Feminism, Sexism, Patriarchy, and Gender

Please underline every thesis and topic sentence.
“Feminism encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians.” (Pat Robertson TV evangelist, 1992 election statement)
In recent years, cultural commentators have noted one of the most significant historical transformations in human consciousness – the deconstruction of gender, sexism, and patriarchy. While laughably simplistic caricatures of feminism are easy to debunk (e.g. Robertson’s statement above), to fully understand the rich dialogues among gender scholars, we must examine voices of resistance who claim that feminism is fundamental to the progress of all humanity.
In January, 2018 the second huge “Women’s March” with an estimated 500,000 women and men marchers in Los Angeles alone, may have signaled a new era of feminist consciousness. The #MeToo and Time’s UP movements, primarily focusing on sexual assault and sexual harassment, have inspired a massive outrage targeting the most egregious sexism perpetrated by famous males, especially those with power. Katha Pollitt’s “We Are Living Through the Moment When Women Unleash Decades of Pent-Up Anger,” emphasizes that this may be a Very Special historical Period.
It is essential to look toward major academic (foundation) texts to provide insight and perspectives as that we may historicize and contextualize our current moment. Howard Zinn’s “The Intimately Oppressed” traces patriarchal practices and fierce resistance to those oppressions from colonial America to the Civil War. In her seminal work, bell hooks (early 1980s) begins her gender assessments with a firm grounding within progressive American activism that links gender oppression with racism and (economic) classism; hooks also urges that attention be paid to women in anti-imperialist resistance movements. Gloria Anzaldua’s “Borderlands” (1990s) Conveys the enormous scope and substance of the new mestiza, Anzaldua’s term for an ambiguous but powerfully vital gender consciousness. Anzaldua’s inclusion of homosexuality as part of the ‘Borderlands’ generates a provocative and lyrically innovative critique of patriarchy. Thus, Paula Rothenberg’s “Feminism Then and Now,” (2006) assesses how mainstream ‘feminism’ became distorted such that genuine liberation was subsumed in capitalistic consumer rhetoric and libertarian selfishness. Personal choice and freedoms were divorced from genuine social activism.
In an essay of four-five pages (typed, double-spaced, size 12 font or smaller), construct an argument on gender as a significant issue of our era. First define “feminism” academically by reviewing the authors and text read in class. Besure to include an interpretive commentary (utilizing original examples whenever possible). Finally in a paragraph or so, clarify your own process toward an understanding of gender; be personal, specific, analytical, and self-conscious (I’m female, and I’m a Chinese International student by the way :P). Don’t forget to incorporate the academic material with the personal.
After Intro, the first paragraph should contains research of #MeToo and Time’s up, (the idea is to brought up Feminism is always a problem, but recently it draws more attention) and define “feminism” the body paragraphs should cover all four material I provide, then use one or two paragraphs to clarify the personal process. Last, finish the essay with a conclusion that sums up all the ideas and things you mentioned in this essay.