Feminists perspective on family Flashcards
feminsm is a structual condlict theory
types of radical feminists
radical -
radical - liberism feminism-
radical- cultural feminists -
radical feminism
strengths
- patriarchy is the cause of female exploitation want the idea of matriarchy
- identify how women became dependant on men through child rearing.
patriarchy
power based on female oppression
rape/porn
RLF - state androgyny
RCF- feminist
society is patarichal - it is dominated and it is ruled by men - men are the ruling class, and women are the subject class.
- radical feminists blame the exploitation of women on men. as it is men who have benefitted from the lack of independence women have. women are an oppressed group.
- rape,violence and pornography are methods through which men have secured and maintained their power over owmen.
radical femisists ave ften been involeved in setting up and running refuges for women who are the victiims of mens violence
rosemarie tong
realised the differnece between the the 2 groups of radical feminsists.
radical-liberest feminism
radical-liberist feminst
- believe that it is both posible for gender differences to be removed,, or at least reduced and aim for a tte of androgyn- where men and women are not really differant.
radical-cultural feminist
- belive in superiority in the superority of feminie.
accordig to TONG cultural feminist, celebrate the characteristic of womensuch as emotions. - cultural feminsts dislike those characteristics assosiated with masculinity like heirachy.
some alternatives for radical feminists
- separatism - women only live together iwthout men. leave men to be the runner of their households without women.
poltical lesbianism
poltical celibacy - radicaql femisnts belive sleeping with men is sleeping wih the enemy.
critism of radical feminism
critisism
- based on traditinal ideas of the nuclear famil, not all households are parirachal
- not all family households experinence sexual/domestic abuse.
the concept of patriach has been critised for ignoring variations in the experience of oppression.
- it focuses to much pn the negative experiences if women. - failling to recognise that some women have happy marriges
- it tends to portray that women are universaly good and men are universlly bad
- acused of man hating and not truting men at all
marxists feminists
belive capatalism is the cause of womens opression.
stregtths
- backs up the mmarxiss idea of family, by recognising how family serves marxism.
- midentifies how unpaid dmestic labour, benfits men and capatalism
- uncovers some issues related to the dark side f the family - eg abuse
capatalism is the principle souce of womens opression
- capatalsts benefit from omens oppression.
- women are disadvantaged as the emergence of private property - which womn tend not to oen.
- under capatalism, the nuclear family becomes even more opprssive to women
-woemn reproduce the labour force for free - as they stay home, athey do teh functions at home allowing men to goout qnd wok for capatalist. - warm bath theory
-woem absort anger - keep tehir husbands going
- because the husband has to support his wife and children- he is mor dependant on his job and less likely to demand a wage increase.
traditional nuclear family also peforms the functions of -ideological conditioning- it teaches the ideas the capatalism class require for their future workers rto be passive,
marxists feminits are more sensative to differences to women in ruling class and the prolitariat.
- primary goal is the eradication of capatalism, in a communist society gender inequalities should dissapear.
critim of marxists feminists
weakness
- based on traditional ideas of the nuclear famlys. -ignores that woemn are breadwinners
- ignores the point that women canabuse men within family aswell.
- ignores other sources of inequalities for example sexual violence
- patriachal system exists befoe capatalism. inn tribal societies for example.
- experience of women has not been good under communism.
liberal feminists
strenghths
- sucessful campaigns have meant women can now vote
- legislatons
-equal act pay - gender discrimination act.
-nobody benefits - both men and omen re harmed.
- explanation for gender inequalities,
-socilisation into gender roles has consequence ‘of cause expectstions of women and men
- discrimination stops owmen from having equal oppurtunites
- liberal femnists do not mseek revolutionary change - they want chnages to take place within the stuctures now
- mcreation of equal oppurtunitys through policy is the main aim of liberal feminism - sex discrimination act - the equalpay act
-liberal feminsit try to eradicate sexism from the childrens books and the media
liberal femisnism ideas have probably had the most impact on on women lives - mainstreaming has takne place
critism on lliberal feminism
based upon assumptions and norms such as indidviudalism and competition , encouranges owmen to be more lke men , therefore denies the value of qualities traditionally asossiated with women such as empathy.
- ignores the point that some wmen choose their expressive role and part time/flexible work.
- radical and marxists feminists - fails to take account of deeper structural inequalities
- difference feminists argue it is an ethnocentric perspectives -based mostly on the experience of middle class , educated women.
difference feminsm/ postmodernism feminism
- do not see women as a single himoggenous group
- there are differences in the experience od working class and middle class women, women from differant backgrounds and women of differat sexualities.
- critiques proceeding feminist theory for claiming a falde universality - white,western heterosexual middle class-
