Essay on “Andrea Doworkin’s and Sonia Sanchez’s Feminist Theories Similarities and Differences”

Essay on â€Å"Andrea Doworkin’s and Sonia Sanchez’s Feminist Theories: Similarities and Differences† This paper endeavors to compare and contrast two feminists, Andrea Doworkin and Sonia Sanchez, and their theories. Andrea Doworkin was born to secular Jewish parents and raised in Camden, New Jersey. Drawing from her past life experiences, Doworkin rose to become a second wave feminist. She had negative life experiences owing to the sexual assaults she suffered on a number of occasions. As such, Doworkin’s main theme revolves around male violence against women. According to Doworkin, the current society is characterized by males’ supremacy and rape, prostitution, and pornography are solid representations of gender norms. On the other hand, Sonia Sanchez is a renowned poet owing to her contribution in the Back Arts Movement. Sanchez works denounce racism and sexism that she encountered during her early upbringing in a militant black community (Saunders 73). Sanchez works also show her concern with regard to the welfare of the black community, and social justice (Soble 2 41). Although the philosophical theorization of Doworkin writing’s is not clear, her arguments revolve around sexism she finds in the society. Doworkin is determined to erase binary concepts of gender and their oppressive effects (Bennice and Patricia 273). Passivity, self hatred and masochism, are singled out as the main deconstructions of female gender role. According to Doworkin, male supremacy is constructed and reinforced in the society through the sexist structuring of public institutions and private interactions, which illuminate three elements of male supremacy (Brownmiller 40). These elements include rape, pornography, and sexual intercourse. Doworkin analyzes pornography in three different books namely Our Blood, Letters from a War Zone, Woman Hating, and Pornography; male Possessing Women (Bennice and Patricia 270). Amazingly, In Woman Hating, Doworkin had some positive comments on the pornography of the 1960s and early 1970s. She stated â€Å"its graphic depictions and celebration of oral sex and female genitals helped breakdown the barrier to the realization of a full sexuality† (Dworkin 34). However, in Right Wing Women, she argues that in order for an individual to be crowned feminist, one should be anti pornography. The two feminists have a couple of things they share in common. The two authors’ theories aim at protecting the rights of women. The two feminists rose to become radical feminists owing to the challenging experiences they encountered while growing up as young girls. Doworkin’s theory of anti pornography is based on a number of difficult experiences she had while growing up. As such, her main argument aims at denouncing male supremacy in the society, which she argues necessitates female sexual harassment. Sonia Sanchez also draws her motivation from the racism and sexism she faced during her yester years (Dworkin 34). The two feminists also have a number of differences. Doworkin’s theory revolves around denouncing, male supremacy and female sexual harassment. Although Sanchez’s theory denounces female sexual harassment in the society, it also endeavors to fight for the rights of the black community, and social justice. Upon analyzing the two theories, Doworkin’s theory stands out as the most elaborate. Doworkin attempts to explain what her theory entails. According to Doworkin, male supremacy is constructed and reinforced in the society through the sexist structuring of public institutions and private interactions, which illuminate three elements of male supremacy.