Feminism essay points Flashcards
To what extent do feminists agree about the role of the state?
POINT 1: whether the state can or cannot protect women (the state has a role to play in protecting the rights and interests of women vs state cannot protect women as in its current form it is set up to serve men)
POINT 2: means of achieving social change (legislation via the state vs a complete overhaul of the state)
POINT 3: whether the state should have a role in the private public sphere (liberal vs radical)
To what extent do feminists agree over human nature?
POINT 1: human nature and seeking equality (equality feminists agree on equality between men and women, no fundamental difference between their human nature vs difference feminists natural differences, seeking equality = undesirable as it implies that you are male identified)
POINT 2: how women should seek liberation (EF, gender differences come as a consequence of social constructs not human nature, need to challenge the cultural condition of society vs DF liberation should be achieved via essentialism and a pro woman position)
POINT 3: human nature and the patriarchy (EF, once patriarchy is overcome gender differences will become irrelevant vs PMF advocate intersectionality, different women will have different experiences)
To what extent do feminists agree on society?
POINT 1 : creating a society based upon equality (difference vs equality feminists )
POINT 2: patriarchal society (society is patriarchal and it best serves the interests of men- differences emerge on how to tackle this problem, complete societal overhaul or gradual legislative change)
POINT 3: they seek different types of societies (liberals want an individualist society whereas other feminists want shared experiences etc)
To what extent do feminists agree upon the economy?
POINT 1: the patriarchy (a fundamental agreement from feminists, that because of the patriarchal nature of society, men dominate in the economy vs whilst postmodern feminists accept the patriarchal nature of the economy, they extend upon the views of other branches, believing that their view is limited as they don’t value ideas of intersectionality)
POINT 2: the private and public spheres of the economy (most feminists agree that domestic labour is undervalued and is incorrectly seen as the job of women, women should not be confined to the private sphere as it limits their economic individualism and perpetuates economic inequalities vs despite understanding that women are traditionally confined to the private sphere, liberal feminists limit their action to focus on the public sphere)
POINT 3: the type of the economy, capitalism vs no capitalism (socialist feminists seek an abolition of capitalism within society, whereas other strands do not believe the removal of capitalism will remove the patriarchy)
To what extent do feminists agree on the concept of sex and gender?
POINT 1: gender differences and seeking liberation
(equality feminists are united in their belief that gender differences come as a consequence of social constructs rather than being a part of human nature, society forcing women to adopt a ‘feminine’ gender role vs DF take a pro-woman position, gender differences are drawn from the concept of essentialism, men and women= distinctly difference)
POINT 2: EQUALITY
( should women seek it or not) human nature and how it relates to sex and gender (EF agree on ideas of equality between men and women, human nature= androgynous, belief that they should seek equality vs DF who believe the concept of equality is undesirable as to become equal with men implies you are ‘male identified’)
POINT 3: how to liberate women from gender divisions
EF belief that once the patriarchy is overturned gender distinctions will become irrelevant as it is the patriarchy that perpetrates gender stereotypes vs PMF do not believe that a women’s experience under the patriarchy is simply defined by gender stereotypes e.g how bell hooks counters 1 of Walby’s six structures of the patriarchy
To what extent do feminists agree on ideas of the patriarchy?
POINT 1: the patriarchy and the economy (fundamental agreement that due to the patriarchal nature of society, men dominate in the economy vs PMF accept this but extend upon it a women’s experience in the economy under the patriarchy will be different, based on a series of intersecting factors)
POINT 2: the state and the patriarchy (fundamental agreements that the state can be used to protect the rights and interests of women, e.g via legislation etc, however radical feminists believe that the state cannot be used to protect women as in its current form it is set up to serve men)
POINT 3: the patriarchy and gender divisors
(Most feminists believe that the patriarchy creates gender stereotypes and when the patriarchy is removed these will cease to exist, vs DF do not simply believe a women’s exploitation under the patriarchy is down to human nature and PMF - intersectionality)
To what extent do feminists largely agree on the ‘personal is the political’?
POINT 1: the private and public spheres of the economy (most feminists agree that domestic labour is undervalued and is incorrectly seen as the job of women, women should not be confined to the private sphere as it limits their economic individualism and perpetuates economic inequalities vs despite understanding that women are traditionally confined to the private sphere, liberal feminists limit their action to focus on the public sphere)
POINT 2:how women should seek liberation (EF, gender differences come as a consequence of social constructs not human nature, need to challenge the cultural condition of society vs DF liberation should be achieved via essentialism and a pro woman position)- e.g focussing upon how gender stereotypes impact women in the private and public sphere
POINT 3: role of the state (should it have a role in the private sphere) - radical feminists vs liberal feminists
To what extent do feminists agree?
POINT 1: patriarchal society, disagreement on how to tackle this
POINT 2: EF- human nature (androgynous, not based on gender distinctions etc, seeking equality) vs DF- pro-woman and essentialist stance
POINT 3: the role of the state (whether it has a role to play in protecting the rights and interests of women vs radical feminists who believe that it cannot support women as it primarily serves men)
