Feminism

Question 1

To Feminists, where is power found?

Answer 1

• Power is concentrated in the hands of men
• Men have constructed a “Patriarchy” in every society since the dawn of humanity to gain this power.
• Patriarchy is the intricate socio-economic, political, legal and cultural framework to oppress and reinforce the male position of power over women.
• For example, in the Victorian Era it was widely held that women could not vote because women were “emotional”. This is a cultural value that perpetuated patriarchy.
• Gender roles exist as part of the Patriarch to reinforce power structures; there is no major difference between men and women except sex chromosomes.

Question 2

What is the Feminist view of the state?

Answer 2

-Differs depending on the ideology of feminism:

> Liberal Feminists believe their oppressed position can be overcome through legal means, so the state is an honest broker.

> Marxist Feminists believe their oppressed position comes from the Capitalist system; the division of labour in the home gave women the unpaid work, while men were allowed to do the paid work. Money equals power and status. Engels discusses this at length in his book “The Origin” published in 1884. Capitalism must be destroyed as a result.

Question 3

What is the Feminist view of democracy?

Answer 3

• Democracy works, but women had to fight for suffrage (1st Wave) to enjoy it. (Liberal)
• Women are severely underrepresented in democracies; 30% of MPs are female while 51% of the UK is female for example. (Liberal)
• Democracy is a façade giving the illusion of power to women; however, the system still works to benefit the Patriarchy. (Marxist and Radical).

Question 4

-Evidence of Prof. Jan E. Stets on Gender Roles

Answer 4

-Prof. Jan E. Stets; 2005 study of Gender Roles globally found that gender roles changed across the world, with the most desirable traits within a certain society being considered masculine.

-Several comparisons:
>Independence in men is considered masculine in the US while interdependence is in Korea.
>In the USA a majority of doctors are men, while in Russia being a doctor is considered a women’s job.

Question 5

UK specific evidence

Answer 5

■UK Parliament: 30% of MPs are female while 51% of the UK is female.

■Gender pay gap: Currently in the UK for full time workers it is 14% disparity. (however the gender pay gap is a very nuanced and complicated statistic)

■Rape reports: In the UK according to ONS, only 1,070 out of 95,000 cases of reported rape crimes are reported annually.

■Honour Killings: In the UK there were 11,000 killings in Islamic communities 2010-2014.

Question 6

Global evidence

Answer 6

■Forced Marriage: ICRW states 1/3 of girls in the developing world are married before the age of 18.

■Genital mutilation: 200 million girls have been mutilated in the MENA region according to WHO.

■Harassment legislation: Only 18 countries in the world have specific anti-sexual harassment legislation.