Feminism

Question 1

Marxist Feminist: Benston

Answer 1

• Argues women are the ‘slaves of the wage slaves’
• They do all the housework and look after the men when they return from work so they are able to relax at home
• Claims that their unpaid labour keeps the capitalist system going as the RC are provided with refreshed workers who will make them a profit

AO3 - fails to recognise the changing position of women in society, most families are dual-earners, both men and women are wage slaves

Question 2

Marxist Feminist: Ansley

Answer 2

• Claims that women are ‘takers of shit’
• Men take out their anger and frustrations about capitalism onto their wives who absorb them
• They may come home from a bad day at work and shout at their wives, releasing their frustrations so they return refreshed and calm (ready to be exploited by the RC)
• Wives act as safety valve for capitalism - absorb their husbands’ anger, men do not challenge or question the RC at work, capitalism continues

AO3 - fails to recognise family diversity, role-reversal families exist where the women are the breadwinners and the men are househusbands (takers of shit instead)

Question 3

Radical Feminists: Dobash and Dobash

Answer 3

• Argue patriarchal, heterosexual marriage justifies violence against wives as men are given all the power and authority, their wives are economically dependent on them
• Their research (based on police/court records, interviews with women in women’s refuges) found domestic violence could be triggered by what the husband perceived as a challenge to his authority (asking why he was late home)

AO3 - fails to consider that there are male victims of domestic violence, less likely to report these to the police and be part of official crime statistics due to embarrassment

Question 4

Liberal Feminist: Somerville

Answer 4

• Believe reform instead of revolution is a more realistic approach to improving the position of women in society and the family
• Argues that increased choice and the growth of dual-earner families has lead to greater equality within marriage
• State policies to help working parents (increased flexibility in paid employment) will progress society towards more equal relationships
• Paternity Rights (2003) sent out a message of support and acceptance that both parents are likely to be in paid employment and recognised that fathers play an important in the lives of their children

AO3 - social reform is not always successful, mothers still take a lot of time off, despite the introduction of Paternity Rights, often return to work part-time or not at all to care for their children and extended breaks can limit women’s career progression and pay

Question 5

Difference Feminist: Mirza

Answer 5

• Difference feminists criticise other feminists for failing to recognise that women experience patriarchy in different ways
• Mirza examined the experiences of black women in the family, highlighting the stereotypes of black single mothers
  • WC = seen as teenagers living on benefits
  • MC = seen as ‘superwomen’
• Argues these stereotypes are negative, judging single black mothers against the idealised white MC nuclear family
• Ignores the role of fathers who may be involved even if they are not living in the same household and the role of the extended family
• Shows how the differences in women’s experiences are important to understand the different forms of patriarchy

AO3 - look at a number of different social factors (age, ethnicity, etc.) when studying women’s experience of family life - intersectionality, different t compared to other feminists