Feminists 5F

Question 1

What a re the 5 types of feminism ?

Answer 1

• Liberal feminism
  -Marxist feminism
• Radical feminism
• Difference feminism
• post structuralist/ post modern feminism

Question 2

What is liberal feminism’s main concern ?

Answer 2

• With sex discrimination
• want to see an end to discrimination in employment

Question 3

What is liberal feminists view on the family

Answer 3

• They do not believe that full gender equality has been reached within families
• however they don’t deny the progress that has been made in the last 50 years

Question 4

What changes in equality from the past 50 years do feminists recognise ?

Answer 4

• studies show men are doing more domestic labour
• parents socialise sons and daughters more equally, and have similar aspirations for them
• women have more reproductive rights and access to abortion

Question 5

What is Marxists feminists main concern

Answer 5

• Believe the main cause of women’s oppression in the family is capitalism.
• the capitalist economic system benefits from the work women do in the family

Question 6

What is “the ideology of families”

Answer 6

• created by Barrett
• it is used to present nuclear families and the sexual division of labour in them as normal and natural
• maintains the idea that women are subordinate to men, this benefits capitalism

Question 7

What are the 4 points to “the ideology of the family”

Answer 7

• women do more domestic labour
• women do more emotional labour
• women reproduce the labour force
• women are a “reserve army of labour”

Question 8

What is Marxists feminists solution ?

Answer 8

For capitalism to be other thrown and replaced with a fairer and more equal communist system

Question 9

What is radical feminists main concern?

Answer 9

Society is ‘patriarchal’
Men benefit from women’s unpaid domestic and emotional labour, and from their sexual services
Dominate women through domestic sexual violence or the threat of it

Question 10

What does Firestone say ?

Answer 10

Women will always be subordinate to men because of their biology
Says pregnancy is “barbaric”and says embryos should grow in an artificial womb to free women from the “tyranny of reproduction”
If women were free from reproduction a different type of parenting would emerge - children raised in groups of adults and women wouldn’t have to sacrifice their occupations and identities

Question 11

What is separatism ?

Answer 11

Women must organise themselves and live separately from men

Question 12

What is political lesbianism ?

Answer 12

Idea that heterosexual relationships are oppressive because they involve “sleeping with the enemy”

Question 13

What does Germaine Greer say

Answer 13

We should create all female households

Question 14

Criticisms of radical feminism

Answer 14

Liberal feminists say radicals have failed to account for the improvement of:
Access to divorce
Job opportunities
Control over own fertility
Ability to chose marriage or cohabiting
Somerville says separatism is unlikely to work

Question 15

What is difference feminisms main concern ?

Answer 15

We cannot generalise women’s experiences. Women of different ethnic groups and social classes and sexual orientation have different family experiences

Question 16

What do black feminists say ?

Answer 16

Family provides a source of support from racial oppression in wider society

Question 17

What do post - structuralist and postmodern feminists argue ?

Answer 17

Stacey says that friends can fill in for family, particularly in communities of divorced women, acting as a surrogate support network for single mothers

Question 18

General criticisms of the feminist perspective

Answer 18

1. Focus on the nuclear family as the dominant type. Does not recognise the diversity of family life in today’s society
2. Do not account for people having choices about they way they live their family lives. Assume that structures within society influence our actions Eg: capitalism, patriarchy