Feminism in Australia

             Women have traditionally played the inferiors roles in history when compared against males. Women have always had the natural 'mother/housewife role' in families since before colonial times. However men have had the role of being the sole breadwinners of the family and hence had the power in political and social terms. All positions of power were held by men and the respectable 'ladies' did not have aspirations such as freedom and equality.
             However by the end of the 19th century women felt that the male domination of the political and social worlds was unjust and oppressive. Many new ideas about women's suffrage and emancipation emerged and from this was spawned feminism. "Feminist" was a broad label given to many people who shared the same goal. Feminists could generally be classified as liberal, socialist or radical. Liberal feminists believed that 'equality with men is achieved by overcoming sex discrimination and by destroying formal barriers to women's participation and access, particularly in work and politics.' (Bulbeck 1994). Socialist feminists believed a class revolution was necessary for women's liberation and radical feminists claimed that women's oppression was through their bodies and its abuse by males.
             The recurring theme throughout all these feminists' agenda's was the fight for equal rights. This was mostly translated as the right to equal pay. In the early years of white settlement, most employed women worked as domestic servants (Ryan & Conlon 1989). The characterization of women's work as 'unskilled' was to undermine their ability to be involved in unions which were; organizations promoting the interests of 'skilled' workers. The earliest instance of unionization among women workers was in 1840 however it was not until the 1890's that any real progress was achieved and even then unions remained overwhelmin...

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Feminism in Australia. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 06:45, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/19431.html