Conclusions
When I started with this assignment back in September, I was unsure as to what feminism meant to me. Because of this, I was unable to define exactly what feminism is. But with the help of this assignment and the discussions held in my class, I have been able to put together ideas that I am satisfied with. Feminism to me is joint effort of many people working towards creating gender equality in our society. Although much work has been done, Man and Woman are yet to live in a truly equal society. Woman is still plagued with images in the media, depicting her as ideal when she follows her social roles. Woman is defined by these social roles. Woman is a womb because she is biologically designed to carry her fetus for nine months, and then her hormones cause her to lactate allowing Woman to breastfeed her child. Thus Woman has been historically restricted to the private sphere. Here, Woman has the primary responsibility to raise her children, to do all the house work, and she is also the primary shopper for her household. Although Woman is bombarded with images of being "motherly", Woman is also seen as a sexual object where she acts and dresses sexually because she is told to do so.
Along with being defined by her social roles, Woman is also defined by how closely she fits into the ideal woman image. The ideal woman has a clear complexion, a perfect barbie-shapped body with big breasts and a tiny waist. These ideals are enforced through the advertisements in magazines, bus stops, billboards and on the television.