Culture wars can be defined as the result of inequality between social groups. It is the struggle for equal opportunities and representation within society faced by many oppressed groups. This term relates directly to feminism because it aligns with the sole purpose of the movement. The feminist movement has created a platform for the advocacy of women’s rights as they relate men’s. There is a clear imbalance whether that be in regards to unequal pay/representation within the workforce, the rights to dictate the choices made with one’s body, or shedding light on the horrors that are experienced by women all over the world who are sexually brutalized or trapped in abusive relationships. Susan Faludi closely supports this definition of culture wars by outlining the injustices faced by women in the 1980s in the passage assigned from Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women. She invites the reader into her mindset and explains how the media is a huge factor in diluting the successes of the women’s suffrage movement and how that deters women of the future from continuing to fight for true equality and taking advantage of the present victories within the movement. She points out how the media uses the successes of feminist advocacy as a tool to support claims that woman are not in fact happy to be on a leveled social and economic playing field (somewhat) with men by presenting unsupported claims of shortage of men as spouses, infertility, and even widespread mental illness; a direct effect” of women joining the workforce. Faludi refutes all these claims with specific examples of how speaking out against injustice has given women access to amenities that previously were not an option or thought. She even goes as far as analyzing how the media has been fighting against feminist gains throughout the decades dating back as early as the Victorian era and after ; classified fittingly as “backlash”.

Set in the 1950s-60, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is a three series long sitcom that follows the life of Midge Maisel, a young upper class jewish woman growing up on the Upper West Side. Midge lives a seemingly “grand” lifestyle ; married, two kids, her own home, and no real financial woes for four years up until the day her husband decides to pack up and leave her. It is at this point that Midge turns to comedy as an outlet for her pain and as a way to shed light on the ways in which women are meant to feel, speak, and even act within society. At this particular period in time, women (especially those within the Jewish community) were expected to hold a place in the household as a wife and mother while their husbands worked hard to support their affluent lifestyles. This dynamic is clearly displayed throughout the series through the relationship shared between Midge’s parents Abe & Rose Weissman. A genuine (and hilariously entertaining) relationship/marriage indeed but, one that almost comes across as “tolerated” to a certain degree. Rose even attempted to leave Abe at a point and flee to Paris to which he responded by making his way to Paris to demand she return home to her position as his wife. Saying all this to say, Midge takes her own personal experiences and upbringing to make audiences aware of the unrealistic expectations set for women in the 1950s-60s.

Feminism has a host of interpretations when it comes down to it’s definition. I agree most closely with the interpretation offered by Roxanne Gray in the excerpt of “Bad Feminist” that our class read. She offers that feminism is a movement consisting of flawed individuals who aren’t what society would deem “perfect” or “capable” fighting for their deserved right as human beings to be heard & included. She also touches on the fact that not every woman will automatically take to the “feminist label” even with knowledge of who and what this movement is in fact fighting for. However, that does not mean that the individuals who are choosing to actively fight to oppose patriarchal societies’ norms should give up or protect these women’s rights any less. 

My proposed definition of feminism is a movement of individuals who are seeking to reshape society’s current structure for the betterment of women & their freedoms (or lack thereof). I think the first issue to tackle would be the flaws within the capitalist system that hinder women’s ability to fully thrive in today’s workforce. Another barrier that I would like to see broken is that of which we have between each other as women. In order to successfully address the issues women face within society today, (whether that be within the workforce, reproductive rights violations, even class & race bias) women must stand in solidarity for change.

In order to post on our course website you must tap the grey plus sign that is represented at the top left of the screen. I believe that you will only have the option to do this after successfully activating your newly created CUNY commons account and adding yourself to the course website however, I could be wrong. A drop down menu will then appear and you can move forward with tapping the word “Post”. This will lead you to a new webpage that outlines a space for you to create a title for your post as well as type in the body of your post within the empty “block” below. If you are looking to add any images to your post, tap the “+” which can be found below the toolbar used for font/text preferences. From there, you can add in an image of your choice that pertains to the subject of the post. You can also post media content to the site as well which is probably a very similar work flow.  I’ve attached an image of the first step (clicking the “+” sign) as well as an image of the “+” to add in photos to your post for some clarity!