14.1-Feminism-Equality + Difference feminism Flashcards
What do equality feminists believe?
Biological differences are inconsequential and that gender differences are socially constructed
What is a quote by socialist feminist Simone de Beauvoir about men determining the characteristics of women?
de Beauvoir dismissed the idea of innate female characteristics as ‘a myth invented by men to confine women to their oppressed state’
What is a quote by socialist feminist Simone de Beauvoir about women being dominated in part because of their bodies?
‘her ovaries condemn her to live for ever on her knees’
How do difference feminists disagree with equality feminists?
Difference feminists believe in essentialism, whereby biological differences are consequential and do determine gender differences
Who is a prominent difference feminist?
Carol Gilligan
What did Carol Gilligan state about sex?
It is one of the most important determinants of human behaviour
What does Gilligan believe there has been an assumption of?
‘A single mode of social experience and interpretation’
What is cultural feminism?
A more extreme version of difference feminism and challenges the dominance of men in society
What do cultural feminists believe about women’s values?
They are superior and should be promoted
What do cultural feminists believe in?
A distinct ‘female essence’
What do critics of cultural feminists say?
That it is inverted sexism, and if patriarchy cannot be defended neither can matriarchy
