Introductions - Feminist Perspectives Flashcards
Origin
- In sociology first arose (formally) in the 1960s (2nd wave) and were aimed at address the neglect of gender issues and the blatant sexism in the traditions of sociological theory
- Society constructs differences of values & behaviours based on gender (impact of patriarchal system on individuals)
Women in other perspectives
- Structural functionalism made assumptions about the role of women in society
- Conflict/marxist theorists and symbolic interactionist exclude women from study
Goal
Seeks to examine on the historical oppression of women within the patriarchy; society is made up of power relations and within a patriarchal system, men or dominant masculine bodies hold the power to control the norms and values within the society
Different forms of feminism through “waves”
1) Literal feminism
2) Radical feminism
3) Socialist & marxist feminism
4) Post-Structural/Postmodern feminism
5) Intersectionality feminism (Indigenous feminism in Canada)
Patriatchy
A system of power by which men dominate (workplace) & private (home life) spheres of social life
Early forms of feminist perspectives argued for the importance of critiquing the partiarchy
- It was in the wake of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique (1963) that the women’s health movements moved its way into feminist scholarship
- During the 60s and 70s the organization of women for the rights pertaining to access to safe abortion, other healthcare reforms, and the influx of birth control prescriptions boosted health and illness within 2nd wave feminism
Feminist Analysis on Health and Illness
- Criticism of how women’s lives and experiences are medicalized, as in how their behaviours were explained through the medical gaze (including reproductive issues, menopause, PCOS, endometriosis, mental health)
- Using paradigm to look at more influx of prescribing birth control
- Profit (marxist feminist)
- Types of women who have access (intersectional, black, socioeconomic class, work from home vs at work)
Ann Oakley
- Feminist scholar from the UK
- Wanted to examine why the medical field and other “experts” are so keen on defining what is considered motherhood and childbirth
- Outlined the historical process of the masculinization medicalization of reproduction and birth
- Argues that childbirth in Western culture, has become an industry to control female bodies through maternity wards (could not give birth w/o masculine help; is masculinized and commodified; what women can/cannot do based on assumption they need masculine support)
Rebecca Godderis
- Women’s bodies & minds are highly vulnerable to be subjected to medicalization in areas related to reproduction
- Specifically examined Postpartum Depression (PPD) as a way for institutions to monitor women & keep them under surveillance
- Individual responsibility to prevent PPD &/or to manage it (women are put 2nd to their children, so they have to manage their health without being able to take on the sick role)
- Gender identities above determining who gets tools and how fast they do
Social factors
- Health and the experience of health and illness are determined by the interaction between social factors such as gender socio-economic status, race, religion, ability, sexual orientation, etc.
Expansion on how we use feminist perspectives in health and illness research
1) Can examine why men + women + other genders have differences in understanding their bodies
2) Can critique the ways different genders are researched, why & its impacts (fem theorists tend to be completely critical: nothing is inherent, natural, taken for granted based on sociocultural level)
3) Can research on socially constructed influences on gender differences in pain
Critique
- Often neglects effects of patriarchy on men (men have shorter lifespans than women in Canada (more dominant in work, so more negative health behaviours with men)
