Feminism Flashcards
What are the key strands of feminism?
Liberal Feminism
Radical Feminism
Socialist Feminism
Postmodern Feminism
Trans Feminism
Post-feminism
FWF, SWF, TWF, FWF
Who are feminist key thinkers?
Charlotte Perkins Gilman - SF
Simone de Beauvoir - SF
Kate Millett - RF
Sheila Rowbotham - SF
Bell Hooks - PMF
Friedan - LF
What are the core ideas/principles of feminism?
Human nature: sex and gender
Patriarchy
Personal is political
Equality and difference feminism
Intersectionality
Principle: human nature
What are the two main debates on sex and gender?
Difference feminism v equality feminism: DF argues biological differences are important and each sex has a different ‘nature’, EF argue women’s ‘nature is socially constructed and irrelevant.
Transfeminism v skeptics:TF argues sex is socially constructed whereas most argue that sex is a biological fact.
SWF Germaine Greer argued trans women are ‘not women’.
What does Beauvoir believe about gender?
Biological differences have been used by men/society as a justification for predetermining the gender role of women.
Women are seen as ‘the other’, subordinate.
Men are the ‘first sex’, women are the ‘second sex’.
What did Gilman believe about gender?
Gender roles are socially constructed from a young age, subordinating women.
Women are socialised into thinking themselves naturally frail and weaker than men, more gentle/emotional/submissive.
What do Millet and Hooks believe about gender?
Social construction begins in childhood with the family unit.
Gender roles are neither natural nor inevitable.
What do FWF believe about gender?
-Extended CL ideas about human nature/freedom to include women.
-Wollestonecraft ‘A vindiction of the rights of women’ argued women are just as rational as men and should recieve same educational opportunities.
-Taylor Mill’s ‘Enfranchisement of Women’ argued women should have equal right to vote and law-making.
What are SWF ideas of gender?
-Friedan’s ‘The Feminine Mystique influenced LFs believe in equality in the public sphere through reform of state.
-Millet’s ‘Sexual Politics’ influenced RFs believe that the state was part of the problem and radical change was needed in both spheres.
-Rowbotham influenced SFs arguing only a revolution could solve inequalities of capitalism and female oppression.
UNITED IN BELIEF IN PATRIARCHY
What do LFs believe about patriarchy?
-Can be reformed by the state.
-Examples in Western society: female emancipation, access to education, workplace equality, legislation of abortion, changes in marriage/divorce law.
What do RFs believe about patriarchy?
-Focus on both public and private sphere.
-Patriarchy is too pervasive to be reformed and instead change must be revolutionary.
-Greer argued men have a deap-seated loathing for women - shown through rape cases etc.
What do SFs believe about patriarchy?
-Female consciousness is created by men as part of the capitalist machine.
-Rowbotham concluded women have always been oppressed and therefore revolution is needed to destroy capitalism and patriarchy.
What are TWF ideas of patriarchy?
-Expanded on Millet.
-Sylvia Walby established 6 structures that promote discrimination: state, household, violence, paid work, sexuality, culture.
What are FWF/Postmodern ideas of patriarchy?
-Bell Hooks argued F discussions have been from primarily a white MC perspective.
-Women of different ethnicities/socioeconomic classes have been neglected by mainstream feminism.
-Patriarchy is especially misogynistic in the developing world (circumcision, forced marriage, sexual violence etc).
What do LFs believe about the personal is political?
-Focus on public sphere.
-Argue private life of women is outside the remit of political analysis.
What do RFs believe about the personal is political?
-Patriarchy is prevalent in the private sphere.
-Opened up private life to scrutiny: exploitative nature of domestic roles, forced into motherhood, clothes and toys perpetuate.
What do key thinkers believe about the personal is political?
Rowbotham: marriage is like feudalism, with women akin to serfs paying feudal dues to their husband.
De Beauvoir: championed contraception as it allowed women control of their bodies.
Millet: believed ‘family’ was a social construct, not natural, granting men ownsership of their wife/children. Family socialises children into accepting masculine authority and causes women to lose their identity.
What is equality feminism?
-Majority of Fs.
-Biological differences are inconsequential and gender differences are socially constructued.
-Beauvoir dismissed idea of innate female characteristics as a myth invented by men to confine women.
What is difference feminism?
-Minority of Fs.
-Essentialism = biological differences are consequential and determine gender differences.
-Women experience and interpret the world differently - Gilligan argues they’re naturally more nurturing, caring and communal.
What is cultural feminism?
More extreme version of difference feminism which argues women’s values are superior to men’s and should be promoted.
Believe in ‘female essence’, which is caring and nurturing as opposed to aggressive and competitive.
What are Hooks’ ideas of intersectionality?
-Criticised SWF for conceptualising F from a white, MC, college-educated perspective.
-Other branches of F exclude minority groups.
-Idea that individuals can be oppressed on multiple overlapping areas e.g. gender, class, race, sexuality, disability, trans etc.
-Expresses need to reframe and broaden F.
What are key ideas of LF?
-Reformist - via democratic pressure, gender stereotypes can be eliminated.
-Focus on public sphere.
-Influenced by liberal values of individualism, foundational equality and equality of opportunity.
What did LFs campaign for?
-End to discrimination and inequality in the workplace and belief in gender equality.
-End to outdated cultural attitudes via education and opposition to sexist language.
-Changes in law to facilitate legal equality in all public spheres.
Give examples of changes inspired by LFs
Married Women’s Property Act 1870 - legally own property/money.
Representation of the People Act 1928 - all women over 21 right to vote.
Equal Pay Act 1970
Sex Discrimination Act 1970 - illegal to discriminate against women in work, education and training.
