Feminism and the family

Question 1

what two core beliefs does feminism consist of?

Answer 1

1. men and women are equal and should be treated as such

2. this is not currently how men and women are treated

Question 2

Give two developments that made women and men different, but of equal status in a feminists view.

Answer 2

1. In 1918, women over 30 could vote
2. In 1928, women over 21 in line with men could vote
   Women entered the workforce during WW2 to make up for men fighting in Europe, Asia and Africa

Question 3

What 2 main changes happened after WW2 that affected women lives?

Answer 3

1. Women didn’t leave the workforce, giving them greater economic freedom
2. In 1960, the development of the contraceptive pill gave women control of reproduction, allowing them to postpone having children and stay in the workforce

Question 4

What laws were introduced that gave women legal equality?

Answer 4

Equal Pay Act in 1970 made it illegal to pay women less than men
1992 last discriminatory law in the UK passed - marital rape was made illegal.
However men still earn more - the national pay gap is 85.9%

Question 5

Describe what patriarchy means and what liberal, radical and Marxist feminists believe about what caused it.

Answer 5

The belief that society advantages men and disadvantages women
Liberal feminists:
Caused by cultural values that have not yet modernised
Radical feminists:
Caused by male biology, which is naturally angry and violent
Marxist feminists:
Caused by capitalism

Question 6

What do Liberal feminists believe about women’s equality in terms of legally and socially?

Answer 6

Legal equality has been achieved, culture and values people have to need to be challenged
Believe the criminalisation of marital rape made men and women equal in the law

Question 7

Who is the most important liberal feminist and what is her argument?

Answer 7

Jennifer Sommerville: a liberal feminist who argues values in families are still patriarchal despite the law enshrining equality

Question 8

describe the cultural lag and an example of it.

Answer 8

Liberal feminists believe important values lag behind
Eg men are seen as the head of the family - do not take paternity leave as it is seen as a women’s job as well as the media judging women on their appearances more than men

Question 9

Describe the dual burden.

Answer 9

Dual burden - women complete paid work and then return home to complete housework.

Question 10

What changes do liberal feminists believe have happened as a result of women entering the workforce?

Answer 10

Liberal feminists are sceptical of changes due to women entering the workforce
Whilst they had economic freedom, Ferri and Smith argue it has created a dual burden

Question 11

What does the New Right argue about liberal feminists’ views?

Answer 11

Dennis and Erdos argue gender roles are critical to keep society functioning
Developments of the last 50 years - higher divorce rates and women entering the workforce - have hurt society as children are growing up without clear discipline and support

Question 12

What do functionalists argue about liberal feminists’ views?

Answer 12

Parsons believe men and women are naturally different
Women and men should do what they are best at
Both roles should be equal but different - male and female parents are the most optimal

Question 13

What is radical feminists main argument?

Answer 13

Biology is the cause of male oppression
Male biology: aggressive, violent, dominant and less intelligent
Female biology: kinder gentler, more intelligent
Believe equality cannot be achieved in current society - has to be a radical change

Question 14

Describe female separatism.

Answer 14

Female separatism: biology cannot be changed so women should live in their own society without men

Question 15

Who is the most important radical feminist and what is her argument?

Answer 15

Shulamith Firestone: believes biology, in particular the requirement for women to give birth, makes them physically weaker.
Suggests women shouldn’t give birth - have their wombs surgically removed if possible

Question 16

Give two examples of other Radical feminist ideas, other than female separatism.

Answer 16

1. Political lesbianism: women should refuse to have relationships with men as they will always be abusive
2. Matrilocal households: Germaine Greer 2000, household constituted of only women as an alternative to female separatism

Question 17

Evaluate radical feminists views.

Answer 17

Liberal and postmodernists argue the patriarchy is social, not biological
Men and women act in a certain way because of what they are taught not anything natural

Question 18

What are Marxist Feminists main beliefs?

Answer 18

Believe patriarchy and capitalism cannot be separated

Capitalism oppresses everyone, creating a patriarchy

Question 19

What is Friedrich Engels’ arguement?

Answer 19

Development of capitalism led to the historic defeat of the female sex - inheritance was kept in the male line whilst women were required to stay at home, losing economic freedom.

Question 20

What did Elias Zaretsky argue?

Answer 20

women are triply exploited:

1. As mothers, they reproduce a labour force that will be exploited
2. As wives, used as a source of unpaid labour doing housework, which allows their husbands to be exploited at paid work
3. As a reserve army of labour - if the proletariat protests about their exploitation, they can be replaced by women

Question 21

What did Fran Ansley argue about the reason for domestic violence?

Answer 21

men are frustrated at work but take their anger out on the wrong person by going home and abusing their wives
Capitalism leads to a passing down of frustrations, with women ultimately receiving the frustration.

Question 22

Evaluate Marxist feminism according to traditional Marxism.

Answer 22

Marxists believe Marxist feminism is too focused on the division of men and women
This has distracted from the real struggle - between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie
False struggle divides up the workers, making us weaker

Question 23

Evaluate Marxist feminism according to economic reasons.

Answer 23

Marxist perceive capitalism to be the underlying cause of all injustices
However, lots of people would argue men are dominant for other reasons, both societal and biological

Question 24

What is the criticism that Marxism is too focused on economic factors?

Answer 24

Economic determinism