Non-core Political Ideas: Feminism Flashcards
What is the definition of feminism
is an ideology that believes society and its core institutions do not always work equally in the interests of women and men.
What are the different waves of feminism
First-wave feminism, expressed best in the campaign for votes for women, the Suffragettes and ending with equal suffrage between men and women in 1928.
Second-wave feminism, questioned the roles society expected of women and men. Argued that women were oppressed by these expectations. 1960’s – 1980’s.
Third-wave feminism, 1990’s, claimed feminism was too focused on white middle-class women and gave little expression to women of other cultures and their concerns.
Fourth-wave feminism, present day, looks at the continued inequalities in pay, sexual harassment, depiction of women in the media and all kinds of online misogyny and abuse.
Why is sex and gender important to feminists
Sex – the biological differences between men and women. This is clear. Some radical feminists such as Julie Bindel and Sheila Jeffreys have argued that trans-women for instance, cannot be accepted as women because these biological differences are not in dispute; altering genitalia or body shape cannot change this.
Gender – less clear. Gender relates more to a person’s ‘innate
character’. Society teaches us to aspire to an ideal image of
masculinity and femininity. Males should be strong, brave, confident, logical and responsible. Females should be sensitive,
emotional and caring. E.g. Women are often socially conditioned to ‘play dumb and look pretty’ when around men.
One of the main reasons some feminists object to sexualised
images of women is that they argue that these images simply
reinforce this stereotype of women as mere sex objects who are
there to be dominated by men.
Why is the patriarchy important to feminists
The term refers to a society dominated by
men and run in the interests of men.
To Sylvia Walby, the concept of Patriarchy must remain central to a
feminist understanding of society. She argues that there are six patriarchal structures which restrict women and maintain male domination – the existence of these structures restricts women’s freedom and life-chances compared to men.
What are the six structures of patriarchy
State - Denial of representation and women under-
represented in positions of power. When in these positions the unseemly hours and sexism result in voluntary resignations
Household - Domesticity is destiny. Kate Millett – “the family is patriarchy’s chief institution”.
Violence – Dark side to family life. 2 women killed every week by partners or former partners.
Paid work - Lower paid jobs. Assistants to men (nurses to doctors, secretaries to bosses). Part time positions.
Sexuality - Female sexuality seen as ‘unladylike’ or ‘slutty’. Men allowed to fully explore their sexuality.
Culture - Ideal body image. Size 0. Naomi Wolf -fixation on women’s weight and body image is about control and obedience.
Why is the personal is political important to feminists
Public sphere (society), private sphere (family).
Carol Hanisch’s 1970 essay of the same name.
Aimed to raise awareness among women that oppression existed not only in the public sphere but in the woman’s role in the family
also.
Domestic abuse is used to control women.
Women encouraged to challenge the status quo.
What are the number of ways a family keeps women and girls subjugated
Women and girls taught to be dependent and
obedient, men to be dominant and self-reliant.
Women socialised into accepting the role of housewife as the only and most fulfilling role.
Children see parents acting out traditional gender roles and accept this as natural and inevitable.
Women expected to carry out free domestic work as well as paid work.
Women expected to cater to their husband’s every need.
Women sacrifice career prospects to have children and expected to raise children at a cost to their own paid work.
Promotion prospects blocked once they return to work.
What is the importance of equality feminism and difference feminism
Equality feminism – biological differences between men and women are inconsequential. It’s the pursuit of equality that is key.
Difference feminism – men and women are fundamentally different. Women should not deny their femininity in order to ‘become like men’.
- Essentialism. Biological factors are significant in behaviour
differences between men and women. - Female qualities should be celebrated.
- Some argue female qualities are superior, like compassion and
pacifism. Cultural feminism seeks to challenge dominance of male
culture.
Separatists and political lesbianism. Women and men should form separate societies. Charlotte Bunch ‘Learning from lesbian
separatism’ (1976) - heterosexuality is a political institution and can only be challenged by women withdrawing from men and becoming lesbians whether they are gay or not.
Lesbianism is a political choice, Sheila Jeffreys ‘Love your enemy?’
(1979).
Why is Intersectionality and identity politics important to feminists
In the late 80’s and into the 90’s, third-wave feminists
sought to re-define the women’s movement.
They criticised feminism for focusing primarily on the oppressions faced by white middle class women.
Intersectionality (a term coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw) sought to take into account the experiences of:
- Black women and women from ethnic minorities.
- Working class women.
- Disabled women.
bell hooks (who uses lower case letters to spell her name) argued in her book ‘Ain’t I a woman?’ that ‘women’ were not a homogenous group and did not always share the same life experiences.
What do you liberal feminists believe
The original feminism: Mary Wollstonecraft (late 18S
uffragettes (early 20th C.) and most of the Second Wave Feminists (1960’s-70’s).
Takes the liberal values of individualism and foundational
equality and applies them to women as well as men -
- Gender equality – men and women are of equal value in society.
- Legal equality – the law must apply equally to women and men.
- Political equality – equal right to vote and protest.
- Equality of opportunity – must be applied equally to women
and men.
Liberal feminism is reformist and believes that democratic
pressure and persuasion can help overcome gender imbalance.
When women are more accepted in traditional ‘men’s occupations’, gender stereotyping will break down and girls will be encouraged by female role-models.
Rejects the idea of patriarchy, focussing instead on highlighting discrimination against women.
What do you socialist feminists believe
Friedrich Engels wrote in 1884 that women were oppressed by capitalism.
- Male workers needed unpaid helpers to carry out domestic
chores. - Women were confined to the domestic and private sphere, their
main role to reproduce the labour force. - Women also acted as a ‘reserve army of labour’ that could be
used as part of the workforce when needed and then sent
home. - Because capitalism was based on the accumulation of wealth
and only legitimate heirs could inherit property, women were
required to be virgins till marriage.
Socialist feminists believe capitalism creates and maintains
patriarchy, destroy capital and you will also destroy patriarchy.
Juliet Mitchell in Women’s Estate (1971) criticised Marx and Engels for dismissing women’s oppression as just another aspect of the bourgeois family. She argued that the family in itself was a separate form of oppression that kept women hidden away and financially dependent on their husbands.
What do you radical feminists believe
Emphasises patriarchal roots of inequality between men and women, or, more specifically, social dominance of women by men.
Gender inequality and the patriarchy are separate systems of oppression separate from other ideologies
Radical feminism views patriarchy as dividing rights, privileges and power primarily by sex, and as a result oppressing women and privileging men.
Opposes existing political and social organisation in general because it is inherently tied to patriarchy.
Sceptical of political action within the current system, and instead
tend to focus on culture change that undermines patriarchy and
associated hierarchical structures.
More militant in their approach (radical as “getting to the root”) than other feminists are. They aim to dismantle patriarchy, rather than making adjustments to the system through legal changes. Radical feminists also resisted reducing oppression to an economic or class issue, as socialist feminism sometimes did or does.
Opposes patriarchy, not men. To equate radical feminism to man-hating is to assume that patriarchy and men are inseparable, philosophically and politically. (Robin Morgan defended "man- hating" as the right of the oppressed class to hate the class which is oppressing them.)
Kate millet’s sexual politics started the thinking of the role of the family in the inequality of women and how husband treated there wifes as property.
What is “the female Eunuch”
In 1971, Australian academic Germaine Greer wrote in her ground-breaking feminist book ‘The Female Eunuch’ that:
- Women’s sexual desire had been removed from them by socialisation.
- Women were in a sense ‘castrated’ like the eunuchs in the ancient royal courts.
- Women’s sexual desires were seen as unfeminine and unacceptable.
- Women were encouraged to participate in sex to either (a) procreate or (b) satisfy men’s desires.
- Women should not be ashamed of their sexuality or embarrassed by their bodies.
What is Naomi Wolfe and the beauty myth
As women started to challenge men in education and the workplace, additional pressures were brought on them in pursuit of the ‘ideal body image’.
Pursuit of beauty ‘perfection’, photoshop etc.
Magazines, fashion industry and celebrities driving the beauty agenda.
Rise in eating disorders and cosmetic surgery.
Surveys showed up to 34% of 10-15 year old girls unhappy with their appearance while boys’ sense of happiness remained intact.
(Children’s Society 2016).
This beauty craze keeps male dominance intact by leading women into thinking that unless they look and dress a particular way,
they are ugly or unattractive.
What do you post modern feminists believe
1990’s – present day.
Impossible to categorise ‘women’ as just one group.
Different women have different experiences of life.
Richards and Baumgardner ‘Manifesta’ (2000) – each
generation will rediscover and re-establish what feminism
means for them.
Other factors affect women in society too: race, religion, class etc.
Critical of second wave feminism that was too narrowly focused on the experiences of educated white middle class women.
Different women have different experiences of the patriarchy. E.g. a rich white business executive seeking equal pay with male CEO colleagues versus an unemployed black woman with a disability seeking employment.
Each generation of young women would discover and reestablish what feminism means to them
Black feminist, bell hooks (who adopted her great grandmother’s name and spelled it in lowercase letters so as not to conform) in ‘Ain’t I a woman’ talked about the double oppression of black women and the reluctance of middle class white feminists to listen to them.
