feminism Flashcards
liberal fem basic beliefs Ao1
believe in reformism, that progress towards equal rights can be achieved by gradual reforms
women can achieve gender equality with laws and policies
liberal fem - laws and policies Ao2
policies such as sex discrimination in employment and education can secure equal opportunities for women
liberal fem - Oakley - distinguish between sex and gender - sex
refers to biological differences between males and females, such as reproductive role and physical differences
liberal fem - Oakley - distinguish between sex and gender - gender
refers to culturally constructed differences between masculine and feminine roles
includes the ideas that cultures hold about abilities of men and women - ideas transmitted through socialisation
liberal fem - socially constructed
sexist attitudes and stereotypical beliefs are socially constructed
to achieve gender equality lib fems seek to promote appropriate role models in education and the family
lib fem AO3 - over-optimistic
they see the obstacles to equality as simply prejudices of individuals or irrational laws that can be reformed
ignore the possibility that there are deep-seated structures causing women’s oppression such as capitalism or patriarchy
lib fem AO3 - Marx and rad fem
lib fems fail to recognise the underlying causes of women’s subordination and that its naive to think changes in laws will be enough to bring equality
3 claims of rad fems Ao1
- patriarchy is universal
Firestone: the origins of patriarchy lie in women’s biological capacity to bear children - patriarchy is the primary form of inequality and conflict
- all men oppress all women, all men benefit from patriarchy
rad fems AO1 - political relationships
patriarchal oppression is direct and personal
occurs in private and public sphere
all relationships involve power and are political when one person dominates the other
personal relationships are therefore political because men dominate women
lesbianism is the only non-oppressive form of sexuality - political lesbianism
rad fem - political relationships AO2
brownmiller
fear of rape is a powerful deterrent against women going out alone at night
rad fem AO3 - marxists
Marxists argue that class is the primary form of inequality
and that capitalism is the main cause of women’s oppression, not men
rad fem Ao3 - neglect
rad fem neglects women’s violence against men ans violence within lesbian relationships
rad fem AO3 - difference
assumes all women are in the same position, ignores class and ethnic differences
Marx fem - basic ideas
see subordination as rooted in capitalism
Marx fem - the functions off women’s subordination
women’s subordination in capitalist society means their main role is unpaid homemaker which places them in a dependent economic position
functions:
women are a source of cheap, exploitable labour
women reproduce the labour force - socialise kids to be next generation of workers
women absorb anger - Ansley ‘takers of shit’
Marx fem - ideology of familism
Barrett
women marry and live in a nuclear family when this is what oppresses them because of the ideology of familism
the ideology presents the nuclear family and its sexual division of labour was natural and normal
keeps women subordinated
to free the sexes of stereotypes we must overthrow this ideology
Marx fem - ideology of family AO2
Mitchell
uses Freud’s psychoanalytic theory to argue that ideas about femininity are so deeply implanted in women’s unconscious minds that they are difficult to dislodge
even after other throw of capitalism, it would still be hard to overcome patriarchy
Marx fem AO3 - non-capitlaist societies
fails to explain women’s subordination in non-capitalist societies
so it cannot be solely explained in terms of capitalism
Marx fem Ao3 -not just capitals men
Marx fem places insufficient emphasis on the ways in which men (including working class) and not just capitalism - oppress women and benefit from their unpaid labour
dual systems feminism
combine key features of marxist and radical feminism
capitalism and patriarchy
dual system feminism as Ao3 for Marx fem
walby
capitalism demands cheap female labour , when patriarchy resist this to keep women subordinated
difference fem basic ideas Ao1
do not see women as single homogenous group
difference fem ‘false universality’ and essentialism AO1
diff fem argues fem theory has a false universality - claims to be all about women but in reality was only about white, heterosexual middle class women
accuse fem theories of essentialism - say all women are the same and share the same experiences so exclude other women and their problems
diff fem - post structuralist feminism’s concerns
discourses and power/knowledge
diff fem - post structuralist feminism’s concerns - discourses
are ways of seeing thinking or speaking about something
a discourse gives power over those it defines
different discourse give rise to different forms of oppression and so different experiences
diff fem Ao2
by defining childbirth as a medical condition and healthy women as patients - medical discourse empowers doctors and disempowers women
diff fem - enlightenment project as AO3
butler -
white MC women who dominate the feminist movement have falsely claimed to represent ‘universal womanhood’
diff fem AO3 - Walby
there are differences but they’re also important similarities - they are all faced with patriarchy
diff fem AO3 - weakens feminism
by celebrating differences it divides women into infinite number of subgroups
therefore weakening feminism movement