3. Feminism (unit3 Flashcards
Walby’s 6 structures of patriarchy :
1- Household - Women have primary responsibility for housework and childcare.
2- Paid work - Women have lower paid , low status and more part-time jobs.
3- The state - Policies are in men’s interest .
4- Sexuality - Different standards of behaviour is expected from men and women.
5- Male violence - Male violence against women ether condoned or ignored .
6- Cultural institutions - Religion media and education and other institutions reinforce patriarchy .
How do Liberal feminist view society?
women’s inequality arises primarily from factors like:
-sexist stereotyping
-gender role socialisation
-women’s primary responsibility for housework and childcare
These generate a lack of opportunities for women, and keep them in lower paid, lower status occupations.
AO2: Synoptic link: Families - Parson primary socialisation - Boys and girls get socialised into gender roles.
Lib Fem solutions to the problem?
They argue that equality for women will come through a gradual process of reform
-Better / high-quality and more affordable (even free) childcare
-Equal pay
-Anti-discrimination and equal opportunity laws
-Challenges to prejudices/sexist attitudes
-Challenges to stereotyping in institutions like the family
-Challenging society’s socialisation patterns
Examples:
- Equal pay act 1970
- GIST & WISE
- Divorce Reform Act 1969
- Sex Discrimination Act 1975
Evaluation of liberal Feminism:
- Ignores the deeper rooted structures that contribute to women’s inequality such as capitalism (Marxist feminist) and patriarchy (radical feminist).
-Accused of having a rose-tinted view. There is still a lot of inequality in society e.g. media , sports etc.
How do Radical Feminists view society ?
They regard patriarchy as the most fundamental form of inequality.
Firestone and Ortner argue that women’s subordination due to biology (pregnancy
and childbirth) = makes them dependent and vulnerable which allows men to have physical and physiological control over them.
AO2: Dual burden & Triple shift.
Dobash and Dobash domestic violence was a way for men to maintain control and domination over their wives or partners.
Radical Feminist solutions to the problem:
-Propose the complete destruction of patriarchy.
-Childbirth to be carried out independently of men.
Women to begin to free themselves from oppression – live their lives separately from
men through separatism (living apart) and lesbianism.
This could involve creating women’s communes, women’s festivals.
Germaine Greer (2000) argues for the creation of all-female or ‘matrifocal’ households as an alternative to the heterosexual family.
Eval of Rad Fem:
-Liberal feminists would argue that gradual reform has occurred and has improved women’s opportunities.
-Marxists feminists would argue that it is capitalism, not patriarchy, which oppresses women.
-Intersectional feminists would argue radical feminism assumes all women share common interests – not all women are the same.
-Dual systems feminists would say it’s just not patriarchy that must be eradicated, but capitalism too.
Marxist Feminists view of society:
Gender inequality arises primarily from the nature of capitalist society, not just patriarchy alone.
-Women are a source of cheap, exploitable labour.
-Women are a reserve army of labour (in and out of jobs when needed e.g. WWI and WWII)
-Women’s expressive role is to absorb men’s anger at their exploitation at work – Ansley called women’s role the ‘takers of shit’ – keeps capitalism stable.
AO2: Zareski Cushioning effect maintains capitalism.
Marxist Feminist Solutions to the problems:
-Improving the position of women involves a fundamental challenge to
capitalism and class inequality + patriarchy which is used to support it.
-Capitalism is the root cause of women’s oppression.
Eval of Marx Fem:
-Radical feminists: it is men, not just capitalism, who benefit from women’s subordination = they are the ones who discriminate, who commit sexual + physical violence against women etc.
Intersectional feminists: Marxist feminist theory has been criticized for its tendency
to essentialize women’s experiences and overlook differences among women based
on factors such as race, ethnicity, sexuality, and nationality.
What is the Dual Systems Feminist view of society ?
Dual Systems blend Marxist and radical feminist theories.
-Women have two roles house wife and paid work.
Walby -Not only are they subordinate to men, but to capitalism too
Other factors are important too – social class + ethnic inequalities.
AO2: Dual Burden & Triple shift
Dual Systems Solutions to the problem:
-Remove the twin structures of patriarchy and capitalism is key
-But they also support reform measures like liberal feminists suggest
= tackling the patriarchal nature of male/female relations in the private sphere of
he home and the family
= tackling the patriarchal/capitalist exploitation of women in public spheres, such
as the labour market, business, government and the media.
Eval of Dual Systems Solutions to the problem:
-Criticised for its primarily theoretical approach.
-Doesn’t offer many/different solutions to women’s subordination that have been offered already.
What is the intersectional feminist view of society?
Originated from black feminism (they argued that early feminist theories ignored the experiences of subordination found among black women and other minority ethnic groups)
-They accuse the other feminisms of ‘essentialism’ – they assume all women have the same ‘essence’ of what it is to be a woman.
-Suggest that other variants of feminism (especially in 60s and 70s) viewed women’s subordination through the eyes of white M/C women.
Eval of Intersectional feminism:
-Liberal and radical feminists: by emphasizing the differences between women, intersectional feminism deflects attention away from those problems shared by all women (patriarchy!)
-Having so many sub groups weakens the feminist movement.
