Sociology of Women's Liberation

Abstract

Is freedom a Gender-Specific Concept? If not, then why the meaning of freedom is different for women and men? Freedom is a positive concept in itself, which means freedom of choice, freedom of dignity, freedom of speech, freedom to share ideas, freedom of education and financially self-reliant etc. All these rights are secure with men but even in the 72nd year of independence women are deprived of these rights, why? This argument can possibly be understood from Simone de Beauvoir’s statement. In her book ‘The Second Sex’ (1949), she presented the idea of “Woman as Other” and also focused on how control of women’s sexuality and reproduction has historically subjugated them to men. She was one of the first theorists to argue that gender was not an essential characteristic of people, but rather something that one becomes through socialization. She wrote “One is not born, but becomes a woman.” and if this is the case, when the women has created by a society (especially a patriarchal society), then how can it be independent, it has to remain under the control of its Creator (society). The woman is born in chains and she always in chains. And whenever it comes to women's freedom, then it is taken from a bizarre sense. In her book “The Feminine Mystique”, Betty Friedan explained this fact that in almost every professional field, in business and in the arts and sciences, women are still treated as second-class citizens. It would be a great service to tell girls who plan to work in society to expect this subtle, uncomfortable discrimination--tell them not to be quiet, and hope it will go away, but fight it. A girl should not expect special privileges because of her sex, but neither should she "adjust" to prejudice and discrimination. The only way for a woman, as for a man, to find herself, to know herself as a person, is by creative work of her own.