Feminine, Feministic, Feminists, and Feminisms

This Research Topic aims at bringing together writings across various disciplines to deliberate on how women as a philosophical, aesthetic, and political category are represented, negotiated, and transformed in the world of today. The representation of women as a philosophical, aesthetic and political category has been shaped by cultural and societal norms, as well as by historical and political factors. While progress has been made in recent years towards greater equality and representation for women, there is still much work to be done to fully recognize and celebrate the diversity and complexity of women's experiences and identities. There have been continued debates around the notion of feminism becoming obsolete because perceptions exist that feminism has achieved all of its goals. However, while certain fights have been partially won, such as the right to vote and equal access to education, women continue to be adversely impacted by all sorts of violence and discrimination in all facets of life. Both the United Nations (UN) and World Health Organization (WHO) have published various reports on injustice to women and the four key findings suggest: 1) approximately 1 in 3 women worldwide, according to WHO, has experienced physical or psychological violence at some point in their lives. UN reports that both women and girls face gender-based violence in the form of domestic violence, human trafficking, and sexual harassment. 2) Women face economic injustice, as the UN reports that women are often less paid than men for the same work and are more likely to work in low-paying jobs in poor working conditions. 3) According to a report by the UN women worldwide have less than 25% of parliamentary seats and only 21 countries have women as heads of state. 4) WHO reports that women face serious and significant health disparities, especially in low-income countries, including maternal mortality, cervical cancer and mental health.

There are still many jokes about feminism and caricatures of feminists, many of which are misogynistic and presuppose that being feminist is somehow "bad." Being a feminist is not exclusive to any one sex or gender; feminists can be men or women. The idea of feminisms reflects a tradition of various socio-economic, ethnic, historical, political, psychological, and cultural conflicts, and as awareness has grown, the term has come to have more nuanced and complex meanings. Feminisms, in general, can be viewed as a movement to eradicate sexism, sexist oppression, and exploitation in order to attain complete gender equality in both law and practice.

Why are women's rights necessary since they are already basic human rights? Why do we need women's rights-specific human rights treaties when there are already broad human rights laws in place? Women are almost universally denied their basic human rights due to their gender or sex. Women's rights are human rights that are protected by international human rights treaties and other legal documents. These rights include freedom from discrimination, the right to life, the prohibition against torture, the right to privacy, access to health care, the right to safe and decent living conditions, among many others. However, there are also human rights laws that consider how women's unique circumstances in society affect their ability to access or exercise their rights.

The purpose of this Topic is to offer authors and readers an enriching opportunity to deepen their knowledge of global feminisms along with the cultural, ethnic, theoretical, policy, digital, and personal dimensions of women engaging with intersecting fields of aesthetic, ethic, language, ethnicity, intellectual traditions, ideology, oppression, patriarchy, gender, and sexuality. We are interested in how different fields of research respond to claims that feminist causes have been achieved and feminist battles have been won. We aim to bring together voices from across disciplines, including the social sciences, the humanities, and psychology, to address the following questions: Are there persisting gender inequalities within your field of research? Are there injustices that demand feminist political action?

This collection aims at bringing together writings across various disciplines to deliberate on how women as a philosophical, aesthetic, and political category are represented, negotiated, and transformed in the world of today. It sets out to give space to women’s representation in the following critical areas (but not limited to):

● Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health;
● Land Rights;
● Education and Training of Women;
● Women and the Media;
● Eco-Feminism;
● Feminisms Today and Human Rights;
● Family and Marriage: Positionality of Women;
● Family-Work Balance;
● Women of Global South;
● Women and the Politics of Sex;
● Women’s Career Development and the Glass Ceiling;
● Institutional Mechanisms and the Advancement of Women;
● Equity and Justice—Bridging the Gap Between Ideas and Practice;
● Backlash: The Unintended Consequences Facing Women’s Movements Around the World;
● Representation of Women, and the Lack of Women in Positions of Power;
● Feminist Strategies and Approaches to Combating Violence against Girls and Women;
● ‘Sisterhood’ via Transglobal Feminisms;
● Perspectives of Women of Faith and Undoing Oppression Perpetuated in the Name of Religion;
● Women's Voices in Peace Efforts;
● Women and Disability: Lack of Understanding and Structural Support
● Women in Caregiving Roles.