Feminism Flashcards
Patriarchy
partriarchy is a form of society in which men are rulers and leaders and exercise power”
Patriarchy explains the multiple disadvantages that women suffer in society
“the combination of economic and cultural systems which ensures supremacy”
Sylvia Walby (1990)
Sylvia Walby (1990) suggested that there were 6 elements to patriarchy:
Paid work: women are likely to be paid less
The household: women are likely to do more housework and raise the children
The state: women are much less likely to have access to formal power
Violence: women are much more likely to be abused
Sexuality: women’s sexuality is more likely to be treated negatively
Culture: women are misrepresented in media and public cultures
General Principles of Feminism
The importance of change – promotion of change
Expansion of human choice – remove demands on women and men to be ‘gendered’
Eliminate gender stratification – remove barriers that limit education, income and job opportunities of women
Eliminating sexual violence – patriarchy allows for and encourages violence against women
Promoting sexual autonomy – women to have control over their sexuality and reproduction (e.g. free availability of birth control information)
Radical Feminism
Gender Inequality is caused by:
Men exploiting women
Men dominate women physically and culturally
Patriarchal ideologies operate in society to keep women in a weakened position
Men’s power is reinforced through the physical treatment of women – women become sexualised objects under the ‘male gaze’
Pornography, rape and violence all form part of this power relationship
Criticisms of Radical Feminism
Too extreme for many - Separatism goes too far, matriarchy would merely reverse the situation
Other feminists argue that the economy is the source of women’s oppression not men
Difference between women’s experiences are ignored
Changes to current situation could be made by laws being amended / introduced
Marxist Feminism
Gender Inequality is caused by:
Women being forced to serve the needs of capitalism
Men control economic resources
Women are disadvantaged due to this lack of power
Women serve the role of reproduction of the labour force
Women are a ‘reserve army of labour’
Criticisms of Marxist Feminism
Equality could only be gained by the introduction of a Communist society
However full equality was not gained in Communist countries – women still earned less than men, continued to look after children, and worked in lower status jobs with lower pay (Nickie Charles, 1993)
Men benefit from women’s work not only the economy (Barrett)
Liberal Feminism
Gender Inequality is caused by:
Men being socialised to exploit women
Ignorance on behalf of men to the plight of women
No one benefits from inequality
A “glass ceiling” prevents women from achieving highest positions in society
Criticisms Of Liberal Feminism
Lacks any radical ideas – pushes for gradual change
Change has come but slowly
Legislative changes aren’t always enforced – additional legislation has been required
Ignores the inequalities experienced by different groups of women
Black Feminism
lack feminism saw that not all women were the same;
Women from ethnic groups experienced sexism differently from white women
‘Double oppression’ – sexism and racism could add to a woman’s exploitation
White feminists were accused of being guilty of racism and stereotyping
intersectionality
Many Feminists now argue that we need to recognise “multiple disadvantage”
This means taking into account multiple variables (gender, class, ethnicity) to consider someone’s experience of inequality in society
Term first coined by Kimberle Crenshaw
Criticism of Feminism
Feminists are criticised for ignoring other aspects of society – preoccupied with gender inequality
New Right – saw that society had gone ‘too far’. Masculinity became threatened; male underachievement in school being one example of the impact of a ‘feminisation’ of society
Radical Feminism fails to acknowledge some of the positive changes toward equality
Hakim debate – women don’t necessarily want to ‘have it all’; some women may want to stay at home and bring up children
Preference theory - Hakim (2000)
Women have more choice than ever before
She claims to have identified 3 types of work-lifestyle preferences that women adopt
Home centred (20%)
Adaptive (60%)
Work centred (20%)
As a result women are in conflict with each other because they don’t all want the same thing.
Men tend to be more work centred on the whole so are a more unified group and this helps them maintain their power and dominance
