Feminism
Feminism
Feminismis a term that can be used to refer to a particular movement such aseconomic, cultural or political, with the main aim of establishingequality between men and women. Low self-esteem and aggression aresome of the feminist issues that highlight the subordinate status ofwomen. These two elements can be explained from a feministperspective due to the patriarchal nature of the society and theuneven distribution of power that has traditionally oppressed women.
Lowself-esteem in women may result due to the stresses caused byconcerns at the workplace and financial status. They may feel theirperformance at work is inadequate as a result of being overwhelmed byother responsibilities at home such as child care. The likelihood ofpoverty is also high among women despite having a job or not,resulting in stresses and strains that contribute towards lowself-esteem. Women with low self-esteem have difficulty trustingtheir personal judgments. Most women who have been dependent on menfor a long time lack the control over their life (Kirst-Ashman andHull Jr, 1999). The lack of assertiveness and the failure to makedecisions personally contributes to their inability to actappropriately. The failure of such women to see the differentalternatives open to them emanates from the stereotyping of womentowards certain gender-related directions. Most women lack theopportunity to differentiate between assertion, non-assertion andaggression.
Thereis a conformation between the values and principles of traditionalwork practice with feminist social work. Both of these aspects focuson how people interact with their communities and generalsurroundings. They also concentrate on the attainment of humandignity and the possibility of self-determination. The manifestationof self-esteem is low in women as compared to men. Men are bothphysically and verbally aggressive as compared to women. This is aconcern specifically for women who do not stand up for their rights.There’s also a relation between self-esteem and aggression. Somewomen may lack assertiveness due to lack of personal value(Kirst-Ashman and Hull Jr, 1999). Feminist social work intends toimprove the general well-being of women through establishing a linkbetween their burdens and predicaments with their societal status andsocial position.
Asensitive stance on gender is one of the attributes of feministsocial work which has contributed to the value accorded to women withregards to their knowledge and talents. Women have thus beenrecognized as beings with their aspirations and interests.
References
Kirst-Ashman,K. K., & Hull Jr, G. H. (1999). Understanding generalistpractice. Chicago, IL: Nelson-Hall.