feminism

Question 1

Liberal feminism: Betty Friedan 1963

Answer 1

• mother and housewife roles dominate women’s life as well as soc into distinct gender roles cause women’s subordinancy.
• dominant cultural ideas about masc and fem are perpetuated in institutions like work, education and mass media
• this can be challenged by addressing sex discrimination and encouraging non sexist socialisation and equal rights in the workplace

Question 2

Liberal feminism: Natasha Walter 2010

Answer 2

• problems like lack of affordable childcare, dual burden, poverty, domestic and sexual violence still affect women
• sexism is making a return to UK culture and others: pop culture increasingly portrays women in stereotypical ways that make sexism respectable and acceptable
• growth of hypersexual culture-> sexualised clothing is becoming the norm for women and young girls, cosmetic surgery is commonplace
• pornography shapes men’s exectations of women as sexual partners as it becomes more accessible on the internet
• in these conditions it is hard for women not to aspire to patriarchal ideas of feminine beauty

Question 3

Radical feminism: Firestone and biology 1970

Answer 3

• sexual class system resulting from the biological family wherein women are at a power disadvantage because they undergo pregnancy and childbirth, as well as the requirements of breastfeeding and menstruation tying them down and making them more vulnerable
• for this reason, women are made dependent on men which allows them to monopolise on power in society
• this results in power psychology with both men and women thinking that men’s dominance is inevitable
• she sees the only way to overcome these problems as taking the dramatic step of abolishing pregnancy via artificial wombs

Question 4

Radical feminism: Millet 1970 (7 factors)

Answer 4

• several factors working together
• biology: men’s superior physical strength and use of violence intimidates women, with patriarchal ideology convincing them they are weak and vulnerable even though they are perfectly capable of this too
• ideological factors convince women that they are less assertive and ambitious than men
• socological factors like women’s position as child caregivers prohibits them from dominant positions in the workplace
• educational and economic inequalities also hold women back since they have fewer educational opportunities and it is difficult for them to rise to high levels in the workplace
• myth and religion reinforce inferiority of women, ban them from positions of authority or are otherwise male dominated, justifying and perpetuating inequality
• violence of men- rape, sexual assault if their power is challenged
• psychology- patriarchal ideology has women convinced they are inferior anyway, so it is hard to challenge and change the situation that leads to patriarchal power

Question 5

1st wave liberal feminist: Mary Woolstonecraft 1792

Answer 5

• wanted women to be able to work
• provision of education to women

Question 6

what do all the feminist types agree about?

Answer 6

• societies are or have been patriarchal
• structural conflict theory: emphasise role of social structure
• society as based on conflict between men and women
• try to explain inequality and solve it

Question 7

Ann Oakley

Answer 7

• used the idea that sex influences gender roles
• gender= what it means to be masc or fem in certain cultures and the beliefs associated with this
• backs up her ideas with examples of cultural differences from contemporary britain
• 1st nation tazmanians= women do most hunting
• mbuti in the congo= men do the most childcare
• Israel= women have long featured as front line troops, still a contemporary society
• if the view that gender is cultural, not biological is accepted then it means that there is no reason why the role of women in society cannot be changed to produce greater equality or even reverse the currently dominant role of men

Question 8

feminism and the critique of sociology:

Answer 8

-most mainstream sociology, which they call malestream, has a masculine bias

Abbott, Wallace and Tyler (2005) identify 4 ways in which sociology can be seen as malestream:
- more research has been conducted about men than women, and it has been generalised to people as a whole, even when all male samples are used
- issues of concern to women have been neglected and are backgrounded by issues that are relevant to men
- women have often been presented in sexist ways in sociological research
- women do not have the central importance that feminists believe they should, even when integrated in research

Question 9

what are the beliefs of radical feminists?

Answer 9

• women are exploited by and subservient to men
• patriarchal society, it is the 1st most important organising principle of society
• this means it is very difficult to change
• apparent improvements in women’s position in society are superficial and fundamental inequalities remain unchanged
• patriarchy= universal and can only be challenged with a fundamental restructuring of society
• some are female seperatists, believing that women should live independently of men because it is impossible to avoid domination by men in hetero relationships

Question 10

Millet summary (radical)

Answer 10

• women are born into a caste-like status
• in the caste system you cannot change the caste into which you are born, and because of this even higher class women are subordinate to men

Question 11

evaluation of radical feminism

Answer 11

• liberal- underestimate the extent to which women have become more liberated, particularly in western societies
• socialist- lack a convincing explanation for what underpins male dominance
• postmodern/black feminists- exaggerate the degree to which all women share similar interests and ignore other social divisions as well as the use of language in female oppression

Question 12

Maxist/socialist feminism: Frederick Engels 1872

Answer 12

• the promiscuous horde ended when humans began to herd animals and men wanted to pass down their cattle to their offspring
• the insititution of marriage was created to control and limit women’s sexuality so that the men could be sure who their offspring was in order to pass down property like this

Question 13

Maxist/socialist feminism: Coontz and Henderson 1966

Answer 13

• men became dominant due to patrilocality, which is when married women went to live with their husband’s family
• in this way, men gained control over women’s labour and the wealth they produced, giving them control in overall society

Question 14

Maxist/socialist feminism: Delphy and Leonard 1992

Answer 14

• women are exploited in the family via the unpaid domestic labour that they do the majority of, as well as helping husbands with careers by entertaining clients or acting as an unpaid secretary
• this helps men to accumulate wealth at the expense of women :(

Question 15

Maxist/socialist feminism: Ansley 1972

Answer 15

• women are the takers of shit because they withstand physical and verbal abuse from husbands due to alienation and exploitation at work which SHOULD be directed towards employers or capitalism

Question 16

Maxist/socialist feminism: Benston 1972

Answer 16

• women are used as a reserve army of labour who are employed on low wages and thrown out by capitalist when no longer needed

Question 17

Evaluation of Maxist/socialist feminism

Answer 17

• non material factors like culture, language and violence also play a part in women’s exploitation
• wealthy women face the same discrimination and sexism as poorer women
• some of the inequalities have no obvious benefits for capitalists
• doesn’t explain why gender inequality contintues in socialist and communist countries

Question 18

Evaluation of libfem

Answer 18

• its moderate stance has led to effective and worthwhile changes without holding out for revolution
• has not eradicated inequality according to Greer (2000), who says that women still have to behave and dress in the ways that men want them to in order to succeed
• third wave feminists like redfern and aune suggest that radical changes are also still needed to fully liberate women, using contemporary methods like bloging and social media

Question 19

arguments of black feminism

Answer 19

• other types of feminism are ethnocentric and tend to focus on white women’s experience in western societies
• other types have a ‘victim ideology’ around black women, portraying them as helpless victims of both racism and sexism
• black women can provide a unique and essential contribution to feminism in general

Question 20

bell hooks (1981)

Answer 20

• the legacy of slavery has given black women a unique insight into the nature of oppression which white women don’t have

Question 21

Heidi Safia Mirza (1997)

Answer 21

• argues we need a distinctive type of black british feminism, to challenge distorted assumptions htat black british women are passive victims of racism, patriarchy and class inequality
• we need to do this by highlighting how they have struggled against domestic violence, fought to overcome sexism and racism in education and elsewhere
• this has been important in developing postcolonial feminism, which looks at gender inequalities which are partly the result of colonialism in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Question 22

Evaluation of black feminism

Answer 22

• useful in extending feminist analysis and highlighting neglected areas of research by drawing on the experiences of oppressed women, to understand the social world better
• questioned the idea that all women share the same interests
• however, it could be accused of emphasising one difference at the expense of others

Question 23

What are the key features of postmodern feminism?

Answer 23

• can be seen as part of 3rd wave feminism which reflects on some of the weaknesses of the 2nd wave
• celebrate difference rather than believing that all women share the same interests
• reject the idea of progress inherent in claims that women can be liberated, they suggest that these are a product of male rationality that the world can be planned to become a better place
• reject the idea of a singular path to female liberation- this might mean different things for different women, and the idea of ‘justice’ is adopting male rationality, avoidingwhat may be more female goals

Question 24

The idea of poststructuralism within postmodern feminism

Answer 24

• importance of language in the production of society is emphasised
• every aspect of society is socially created, and significant changes can happen by simply changing the way that language is used
• women’s position can be improved by deconstructing masculine language and thinking

Question 25

Helene Cixous (1993)

Answer 25

• language is phallocentric- male dominated and reflecting a male view of the world
• sex is seen from a phallocentric perspective, in terms of male objectives like penetration and orgasm
• this neglects the female perspective of sex, which is more subtle and doesn’t focus on just one part of the body
• she refers to ‘jouissance’, the joyous female sensuality that incorporates the whole body

Question 26

evaluation of postmodern feminism by Rosemary Tong

Answer 26

• sees some merit in post-modern feminism and its awareness of an acceptance of differences between men and women
• however, it ignores the key importance of inequality between the sexes

Question 27

evaluation of postmodern feminism by Sylvia Walby

Answer 27

• neglects the degree to which the experience of oppression gives women shared interests
• there are differences between groups of women, yes, but they all still sufer the effects of patriarchy like older women, poorly qualified young women and single parents.
• the most elite positionsa are still male dominated!

Question 28

Butler

Answer 28

• language AND body language are important in the creation of gender socially
• gender is performed through a repetoire of bodily gestures and movements, which help to create the impression that there are essential differences in men and women
• this ingrains different practices in male and female bodies, which become habits that are difficult to change

Question 29

what has feminism contributed to sociology?

Answer 29

• highlighted problems of malestream sociology: all-male samples and generalising about people as a whole without asking women
• new topics intorudced, which were previously neglected: childbirth, housework, female gangs and gender inequality
• highlighted oppression of women and REDUCED it: changes to law in western societies and recognition of sexual violence, sexism in society and socialisation
• new methods in sociology: offered more understanding of oppressed groups and revealed bias in allegedly, scientific methodology