intersectionality Walby (1980)? Flashcards
what does walby say about intersectionality?
- Walby offers a different an unique set of ideas that combine aspects of both Marxist and radical feminism
- Walby has been writing about feminism since the 1980s and continues to write about feminist issues in the 21st century
- in the 1980s, Walby wrote sabout the effect on women of the combines systems of patriarcy and capitalism
- later she developed the concept of triple systems of oppression, which also included the impact of racism
- more recently Walby has developed her ideas further to embrace the concept of intersectionality which recognises the complex interplay between different forms of social inequality including class, gender, ethnicity, religion, nationality etc.
what did Walby say about the theorizing patriarchy (1990)?
- in theorizing patriarchy (1990), Walby produced a detailed analysis of the concept of patriarchy as universal and unchaning
- she is also concerned that the radical feminist approach ignores the impact of class and ethnicity on gender
- Walby believes that Marxist feminism is problematic because it does not consider the way that the structure of society affects gender relations
what did Walby say about patriarchy?
- Walby sees the concept of patriarchy as important in providing an understanding of gender inequality
- she believes that patriarchy is not fixed and changes over time
- she argues that it has evolved from private patriarchy where women were limited to the domestic sphere of home and family to public patriarchy in which women have entered the public sphere of employment, politics etc, but continue to suffer disadvantage
what are the six patriarchal structures in society?
- paid employment
- the household
- the state
- cultural institutions such as the media
- sexuality
- violence against women
how are women disadvantaged in paid employment?
- the patriarchal ideology that a womens place is in the home means that women face discriminaton from employers and restricted access into careers
- when women work, they experience horizontal and vertical segregation with low pay and low status
how are women disadvantaged in the household?
-women are exploited in the family and take primary responsibility for housework and childcare evin is they are working in full time paid employment
how are women disadvantaged in the state?
-this acts in the interests of men rather than women in terms of taxation, welfare rules, the weakness of laws protecting omen and so on
how are women disadvantaged in cultural institutions such as the media?
- these represent women in a narrow set of social roles, such as sex objects or mothers and housewives
- these representations reinforce patriarchal ideology
how are women disadvantaged in sexuality?
- a double standard is applied to men and women
- men are applauded for having many sexual partners, whereas women are condemned for the same behaviour
how are women disadvantaged in violence against women?
-violence the threat of violence and sexual assault are useb by men to sontrol women
how does Walby say women are exploited?
- walby also poimts out that in contemporary sdocieties different groups of women may be exploited by different combinations of public and private patriarchy through the intersection of social qualities
- for example British African Carbbbean women are more likely to experience public patriarchy and British Muslim women aree more likely to experience private patriarchy
what did Walby say in her study Gender transformations (1997)?
- Walby argued that though there have been numerous social changes affecting gender relations, patriarchy continues to exist in new forms in Britain
- Walby believe that young women have made important gains compared to older women
- older women may still experience private patriarchy whereas younger women tend to have beter educational qualifications and are less likely to accept gender discrimination at work
- they also have greater sexual freedom and are more likely to be involved in environmental and social movements, giving them more involvement in political processes
- however some young women are still poorly qualified and they may be heavily dependent upomn a husband or they may be sngle parents experiencing poverty
- even well qualified women still find it difficult to reach the highest positions in the occupational structure as vertical segregation continues to have a significant presence in the labour market
what are the strengthsd of Walby?
- a strength of Walbys work is that it can be viewrd as improvement on other feminist theory as it incorporates aspects of different feminisms
- Walby has developed and refined her ideas over time and she has incorporated social changes into her analysis
why did Stacey criticise walby?
- stacy has criticised Walby for over emphasising the influence of social structure on behaviour
- instead she argues that women negotiate such systems and are much more active than walby assumes
