feminists perspective on family Flashcards
radical feminism
society is patrichal - it is dominated and ran by men - men are teh rulling class and women are the subject class.
why does radical feminists blame the exploitation of women on men
becuase it is primarily en who have beenfitted from teh exploitation of women. women are anopressed group.
radical feminists
Abdrea Dworkin
Abdrea Dworkin - rape violence and pornography are methods through how men hve secured their poweers over women.
what have radical feminists been actively involved in
setting up and running refuges for women who are the victims of male voilence.
radical feminists
Rosemarie Tong 1998
distinguished between groups of radical feminists.
radical- libertarian feminst
radcial-cultural feminist
radical- libertarian feminst
believe that it is both pososible and desirable for gender differnces to be eradactied, or at least greatly reduced and aim for state of androgny in which men and women are not significantly differant.
radcial-cultural feminist
believe in the superiority of teh femine. According to Tong radical cultural feminsit celbrate charactersistics assosisated with feminity such as emotion and are hosile to those characteristsics assosiated iwth masculinity such as heirachy .
alternatives suggested by radical feminist’s
separatism - women only communes, and matrifocal household. Some choose to practise poltial lesbainsm and political celibacy as they view hetrosecuality as sleepig with the enemy.
criticisms of Radical feminism
The concept of patricahy has been critised for ignoring variations in the experience of oppression.
it focuses to much on the negative experience of women, falling to recognise that some owmen can have happy marriges for example - it tends to prioritise women as universally good and men as universally bad.
- man hating
- not trusting men ta all
marxists feminists
capitalist rather than patricahy is the principle source of women’s oppression . and capitalists are the main beneficiaries
according to Marxists why are women disadvantaged
because of the emergence of private property and teh fact that women of not own the means of production.
why under capitalism does the nuclear family become more oppressive to women
womens subordination plays a number of important functins for capatlism
- women reproduce the labour force for free (socialisation is done for free)
- women absorb anger - women keep the husband going
- becuase the husband has to support hsi wife and children , he is less liekley to deman a wage increase
- the nuclear family also performs the functions of ideological conditioning - it teaches the idea that capatalists class require for thir future workers to be passive
maxsists feminiss are more senstaive to differnces between women who belong to teh rulling class and those who belonbg to prolitariat. Theybelieve there is considerablle scope for co-operation between the wokring class women and men to work togetyher for social change
- primary goal is eredication of capatlism. in a communist society gender inequalities should disaper.
- women reproduce the labour force for free (socialisation is done for free)
- women absorb anger - women keep the husband going
- becuase the husband has to support hsi wife and children , he is less liekley to deman a wage increase
criticism of Marxists feminists
radical feminsist - ignore all sources of inequaity such as sexual violence.
- patrichal systems existsed before capatalism, in tribal societites for example - the experience of women has not been particulary happy under ocmmunism.
liberal feminists
- nobody benfits from existig inequalities; both men and owmen are harmed
- the explanation for gender inequality lies not so much in structures and and institutions of society but in its culture and valus.
- socialisatin into gender roles has teh consequences of producing rigid, inflexible expectations
