Social Movement Feminism

History has been punctuated here and there by certain calls for action that allude to particular groups and their interests. These calls for action, which are conceptually called social movements, range from the seemingly vague and domestic to the radical and highly political. Social movements have covered everything from the personal, such as support groups for individuals dealing with addiction, to political movements that upset balances of power in a society, such as the Arab Spring. These points of dissent are due to the fact that politics is not just a discourse on power. More often than not, politics is also about taking into account the interests and demands of many individuals and groups in society and deciding how resources will be

In line with this, one the most relevant, vocal, and dynamic social movements the world has today is the feminist movement. It has been steadily gaining momentum during the past few years by underscoring the importance of the role that women play in society as well as the need for equality in women’s and men’s rights. Furthermore, the movement has brought attention to problematic stereotypes and issues that women face in society, such as slut-shaming, rape, and bullying. Therefore, it is salient to talk about social movements – feminism, especially – because it has been a major player in the way groups and individuals in society have been dealing with their interests and

Simply put, social movements have a “recognized social goal” that it pursues through “intended and planned action” (Heywood). In the case of feminism, the basic goal is equality in the rights of men and women. However, this goal has gone on to include more basic aspects of an individual’s social life, such as how they are addressed in conversation or in writing. In a sense, feminism has succeeded in according equal rights and inclusion to women by way of gender-neutral language. Gender-neutral language is an “inclusive” and “non-sexist” language used in academic and formal discourse. For example, one can say “humankind” or “people” instead of using “man” or “men, because these two terms do not assign gender to the agent. The reconstruction of sentences and phrases is also encouraged to avoid unnecessary specification of gender; one can therefore say “police officers” instead of “policemen” (Marquette University). The gender-neutral shift in language came about as feminists expressed concern over the use of supposedly gender neutral terms such as “he” and “man” when they are not exactly gender neutral (Saul). Furthermore, concerns over the “invisibility of women” in language as well as the establishment of “maleness as a norm” provide the movement with ballast.