liberal feminism and the family

Question 1

feminism

Answer 1

-conflict theory
-not unified = different strands of feminism have different views on the extent of patriarchy

Question 2

all feminists argue

Answer 2

women do majority of unpaid domestic labour + emotional support of family (triple shift)
little control on decision making and money

Question 3

liberal feminists general idea

Answer 3

-equality between genders
-gradual change through new legaslations
-don’t blame capitalism or men for the unequal treatment of women

Question 4

examples of laws introduced

Answer 4

• the sex discirmination act 1975
  -equal pay act
  -equality act 2010
  -

Question 5

almost all feminists also argue that

Answer 5

gender is socially constructed. This means that gender roles are learnt rather than determined by biology, and the family is the primary institution which socialises individuals into these gender roles.

Question 6

sexual division in labour causes

Answer 6

inequality, women carries out expressive role, men carry out instrumental role

Question 7

real life examples

Answer 7

-estimated 130 million girls will never step foot into a classroom
-at 2020 world economic forum report suggests that if we keep at current pace of correcting this imbalance will be another 100 years until women
-more than 700 million girls were married before 18

Question 8

somerville (2000) many feminists have failed to acknowledge

Answer 8

progress for women such as the greater freedom to go into paid work, and the greater degree of choice over whether they marry or cohabit, when and whether to have children, and whether to take part in a heterosexual or same-sex relationship or to simply live on their own.

-inequality improving in public + private sphere

Question 9

somerville does not agree with separatism, why?
(criticises Germain Greer-radical feminist)

Answer 9

homosexual attraction + need for intimacy too strong to let this happen

Question 10

evaluation of liberal feminism
(negative)

Answer 10

-too optimistic
-focus on public sphere too much
-new laws only impact western cultures, other countries do not follow such laws e.g Mahsa Amini

-Difference Feminists argue that Liberal Feminism is an ethnocentric view – it reflects the experiences of mainly white, middle class women

-Her work is based on a secondary analysis of previous works and is thus not backed up by empirical evidence.

-Radical Feminists such as Delphy, Leonard and Greer argue that she fails to deal with the Patriarchal structures and culture in contemporary family life.

-despite policy changes which have made work more equal, slight gender inequalities remain in the UK!

Question 11

One set of policies which Somerville thinks particularly important are?

Answer 11

those aimed at helping working parents.
-The working hours and culture associated with many jobs are incompatible with family life.
-Many jobs are based on the idea of a male breadwinner who relies on a non-working wife to take care of the children.

Question 12

Somerville argues that in order to achieve true equality within relationships we need

Answer 12

increased flexibility in paid employment.

Question 13

evaluation of liberal feminists
(positive)

Answer 13

-Sommerville recognises that significant progress has been made in both public and private life for women.

-It is more appealing to a wider range of women than radical ideas.

-it is more practical – the system is more likely to accept small policy changes, while it would resist revolutionary change.