feminism

Question 1

what is sex?

Answer 1

refers to the biological differences between men and women, their body shape, size and sexual and reproductive organs

remains the same regardless of time and culture

Question 2

what is gender?

Answer 2

refers to social and cultural differences between men and women

no justification for gender roles being ascribed to people, different cultures have different ideas of what constitutes masculinity and femininity demonstrating that gender is cosily constructed

Question 3

how is gender used to subordinate women?

Answer 3

terms masculine and feminine are used to describe an ‘ideal’ gender type for men and women to aspire to

key characteristics of felinity are to be calm, passive, compassionate, poised and elegant

Question 4

what is patriarchy?

Answer 4

term used by feminists to describe a society that is dominated by men and runs in their interests, a systematic oppression of women by men

Question 5

what are the six structures of patriarchy?

Answer 5

Sylvia Walby

• state
• household
• violence
• paid work
• sexuality
• culture

Question 6

how is the state a structure of patriarchy?

Answer 6

throughout history, women have been denied representation and are under-represented in the state

when they took up positions of power in the state the working hours were anti-family and the sexist culture sometimes drove them to resign

Question 7

how is the household a structure of patriarchy?

Answer 7

women have been conditioned into believing domesticity is destiny and are discouraged from pursuing occupations that take them out of the home, Millett says ‘the family is patriarchy’s chief institution’

Question 8

how is violence a structure of patriarchy?

Answer 8

‘dark side’ to family life’
two women killed every week in England and whales by a current or former partner, one in four women in England and whales will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime

Question 9

how is paid work a structure of patriarchy?

Answer 9

when women were allowed to take up jobs, they were pushed towards lower-paid or part-time roles, jobs that put them in an assistant position to men e.g. nurse to doctor or secretary to boss

or jobs that involved nurturing children e.g. teacher

Question 10

how is sexuality a structure of patriarchy?

Answer 10

society forces women to repress their natural sexual desires and consider them dirty and ‘unladylike’

women try to curb and repress their natural desires while men can explore their sexuality as a symbol of masculinity

Question 11

how is culture a structure of patriarchy?

Answer 11

society’s message to women is reinforced through culture, adverts in 1950s emphasised women tole to be a good wife to her husband

unreasonable expectations of how ‘normal’ women should look were imposed through the media usage of size-0 models on catwalks and in advertising

Question 12

what does ‘the personal is political’ mean?

Answer 12

arose within second-wave of feminism, slogan aimed to challenge the idea that what goes on between men and women in the private sphere has nothing to do with the rest of society

e.g. 1960s and 70s domestic abuse was largely ignored because it was a private matter that police and doctors should not intervene in

in fact these private issues were ways of keeping women in their subordinate place in society, the distinction between public and private sphere were about power, thus political

Question 13

what is equality feminism?

Answer 13

feminism that seeks equality for men and women in society and believes that the biological differences between men and women are inconsequential
(view held by most feminists)

Question 14

what is difference feminism?

Answer 14

argue that men and women are fundamentally different from one another, based on the belief that there are essential biological differences between them

call for highlighting and valuing the difference between men and women rather than encouraging women to deny their distinctiveness and seeking to be ‘like men’

argue traditional equality feminism has encouraged women to replicate mens behaviour and deny their own nature which alienates women from themselves

Question 15

what is cultural feminism?

Answer 15

(part of difference feminism)
seeks to challenge the dominance of male culture by promoting ‘women’s values’

stress the superiority of women’s cultural values such as compassion because they will overcome masculine qualities of selfishness and violence

Question 16

what is separatist feminism?

Answer 16

(part of difference feminism) separatist feminism is not a unified view

some separatists suggest women should create permanent separate societies from men

while others suggest women should from time-to-time spent time without men in order to separate themselves from patriarchal society, allowing them to reconnect with their female values

Question 17

what do other feminists say about difference feminists?

Answer 17

it is controversial among other feminists because they argue it takes women backhanded of years and undermines the progress the women’s movement has made

Question 18

what is intersectionality?

Answer 18

associated with third wave feminism, criticised previous forms of feminism for ignoring black and working class women experiences of patriarchy

aimed at widening the narrow focus that feminism traditionally had to welcome different experiences of women from different cultures, classes, religions

Question 19

what did bell hooks say about intersectionality?

Answer 19

disputed the idea that women shared the same life experience, white MC women did not accurately represent women as a whole

the forms of oppression experiences by white mc women were different from those experienced by black, poor or disabled women

Question 20

androgynous

Answer 20

party male and party female in appearance

Question 21

simone de Beauvoir

Answer 21

socialisation: society moulds women into their behaviour ‘one is not born, but rather becomes a woman’
otherness: men are the norm and women are ‘other’ women have accepted this and therefore in their subordinate position in society

Question 22

essentialism

Answer 22

belief that biological factors are significant in the different character and behaviour of men and women

Question 23

Kate millett

Answer 23

radical feminism
the family: family and other influences work together to reinforce patriarchal values teaching girls their ‘role’

portrayal of women in art and literature: patriarchal culture had produced writers and literature that degrade women, language used to describe sex demonstrates the subjugation oh women and women are commodities silenced by the freedom of men to sexually possess them

Question 24

Charlotte Perkins gilman

Answer 24

socialist feminist

societal pressure: gender stereotyping from childhood is wrong and title boys and girls should not wear different cloths, play with different toys, do different activities or be pushed into different roles

economic independence: women’s dependency on their husbands for money is at the heart of their oppression

Question 25

sheila rowbotham

Answer 25

socialist feminist
sexism and capitalism: oppression of women predates capitalism so it cannot have created patriarchy but sexism and capitals are closely linked and a ‘revolution within the revolution’ is needed to eradicate both

the family: a place where men take refuge from alienation in a capitalist economy, women are oppressed economically and culturally

Question 26

bell hooks

Answer 26

gender boxes/socialisation: children are forced into unnatural gender boxes

intersectionality: mainstream radical feminism ignores women’s cultural and class experiences

Question 27

how many female MPs

Answer 27

225 female MPs out of 650

Question 28

women’s suffrage

Answer 28

1928 representation of the people act

women received the vote on the same terms was men