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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In the author's view, how did early feminists understand work, i.e what did they identify as successful work?

2. What has happened as a result of the form taken by the majority of feminist writing?

3. What does the author suggest about many successful feminists and their relationship with power?

4. Why did many lower/middle class and/or non-white women respond to early feminist views on work as they did?

5. What has been the result of this mode of circulation?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Essay on Ch. 7: Women and work.

From the beginning of the feminist movement, work has been an important issue in feminism. In this paper you will discuss early feminist views of work, as well as the idea of a gendered division of labor (e.g. housework as women's work, and therefore as devalued).

1) Describe traditional beliefs about work and gender. What kind of work was seen as men's work and what kind of work was seen as women's work? Do we still see these ideas reflected in contemporary society?

2) Quoting the text, discuss early feminist views of housework and of work outside the home. Does the rejection of housework by women reflect society's devaluation of so-called "women's work."

3) What is the author's critique of this early view, e.g. how is the early feminist idealization of work outside the home connected to traditional beliefs about success?

4) How can changing attitudes about work in and outside of the home assist in addressing the imbalances perpetuated by traditional, gender-biased beliefs?

Essay Topic 2

Essay on Ch. 9: Violence and the media.

Fighting violence against women has been one of the mainstays of the feminist movement since it's inception. One of the forms this has taken more recently, has been to address the problem through looking at media images that display violence against women.

1) The author claims that men and women are desensitized to violence. What are the repercussions of this phenomenon and how does she explain it?

2) In what ways does the media make violence against women seem normal? for example, by makig it sexually appealing, or associating it with love, etc.

3) Discuss several examples from film and other media, such as fashion magazines or video games, in which you have noticed images of violence against women. Analyze your examples.

4) Have you seen signs in the media that violence against women is discouraged? Discuss your examples.

Essay Topic 3

Essay on Ch. 9: The nature of violence against women.

One of the author's critiques of mainstream feminism is that it was sometimes unable to focus on transforming traditional views on gender, but instead reacted against them. For example, in her discussion of sisterhood in Ch.4, the author notes how early feminists built a notion of sisterhood around a shared sense of victimization. This view did not necessarily rethink the patriarchal dichotomy of victim and aggressor. In Ch. 9, the author notes something similar when she analyzes early feminist views on the nature of violence against women.

1) Discuss what the author means when she says that the practice of violence against women is a manifestation and perpetuation of traditional patriarchal thought, i.e. views on gender. What qualities do men and women possess according to this view. Does this view appear to make violence against women seem normal?

2) How did early feminists perceive the problem of violence against women, and what is the author's critique of their view?

3) Is violence limited to men, in the author's view? Whose problem is violence and how must the phenomenon be addressed in our society?

(see the answer keys)

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