Feminism Flashcards
1
Q
what aspects of inequality are Liberal Feminists most concerned with
A
- education
- the family
- employment
2
Q
what are the 2 main methods of change in LFs view
A
- changes in socialisation/ culture
- changes in law
3
Q
(Lib) what does Oakley distinguish
A
- Oakley distinguishes between 2 things; gender and sex
- gender is the social differences between men and women
- sex is the fixed biological differences between men and women
4
Q
outline a contextual eg of sexism in the media
A
- a Daily Mail front cover of female politicians with their legs on show captioned ‘Never mind Brexit, who won legs-it’
5
Q
(Rad) what is radical feminists’ stance on the progress of society
A
- society is not making progress
- don’t think that changes in attitudes + the law will make a difference
6
Q
(Rad) what is Firestone’s view
A
- the root of patriarchy is the biological differences in men and women
- women bear children and so are more dependent on a man
- men also benefit from women’s unpaid labour + sex services
7
Q
(Rad) what is Brownmiller’s view
A
- men are able to control women through fear of rape
- e.g. it keeps them from staying out late at night
8
Q
(Rad) outline sexual politics
A
- the male domination over women in all spheres of life + relationships
- this is possible due to fear of sexual assault, patriarchy
9
Q
(Rad) outline RF’s views on sexuality
A
- sexuality is a social construct; heterosexuality has been forced on society as the norm
- the media emits the message of the female body as a sexual being for male consumption
10
Q
(Rad) outline Rich’s view
A
- Rich: men continue to force women into a narrow + unsatisfying ‘compulsory heterosexuality’
11
Q
(Marx F) what do Marxist Fs say is the source of women’s oppression
A
- capitalism - RC men, but especially capitalism are the beneficiaries of female subordination
12
Q
(Marx F) what 2 aspects are women’s subordination due to
A
- the emergence of private property
- women not owning the means of production
13
Q
(Marx F) what 4 ways does the nuclear fam play into w’s oppression
A
- w reproduce the labour force for free
- w absorb men’s anger from the workplace - wives are men’s takers of shit (Ansley)
- w are cheap labour due to pay gap
- the NF performs ‘ideological conditioning’ - teaches capitalist ideology (passive workers)
14
Q
outline the difference feminist view
A
- women aren’t a single homogenous group
- due to intertextuality, women have different experiences
- they critique mainstream feminism for claiming a ‘false universality’
15
Q
outline the postmodern feminist view
A
- PMFs are concerned with the language and relationship between power + knowledge
- discourse = a way of seeing, thinking or speaking about something
- discourse gives power over those it defines by allowing its users to define others
16
Q
(Lib) outline changes in laws and polices in terms of progression in gender equality
A
- gender equality an be achieved throw laws + polices - e.g. against sex discrimination in employment and education which can secure equal opportunities for women
17
Q
(Lib) outline cultural changes in terms of progression in gender equality
A
- traditional prejudices + stereotypes about gender differences are a barrier to gender equality
- e.g. beliefs that W are less rational + more emotional are used to legitimate their exclusion from decision making roles
18
Q
(Lib) what does Oakley distinguish between
A
- Oakley distinguishes between 2 things; gender and sex
- gender: the culturally distinguished differences between men and women - transmitted through socialisation
- sex: the fixed biological differences between men and women; their reproductive roles, hormones, physical differences
19
Q
(Lib) outline Lib F criticisms of Functionalism
A
- LFs challenges the divisions of Fs in terms of their instrumental + expressive roles
- W + M are equally capable of performing roles in both spheres - trad gender roles prevent W + M from leading fulfilling lives
- LFs aim to break down this gender division
20
Q
(Lib) outline 2 AO3 evaluations of Liberal Feminists
A
- LFs are over-optimistic: they see obstacles to emancipation as simply the prejudice of individuals/ irrational laws - they ignore the possibility that women’s oppression is entrenched in social institutions
- Marxist + Radical Fs: argue that Lib Fs fail to recognise the underlying causes of women’s subordination + its naïve to think that changes in the law or attitudes will be enough to bring equality
21
Q
(Rad) what is the Radical F view of society
A
- patriarchy is universal: male domination of W exists in all societies
- patriarchy is the most fundamental form of inequality + conflict
- all men oppress women + all men benefit from the patriarchy - esp women’s unpaid labour + sexual services
21
Q
(Rad) outline ‘the personal is political’
A
- RFs say patriarchal oppression is direct + personal - it not only occurs in the public sphere of work + politics, but also in the private sphere of the family, domestic labour + sexual relationships
- the personal is political - all relationships involve power + its political when there is an imbalance (sexual politics)
22
Q
(Rad) what do RFs say about the nature of sexuality
A
- malestream sociology tends to regard sexuality as a natural biological urge + therefore not in the scope of sociology
- BUT RFs argue that patriarchy constructs sexuality for the satisfaction of male desires
- e.g. W in pornography are portrayed as passive sex objects, with penetration as the main source of sexual pleasure
22
Q
(Rad) outline separatism as a RF solution to oppression
A
- as men’s oppression of W is exercised through intimate domestic + sexual relationships, RFs suggest ‘separatism’
- this is living apart from M + thereby creating a new culture of female independence - free from patriarchy
- Greer: argues for all-female/ matrilocal households as an alternative to the nuclear family
23
Q
(Rad) outline consciousness-raising as a RF solution to oppression
A
- through sharing their experiences in women-only consciousness-raising groups, W see that other W face the same issues
- this can lead to collective action - e.g. the SlutWalk and Reclaim These Streets marches
24
Q
(Rad) outline political lesbianism as a RF solution to oppression
A
- RFs argue that heterosexual relationships are inevitably oppressive because they involve ‘sleeping with the enemy’
- lesbianism/ not sleeping with the enemy (men) removes the patriarchy imposed by the heterosexual relationship structure
24
Q
(Rad) outline 3 AO3 evaluations of the Radical F view
A
- Marxists: class, not patriarchy, is the main form of inequality + capitalism is the main beneficiary of Ws oppression - not men
- RFs assume all women are in the same positions + ignore class and ethnic differences
- RFs solutions to patriarchy are unrealistic - e.g. their vague utopian notions of separatism are unlikely to be achieved
24
Q
(Marx F) what does F subordination result from
A
- MFs say that female subordination results from their primary role as an unpaid homemaker, which places them in a dependent economic position in the family
- their subordination performs 4 roles for capitalism (free labour, reserve army of labour, reproducing labour force, absorbing anger)
24
Q
(Marx F) name the 4 functions women perform for capitalism
A
1) w reproduce the labour force
2) w absorb men’s anger
3) w are cheap labour
4) w are a reserve army of labour
24
Q
(Marx F) outline reproducing the labour force as a function W perform for capitalism
A
w reproduce the labour force:
- they perform unpaid domestic labour, the nurturing and socialising of the next generation of workers, and maintaining the current generation of workers (their husbands)
- they do this for free + capitalism is the main beneficiary
24
Q
(Marx F) outline absorbing men’s anger as a function W perform for capitalism
A
- W absorb men’s anger that would otherwise be directed at Capitalism
- Ansley: wives are ‘takers of shit’ who soak up frustration from their husbands from the alienation + exploitation they suffer at work
- this explains male domestic violence against W
25
Q
(Marx F) outline W as cheap labour as a function W perform for capitalism
A
- W are a source of cheap, exploitable labour for employers
- they can be paid less (pay gap) or hired on part time jobs because its assumed they’ll be partially dependent on their husbands earnings or leave for their domestic duties
25
Q
(Marx F) outline W as a reserve army of labour as a function W perform for capitalism
A
- W are a reserve army of labour that can be moved into the labour force during economic booms + out at time of recession
- they can be treated as marginal workers as its assumed their primary role is in the home
26
Q
(Marx F) outline Barrett’s ideology of familism
A
- BUT, non-economic factors must also be considered if we can understand + change W’s position
- Barratt’s Familism: this ideology presents the nuclear fam + its gender division of labour as natural + portrays the fam as a place where W can attain fulfilment (e.g. through motherhood, intimacy etc) - this helps to keep W subordinated
- Barrett: the overthrow of cap is necessary, but not sufficient - we must also overthrow the ideology of familism to free W from the conventional family + its restrictive stereotypes
26
Q
(Marx F) outline 2 AO3 evaluations of Marxist Feminism
A
- fails to explain F subordination in non-capitalist societies - thus, F oppression cant be solely explained by capitalism
- MFs ignore the ways in which men of all classes - and not just capitalism - oppress women + benefit from their unpaid labour
27
Q
(Dual System) outline dual system feminists
A
- DSFs combine the key features of Marxist + Radical feminism in one theory
- the 2 systems referred to are: an economic system (capitalism) and a sex-gender system (patriarchy)
28
Q
(Dual System) outline patriarchal capitalism
A
- dual system feminists such as Hartmann view capitalism and patriarchy as 2 intertwined systems that form ‘patriarchal capitalism’
- to understand W’s subordination, we must look at the relationship between their position both in the domestic division of labour (patriarchy) + in paid work (capitalism)
- e.g. domestic work limits W’s availability for paid work, driving W into marriage + economic dependence on a man - these 2 systems reinforce each other
29
Q
(Dual System) what does Walby say
A
- Walby argues that capitalism + patriarchy are inter-related - BUT the interests of them aren’t always the same
- e.g. they collide over the exploitation of female labour - whilst cap demands a cheap female labour force, pat wants to keep W subordinated in the domestic sphere
- in the long run, C is more powerful, so P adopts segregation instead - W are allowed into paid work, but only in low status jobs under the leadership of a man
30
Q
(Dual System) what does Pollert say
A
- Pollert says that patriarchy isn’t a system in the same sense of capitalism, which is driven by its own internal dynamic of profit making
- patriarchy is only a descriptive term for a range of practices - e.g. male domestic abuse, control of women’s labour
31
Q
(Difference F) what do Difference Feminists say
A
- DFs don’t see W as one homogenous group - MC + WC, white + black, lesbian + heterosexual women have very different experiences of patriarchy, capitalism, racism and homophobia etc
- the feminist theory has claimed a ‘false universality’ - it claims to be about all W, but is only about the experiences of white MC heterosexual W
- e.g. by seeing the fam as the main source of oppression neglects the experience of POC W, who may see their family as a sanctuary against racism
31
Q
(Poststructuralist F) what is a discourse
A
- discourses = a way of seeing, thinking or speaking about something
- the world is made up of many - often competing - discourses - e.g. religious - scientific
32
Q
(Difference F) outline the problem of essentialism
A
- applied to gender, essentialism is the idea that all W share the same fundamental ‘essence’ - all W are the same + share the same experiences of oppression
- DFs argue that liberal, marxist + radical feminists are essentialist - thus, they fail to reflect the diversity of W’s experiences + exclude other W and their issues
33
Q
(Poststructuralist F) outline Poststructuralist Feminism
A
- Poststructuralist Fs such as Butler focus on discourses and knowledge/ power
- by enabling its users to define others, discourses give power over those it defines
- e.g. by defining childbirth as a medical condition and healthy women as patients, medical discourses empower doctors + disempower women
- knowledge is power - the power to define others
34
Q
(Poststructuralist F) outline the Enlightenment Project
A
- Poststructuralists argue that the Enlightenment Project - with its talk of reason, humanity + progress - is a discourse (+ a form of power/ knowledge)
- Butler argues the EP was a form of power that legitimated western, MC, Male, White power
- these universal ideas that claimed to apply to all humanity in reality excluded women + other oppressed groups
35
Q
(Poststructuralist F) outline the Enlightenment Project in application to Feminism
A
- Butler: the White, West, MC women who dominate the Feminist movement have falsely claimed to represent a ‘universal womanhood’
- Feminists are wrong to believe they can adapt the Enlightenment Project to accommodate all W - as W aren’t a single homogenous group who share the same ‘essence’
- there is no fixed essence of being a W - our identities are formed through discourses which vary between times + cultures - thus there is no universally same ‘womanhood’
- e.g. womanhood may be constituted by religion in some societies, or by the media
36
Q
(Poststructuralist F) outline an advantage of Poststructuralism for Feminism
A
- Butler: Poststructuralism offers advantages for Feminism, as it enables Fs to de-construct different discourses to reveal how they subordinate W
- e.g. in the medicalisation of childbirth
- through this, we can examine the discourse of medicine, art, advertising etc to uncover the power/ knowledge by which they define + oppress W
37
Q
(Poststructuralist F) outline AO3 evaluations of Poststructuralism
A
- Walby: there are differences among W, but there are also important similarities - e.g. patriarchy, pay gap, DV, SA
- emphasising the differences may divide W into many sub-groups of feminism, thereby weakening the F movement as a whole
- Segal: PSFs abandon any notion of real social structures. oppression isn’t just the result of discourses - its about real inequality
