FEMINISM Flashcards
1
Q
What is Feminist Theory?
A
- sees society as male dominated and seeks to change women’s position in society.
- roots can be tracked down to 18th century enlightenment
- criticise mainstream sociology for being ‘malestream’ seeing society only from a male perspective
- they examine society from the viewpoint of women
2
Q
What is Liberal/Reformist Feminism?
A
- concerned with human and civil rights and freedoms of the individual
- believe all humans should have equal rights and freedoms
- believes progress can be achieved by gradual reforms and changes in society
- they believe equality can be achieved through laws and policies and cultural change
- traditional prejudices and stereotypes are a barrier to equality
- biological differences don’t make women less competent or rational than men.
3
Q
What is Ann Oakley’s Theory of Sex and Gender?
A
- sex refers to biological differences between males and females
- gender refers to culturally constructed differences between the masculine and feminine roles and identities assigned to males and females. includes ideas that cultures hold about the abilities of males and females which are transmitted through socialisation.
4
Q
How can Gender Equality be achieved according to Liberal Feminists?
A
sexist attitudes and stereotypical beliefs about gender are culturally constructed and transmitted through socialisation. to achieve gender equality we must change the socialisation patterns. hence they promote appropriate role models in education and the family and they challenge gender stereotyping in the media. they believe over time this will produce gradual change and gender equality will become a norm.
5
Q
How is Liberal Feminism an Optimistic Theory?
A
they believe:
- changes in socialisation and culture are gradually leading to more rational attitudes to gender and overcoming prejudice
- political action to introduce anti-discriminatory laws and policies is bringing progress
6
Q
How is Liberal Feminism a Critique of Functionalist view of Gender
A
- functionalists distinguish between instrumental and expressive roles. instrumental roles are performed in the public sphere of paid work, politics, and decision making whereas expressive roles are performed in the private sphere of unpaid domestic labour
- according to Parson instrumental roles are the domain of men and expressive roles are the domain of women
- liberal feminism argues both men and women are capable of performing roles in both spheres and that traditional roles are preventing men and women from leading full filling lives
- despite this criticism, liberal feminism is close to the consensus view of society. achieving gender equality will benefit both men and women
7
Q
Evaluation of Liberal Feminism?
A
- studies conducted by liberal feminists have produced evidence documenting the extent of gender inequality and discrimination and legitimising the demand for reform in areas such as equal pay and employment, media representation etc.
- however they are criticised for over optimism as they see obstacles to emancipation as solely prejudices of individuals or irrational laws that can be gradually reformed. they ignore the possibility that there are deep structures causing women’s oppression such as capitalism or patriarchy.
- Sylvia Walby argues that they offer no explanation for the overall structure of gender inequality
- marxist and radical feminists argue that liberal feminism fails to recognize the underlying causes of women’s subordination and that it is naive to believe that changes in society and law will not be enough to bring equality.
8
Q
What is Radical Feminism?
A
- patriarchy is universal and make domination of women exists in all societies
- according to Firestone the origins of patriarchy lie in women’s biological capacity to bear and care for children
- patriarchy is the primary and most fundamental form of inequality and conflict
- all men oppress all women and all men benefit from patriarchy, especially from women’s unpaid domestic labour and sexual services
9
Q
What does ‘The Personal is Political’ mean?
A
- patriarchal oppression is direct and personal
- it occurs in the public sphere of work and politics as well as the private sphere of family, domestic labour, and sexual relationships
- all relationships involve power and are political when one dominates the other, referred to as sexual politics
- focus on the ways in which patriarchy is exercised through personal relationships often through sexual or physical violence.
- this controls women through fear
- they also argue that patriarchy constructs sexuality so as to satisfy men’s biological urge
10
Q
How can women become free of patriarchy and oppression according to radical feminists?
A
- women should live separately from men, separatism
- consciousness raising through sharing experiences
- political lesbianism; heterosexual relationships are oppressive because of involving sleeping with the enemy
11
Q
What is the evaluation of Radical Feminism?
A
- marxists assert that class and not patriarchy is the primary form of inequality and capitalism is the main cause of women’s oppression
- offers no explanation to why female subordination takes different forms in different societies.
- it assumes that all women are in the same position and ignores class and ethnic differences between women
- Pollert argues that the concept of patriarchy is of little value because it involves a circular argument. eg. male violence is explained as patriarchy while patriarchy is seen as maintained by male violence
- radical feminism has an adequate theory of how patriarchy will be abolished. critics argue that vague utopian nations of separatism are unlikely to be achievable
- patriarchy may already be in decline. liberal feminists argue that women are in a better position in the recent years as a result of social reforms and changing attitudes
- neglects female violence against males
12
Q
What is Marxist Feminism?
A
- women’s subordination is rooted in capitalism, a result of their unpaid domestic jobs
- this places them in a dependent economic position in the family
13
Q
What does the subordination of women perform for capitalism?
A
- women are a source of cheap and exploitable labour for employers. they are payed less due to the assumption that they are partially dependent on their husband
- women are a reserve army of labour that can be moved into the labour force during economic crisis or booms and out again at times of recession
- women reproduce the labour of force through their unpaid domestic labour both by nurturing and socialising children to become the next generation of workers
- women absorb anger that would otherwise be directed to capitalism. they soak up the frustration of their husbands. this also explain male domestic violence
14
Q
What is Barrett’s ideology of Familism?
A
- argues that we must give give more emphasis on women’s consciousness and motivations and to the role of ideology in maintaining their oppression
- the ideology of familism presents the nuclear family and its sexual division of labour as natural and normal. family is presented as the only place a woman can be fulfilled through intimacy, motherhood, and sexual satisfaction
- barrett argues overthrowing capitalism isn’t enough to securing women’s liberation. the ideology of familism should be overthrown to free the sexes from restrictive stereotypes and ensure domestic labour is shared equally
15
Q
Evaluation of Marxist feminism?
A
- they show a greater understanding of the importance of structural factors than liberal feminism
- however fails to explain women’s subordination in non capitalist societies
- unpaid domestic labour may benefit capitalism but doesn’t explain why it is women and not men that perform it
- places insufficient emphasis on the ways in which men and not just capitalism oppress women and benefit from their unpaid labour
- it hasn’t been proved that unpaid domestic labour is the cheapest way of reproducing labour power. eg. it might be done more cheaply through the market
