Feminism Flashcards
What is feminism?
A movement be body of ideas that aims to enhance women’s status and power. Analyses the power relations between men and women which have been conventionally defended as natural
What are the three main feminisms for Political Science?
1) Liberal feminism builds on assumptions of existing liberal thought emphasising its emphasis on individual rationality, public and private divide and reforming.
2) Marxist Feminism beloved that the sex gender system and could be more effectively analysed if studying its interrelationship with class
3) Radical feminism believes the sex war as the most basic political struggle, thereby clearing vital space for analysis of the mechanisms of male power or patriarchy. The private sphere is where the oppression started.
How was feminism originally partook in political science?
Political Scientists were nearly all male and the spheres of public politics they studied were overwhelmingly male. Women were mainly ignored or misrepresented. Robert Lane refers to feminism as a product of ‘juvenile delinquency.’
What are the 3 different stages of feminism in PS?
1) Exclusion of women in political science and their absence from scientist research
2) more investigation into the extent of women’s under representation and its institutional and non institutional causes. This led to more women being involved in politics and wanting to know the impact of their participation.
E.g. In 1980s democratic transition of Latin America, political scientists ignored questions about female participations and its impacts on policy. It took the next generation of scientists to look into this
3) Ask about the limitation of methods employed in political science, about the way politics is conceptualised and the gendered character of political institutions.
What are the 3 epistemological phases of feminism?
Rationalist (positivist)- liberal and early radical
Anti rationalist
Post rationalist
How have feminists embraced post structuralism, a self aware phenomena?
Feminist epistemological developments have been asociasteis with difference based feminism (focused on the difference in gender relationship). Pro woman feminists have represented the world in dualistic identities between culture and nature. Rationality and method have been rejected not simply as helpful to male domination but as intrinsically male with preference given to other forms of thought and expression like poetry, a form that can subvert patriarchal order and allow different vision to emerge.
How have feminists try to escape the masculinity of political science?
Female standpoint. Shared view by Marxist and Radical feminists. Nancy Hartsock analysed the interrelationship between gender and class. The sexual division of labour has meant that all women share a distinctive experience on life due to their role in domestic care and child rearing. This experience mediated by feminist political awareness and activism. Oils provide the basis for a feminist standpoint.
Why do other feminists criticise the feminist standpoint?
Intersectional feminists criticise the FS for essentialism. This theory is too innocent and simple as it does not recognise the substantial differences take into account the substantial differences between women’s lives. There are multiple concrete realities and differing perspectives, like black women or lesbians. In response to this fractionating standpoint theory, some feminists have offered a concept of transversal politics in which subject positions can be negotiated and imaginatively transcended through a process of dialogue.
Why do feminists criticise rational choice theory?
Illustrates the diversity and epistemological development of feminist positions. Liberal position, Shapiro argues that rational choice theory focuses on individual calculation of self interest which is a male model of moral free agency. The origins and processes of the origins of individual processes are taken as ‘givens.’ Instead, the rational choice theory needs to take account of the consequences of oppressive relationships between classes and genders for the decision making and the oppressed.
Radical feminists take issue with Sapiros analysation and believe that women’s attitudes towards interest are not a consequence of socialisation but a biological factor.
Sum up Squire and Jones’ opinion on feminist methodology.
“No distinctive feminist methodology but there is a distinctive approach to methodology and method.”
There is no single feminism as feminist theories are not unified (e.g. Liberal, socialist, radical, cultural) all clash with one another. These strands all have distinct ontological and epistemological claims which will inform methodological choices. To describe feminism as an approach to methodology is false unity as it encourages the average person to expect one feminist methodological toolkit. Of course, this will not occur due to feminisms refusal to articulate a single set of methods. Seeking to address these issues, feminism can be seen as a perspective due to the variation of epistemological and ontological positioning. However, since all feminist research is connected in a sense that it analyses male dominance and wants social change. As a result, feminists frequently ask different questions to those traditionally raised in political research and use ethnographic, narrative and cross cultural methods that are rarely taught to mainstream students of political science- this shows there is a distinctive approach to questions of methodology and methods.
How does feminism react to institutionalism?
Understands the dynamics of political life in forms of formal political organisations as well as behaviour of political actors that influence the outcomes of politics. The core of this approach is to focus on the formal and informal changes that resist and facilitate political change. Research on gender an Politics has led to the systematic investigation into how formal and informal institutions mirror and enforce gender inequalities. These investigations include women and men in regards to legislative behaviour. Examples include constraints of women on parliamentary life, involvement in parliamentary debates.
What is poststructural feminist theory?
Deals with the intersectionality of feminism and the effect of using all identities, rather than just believing all women are the same. Take in account race, sex, class, nationality whilst respecting that there is no one meaning of man or woman.
Obsessed with the power structure.
Why do radical feminists believe that feminists, like Marxists, who tend to study government processes and political institutions are wrong?
Believe it is too restrictive. Want a broader conception of politics of relationships of power but with emphasis on men and women wherever they occur, in the public or private sphere.
Due to under representation, want women to not only participate more in formal political institutions but social movement networks like community activism
What does broadening the scope ensure to a radical feminist?
1) Political science and sociology becomes too arbitrary- family relationships, sexual behaviour, welfare. These aspects are all political to a feminist as they go outside the traditions originally created by men.
2) To rid of the distinction between the public and private sphere. Distinction is an ideological device used to exclude women. Feminist political scientist have undertaken policy making in abortion, childcare, domestic violence
3) Politics uphold the patriarchy as it is present in a variation of levels and agencies like the church, state etc. Greater rigour- been a gradual shift in west from private patriarchy in the home to public patriarchy in which women swapped dependence on men to dependence on state for welfare.
4) Political views are intrinsically male. Alternative way of doing and thinking about politics as in the distinct women’s culture. Carole Gilligan suggests that women and men have two diverse moral compasses, women possess and ethic of care where they see situations in more emotional depth. However, critics believe that ethic of care is not deep enough to be a standalone justice guide and should be a supplement to the ethic of justice.
Why do liberal feminists like Miller Okin like the public/private divide?
- divides the state and society/economy, as in public private ownership.
- distinction between state and family.
