Feminist Consciousness-Raising Groups

Feminist consciousness-raising groups, or CR groups, began in the 1960s in New York and Chicago and quickly spread across the United States. Feminist leaders called consciousness-raising the backbone of the movement and a chief organizing tool. The Genesis of Consciousness-Raising in New York The idea to start a consciousness-raising group occurred early in the existence of the feminist organization New York Radical Women. As NYRW members tried to determine what their next action should be, Anne Forer asked the other women to give her examples from their lives of how they had been oppressed, because she needed to raise her consciousness. She recalled that labor movements of the Old Left, which fought for workers rights, had spoken of raising the consciousness of workers who did not know they were oppressed. Fellow NYRW member Kathie Sarachild picked up on Anne Forers phrase. While Sarachild said that she had extensively considered how women were oppressed, she realized that the personal experience of an individual woman could be instructive for many women. What Happened in a CR Group? NYRW began consciousness-raising by selecting a topic related to womens experience, such as husbands, dating, economic dependence, having children, abortion, or a variety of other issues. The members of the CR group went around the room, each speaking about the chosen topic. Ideally, according to feminist leaders, women met in small groups, usually consisting of a dozen women or fewer. They took turns speaking about the topic, and every woman was allowed to speak, so no one dominated the discussion. Then the group discussed what had been learned. Effects of Consciousness-Raising Carol Hanisch said that consciousness-raising worked because it destroyed the isolation that men used to maintain their authority and supremacy. She later explained in her famous essay The Personal is Political that consciousness-raising groups were not a psychological therapy group but rather a valid form of political action. In addition to creating a sense of sisterhood, CR groups allowed women to verbalize feelings they may have dismissed as unimportant. Because discrimination was so pervasive, it was difficult to pinpoint. Women may not have even noticed the ways a patriarchal, male-dominated society oppressed them. What an individual woman previously felt was her own inadequacy could have actually resulted from societys ingrained tradition of male authority oppressing women. Kathie Sarachild remarked on the resistance to consciousness-raising groups as they spread across the Womens Liberation movement. She noted that the pioneering feminists had initially thought to use consciousness-raising as a way to figure out what their next action would be. They had not anticipated that the group discussions themselves would end up being seen as a radical action to be feared and criticized.

Archetypal Characters In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight ...

Even in the middle ages of literature, a story such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight had many aspects of Joseph Campbell’s view of the hero’s journey. In the story of our character Sir Gawain accepts a â€Å"Call to adventure† (Campbell 45) and goes on a quest that will go through many of the archetypes. Likewise, there lies one character, The Green Knight, that can be many of the archetypal characters in the cycle of the hero’s journey. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight dramatically demonstrates how a single character can play many archetypal roles. At the beginning of the story, the great city of Camelot is being offered a challenge by a knight in all green, challenging the knights of the round table to chop off his head if the Green Knight†¦show more content†¦From all the information the Green Knight gives, more continues to show about his character showing that he is merely just a lackey of something much greater. With him taking the role one of the mentors of the story, this character archetype in a sense connects with the Green Knight also being the EPUG or the â€Å"Evil Figure that is Ultimately Good.† This ties in with the fact that the Green Knight is also the host and what is said in the ending dialogue between Gawain and the knight is informing Gawain of the ultimate goal. â€Å"Sir Knight, and wast wanting in loyalty, yet that was for no evil work, nor for wooing neither, but because thou lovedst thy life—therefore I blame thee the less† (Weston 40). This quote takes place when the knig ht/host exposes who he identifies as to the Sir Gawain and what the plan all along was, this last exchange between the two conveys that the Green Knight also partakes two more character archetypes; the minion and it proves the claim of him being the â€Å"evil figure who is ultimately good.† The last exchange shows how he falls into the role of the minion, how the Green Knight talks about Arthur’s evils sister, Morgain, and how she worked toward dishonoring Camelot. Throughout the story green is the ruling color but on the contrary colors from the tale likeShow MoreRelatedArchetypal Development In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight841 Words   |  4 PagesArchetypal situations scatter the content of literature and film supporting our understanding of storytelling and presenting them to us in a way that encourages clarity in the hero’s quest and what it consists of. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight includes this archetypal development through (c. A number of archetypal situations occur in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight that serve to promote Gawain’s moral development. The archetypal situation of the the call to adventure is where Gawain’s moral developmentRead MoreArchetypes In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight1100 Words   |  5 Pagesidentify which character represents which archetype. One must also understand that each story— bearing its own unique characteristics— will not always follow Joseph Campbell’s analysis to the tee, but will bear very similar qualities. For example, a character may represent multiple archetypes— a common trend in the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Despite common belief, though, other elements of a story allow for analyzation as well. In fact, a number of archetypal situations, characters, colors,Read MoreSir Gawain And The Green Knight, And The Heros Journey960 Words   |  4 PagesAn archetypal analysis of Gawain’s quest reveals some significant changes that occur in the hero’s character. We will analyze the progress of the hero, Gawain, as he ventures out to co mplete his quest. By analyzing the works of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight along with The Hero With A Thousand Faces, and how it completes the Hero’s Journey. The departure commences with the protagonists call to adventure and ends with the crossing of the threshold. In the case of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, theRead MoreThe Truth Behind the Knight: the Presence of Archetypes in Sir Gawain the Green Knight2908 Words   |  12 PagesThe Truth Behind the Knight: The Presence of Archetypes in Sir Gawain the Green Knight In the medieval story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, we are introduced to a young man, who, like many of young men, is trying to discover himself and travel through his rite of passage. He is trying to figure out who he is in life, and while in his journey, passes through many phases that mold him into one of the great Knights of the Round Table that old King Arthur wanted to serve with him. These phases

Importance of Personal Ethical Viewpoint Free Essays

Personal Ethical Viewpoint A personal ethical viewpoint is a statement that defines what a person believes in, in terms of ethics, morals and values. Almost every part of our life is governed by our ethical viewpoint. What do you believe is right and wrong? It is represented in the way that you act, respond and live your life every day. We will write a custom essay sample on Importance of Personal Ethical Viewpoint or any similar topic only for you Order Now Your ethics, morals and values define your strength of character. They show who you really are as a person. These values are learned and developed as you grow from a child to an adult. It is important to know what you believe in because as the old saying goes, â€Å"If you don’t stand for anything, you will fall for everything. † The ethical lens exercise helped opened my eyes and helped me to further define my ethical viewpoint. As an African-American, I have always valued the equality of all people because I feel this is the just way to live. As a child, I was taught to value justice and justice is righteousness. So, the ethical lens inventory was correct about these two values, but I feel that the exercise overemphasized the fact that I value rationality over sensibility. I do believe in being logical because yes, sometimes things do not feel great but using rationality can help you come to the best decision. But, this does not mean that I do not value sensibility; I feel that I am a very sensitive person and I always consider others feelings before I say or do anything. This proves that I do value sensibility. According to the Ethical Lens Inventory, my preferred ethical lenses are rights, responsibility and relationship lens. This means that I value mine and other’s rights. I feel that taking responsibility is important. It also means that I prefer to have personal relationships rather than being alone. My blind spot is the belief that motive justifies method or overconfidence in the process. To be quite honest, I am not sure how much I agree with this statement but, I must say that I do believe with all my heart that justice should be upheld. Justice is fairness so I do not think that this could hurt someone that does not deserve it. My strength is being able to logically think and research options before I take action. My weakness is feeling sad or guilty when I am not able to provide justice or seeing someone who did not receive justice. My classical values are temperance and justice. Temperance is the using moderation and self- restraint. My course of action is always defined by my personal ethics. I will continue to uphold justice in every situation because RIGHT is RIGHT! How to cite Importance of Personal Ethical Viewpoint, Essay examples

Time Spent with a Famous Person free essay sample

If I had to choose a famous person to spend a day with it would have to be with, Bruce Lee. He has always been an inspiration to me because he followed his dreams. As a child he played in movies with his father, and was well-known throughout China. While growing up he was being picked on by other kids, he told his mother that he wanted to learn Martial arts to defend himself from kids that would pick on him because he didnt know how to defend himself. At the age of fourteen he finally started Martial arts, and began to use his Marital arts skills in movies with his father. His life reminds me so much of mine, I was also picked on when I was a kid, and I began to use my Martial art skills to defend myself as well. So when I first met Bruce Lee I was blown away with how we had so much in common, we went to a famous restaurant, and ate dinner, it was on a Saturday night. We will write a custom essay sample on Time Spent with a Famous Person or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page We talked about how he started his Martial arts, and the reason, and I let him know my reason for joining it. We laughed so much because he told me about how the funny embarrasing moments he had while growing up, and I did as well. Im real grateful and thankful that, Bruce Lee let me have this opportunity to meet him, and I will always remember the great time I spent with him in that famous restaurant. The pictures I have of him will always be on my walls, and I will tell my children about him, and how he inspired my life even more after getting to know him a bit more. I hope I get the opportunity to meet him once again.