feminism Flashcards
first wave
mid 1800s
focussed on social and legal reform
fought to allow women to better educated
led mainly by middle class women called suffragettes
successful in vote, education, access to professional jobs, women’s rights to property
second wave
1960s-1970s
liked to several other key movements eg civil rights, gay rights
argued personal and public life inherently patriarchal
focused on awareness of oppression, equal pay, access to contraception, equal rights in jobs and education
different types emerged - liberal, radical, marxist
third wave
mid 1990s
focus on individual desires and wishes, rather than seeing all women as sharing the same experiences
focus on being able to express identity uniquely
focus on challenges traditional ideas about sexuality and gender
fourth wave
2010 onwards
some debate if there is fourth wave
uses new technology - online networks of support
everyday sexism project and mumsnet
liberal feminism concerned
human and civiil rights and freedoms
all humans should be equal
believe in equality legislation
seek cultural changes
liberal feminism - sociologist arguments
Ann Oakley - sex is biological, gender is culturally constructed
- gender roles vary according to time and place - comparative studies eg rise of new man
Somerville - whilst women still disadvantaged in the family - women have more choice - slowly moving towards gender equality
liberal feminism - how to improve women’s position
gendered socialisation and education - focus on men contributing more to domestic labour and role models within education
more law changes eg equal pay act
therefore - optimistic theory - believe that change is occurring
liberal feminism strengths
positive forward looking approach to gender inequality
recognises change and equality of women with men is evidence
equality in laws - help protect women’s rights
made significant changes in legal system
liberal feminism limitations
marxist feminism - overly optimistic - draws a partial picture - fails to look into experiences of women from different social classes
difference feminist - bell hooks - too focus on equality with men in own class - maintains cultural basis of group oppression - fails to look into experiences of women from different ethnic groups
radical feminists - judging their success by male standards - not acknowledging systemic nature of women’s oppression and encourages women to accept unequal society - will not change the patriarchal control
radical feminists aims
patriarchy most fundamental form of inequality
- direct and personal - oppression takes place in both public and private sphere
focus on ways in which patriarchal power exercised through personal relationships
radical feminist - sociologist arguments
brownmiller - domestic violence - central to male supremacy - all part of the systematic oppression of women - controls all women
firestone - roots of women’s oppression lie in the biological ability to have children - women can be emancipated through abolition of family - reproductive technology
greer - women suffer if live in same household as men - should exercise political lesbian - live in matrilocal households
radical feminism - how to improve women’s position in society
sexual politics must be reformed
separatism - living apart
consciousness raising - women share experiences in group - lead to collective actions such as marches
political lesbian - only non-oppressive sexuality
radical feminism strengths
did make a change - esp with women experiencing violence
personal is political - draws attention to domestic labour and marriage all have a political dimension
radical feminism limitations
marxists - social class is primary form of inequality - capitalism is the cause of women’s oppression and not men
difference feminism - assumes all women are in the same position
liberal feminism - outdated - women’s position improved greatly in recent years eg men doing more domestic labour
marxist feminism aims
women are source of cheap exploitable labour - reserve army of labour - reproduce the labour force and women are the takers of shit (women absorb anger)
marxist feminism sociologist argument
barrett - ideology of feminism - women’s role also supports capitalism eg nuclear family where women acts as housewife - must remove expectations about role women play in family - domestic labour shared
ansley - women takers of shit - absorb anger that would be focused on capitalist bosses - suffer at frustration of husbands - why government refused to focus on domestic violence and viewed as private affair
marxist feminism - how to improve women’s position
women’s interests lie in the overthrow of capitalism
overthrow the ideology of familism
marxist feminism limitations
lost validity given increasing participation of women in labour market and decline of traditional housewife role - eg women now working and having children later, women being breadwinner
fails to explain women’s subordination in non-capitalist societies
makes no sense within marxist family for women to not be creating for surplus value for employers
difference feminism aims
other types of feminism focus on white westernised notions of gender - women do not share all the same experiences eg w/c and upper class, lesbian and ethnic minorities
originally known as black feminism as black women rejected notion of sisterhood by white women
later expanded to address class ethnicity age disability and sexuality
difference feminism sociologist arguments
bell hooks - feminism is guilty of false universality - no unified form of gender opression
Cheshire Calhoun - influenced by postmodernism - not family itself but family life within patriarchal marriages is the problem - lesbianism and mothering
difference feminism - how to improve
challenge the view that nuclear family is the major form of family and celebrate diversity
understand the role of slavery and racial prejudice play in family life
celebrate diverse family structures and equality in all forms
feminist views on role of the family
radical - family is oppressive institution - socialisation reinforces patriarchal ideology - mum as housewife and dad as breadwinner - reinforces power relationship - argue for political lesbianism - greer - creation of matrilocal families
liberal feminists - acknowledge positive changes eg domestic labour - patriarchal oppression is gradually becoming overcome eg sex discrimination act - socialisation by parents more equal for daughters than past
marxist feminism - women reproduce next labour force for free - ansley - takers of shit - reserve army of labour
difference feminists - we cannot generalise experiences - all live in different family structures
feminist views on role of education
gendered expectations reinforced through language double-standards
Sue Lees - girls seen as slags and boys suds
Mulvey - uniform expectations - what is acceptable for girls
Textbooks depict gendered stereotypes
Francis - teacher attitudes, expectations
role of education limitations
fail to recognise changes - girls outperform boys
interactionists - girls can actively resist the stereotype label being placed on them and can reject this
marxists - education socialises a class-based ideology and not patriarchal ideology
views on the media
tuchmann - media symbolically annihilates women
Mulvey - women objectified and subjected to male gaze
Billington - media portrays masculinity as dominant
views on media limitations
traditional feminists fail to recognise media changed and fewer stereotypes and wider range of roles available eg Lara Croft
feminists argue objectification increased - manipulation of media images to portray idealised versions of femininity and sexualisation of young girls
views on religion
religion part of patriarchal structure of society - teaches to accept gender roles and be subservient
armstrong - women excluded from being priest in most religions
places of worship - women segregated and behind blinds
sacred texts - male gods, reinforce stereotypical images of women
religious laws - women have less rights than men eg access to divorce
views of religion limitations
this is changing
many progressive schools within major religions now accept women as equal and give them roles in power structures eg female Rabbis in some branches of Judaism
