Marxism and Feminism

Question 1

What did Marx believe about society?

Answer 1

that the economy was the driving force in society and it determined the nature of social institutions and peoples values and beliefs.
he believed that the economic base underpinned everything else in society and it consists of the means of production - things necessary to produce goods and the relations of production - those involved in production

Question 2

what is the superstructure?

Answer 2

includes societies social institutions

Question 3

what was primitive communism in early human history?

Answer 3

no classes, private ownership or exploitation

Question 4

As soon as society began to be able to produce more than was necessary for survival it became possible for a section of society not to work and be supported by the labour of others so…..

Answer 4

private ownership and the means of production emerged and society divided into 2 classes; owners and non-owners e.g. slave owners and slaves in ancient rome

Question 5

what forced capitalists to pay workers the lowest wages possible?

Answer 5

competition between capitalists

Question 6

what is class polarisation?

Answer 6

where society divides into a minority capitalist class and a majority working class

Question 7

what did marx would believe to society regarding revolution?

Answer 7

the proletariat will become class conscious and overthrow capitalism, creating a classless communist society

Question 8

explain what false consciousness is and how it is created

Answer 8

the dominant ideology and superstructure reflected bourgeosie ideas and created false class consciousness - lack of awareness among young people about what their real interests are and the false belief that everyone benefits from the organisation of society which is fair and just

Question 9

what does economic determinism fail to do?

but how does marx deal with this?

Answer 9

recognise that humans have free will
however marx does say that the working class would free themselves with their own conscious efforts indicating he gave a role to human action as well as economic factors

Question 10

what does Gouldner describe as the 2 new neo-marxist approaches since Marx died

Answer 10

humanstic marxism and structuralist marxism

Question 11

Explain Gramsi’s humanistic marxism

Answer 11

peoples ideas have relative autonomy from the economic base having some independence from the economy rather than being directly determined by it
peoples ideas underpin their actions not just economic conditions

Question 12

what did gramsci say about counter hegemony?

Answer 12

the proletariat must develop a counter hegemony to win the leadership of society from the bourgeoisie who have dominance due to coercion and hegemony

Question 13

what does gramsci say the ruling class are able to maintain their rule?

Answer 13

because they control the institutions that produce and spread ideas- so as long as society accepts hegemony there will not be a revolution

Question 14

why is the ruling class hegemony never complete?

Answer 14

because the ruling class are a minority and to rule they need to create a power bloc, forming alliances with other groups so they make ideological compromises and the proletariat have a dual consciousness which is when their ideas aren’t just influenced by the dominant ideology but by their life conditions so they can see through some of the dominant ideology. but this can only lead to a revolution if they construct a counter hegemonic bloc - offering moral and ideological leadership in society

Question 15

Who’s work supports Gramsci and how?

Answer 15

Willis saw the working class boys he studied as partially penetrating the bourgeoisie ideology

Question 16

what does Craib say about us and society as an analogy?

Answer 16

society is a puppet theatre and we are merely puppets and the unseen social structures are the hidden puppet master determining all our thoughts and actions

Question 17

Althusser rejects that society’s economic base determines its superstructure of institutions, ideologies and actions. what does Craib call Althusser’s model?

Answer 17

Structural determinism - where capitalist societies have 3 levels; economic level, political level and ideological level.
Marx believed there was a one way causality where the economic level determines everything about the other two levels.
Althusser suggested a two way causality where the ideological and political levels had relative autonomy from the economic level can can even affect what happens to the economy

Question 18

explain Craibs analogy of two-way causality

Answer 18

compares 3 levels in the model to a 3 storey building, shop, office and living quarters of a family business - what goes on in the office is partly affected by the activity in the shop but some features will be the same whatever is going on. the standard of living enjoyed by the family is affected by the business but also family life has its own dynamics and goings on upstairs are at least partly independent of what goes on below and may also have an affect on it e.g. divorce may lead to business being sold

Question 19

what is althussers ideological and repressive state apparatus?

Answer 19

ideological - ideologically manupulate the working class into accepting capitalism as legitimate 
repressive - coerce the working class into compliance

Question 20

how does Gouldner criticise althusser’s structuralist marxism?

Answer 20

The approach discourages political activism as it stresses the role of structural factors and that individuals can do little to change things

Question 21

liberal feminists believe in reformism, what is this?

Answer 21

the idea that progress towards equal rights can be achieved by gradual reforms and changes in society without the need for revolution

Question 22

what do liberal feminists call for?

Answer 22

cultural change - traditional stereotypes about gender differences are a barrier to equality, they prevent men and women from leading fulfilling lives

Question 23

Oakley distinguishes between sex and gender, what does she say?

Answer 23

that sex is the biological differences between females and males that are fixed and gender is socially constructed differences between masculine and feminine roles and the cultural ideas held about the abilities of males and females transmitted to each generation by socialisation

Question 24

to change socially constructed differences to create gender equality, liberal feminists say we must change socialisation patterns and so seek to promote….

Answer 24

appropriate role models in education and the family for example female teachers for traditionally male subjects and they challenge gender stereotyping in the media

Question 25

what does Walby argue about liberal feminism?

Answer 25

they are over-optimistic and offer no explanation for the overall structure of gender inequality

Question 26

what type of feminists argue that patriarchy is universal and exists in all known societies?

Answer 26

radical feminists

Question 27

what does Firestone argue the origins of patriarchy are?

Answer 27

lie in women’s biological capacity to bear and care for infants, this role means they become dependent on males

Question 28

who argues pregnancy and childbirth make women vulnerable and dependent on men and enables them to develop psychological and physical control over them

Answer 28

ortner

Question 29

explain what sexual politics are

Answer 29

heterosexual relationships are political as they involve power where male partner dominates through violence or the threat of it. this has the effect of controlling all women not just those against whom it is exercised.

Question 30

what does Brownmiller note?

Answer 30

that fear of rape is a powerful deterrent against women going out alone at night

Question 31

what does malestream sociology regard sexuality as? and what do radical feminists argue about how patriarchy constructs sexuality?

Answer 31

a natural biological urge

patriarchy constructs sexuality to satisfy men’s desires

Question 32

give an example supporting the radical feminist claim that patriarchy constructs sexuality to satisfy men

Answer 32

Rich argues men force women into a narrow unsatisfying ‘compulsory sexuality’ which becomes the only acceptable form

Question 33

what is separatism?

Answer 33

living apart from men and creating a culture of female independence

Question 34

what does Greer argue for the creation of?

Answer 34

matrilocal households as an alternative to the heterosexual family

Question 35

radical feminists believe in consciousness raising, what does this mean?

Answer 35

through sharing the same experiences women come to see that other women face the same problems which may lead to collective action

Question 36

what is political lesbianism?

Answer 36

the idea that heterosexual relationships are inevitably oppressive

Question 37

Why does Greer suggest heterosexual relationships are inevitably oppressive?

Answer 37

because they involve ‘sleeping with the enemy’

Question 38

why does Pollert argue that the concept of patriarchy doesn’t explain women’s position?

Answer 38

because it is a circular argument - male violence is explained as patriarchy, while patriarchy is seen as being maintained by male violence

Question 39

why does Somerville argue separatism is unachievable?

Answer 39

heterosexual attraction makes political lesbianism unlikely to replace heterosexual households

Question 40

what do marxist feminists suggest about who benefits from capitalism?

Answer 40

individuals may benefit but the main beneficiary is capitalism

Question 41

what functions does women’s subordination perform for capitalism?

Answer 41

• reserve army of labour - can be moved in and out of the labour force easily as it is assumed their primary role is in the home
• reproduce the labour force through unpaid domestic labour - socialising children into new generation of workers and maintain current workers
• absorb anger that would otherwise be directed at capitalism Ansley describes wives as ‘takers of shit’ soaking up the frustration husbands feel because of alienation and exploitation they suffer at work

Question 42

Who suggests that we must give more emphasis to women’s consciousness and ideology in maintaining their oppression. she argues they have a familism ideology, what is this?

Answer 42

Barrett
familism is an ideology presenting the nuclear family and sexual division of labour as natural and normal and portrayed as the only place women can attain fulfillment
she argues we must overthrow familism as well as capitalism as it underpins inequality

Question 43

Mitchell uses ……………………………………. to explain how women accept oppressive family relationships due to ideas about femininity being deeply ingrained in their unconscious mind’s that they are difficult to dislodge. so even after overthrow of capitalism………

Answer 43

Freud’s psychoanalytic theory

…it would still be hard to overcome patriarchal idelogy because it is so deeply rooted

Question 44

what does dual systems feminism do?

Answer 44

combines marxist and radical feminism

Question 45

what does hartmann say about capitalism and patriarchy?

Answer 45

that they are 2 intertwined systems ‘patriarchal capitalism’ he accepts patriarchy is universal but it takes a specific form in capitalist societies

Question 46

what do dual systems feminists think we need to do to understand women’s subordination?

Answer 46

must look at the relationship between women’s domestic division of labour and paid work. domestic work limits availability for paid work, but lack of opportunities drives many women into economic dependence on a man so the 2 systems reinforce eachother

Question 47

explain Walby’s idea that capitalism and patriarchy are interrelated but the interests of them aren’t always the same

Answer 47

capitalism depends on cheap labour, patriarchy resists this, wanting to keep women subordinated in the domestic sphere, in the long run capitalism is more powerful and patriarchy adopts strategy of segregation where women are allowed in capitalist sphere of work but have subordinate positions and lower status jobs

Question 48

what do difference feminists believe?

Answer 48

that different women have different experiences of patriarchy, racism, homophobia, capitalism etc
feminist theory had claimed a false universality claiming to be about all women but it reality only about white, western, heterosexual, middle class women

Question 49

what is essentialism?

Answer 49

the idea that women are essentially the same and share the same experiences of oppression

Question 50

what is poststructuralist feminism concerned with?

Answer 50

discourses and power - discourses are ways of seeing something, the world is made up of many competing discourses

Question 51

what is power? (according to post structuralist feminists)

Answer 51

knowledge is power and the power to define identities of others - discourse users can define others in certain ways,

Question 52

How does Butler use the enlightment project (which is a discourse) to critique feminist theories?

Answer 52

she argues the enlightenment ideals were simply a form of knowledge that legitimated the domination of western, white middle class males over other groups. similarly the white middle class western women dominating the feminist movement falsely claim to represent universal womenhood

Question 53

what does poststructuralist feminism argue about women?

Answer 53

there is no fixed essence of what it is to be a woman because our identities are constituted through many different discourses and different times and cultures

Question 54

how does Butler argue that post structuralism offers advantages for feminism?

Answer 54

it enables feminists to de construct different discourses to reveal how they subordinate women
different discourses give rise to different forms of oppression and provokes its own sources of resistance

Question 55

…….. agrees there are differences between women but also important similarities - they are all faced with patriarchy. compared to men, women are at greater risk of …………………………………….

Answer 55

walby

low pay and domestic violence

Question 56

what could be the problem with celebrating differences between women?

Answer 56

dividing feminism into subgroups so weakening movement

Question 57

what does Segal say about post structuralist feminism?

Answer 57

it abadons any notion of real, objective social structures. oppression is not just the result of discourses but of real inequality