Feminist Theories

Question 1

Define Patriarchy.

Answer 1

Patriarchy is the structure whereby males hold the primary power positions in both public and private domains. It suggests men are superior and dominant to women.

Question 2

What does feminism stand for and when did Feminist Criminology emerge?

Answer 2

Feminism stands for the pollical, economic, and social equality of both sexes. It advocated for equality of all people despite race, class, religion, age, or sexual orientation. Feminist Criminology emerged during 1970s and 1980s.

Question 3

True or false: Feminist movements are defined by their historical, geopolitical, and cultural contexts.

Answer 3

True.

Question 4

True or false: Feminist movements are against men.

Answer 4

False.

Question 5

What did the 1st wave of feminism emphasize?

Answer 5

The 1st wave happened in the 19th century and produced the Suffrage Movement (women’s right to vote).

Question 6

What did the 2nd wave of feminism emphasize?

Answer 6

The 2nd wave was in the 1960s and emphasized women’s sexual freedom (right to choose)

Question 7

What did the 3rd wave of feminism emphasize?

Answer 7

The 3rd waves was in the 1980s-1990s and emphasized fighting against sexual harassment and violence against women. This wave contributed hugely to the intersectionality of gender, class, sexuality and race.

Question 8

What did the 4th wave of feminism emphasize?

Answer 8

The 4th wave in 2012 emphasized workplace harassment, campus sexual assault, and rape culture (ie. Me Too movement)

Question 9

What are the types of feminist frameworks and what did they emphasize?

Answer 9

Liberal Feminism - equality, free choices, sexual liberation, civil rights

Radical Feminism - reordering society, overthrowing oppressive structures

Marxist Feminism - held that women are oppressed based on their gender and their class

Socialist Feminism - argues that women are exploited in the media and emphasizes how women’s bodies are seen as a profit (eg. pornography and advertising industries)

Cultural Feminism - focuses on creating a separate women’s culture away from men due to different gender-specific traits (like being caring), making them superior to men

Critical Race Feminism - held that women are oppressed by their gender, class, and race (intersectionality)

Third World Feminism and Post-Colonial Feminism - critiques of white feminists who want to “help”

Standpoint Feminism - also known as anti-racist feminism, focuses on not seeing women as a homogenous group, but as individuals with different experiences depending on their race, class, and culture

Question 10

Which theories do Feminist Criminology critique and why?

Answer 10

(1) Lomboso and Ferrero’s biological and psychological positivism, as well as sociological determinism because it suggests women are less intelligent than men
(2) Classical theories which proclaimed that the CJS is gender neutral
(3) Marxist Theories because they did not consider patriarchy

Question 11

Which theory is about producing knowledge based on the woman’s standpoint/perspective, looking at women’s experiences?

Answer 11

Standpoint Theory

Question 12

What are the 3 types of offences regarding sexual assault? What are their maximum penalties?

Answer 12

(1) sexual assault –> 10 years
(2) sexual assault with a weapon, threats to a third party, or causing bodily harm –> 14 years
(3) aggravated sexual assault –> life sentence

Question 13

Which of these statements are false:

The criminal code of Canada…

(a) does not contain violent offences as separate depending on the relationship of the victim to the perpetrator
(b) criminalizes other related criminal offences like homicide and criminal harassment
(c) considers the abuse of a spouse or child by a trusted person to be an aggravating factor at sentencing

Answer 13

(C) is false.

The Criminal Code of Canada does NOT consider the abuse of a spouse or child by a trusted individual to be an aggravating factor at sentencing.

Question 14

Define Hegemonic Masculinity and Intersectionality.

Answer 14

(1) Hegemonic Masculinity is the dominant form of masculinity, characterized by heterosexuality, lack of emotion, physical strength, and whiteness
(2) Intersectionality refers to the study of women’s experiences as overlapping with other traits like race, class, socioeconomic status, etc. In other words, this term refers to women’s experiences as a combination of multiple factors, as opposed to just one.

Question 15

Describe the difference between sex and gender.

Answer 15

Sex = refers to how one is born, their biological traits

Gender = socially constructed, refers to one’s behavioral differences as masculine or feminine

Question 16

Which Criminal Race Feminist coined the term “Intersectionality”?

Answer 16

Kimberle Crenshaw (1989)

Question 17

Define Biological Reductionism

Answer 17

This term refers to instances where female experiences and behaviors are reduced to their biology. It holds that one’s biological sex determines their social role.

Question 18

What was the main message of biological determinism and how did it negatively impact women?

Answer 18

Based on the stereotype that women were passive, nonaggressive creatures, and the fact that criminality was liked to “maleness” and “masculine” traits (ie. aggression, physicality), a female offender was seen as exhibiting male traits to have been able to commit a crime.

In this way, the female offender was considered twice as deviant, both socially and biologically

Question 19

What is the Sexualization Theory?

Answer 19

This theory holds that women who deviate from what is considered to be their norms regarding their sex are seen to be offenders