Linda Jackson and two of her colleagues examine how feminism is viewed on the college campus of today. She wants to discard the theory that "feminism is dead" like so many people claim. She states that when most people are asked to define feminism, they usually mention such terms as "equality, political inclusion, valuing the female, and equal rights."
She writes that most people in the world are generally supportive
of the whole feminist movement, but the feminists themselves
are looked down upon and considered bad. Jackson made a prediction
before she conducted this test that the college students would
be somewhat supportive in the feminist movement because college
campuses are generally regarded as being more liberal.
The test that Jackson conducted featured 362 undergraduates, 247
of them female and 115 male. 92% of the students tested were Caucasian
and under the age of 21. The students were asked a series of questions
on feminism which were followed by: 1- strongly agree; 5- strongly
disagree.
The result of the test were as follows: The most prevalent theme
for feminism that was mentioned was equality. "Striving for
rights" was also mentioned a lot. 70.7% of the answers given
in the test were favorable towards feminism, 6.1% were considered
unfavorable, and 23.2% were mixed views. Women were generally
more supportive of feminism than the males were.
Many people have a hazy view of feminism today. Most people, especially
males, think of feminism as some crazy man-hating women running
around trying to eliminate men from the face of the earth, and
that is not so. Most feminists are just striving for equal rights
of their own, as their ancestors did with the suffrage movement
as so on.
This test shows that the younger generation has not taken this
cloudy view of feminism to heart. 70.7% of the students tested
said that their view of feminism is favorable, which is pretty
good considering the stereotype that most feminists are put under.
One interesting argument that Jackson brought up in her report
is the idea that feminism is looked at for the most part as being
okay, but the feminists themselves are considered evil. This is
very true in today's society. For example, in the TV show "Married
With Children," Marci D'Arcy (played by Amanda Bearse) is
considered to be this man-hating ax-wielding feminist who takes
pleasure in the suffering and the public humiliation of men. Most
people watch shows like this and start to believe these distorted
views.
Feminism can be grouped together and compared with Martin Luther
King Jr. and his struggle for equality of the black race. Both
of the groups go about their business in a peaceful manner, with
protests or by some other means. Womankind is almost looked upon
in today's society as being a race by themselves.
If there was one thing that I would change about this test, it
would be that instead of just questions in which the person being
tested graded them on a scale of one to five, I would have more
essay questions in which the tester could actually hear and see
more clearly what the students views of feminism really are. I
think this would have been more effective.
The test that Jackson conducted served its purpose; it gave support
to the feminist movement and showed that it isn't dead like some
would like to believe. There are still some out there who have
their doubts, though. The 6.1% should still be a concern to the
feminist movement. Bad publicity is still floating around, and
feminists are still considered man-haters to some people. Most
people, though, are in the consensus that the feminist movement
is just after what is rightfully theirs: equality.
© J Mehner, Winona (MN) State University, 30 January 1997. This document may be freely distributed for educational use as long as this notice of its authorship accompanies its distribution.
Return to annotated bibliography on language, gender, and writing.