men in the workforce and at home when they want to be.” As an immigrant woman of color, this resonated the most with me. I had always believed feminism to be an “all women” against “all hindrances” thing but I never realized how different hindrances looked like to different socio-economic groups.

This disparity can be further seen when it comes to gender and sexuality. In the article Sex and Gender 101, Kyl Myers provides us a brief description about sex and gender and how diverse it can be. After the reading, I couldn’t help but notice how feminism mostly talks in binary in terms of gender. This is especially interesting since feminism, in theory, is against traditional gender roles. This should make gender identity a more prominent part of the movement rather than the sex (of male and female). This further reiterates Hook’s observation about the disconnect in feminism. While a privileged white woman may be lauded for breaking beauty standards by growing out her body hair, an ethnic woman already masculinized by euro centric beauty standards and a non cisgender woman may not have the same luxury.

Both Belle Hook’s and Kyle Myers’ readings have reinforce the idea of feminism I already had. They have verbalized what I could never put into words. Feminism isn’t just about women against men, it is about everyone, irrespective of gender, race, class and sexuality toppling sexism and oppression. Feminism isn’t about saying men and women are equal in all regards, it is about understanding that all genders should be treated equally, no matter their differences.

Bell Hooks analyzes the misunderstanding of feminism in the short story “Feminist Politics: Where We Stand.” According to Bell Hooks, the patriarchy of America causes feminism to be misunderstood since the media portrays feminism as an anti-male movement. Feminism, on the other hand, is the polar opposite of anti-male organizations. Feminism is defined by the equality of men and women. Feminism was born out of women’s dissatisfaction with the patriarchy, which is ruled by men. Women and men should be equal whether it’s at work or home both should be treated the same. Many individuals have this misconception, which is why it’s critical to educate others about the actuality of feminism. In the article it states ” We can share the simple yet powerful message that feminism is a movement to end sexist oppression.” I believe people shouldn’t be Bias against women based on their sex or gender. This type of behavior establishes boundaries between what men and boys may and should do, as well as what women and girls can and should do which is not what feminism is. Feminists despised the sexism commonly associated with men. The majority, on the other hand, dismissed anti-male emotions once they realized that women can hold sexist views as well. When women treat one another in a sexist manner, they are simply adding to the oppressive environment that prevails in our society. Women should encourage one another and utilize competition as an incentive to attain achievement.

Sex And Gender 101

After reading Sex and Gender 101 I have a more clear understanding on the differences of a persons gender and sex. I really enjoyed reading this article because a lot of people aren’t educated on this topic and get mislead on the definition of what sex and gender really is. In the article it states that “Upon assigning a gender, children are then socialized according to the gender roles of the culture they were born into”. Which is true because some kids are struggling with finding who they really are and most of them are scared because they don’t want to be judge. I really enjoyed both of these articles learned the difference between the sex and gender of a person and also the real definition of feminism.

She describes Feminism as “A movement to end sexism, sexiest exploitation and oppression”.  Bell states that a lot of the ideas that surround feminism is that its anti-man and that most of these ideas are perpetrated by the mainstream media. Bell Hooks states that Feminist theory is for everyone. Bell Hooks states that Feminist theory is for everyone including people who are and aren’t women that includes people from all different races, classes, and people old or young. I always thought of feminism to be women who fights for equality to men in political, social and economic aspects in society. Feminism means everyone is treated equal, fair and with respect whether you’re a female or male (pro-equality). As a social worker I know that is it very important to treat everyone equal and with respect because I believe most people have experience oppression and understands the devastating impact it can have on a person or group. I also believe that being a feminist is being one’s most authentic self. My understanding of feminism was similar to that if Bell Hooks especially when she emphasized on putting feminism in a wider audience and making it more accessible. She also stated that placing feminism in the academic sphere will help to legitimize it. I believe so because I understand what a feminist is but that’s the most I could really say.

Sex is the physiological structures that makes us who we are like our chromosomes, the shapes of our body and internal parts of the body (hormones). The article defines Gender as the way we see ourselves or the way the world expects us to behave. It also speaks about sexual behaviors meaning whose body do you desire? And orientations which having to do more so with love, who do u see yourselves settling down with, build a home and family? The article sexuality and gender also speak about how society perceives gender as feminine and masculine. Closed minded people believe that people who we see as male will move throughout the world doing masculine ways and expect that they will be attracted to the opposite gender, female, vice versa.  I was not surprised or new to any of this information as I have studied sex and gender before. Once I heard about Gender and women’s study, I automatically assumed this would be a refresher course of Sexuality and Gender as its been a long time since I’ve learnt about this topic.

The definition “a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression” is a true feminism meaning to me. Connecting to Hooks, I believe it shows that we are not anti men. Hooks mentions how feminism isn’t what it’s made out to be in society. Feminism is usually in a bad light, especially from mens perspectives. They are usually caught off guard when a feminist promotes equal rights and not belittle men. This assumption causes the movement to be overlooked or not taken seriously. I admire Hooks’ take on this, as it is refreshing to see a woman that wants to be equal, not more powerful or dominant. The definition also refers to women and how they play a role in sexism. “As a consequence, females can be just as sexist as men”(pg.4). Taking accountability for the female gender is something not pleasant, but needed. Women become wrapped up in sexism, causing them to believe that men should be less in power. In order for feminism to progress as a movement, we must look at both sides. Compared to what i thought feminism meant before this reading, It was quite similar. I always believed that this movement was deeper than “hating men” or “being dominant”. Hooks makes it clear that equality is the goal. Getting rid of the negative stigma feminism has around it can lead to more support and a healthier society. After reading sex and gender 101, i have a different take on gender. It really dives deep into what gender means in society. I always assumed sex equalled gender, but it is just what we are assigned based on social and cultural roles. This leads to expecting a female to be feminine and a male to be masculine. Society putting pressure on each other since children to act a certain way based on gender is why many aren’t comfortable with themselves. The article made me realize how gender has caused toxic masculinity, lack of women’s rights, oppression, sexism, and much more. It mentions how gender is why some cultures view boys’ education as more valuable, whereas women aren’t valued. If masculinity and femininity wasn’t assigned to sex, many of these problems wouldn’t exist. Should gender be assigned at birth? I can see why many may be against it now. People may be able to grow up without the pressures of acting a certain way because of a social construct.

After reading this piece about feminist politics, the word means to me that women who want equality to do anything a man can do. Whether it be in the workplace, in the house setting, or politically. Over the years, the word “Feminism” has been altered to different meanings. Everyone believed that a feminist needs to hate and be angry with men, or that it had more to do with being sexist, which is not the case at all. The article states,”as women realized that males were not the only group in our society who supported sexist thinking and behavior that females could be sexist as well.” This proves that feminism has nothing to do with sexist men, because women can also be just as sexist as men. Before reading this book, my definition on feminism has completey shifted. I thought being a feminist means to one up men in any chance I get. To showcase why women were better at being the breadwinner of the difficult situation. I believe men should be subordinate to us, being we are the important and smarter human beings. When in reality men and women should be equal in everything society has to offer us. There is no superior gender.

The reading “Sex and Gender 101” was kind of was I thought. Sex and gender are completey two different definitions. The article states, “sex refers to anatomy and pshysiology.” My definition was sex refers to our bioglocial body parts. A penis meant a person had female sex chromosomes. Gender to me means how a person wants society to identify them as more importantly how they view themselves. What I learned from this article is the word “Intersex”. The text says, “There are several different sex chromsome variations that intersex persons can have” I find this to be very interesting, for the simple fact that a male can have xx chromosomes and reproductive organs but has male parts. I never thought this was possible or even real. I heard stories about it from people, however, I did not believe it. I also find it fascinating and I have so many questions. How does this come to be or is it hereditary. What are daily struggle one has to experience with being intersex person. Can this stop them from doing certain activities or being able to have children the natural way? Overall, I enjoyed reading these two pieces, it taught me the value of what it means to be a feminist and the difference between Sex and Gender.