Talk:Feminism in the 21st Century

Erin Stanley's edits to "Feminism in the 21st Century"

I think that this wiki is really well researched. I can see the breadth of knowledge through the layout and so I think that that is done well. I think the topic is very interesting. Being a feminist myself, I was very excited to see what Samantha had to say. Although there are some real positives to this wiki, I do think that there is room to grow and create a more compelling and succinct information database. I have some suggestions that I think could help.

1. I would like to see more background on feminist. It came out of the suffragette movement and so I think adding a bit of information about that would help strengthen the wiki. It would show how feminist has changed or hasn’t changed in the 21st century. Also how the word itself has changed. So many people have a false idea of what feminism means so I would be good to address what it meant in its inception and then show what the meaning has become. Working with a solid foundation to the topic is vital and I think that this wiki is lacking in that department. This is MIT’s background on feminism that could help: http://www.mit.edu/~shaslang/papers/femintro.html

2. I think the title is too broad. Feminism is such a huge topic that I feel like it would work better to narrow the scope a little bit more. Perhaps something like “A Feminist View on Rape Culture in the 21st Century” or “Misleading Meanings of Feminism in the 21st Century” or “Repercussions of The Three-Wave Theory on Feminism”. This would help narrow the focus.

3. Going off of narrowing the scope, I think that Samantha has attempted too much in such a small space. I like the fact that she has put attention to differing facets of feminism, but the more ideas that are introduced, the harder it is to string them all together. I think addressing feminist concerns is good, but I feel like having so many categories like rape culture, reproductive rights, sexual violence, or the perception of the victim, is so much to tackle. I think that the strongest sections are the first three concerns. I think focusing on just those three would strengthen the wiki because it could talk about the definitions of each and important information then later Samantha could address how this has real world impacts. For example, she could talk about universities and how often women are raped and the man gets away with it (I realize that this is a gross generalization but it could be supported with data). I also think using figures can really help this wiki. Some people are visual learners so adding how many people per year encounter sexual violence or something along those lines.

4. I also feel that this wiki needs to have a stronger distinction between “rape” and “sexual violence”. Right now they are used synonymously. The first line says, “Rape and sexual violence is a strong and clear example of the oppression of women.” If the purpose is presupposition, then that’s different but I think when introducing a new topic definitions are a must so everyone (the writer and the reader) is on the same page. This link can help, it has definitions of rape, sexual violence, and more: https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=207258

I think overall this wiki presents some really insightful ideas, but it can use some work to make it really succinct and accessible. I think by really focusing ideas it can achieve this. I also feel like it needs to answer the question “Why?” a bit more. It is packed with information about these injustices, both in regular society and Hollywood, but I think it can do with bringing back to the present and what we can do to eradicate these issues from society. Overall it was really well done and I enjoyed reading it!