Custom «Feminist Perspective» Essay Paper Sample

Feminists are individuals concerned with the identification, definition, and defending women rights in the society. They focus on criticizing actions that demean women hence denying them equality in the society. Precious is a film whose main character is Claireece P. Jones. According to Daniels (2009), she is an obese and illiterate girl who lives with an abusive mother. Her father rapes and impregnates her twice. In addition, she contracts AIDS because of her father’s sexual abuse. The movie is a based in a setting where women are discriminated according to their racial backgrounds. All these issues raise feminist concerns. For instance, women have equal opportunities for education. They should be free from sexual abuse. They should be free from racial discrimination. They should be liberated from poverty through being employed, and have equal access to quality health. In addition, women should be freed from home mistreatment.

This essay explicates the movie Precious from a feminist perspective.

Women have a right to education. The film highlights that most women are illiterate because of the lack of education. There is nobody in the society to take the poor girls to school. They are subjected to staying at their dilapidated homes in the ghetto because of the feeling that they do not deserve education. They continue languishing in the illiteracy problem as the society does not value the quality of educating them. Precious, the main character highlights how women from the suburban areas have been denied access to education being left as illiterate individuals who do not have anything tangible to contribute to the country. Thus, the denial of education renders women helpless because they cannot address their own issues. Abbott, Wallace, & Tyler (2005) assert that illiteracy makes women unable to know of the current events taking place because they lack critical understanding. Women should be educationally empowered to ensure that they know of the current issues and the relevant authorities that are supposed to protect them. In case Jones, the main character, if she was educationally empowered, she could have known where to report sexual mistreatments from his father. Education would ensure that women are not intimidated. They would know their position in the society and would defend it to the latter. Through education, women would have known what is expedient for them and would have supported each other instead of subjecting others to suffering. For instance, if Jones’ mother were educated, she could not have mistreated her daughter because she could have been enlightened about matters relating to humanity and justices.

Women should be freed from sexual abuse. Claireece Jones’ father subjects her to inhuman sex acts. He rapes her with impunity. This highlights the demeaning nature of men to women in relation to sexual matters. They take women as sex machines and have no voice to defend their rights in the society. It would be vital to form movements to address the sexual mistreatment being faced by women in such a setting. Women would be liberated from such actions through the institution and implementation of stringent measures governing women’s sexual rights. There should be strict rules that incriminate anyone found engaging young girls in immature sex acts. She is also forced to engage in incest. This unacceptable behavior involves sexual intercourse between relatives. Daniels (2009) intimates that her father makes her commit the immoral practice that is not accepted in the normal context of an organized society. The liberation of women from sexual abuse would ensure that their rights are respected. Claireece’s father would have been afraid to discriminate her sexually if there could be existing rules to ensure that women were equal in matters relating to sex. They could have been given the opportunity to chose what they feel is right for them. In addition, women could have been rescued by the legal assertions that are set in place, to protect them. Women living in ghettos need to be catered for in matters relating to sexual abuse because they are vital members of the society. The film depicts the view that women ought to be protected from matters relating to sex so that they are given an opportunity to pursue other interest like education.

There should be equal employment opportunities. In the movie, most women from the suburban areas are not employed, and they are exposed to abject poverty. For instance, Mary, who is Jones’ mother, is not employed, and she is subjected to poverty. Claireece’s family is one of the ghetto families that are reliant on handouts from well-wishers. According to Hooks (2000) the lack of employment and poverty lowers women’s self-esteem, and they are not able to contribute to the society’s existence. There should be a fair distribution of employment opportunities that provide for equality and aversion of continued dependence. Equal employment opportunities would have seen women in the suburban areas take care of their needs. This could have stopped the rising levels of intimidation. In addition, if women in these areas could have been equally employed no one could have taken the advantage to mistreat them. The movie highlights the adverse effects of unemployment that leads to poverty. The high levels of unemployment lead to idleness the society. The film highlights that increased poverty led to the mistreatment of their children. Poverty has a hand in the ongoing social and mental mistreatment that the idle women advance to their children. Lack of employment leaves women to stay at their homes as men go to their areas of work. Women need to get access to the employment opportunities to ensure that they contribute to economic developments the society.

Women and other societal members need not to be discriminated according to their racial background. The movie depicts racial imbalance in a country where every race ought to get an equal share of the cake. Blacks dominate the ghettos and women constitute a large number of the total population. They are used as slaves and exposed to inhuman working conditions where they are supposed to earn peanuts and take care of themselves. Black women are discriminated against in all sectors. For instance, they do not have a chance to contribute to economic issues taking place the society. They are only supposed to stay and wait for handouts, which are too little to take care of their needs. Racial discrimination also takes place in terms of sexual abuse. Sexual abuse takes place in the suburban areas where the weaker African-American women are not able to protect themselves against aggressors. They are not allowed to access prestigious employment opportunities that would help them take care of their needs. They are left as beggars awaiting food handouts from philanthropists. According to Abbott, Wallace, & Tyler (2005) women need to be liberated from racist consideration, to empower them economically and socially. They would be more confident to attend excellent schools and contribute to the economic development of the society through their improved self-esteem. Women liberated from racist negativities would be able to access quality living and work hard to provide for their families instead of being used as slaves.

There should be equal rights providing for the health of women. The main character of the movie is depicted as an obese woman who; in fact, cannot access medical health because of the high level of poverty and education. There should be proper conditions that would ensure that women get access to health that would foster improved health conditions. The movie highlights the dire need to improve health standards in the society. Health standards are vital for better living in the society. The film highlights the need for better feeding habits among women to ensure that they do not suffer from health problems such as obesity. The foods supplied by humanitarian agencies need to meet the required health standards to ensure that young women do not suffer. Women, especially those living in suburban areas ought to be taken care of like those living in better conditions. This would be vital, as it would be vital in presenting everyone with a fair opportunity to pursue other areas such as education. The health rights should also be extended to their children. For instance, the movie presents a case where Jones’ child suffers from Down’s syndrome but cannot access medical facilities because of abject poverty. In fact, her mother is forced to forge some details in order to get more money from the government. Women should be attended to fairly in health matters. Fair health to all the women irrespective of their race would lead to better family raising and the urge to pursue other developmental sectors such as education.

Young women should be freed from home mistreatment. According to the movie, Jones lives with a cruel mother who uses all available measures to mistreat her. Her mother is always beating her up causing many long-term effects that lower her self-esteem. She is harmed physically, mentally, psychologically. This depicts the suffering young girls are exposed to in our families. Hooks (2000) reports that if this were to be taken care of, the girls would mature into responsible individuals who value family matters and believe that respect makes a better society. The mistreatment is also observed in matters relating to education. She is initially denied an opportunity to attend school due to the sexual abuse she is subjected to by her father. The mistreatment kills her morale, and she certainly feels out of place. The mistreatment of women starting from an earlier age gives them a negative position the society. They are not able to advance in the future and get access to employment because of the initial mistreatment that denies them education. Women should be treated fairly in their families from their earlier life to enable them pursue their ambitions to the end. The elimination of mistreatment would give them an opportunity to feel part of the society and will grow up in a family.

In conclusion, the film Precious is based on a young girl who is mistreated by her mother and sexually abused by her father. She is made to bear children at the tender age of sixteen. Jones’ is denied the opportunity to attend school by her mother until her teacher saves her. The movie highlights the poor living conditions of women due to high levels of unemployment in the society. In addition, women live in suburban areas and can barely provide for their families. This raises feminist concerns. They need to get access to equal opportunities in education to eliminate the increased levels of poverty. Women need to be provided with better medical care, to avoid exposure to risks such as obesity. Feminists would also agitate for elimination of childhood mistreatment of young women, as this would give them the determination to work towards success. Women should not be subjected to racial discrimination. They should be fairly treated and given better living conditions irrespective of their racial backgrounds. They should be rescued from continued sexual abuse, which is a demeaning factor. Precious is a film that highlights the need to take care of the rights of women in the society to ensure they are equally determined to achieve their goals.