radical feminists and the family

Question 1

what do they blame as the cause of gender inequality?

Answer 1

men and patriarchy
-see exploitation of women as a result of having a male dominated society

Question 2

For radical feminists, the nuclear family

Answer 2

is where this system of oppression starts, it is the foundation on which patriarchy is based and thus should be abolished.

Question 3

family maintains patriarchy in these ways:

Answer 3

-wives economically dependent, men make key decisions
-family=economic system whereby men benefit at the expense of women e.g domestic labour,sexual services

Question 4

why are radical feminists against liberal feminists?

Answer 4

they argue that paid work has not been ‘liberating’. Women’s lives within the family have not simply become better because they now have improved job opportunities and more equal pay to men

-Instead women have acquired the ‘dual burden’ of paid work and unpaid housework and the family remains patriarchal: men benefit from women’s paid earnings and their domestic labour

Question 5

women suffer from

Answer 5

triple shift

Question 6

three solutions for patriarchy:

Answer 6

1) separatism
2)matrilocal households
3) politcal lesbianism

Question 7

separatism
(barbie land)

Answer 7

idea of complete separation from men + create a female society through households, cultures governements + jobs

Question 8

matrilocal households

Answer 8

hypothetical social system in which female elder has absolute authority over the family group

Question 9

political lesbianism

Answer 9

penetrative sex(men and women) men in dominant, when women moan + take part in sexual intercourse=symbol of opression

Question 10

radical feminists view heterosexual female relationships with men as

Answer 10

‘sleeping with the enemy’

Question 11

Kate Millett

Answer 11

Patriarchy’s chief institution is the family. It is both a mirror of and a connection with the larger society; a patriarchal unit within a patriarchal whole

Question 12

Germaine Greer (2000)

Answer 12

argues that the family continues to disadvantage women
focuses on looking at the role of women as wives, mothers and daughters.

Question 14

women as wives

Answer 14

Greer argues that there is a strong ideology suggesting that being a wife is the most important female role

-Greer argues that marriage reinforces patriarchal relations from the outset

Question 14

‘ghastly figure of the bride’ what does this express according to Greer

Answer 14

-expresses traditional conceptions of femininity and once the honeymoon period is over marriage settles into a pattern in which husbands spend more time outside of the home compared to the wife (reinforcing the gendered public-private divide)

-man spends more money on himself, does less housework and generally does better out of the relationship.

-Wives tend to see it as their job to keep the husband happy, while the husband thinks he has done all he needs to keep his wife happy just by consenting to marry her.

Question 15

men do better out of marriage than women. How can this be shown?

Answer 15

Married men report higher levels of satisfaction than non-married men, while single women report higher levels of satisfaction than married women.

Question 16

how much divorce is initiated by women?

Answer 16

Three quarters of divorces are initiated by women, which has led to a decline in the stable married-family in recent years.

-Greer sees this as a good thing because the illusion of traditional family life was built on the silence of suffering women.

Question 17

women as mothers - greer

Answer 17

Society attaches no or little value to motherhood

Question 18

Greer suggests at least the following pieces of evidence to demonstrate that mothers are undervalued in society:

Answer 18

1)In childbirth, the attention focuses mostly on the well-being of the child. The mother’s health takes a back-seat.
2)Mothers and babies are generally not welcomed in society – in restaurants and public transport for example.
3)Women are expected to return to work shortly after giving birth, on top of all of the child care duties.
4)The feminine ideal is to be slim and hipless, while broad hips and the blossom of maternity are seen as monstrous. Women are expected to ‘regain their figure’ shortly after childbirth.
5)After all is said and done the final role for mothers is to take the blame if their children go bad. Single mothers are here singled out for special attention.

Question 19

solution to patriarchal families -Greer

Answer 19

• did not think women should cut themselves from men all together
  -she thinks they would be better off in matrilocal households, where all the adults are female.

-She believes such households have a lot to offer women, especially if they incorporate the many older women currently living alone.

Question 20

evaluations of radical feminists
(negative)

Answer 20

-too unrealistic liberal feminist somerville argue that due to heterosexual attraction separatism is unlikely
-Ignores domestic/emotional abuse suffered by men who often don’t report it.
-fail to recognise progress made e.g. work, controlling fertility, divorce.

Question 21

evaluations of radical feminists
(positive)

Answer 21

• empowering women through petitions + societies
  -due to radical feminism sexual violence e.g rape + domestic abuse seen as crimes

Question 22

statistics to show ongoing inequality

Answer 22

In 2022 women did 30 minutes more housework per day than men and an hour per day more childcare.

According to a 2021 YouGov survey 38% of women in full time work say they are primarily responsible for childcare and housework compared to only 9% of men.

Around 40% of men and women say they share domestic chores and housework equally.

Things haven’t changed since 2017.