Research Proposal

Natalie Forney

Prof. Sonia Apgar Begert

English 102

26 Oct. 2015

Introduction

Feminism is a word that is tossed around quite often in modern politics, economics, and culture, but it seems that nobody can agree on its meaning. The Webster’s dictionary defines feminism as “the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of social, political, and economical equality to men.” Although most people seem to agree with this principle, so few people in America are confident in calling themselves a feminist. How has the word feminism obtained a negative connotation in today’s society? What has changed within feminist theory that has changed the feminist movement? Is feminism beginning to have a negative effect on society? This project will explain just how feminism has evolved through history, why it has taken on this negative connotation, what feminism has come to mean today, and how that needs to change.

Review of Literature

So far, sources including books, websites, news articles, and peer-reviewed scholarly articles have been used for research to understand the many different types of feminism, issues of modern feminism, differing opinions on the subject, and observations made by scholars; ten of the sources used so far will be listed here. The website of the “National Organization for Women,” one of the main modern organizations for feminism lists the six major goals and plans to reach them in the larger feminist movement. This as well as visual aids and descriptions have helped me in understanding the political establishment the feminist movement holds.

Several peer-reviewed articles has helped me understand a scholars viewpoint on what feminism is and where it is heading (from both sides of the argument). These articles include "Necessity Of Feminism,” by Andrew M. Greeley, which gives a review of the benefits of feminism as why it is necessary to our society and culture; "Women Today And The Women's Movement,” by Linda Tarr-Whelan, which gives an account of how feminism has evolved into what exists in modern times; "Male Bashing Or What's In A Name? Feminism In The United States Today,” by Christie Farnham, which speaks generally about the effects of feminism in the U.S. on men and culture; "Revisiting The 'Feminization' Of American Culture,” by Philip Gould, which focuses on how our culture today has been shaped and fundamentally changed because of the presence of feminism; and "Feminism, Institutionalism, And The Idiom Of Failure,” by Robyn Wiegman, which explains how feminism and politics are so at odds in today’s society.

Several other online articles as well as government journals have been used to obtain a broader understanding during this search. “The Evolution of Feminism,” by Tasnim Ahmed, an article in the Harvard Political Review, explains more on the subject of how the idea of feminism has changed throughout the years in the United States. “History and Theory of Feminism,” an article from the GWANET network, further talks about the history of feminism and describes the three major waves of feminist theory and their similarities and differences. “Feminist Activist Women are Masculinized in Terms of Digit-Ratio and Social Dominance: A Possible Explanation for the Feminist Paradox,” by Guy Madison, Ulrika Aasa, John Wallert, and Michael A. Woodley, a government journal in Frontiers in Psychology, attempts to portray how women have been turned into men in today’s day and age and this may be one of the reasons for the way feminism has been structured. And finally, “The Women’s Rights Movement, 1848-1920,” a government document found in History, Art & Archives: United States House of Representatives focuses its account on the beginning of the women’s rights movement and thus the birth of feminism within the United States.

Plan to Collect Information

In addition to the information I have previously gathered, my plan from this point is to continue to look for statistical information found in more scholarly journals, government journals, charts and graphs, and other legitimate studies. I have reserved several library books that I will be reading through in the days to come. I will be carefully notating these and my current sources thoroughly and my hope is to be able to obtain a greater understanding of the area of feminism and begin to draw conclusions from these and future resources.

Project Timeline

This week, I will be focusing on continuing to gather information and sources and notating them thoroughly. I will soon receive several informative books from my local library and I will be studying them once they arrive, within the next few days. I will be collecting more sources and forming my main research argument. During this time I will constantly be adding to my working bibliography. After the next week or two of continuing to research, I will hope to draw conclusions and be able to more accurately form my research question. This will help me to establish my thesis and argument. I will then begin to outline my final research paper by forming the order and structure of the paper. This should set me up for success as I begin the writing process of drafting my final paper.

Working Bibliography

Ahmed, Tasnim. “The Evolution of Feminism.” Harvard Politics. Harvard Political Review, 7 Mar. 2015. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.

Armstrong, Jennifer Keishin, and Heather Wood Rudulph. Sexy Feminism: A Girl’s Guide to Love, Success, and Style. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013. Print.

Farnham, Christie. "Male Bashing Or What's In A Name? Feminism In The United States Today." Journal Of Women's History 8.2 (1996): 6. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.

French, David. “Modern Feminism: Appalling Stupidity Backed by Hysterical Rage.” National Review. National Review, 17 Nov. 2014. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.

Gould, Philip. "Revisiting The 'Feminization' Of American Culture." Differences: A Journal Of Feminist Cultural Studies 11.3 (1999): 1. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.

Greeley, Andrew M. "Necessity Of Feminism." Society 30.6 (1993): 12-15. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.

Hannam, June. “Women’s History, Feminist History.” Making History. Institute of Historical Research, 2008. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.

“History and Theory of Feminism.” GWANET. Scientific-Information Center ICWC. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.

Kanazawa, Satoshi. “Why Modern Feminism is Illogical, Unnecessary, and Evil.” Psychology Today. Psychology Today, 02 Aug. 2009. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.

Lukas, Carrie L. The Politically Incorrect Guide to Women, Sex, and Feminism. Massachusetts: Regnery Publishing, Inc, 2006. Print.

Madison, Guy, Ulrika Aasa, John Wallert, and Michael A. Woodley. “Feminist Activist Women Are Masculinized in Terms of Digit-ratio and Social Dominance: A Possible Explanation for the Feminist Paradox.” Frontiers in Psychology. Frontiers Media S.A., 09 Sep. 2014. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.

Montagu, Ashley. The Natural Superiority of Women. 5th ed. Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press, 1999. Print.

National Organization for Women. Now Foundation, 2015. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.

Prager University. "Feminism 2.0." YouTube. YouTube, 10 Feb. 2014. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.

Prager University. “Feminism vs. Truth.” YouTube. YouTube, 22 Sep. 2014. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.

Rampton, Martha. “The Three Waves of Feminism.” Pacific University Oregon. Pacific University, 23 Oct. 2014. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.

Tarr-Whelan, Linda. "Women Today And The Women's Movement." Social Policy 23.4 (1993): 8-13. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.

"The Women's Rights Movement, 1848–1920” The Women's Rights Movement, 1848-1920. History, Art & Archives: United States House of Representatives, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.

Venker, Suzanne, and Phyllis Schlafly. The Flipside of Feminism: What Conservative Women Know—and Men Can’t Say. WND Books, 2011. Print.

Wiegman, Robyn. "Feminism, Institutionalism, And The Idiom Of Failure." Differences: A Journal Of Feminist Cultural Studies 11.3 (1999): 107. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.