Feminism, Hegemony, and Social Construction of Reality for Women in Today’s Culture

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Feminism, Hegemony, and Social Construction of Reality for Women in Today’s Culture
Traditionally, women’s roles in society included taking care of their husbands, giving birth, looking after their children, and undertaking all the chores at home. However, today, things have changed and females are taking up responsibilities that were believed to be done by males only. Feminism, hegemony, and social construction of reality have contributed to shaping the image and the contemporary roles held by women in society today. Feminism establishes the social, political, personal, and economic equality of males and females. The social construction of reality concept posits that the way individuals present themselves to others is determined by their interactions. Hegemony entails leadership or influencing others. As such, hegemony, feminism, and social construction of reality for women in today’s culture have contributed to changing their roles in society.
Feminist movements were introduced to eliminate sexism, women's oppression, and misrepresentation to achieve gender equality. For many decades, females’ rights were suppressed, which contributed to their social, political, and economic problems. For example, numerous organizations did not hire women since they were perceived as unsuitable or less skilled since their gender roles rotated around household duties, including taking care of their children, cooking, and child-rearing. Jennifer Nash argues that feminist movements were meant to represent subjects whose voices were ignored (Nash 3). Marginalized subjects were not considered in various aspects of society. Intersectionality contributed to changing the cultural identities of individuals who were discriminated against based on their gender, sexuality, ethnicity, race, and culture among other things. For instance, women of color faced numerous challenges associated with their skin color and cultural background. Feminists are the ones who stood up for the universal rights of females regardless of their differences. Their movements were formed to ensure that women are treated equally. However, men dominated in distinctive realms of society and it has never been easy to fight for gender equality as it is today.
Notably, different types of feminism have changed women’s perceptions in society to the point that they can lead or do other things that were believed to be only done by men in the past. Today, individuals perceive gender as a social status that shapes the relationships between males and females (Lorber 8). Liberal feminism asserts that biology does not determine gender differences, meaning that men and women are not different. “Their common humanity supersedes their procreative differentiation” (Lorber 9). Since males are not different from females, they should be treated equally. That is why liberal feminists believe that women have equal rights to men, including work and educational opportunities. Based on development feminism, females are exploited when it comes to compensating them compared to their male counterparts. Many women employees are paid less than men workers, regardless of whether they are employed by companies or individuals (Lorber 13). Development feminists want to ensure that males and females are compensated equally depending on the type of work and job position. When it comes to radical feminism, it comprises women-only groups that discuss females’ daily lives, including pregnancy, childbirth, housework, and menstruation among other things (Lorber 16). Indeed, it focuses on eradicating patriarchy or males’ pervasive exploitation of females, which is found wherever men interact with women. All these types of feminism have raised crucial questions and challenges that females encounter and emphasize bridging men-women differences to promote gender equality.
Male dominance in society has significantly reduced due to female hegemony. In particular, today, women can undertake roles that they would not have performed in the past ten decades. For example, they can be political or organizational leaders, engineers, doctors, and pilots. In the past, society perceived these roles to be men’s, and individuals believed that only males can take such responsibilities effectively. However, despite these societal changes, gender, class, and race still determines the structure of society and significantly influence how people interact and live (Andersen and Collins 1). Learning about the experiences of different groups, including males and females, has made individuals get a proper u...