Theories of Difference and Diversity

This paper discusses the common concepts of gender discrimination in the world and argues against the gender inequality and sexual offenses against women in various settings. The paper states the argument that women in the glove deserve equality and equal access to justice and power. The theory of radical feminism contributes to the cutting edge of the theory of feminism and highlights the need for the liberation of the women.

Running head: THEORIES OF DIFFERENCE AND DIVERSITY
Theories of difference and diversity
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Discussion..................................................................................................................................2
Summary of the argument......................................................................................................2
Body of paper.............................................................................................................................4
Relevant Literature.................................................................................................................4
Personal View point...............................................................................................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................9
References................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
Gender, the common term generally refers to the constructed roles of the society, the
activities, and the behaviors that are considered as appropriate to the society. The distinct
roles and attitudes contribute to the rise on the concept of gender discrimination. The
prejudicial treatments are generally faced by the women in the society (Wilson 2015). The
female populations of the globe have been facing discrimination throughout the ages and are
still subject to various forms of marginalization in the current day. Denial of equality,
opportunity, rights, and suppression contributes to the context of gender discrimination. The
practice of gender discrimination and gender inequality tends to have an adverse impact on
the pathway of women participation in socio-economic and political activities. The gender
discrimination includes many faces in various forms. One of the major factors contributing to
the norms of gender inequality is the sexual offenses and harassment towards the women in
the nation (McDowell 2018). The paper highlights the common concepts of gender
discrimination in the world and argues against the gender inequality and sexual offenses
against women in various settings. The paper states the argument that women in the glove
deserve equality and equal access to justice and power. Relevant theories related to radical
feminism has been used in the paper to summarize the key points of the argument related to
gender discrimination. The paper furthermore develops a critical analysis on the topic of the
issue and highlights the need for equality among women.
Discussion
Summary of the argument
The core concept of the theories of feminism relies on the fact that both the genders
should be equal socially, politically and economically. The core feminist theory rejects the

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concept of the difference and similarity between men and women. The basis of the theory lies
in the fact that it does not exclude men for furthering women’s causes (Connell 2015). The
core feminist theory states that equality in women should be propagated by facilitating the
feminine gender on equal terms with the men and not by discriminating and suppressing the
male population.
One of the major issues in relation to the gender discrimination is the sexual abuse
towards the feminine gender in the society. Interpersonal sexual abuse is one of the
horrendous acts of violence that contributes to long-term sequelae in both social and
psychiatric way (Williams 2018). Women tend to ignore their right to equality and justice and
restrict themselves from further expression of their feelings. The topic of sexual violence is a
rarely discussed topic (Ross et al. 2016). The definition of sexual violence according to the
World Health Organization states that any attempt for the obtaining of an unwanted sexual
act which is totally against an individual’s concern can be termed as a sexual offense. Sexual
violence furthermore results from the misogynist attitude that is prevalent in the cultures
where do not have any access to power and justice and neither towards her sexuality (Ritzer
and Stepnisky 2017).
Sexual harassment is a heinous crime. I have witnessed and heard about many forms
of sexual offenses against women in the society. One of the most common examples of
sexual offense towards the women happens to their husband. This is generally termed as
marital rapes. Societies to date do not consider the notion of marital rape since women are
considered and expected to be husband’s personal property after marriage. Furthermore,
sexual harassments of women at the workplace and even at the public roads are some of the
common scenarios in today’s world. I believe sexual harassments are implementation and
manifestation of the power of gender. Sexual violence against the feminine group is the result

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of unequal equations of power that is strongly influenced by the factors and values of the
cultures and the society. Sexual harassments occur since all the men in the society have been
brought up with a belief that men are the powerful gender of the world and hence they have
the right to dominate the weaker genders. Furthermore according to my perception, increased
access to pornographies, social Media are developing several urges in the men to manifest
and implement it in the real life. Sexual harassments happen when men in the society
consider and take the women gender as the weaker sections over which they can showcase
their powers both physically and mentally. Sexual harassment is a serious problem since I
believe that this act is not only about sex but of power. The act objectifies the power of the
men of the society towards the women as their social right. Sexual harassment is a social
issue that oppresses the power of the women in the society in the context of justice and rights.
I believe the patriarchal society and the age-old norms and customs of the societies are
responsible for sexual harassments actions. Women have been always treated as the object of
reproduction and the control of their sexuality are transferred from her father to her husband
who being the men of the society plays the most valued and important role. Women tend to
ignore their right to equality and justice and restrict themselves from further expression of
their feelings which make them vulnerable to further violence in the near future and thus they
tend to accept themselves as the weaker gender and suppress below the male. I believe this
act increases the feeling of powerlessness and helplessness in the women that majorly affects
the feelings and self-esteem.
I believe the promotion of gender equality is a critical part of the prevention of
violence towards the women. This is because the relationship among the gender and the
violence are complex. According to my personal insight, the sexual offense against the
women is a deep and a serious health and social concern in the context of misogynist,

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patriarchal and undertones of gender shaming. I believe the promotion of gender equality is a
critical part of the prevention of violence towards the women.
Body of paper
Relevant Literature
One of the breeding ideas in the context of raising awareness on feminism is the
theory of radical feminism. The theory contributes to the cutting edge of the theory of
feminism from the year of 1967 to 1975 (Ritzer and Stepnisky 2017). The theory of radical
feminism views the oppression of the feminine gender as the most common or the
fundamental was of oppressing a woman that crosses the boundaries of several factors of
discrimination, namely culture, race and economic class. The theory induces the movement
that intends to change the social approach towards the marginalized gender on a
revolutionary basis. The theory of radical feminism sets out the query that why the women in
the society are forced to adapt to certain ways on the basis of their biology or gender as
assigned by the society and the social norms (Smelik 2016). The theory of radical feminism
attempts to discriminate among the biologically stated behaviour and the culturally
determined behaviour to free both the gender from the conservative narrow mindsets
regarding the gender roles.
The theory of radical feminism illustrates the power structure which tends to oppress
and discriminate the women population. The major concept of the theory lies in the fact that
female as the biological class is oppressed by the masculine gender on a global basis
(Jayachandran 2015). I personally believe that our society has constructed the male power
and has maintained the power in the name of cultural and institutional practices for bolstering
the superiority of the men by the reinforcement of the women inferiority. This hierarchy of

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superiority of men is constructed socially to suppress the feminine gender and incorporate the
idea that females are the most weaker gender in the society.
According to the critiques of the radical feminist, all the religions and institutions
together with other degrading practices promotes violence against the female population.
Practices like prostitution, FGM, pornography, widow burning are some of the worst
religious practices around the globe that targets the female population (Price and Shildrick
2017). It a social procedure to subjugate a woman. I believe this procedure has no biases in
the context of biology and hence It should be challenged and abolished. According to the
perspectives of the radical feminists, the oppression of the female population is linked and
bound to the roles of the new life bearers (Wagner et al. 2015). The feminist of the radical
theory thus takes the unequivocal stance towards the right of the reproductive justice of the
female population.
I believe that the female population from the different oppressed classes and groups
furthermore experiences a more and wider combination of oppression. Factors like class,
race, disability tend to have a systematic structural impact on the lives of the female
population with a variety of toxic combinations. To summarize, the theory of radical
feminism and the feminists believe in the movement of the female population which is
autonomous and which contributes to the path of liberation of the women (McDowell 2018).
Mackay (2015) in his work sought to the understanding of how the concept of
feminism has changed on U.K throughout the decade among the Women Liberation
Movement of Britain. The concept of radical feminism serves as the vessel that creates
significance to feminism; it furthermore gives a philosophy of the major sources of the
factors of inequality among both the genders. There lies a strong connection between the
theory of radical feminism and patriarchy. Crenshaw (2018) in his work states that the theory

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of radical feminism opposes the political and the social organizations which tend to relate to
discrimination and inequalities towards the women in the society on the basis of power.
Researchers furthermore illustrate how the women in the society are still subject to
discrimination and suppression despite of the various theories, movements, and formation of
activist groups for the rights of the women.
Discrimination of women has been a subject of much debate and controversy.
Noronha (2016) in his work indicated how the discrimination in gender still persists in the
context of advanced humanistic society. From the theory of radical feminism, I got a view
that the most fundamental form of oppression of the female population is the control of men
over the female’s sexual and reproductive living. In their work, Alison Jaggar and Paula
Rothenberg stated a number of interpretation in the context of women’s oppression
(Miltenburg et al. 2016). From the prehistoric times, women were the oppressed class which
is still existent in the society. Some of the basic perspectives that underlies the thought
process of radical feminism include some of the factors like androgyny, sex system,
sexuality, pornography, lesbianism, and reproduction.
One of the perspectives of the radical feminist includes encouragement of women
towards embracing both the feminine and masculine characteristics. The theory generates an
attempt to enable women to choose their personal gender identities. The cultural radical
feminist critiques the idea of androgyny (Price and Shildrick 2017). According to their
perspectives, women should celebrate and embrace their female nature and feel proud of it. In
the sexual politics, Kate Millet explained that the main reason for the female oppression lies
in the system of sex or gender (Ellsberg et al. 2015). According to her insight, elimination of
oppression and discrimination is only possible after the successful elimination of the concept
of gender. In this context, I think social institutions such as the patriarchy, family and other

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things justifies the domination and control of the male population by the imposing of ideas
that are gendered and naturalized. In order to abolish and eradicate oppression and sexism, it
is important for the female population to reject the traits of masculinity and embrace the
qualities of females. I believe that the traits of the female that are constructed by the
patriarchal society can only be shattered and the oppression can only be eradicated when the
women strip themselves of the context of femininity. Women can embrace their power and
beauty only by raising their voice against the age-old system.
Personal View point
From the above discussion, I clearly believe that the realization of the human rights
among the women has never been a priority and women in societies have been subject to
regular sufferings. It is thus required to understand the comprehensive ways and strategies for
the elimination of discrimination and denial of equality among the female population for the
achievement of equality and women’s human rights (Ellsberg et al. 2015). The universal
declaration of human rights along with the conventions addressing political and civil rights of
each and every individual irrespective of their gender is the most appropriate legislation in
the world till date that ensures legal protection of the rights of the women together with
successful prohibition of gender discrimination. Apart from the international standards, the
regional human rights treaties also contribute to the essential provision to protect and
promote women’s right to power and justice (Schwanke 2013). Empowerment to me means
transforming from enforced powerlessness to the position of optimum power. I believe one of
the most essential means for the empowerment of the female population is education. This is
because skills, knowledge, and self-confidence are utmost important for full participation in
the process of development. It is important for the women to recognize their rights towards
access to power and justice. From my personal insight, I believe judicial stereotyping is the
basic and pernicious barrier towards the justice of the women victims. Thus, elimination of

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judicial stereotyping is a crucial step for ensuring equality and non-discrimination and justice
for the women suffering from abuses.
Some of the notable books that I came across in the context of gender inequality and
the need to propagate equality among the female population for the preservation of their
rights towards equal access to power and justice are Ivan E. Coyote and Rae Spoon’s Gender
Failure, Roxane Gay’s Bad Feminist, Janet Mock’s Redefining Realness and more. Some of
the films that I viewed in the similar topic which really shook me up in the context of that
women deserve equal access to power and justice are the 2011 film, Bridesmaid, Pretty
women of 1990 and the 2017 film, Wonder women. Throughout these films and the
noteworthy books, I realized that the women need to rely on the system of justice that is free
of any myths and stereotypes and the biological structure as defined by the radical feminist
theory is not at all compromised on the basis of bias assumptions.
Conclusion
One of the key realizations of the human rights is the ability to address power and
justice that includes rights towards nondiscrimination and equality. There lie various
obstacles in the pathway to access justice in case of women. The above essay highlights how
women in our society tend to face barriers in their efforts to pursue and seek justice towards
the context of gender discrimination and sexual offenses on them. With the help of radical
theory and views of the radical feminism, the essay concludes the need of change in the
typical stereotype attitude of the society that values the male and tends to suppress the rights
of the female population towards equitable access over power and justice.

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