Feminism in France and in the United States of America: A comparison

Type :

Term papers

Pages :

14 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

09/29/2009

Category :

Philosophy & literature

Sub category :

Humanities/philosophy

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Summary :

Introduction
Definitions of feminism
Monique Remy's view
The fight of feminists
Political feminism
The common points between French feminism and American feminism
Anglo-American feminist movement
The most powerful movements in Atlantic
The relations between action and assertion of autonomy
The spectrum of contraception or of abortion
The struggle against the reproductive role of women
Success of the preliminary small trials
The history of feminism
First fruits of feminism, during the mid nineteenth century
Religious and moral reform movements in the US and its effect on women
The idenity movements
Differences in the US and the French traditions
Conclusion
Bibliography

Abstract

This comparative study arouses already some stakes to this first word. How do we define feminism in a strict way that is stripped of any subjectivity? To define this controversial word appears not only useful but also a necessary starting point to this essay. According to Le Petit Robert, feminism can be defined as a "Doctrine which has the objective of the extension of rights, the role of women in society." Then, it is understood through the medical spectrum as an aspect of a male individual that presents some secondary characteristics of the female sex. While the second definition has nothing to do with the "feminism" studied as a social and identity movement, the first one is ideologically limited and hence, inadequate.

On the other hand, as feminism has got numerous definitions, it is also present in diverse theories. For instance, Simone de Beauvoir assumed, from the point of view of the existentialism, that there was not a nature of women, but that femininity was a social product: