Reading books on Feminism can help us understand feminism as a movement and how it had evolved through the centuries. Feminism is based on two premises:
(I)Gender
difference is the foundation of structural inequality between men and women
due to which women suffer social injustice.
(II)The inequality
between the sexes is not because of biological necessity but it is produced by
the cultural construction of gender differences.
Feminism demands equality between men and women.
Here are the 4 must-read books that will help you understand feminism:
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
It was published on 1929. Woolf was invited to give
a lecture on the topic of Women and Fiction in a college for women. She reached
the conclusion that "a woman must have money and a room of her own if
she is to write fiction." Woolf observed that women colleges were
under-funded and women were not given nutritious food. This is completely
opposite to that of men’s colleges.
She wonders if Shakespeare had a talented sister, what the chances of her exploring her talent in patriarchal Elizabethan age were. She points out that a woman writer lives under constant pressure from patriarchy which often pushes women writers, (their novels & characters) to the point of insanity. In the end, Woolf tells women that they should work toward having five hundred pounds a year and a room of their own in which to write to produce works of genius.
The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
Published in 1949, this essay talks about how women
have been treated throughout history. Women are defined in relation to men; not the other way about. This
results in inequality.
Men
go out into the world to impose their will on it, whereas women are doomed to inwardness.
He creates, acts, invents; she waits for him to save her. Beauvoir
researches how women got this inferior status in society. Although she finds
plenty of examples of female subordination in history, she cannot find any justification
for it.
She says that women are not born “feminine” but shaped by a thousand external processes. She shows how, at each stage of her upbringing, a girl is conditioned into accepting passivity, dependence, repetition, and inwardness. In the end, she gives a solution on how women canget rid of ‘the second sex’ status in society.
We Should all be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Published in 2014 and based on the
famous Tedx talk of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, this book is a must read.
The personal, eloquently argued
essay offers readers a unique definition of feminism for the 21st century, one that
is rooted in inclusion and awareness. The author draws extensively from her own
experiences and her deep understanding of the often masked realities of sexual
politics.
She states: ‘I would like to
ask that we begin to dream about and plan for a different world. A fairer
world. A world of happier men and happier women who are truer to themselves.
And this is how to start: we must raise our daughters differently. We must also
raise our sons differently…’
A very powerful and relevant book on feminism that is only 64 pages long.
Seeing Like a Feminist by Nivedita Menon
Published in 2012, Seeing Like a Feminist talks
about a wide range of things. The author states that feminism is not about a single moment of final triumph over patriarchy
but about the gradual transformation of society.
She talks about sexual harassment
charges against international figures, challenges that caste politics poses to
feminism, feminist dilemmas regarding surrogacy, the ban on the veil in France,
the attempt to impose skirts on international women badminton players and
several other topics. This book will help you understand how to look at the
various issues of the world as a feminist and how it can make a difference.
Having a better understanding and
knowledge of feminism can help us fight patriarchy better. So, do check
out these amazing books and have an enriching read.
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