feminism

Question 1

what is liberal feminism concerned with?

Answer 1

concerned with human and civil rights and freedom of the individual.

Question 2

What is reformism?

Answer 2

the belief that progress towards equal rights can be achieved by gradual reforms and piecemeal changes

Question 3

Oakley’s definitions of sex and gender

Answer 3

sex - biological differences between males and females
gender - culturally constructed differences masculinity and femininity

Question 4

What type of theory is liberal feminism?

Answer 4

an optimistic theory which is in keeping with the enlightenment theory.
They believe that changes in socialisation and culture gradually leading to more rational attitudes to gender.
Political action to introduce anti-discriminatory laws and policies steadily bringing about progress.

Question 5

how does liberal feminism challenge functionalist ideas of gender roles?

Answer 5

it argues that men and women are equally capable of performing roles in both spheres and that traditional gender roles prevent both men and women from living fulfilling lives.
liberal feminism is the feminist theory closest to a consensus view

Question 6

AO3 of liberal feminism

Answer 6

criticised for over optimism
Walby - they offer no explanation for the overall structure of gender inequality, ignoring possibility of deep seated structures causing women’s oppression
marxist and radical feminists fail to recognise underlying causes of oppression.

Question 7

What does radical feminism believe about patriarchy?

Answer 7

patriarchy is universal - male domination of women exists in all known societies.

Question 8

Firestone

Answer 8

origins of patriarchy lie in women’s biological capacity to bear and care for children.

Question 9

What do radical feminists mean by the personal is political?

Answer 9

patriarchal oppression is direct and personal
Sexual politics - men dominate women through personal relationships
patriarchal power is exercised through personal relationships, often through sexual / physical violence
Patriarchy constructs sexuality to satisfy men’s needs.

Question 10

rich

Answer 10

continue to force women into a narrow and unsatisfying compulsory heterosexuality

Question 11

seperatism

Answer 11

given that men’s oppression of women is exercised through intimate domestic and sexual relationships, radical feminists argue that women should live independently than men. Greer argues for the creation of all female / matrilocal households.

Question 12

consciousness raising

Answer 12

sharing experiences in women only consciousness raising groups, women come to see that other women face the same problems
e.g. slutwalk marches

Question 13

political lesbianism

Answer 13

heterosexual relationships are inevitably oppressive as they involve sleeping with the enemy

Question 14

AO3 of radical feminism

Answer 14

marxists assert that class, not patriarchy, is the primary form of inequality
Offers no explanation of why female subordination takes different forms in different societies
Pollert - concept of patriarchy is of little value as it involves a circular argument

Question 15

what do marxist feminists believe?

Answer 15

women’s subordination in capitalist society results from their primary role as unpaid homemaker.

Question 16

what roles does the subordination of women perform?

Answer 16

women are a cheap source of exploitable labour
reserve army of labour
reproduces the labour force
women absorb anger - Fran ansley - takers of shit

Question 17

Barrett

Answer 17

we must give more emphasis to women’s consciousness and motivation. While she believes that the overthrow of capitalism is necessary, she arguues it is not sufficient. we must overthrow familism which underpins conventional family and unequal division of labour.

Question 18

Mitchell

Answer 18

ideas about femininity are so deeply inplanted in women’s unconscious minds that they are very difficult to dislodge.

Question 19

AO3 of marxist feminism

Answer 19

fails to explain women’s subordination in non-capitalist societies
unpaid domestic labour doesn’t explain why it is women and not men who perform it.
Hartmann - marxism is sex blind.

Question 20

Hartmann

Answer 20

capitalism and patriarchy are two intertwined systems that form patriarchal capitalism

Question 21

Walby

Answer 21

capitalism and patriarchy are inter-related but collide over exploitation of female labour

Question 22

what does difference feminism argue about conventional feminism

Answer 22

feminism has claimed a false universitality
essentialism - idea that all women share the same fundamental essense.
fails to reflect diversity of experiences.

Question 23

bulter

Answer 23

concerned with discourses and power/knowledge
discourses - ways of seeing, thinking or speaking about something
enlightenment ideals were simply a form of power / knowledge that legitimised domination of western, white MC males.
White western women who dominate feminist movement have falsely claimed to represent universal womanhood.
Butler - argues that poststructuralism allows feminists to deconstruct discourses to reveal how they subordinate women

Question 24

Ao3 of poststructuralism feminism

Answer 24

Walby - there are differences among woman but she argues that there are also important similarities - all faced with patriarchy
Segal - abandons any notion of real, objective, social structure.