Feminism Key Terms Flashcards
What is Cultural Feminism?
A version of difference feminism that challenges the domination of male culture and promotes female values as more important
Who was Simone de Beauvoir?
Existential feminist KEY thinker who argued that society defined female characteristics and their roles
What is difference feminism?
The idea that women and men are biologically and culturally different and that this should be celebrated
What is equality feminism?
The argument for an elimination of cultural differences in the pursuit of absolute equality
What is ‘equality of opportunity’?
Everyone having the same life chances in society
What is Essentialism?
The belief that biological differences between men and women lead to distinct differences in their fundamental nature
What was ‘first-wave’ feminism?
The wave that focused on the legal and political rights of women
What is gender to feminists?
The defining of certain roles/qualities and personality based on a person’s sex
What is gender equality?
Men and women should be treated the same and full cultural equality within society
What are gender stereotypes?
The idea that women’s roles are pre-determined by society so that they are socialised to behave in a certain way
Who was Charlotte Perkins Gilman?
Early Feminist KEY thinker who argued for equality of opportunity and felt life as a housewife amounted to ‘domestic slavery’
Who was bell hooks?
Third-wave/post-modern KEY feminist who came up with the idea of ‘intersectionality’
What is intersectionality?
The idea that discrimination against women varies due to factors such as race, sexuality, class and ethnicity
What is legal equality?
The treatment of everyone the same in the eyes of the law
What is Liberal feminism?
Sees individualism as the basis of gender equality
Looks to reform current systems and believes this will lead to the required cultural and societal change
