Feminism

Question 1

Liberal

Answer 1

Enlightenment tradition

Oakley

• Housework
• Social construction of Gender

Sharpe
-Socialisation in schools.

Created political change via 1960 equal pay act etc

CRITICISMS - Walby - no focus on structure.

Question 2

Marxist Feminists

Answer 2

Capitalism is the main oppressor of women and chief beneficary. 3 key roles

1- exploited labour and reserve army of labour
2- socialise the workforce
3- takers of shit.

CRITICISMS
Why patriarchy in non capitalist societies?
How do men oppress women??

BARRET AND MACINTOSH
Ideology is also key - familism and cearel packet. prevents challenge.

Question 3

Radical Feminists

Answer 3

Greer - Matrilocal households.
Firestone - born from dependency on men during childbirth.
Miller - Threat of male violence keeps in place
Harrow - confined in negative, objectified, constructed sexuality.

BUT
SOMERVILLE - Unrealistic.
POLLERT - circular argument

Question 4

Difference Feminism

Answer 4

Extension of black feminism also known as postmodern feminism.

Problem of universality and essentialism - assume all women have the same experiences and priorities but this is not true, white middle class westernised view of feminism. ie family as an oppressor not source of support from racism and burqa as a sign or oppression not escape from male gaze.

Question 5

Dual systems feminism

Answer 5

Not all men are the enemy.

HARTMAN - Female exploitation is from the dual systems of economic (capitalism) and gender (patriarchy)

WALBY - interrelated, clash via labour. Patriarchy wants at home, capitalism wants at work, capitalism stronger so in low pay part time jobs.

CRITICISMS
POLLERT - just theoretical, no solutions.Patriarchy is a large scale abuse not system like Capitalism.

Question 6

Post structural Feminists

Answer 6

Interested in discourses, many different discourses to discuss femininity, need to analyse them all to uncover different revolutions.
BUTLER - enlightenment project justified male dominance in light of progress, modern feminism doing the same, huge variety.

CRITICISM
WALBY - undermine similarities between women.

Question 7

Feminists and methodology

Answer 7

OAKLEY
Collaborative method, unstructured interviews, co authorship. Quantitive methods mirror inequality and exploitation in society

JARARTHYE
Quantitive methods can be okay if make gender neutral, then use credibility to advance credibility of women studies.

Question 8

Generic

Answer 8

Challenged male-stream sociology
Identified new areas for research - construction of gender, masculinity, housework etc
New Methodologies

WALBY
Patriachal is a system of social structures and practises by which men dominate women'
achieved in 6 ways
Housework
Threat of male violence
Paid work
Cultural
The state
Sexuality.

POLITICAL IDEOLOGY

Challenged other theories
Marxism - Gender Blind
Functionalism - Gender being biological
Postmodernism- if gender deconstructed how come 2 killed a week by partner and concentrated in lowest paid jobs?.