Feminist and families: lesson 16&17

Question 1

Which laws have impacted women?

Answer 1

• Divorce reform act
• Marital rape act
• Equal pay act
• sex discrimination act

Question 2

What did Somerville believe?

Answer 2

policy change and reform is more important than revolutionary action to achieve equality
- increased choice has led to dual earner households but women still take on majority of domestic roles

Question 3

What do Marxist feminists believe?

Answer 3

• women’s subordination preform functions for capitalism

Question 4

What does Benston argue?

Answer 4

• expressive role is necessary as it keeps family going
• women provide free childcare and domestic labour ( benefits capitalism)

Question 5

What does Ansley argue ?

Answer 5

• expressive role means women absorb men’s anger
• “ women takers of shit”
• men are financially responsible so are reluctant to remove their labour power through strikes ( more likely to deal with a lower wage than take a risk)

Question 6

What does Firestone argue?

Answer 6

• biological differences created division of labour
• women are disadvantaged by biology

Question 7

What is firestones solution?

Answer 7

• contraception
• artificial wombs to break male dependancy

Question 8

What did Millet argue?

Answer 8

• patriarchy is a key institution
• women and men belong to different conflicting classes

Question 9

What is millets solution?

Answer 9

• political lesbianism

Question 10

What does Greer argue?

Answer 10

Family negatively impacts women through roles of wives, mothers, daughters

Question 11

How does the role of a wife negatively effect women according to Greer?

Answer 11

• marriage benefits men: married men are happier than single men but single women are happier than married women
• wife is seen as the most important female roll
• wives see their role as keeping husbands happy, men see their role as marrying a woman to keep her her happy

Question 12

How does the role of mothers negatively effect women according to Greer?

Answer 12

Not valued in society
- during childbirth attention is on well being of child
- expectation of women to return to work after childbirth
- pregnancy bodies are “unattractive”
- deviant children are blamed on poor mothering

Question 13

How does the role of daughters negatively effect women according to Greer?

Answer 13

• daughters and stepdaughters are likely to face sexual abuse from older family members
• “heterosexual men fancy young things”

Question 14

What is Greers solution?

Answer 14

• matrifocal households and communities

Question 15

What do difference feminists believe regarding families?

Answer 15

• concerned with women’s wider experience of patriarchy based on social factors