Family: Feminism

Question 1

Patriarchy

Answer 1

Literally: rule of the father.

A society dominated and controlled by men. most people in power are men, who use it to subjugate women

Question 2

Liberal Feminism

Answer 2

Believes in gradual movement towards equality. thy want to reform the curren system to make it less patriarchal and more equal.

Question 3

Somerville

Answer 3

Liberal feminist. recognises significant progress has been made in public and private life for women

argues that to achieve true equality in relationships, we need incressed flexibility in paid employment

Question 4

Sue Sharpe

Answer 4

Liberal feminist.
interviewed girls in the 70s and the 90s, and compared how their attitudes to education and their priorities in work and marriage changed.
1976: ‘love, marriage, husbands and career, more or less in that order
But by 1996: ‘Job, career and being able to support themselves’. Girls became more confident, assertive, ambitious and more committed to gender equality

Question 5

Girl Guide Study

Answer 5

found women were more likely to define success as being confident and independent (56%) rather than being married (21%).

Question 6

Ann Oakley

Answer 6

Liberal feminist.

Housework is seen as a predominatley female role.
Housework is unpaid, which makes women dependent on men financially.
Gender role socialisation - canalisation, verbal appelations, manipulation, different activities.

Question 7

Ann Oakley’s 4 processes of gender role socialisation

Answer 7

Canalisation: channelling boys and girls to different activities
Verbal Appelations: addressing girls and boys differently
Different activities: giving boys and girls diffferent toys and activiites - ie, blue and pink
Manipulation: encouraging behaviour seen as normal for the child’s gender, and discouraging behaviour seen as abnormal for their gender

Question 8

Marxist feminists

Answer 8

the main axis of women’s opression is capitalism (not men)

Question 9

Unpaid domestic labour

Answer 9

Women reproduce the labour force trough unpaid domestic labour they socialise children to become the next generation of workers, and service the current workers (their husbands)

Question 10

reserve army of cheap labour

Answer 10

their primary role is domestic and they are restricted from working.

They are in reserve to be taken on temporarily if the bourgeoisie needs to. Making production more flexible.

Question 11

Fran Ansley

Answer 11

Marxist feminist

Women are Takers of shit: absorb the man’s anger at capitalism, to prevent it from eing directed at the bourgeoisie, keep the proletarian man in line.

The man takes his frustration at his exploitation out on his wife - domestic violence

Question 12

Evelyn Reed

Answer 12

Marxist feminist.
The way in which women’s labour is used and abused, eg women being concentrated in low paying or unpaid caring and domestic roles, does not just sustain patriarchy, but capitalism as well.

Question 13

Benston

Answer 13

Women are the unpaid workforce - housework, children. Because if women were paid mimumun wage for working this would require a large redistribution of wealth

Women are slaves of the wage slaves: do just as much work inside the home as the man does for no pay. The woman must be a housewife: tend to her husband’s needs, feed him, clean his clothes, do his chores so he can go to work, do his job.

Question 14

Radical feminism

Answer 14

All relationships between men and women are based on patriarchy.

Men are the cause of women’s exploitation and oppression. the root of the problem

All agents of socialisation enforce patriarchy

The entire patriarchal system needs to be got rid of. The family in particular is the root of women’s oppression

Question 15

Ferri and Smith

Answer 15

Radical feminists
Women have the ‘Dual burden’ of paid work and unpaid housework.
The family remain patriarchal - men benefit from women’s pay and their domestic labour.

Question 16

Dunscombe and Marsden

Answer 16

They go further, argue women suffer from the triple shift:
Paid labour; Domestic labour; Emotional labour: expected to take on the emotional burden of caring for children

Question 17

Dobash and Dobash

Answer 17

Radical feminists.
Domestic violence is evidence of patriarchy.
When men feel their authorty is challenged the use violence to regain authority and control over the woman.

Question 18

Germaine Greer

Answer 18

Argues the family continues to disadvantage women.

Focuses on the role of women as wives, mothers and daughters

Marriage is like a prison for women.

Question 19

Andrea Dworkin

Answer 19

All intercouse, while not literally rape, violates the integrity of a woman’s body. Women who want it ‘experience pleasure in their own inferiority’ -

heterosexual sex is inherently patriarchal.

Question 20

Barrett and Mcintosh

Answer 20

Critical - nuclear family devalues other ways of living, makes those who aren’t in a nuclear family feel inadequate

highlight the dark side of the nuclear family - institution of abuse and neglect

Question 21

Stanko

Answer 21

Act of domestic abuse happens every 6 seconds

Question 22

British Crime Survey

Answer 22

domestic violence accounts for a sixth of all violent crime
1 in 4 women will experience DV at some point in their lifetime
women are much more likely to experience this than men