socialist feminism , personal is political

Question 1

socialist feminism had a more focus on oppression within the private sphere than liberal feminism it saw capitalism as

Answer 1

central to womens oppression and argued that this led to subordination and exploitation within the family and domestic sphere

Question 2

socialist feminists argued that capitalism forced women to perform unpaid domestic labour in order to reproduce the labour force to uphold capitalism this confined them to the

Answer 2

domestic private sphere and made them more dependent on men

Question 3

Gilman argued that capitalism forced women into a position where their survival and social status depended heavily on marriage , which was a

Answer 3

socio economic contract where women traded their domestic labour , sexual availability and reproductive capabilities for survival and financial support from their husbands

Question 4

rowbotham argued that men took refuge in the private sphere under capitalism where they

Answer 4

held power and where women had to fulfil their emotional needs
this reinforced the subordination of women

Question 5

some socialists and earlier socialist feminists argued that this oppression in the private sphere would be removed if

Answer 5

capitalism was removed as if it was directly caused by capitalism

Question 6

it can therefore be argued that socialist feminists only supported the idea that the personal is political to an extent , as they didn’t recognise

Answer 6

the private sphere and family as an independent site of oppression that was central to underpinning patriarchy

Question 7

radical feminists criticised this view and argued that gender oppression was a distinct system of oppression that defines all of society including the private sphere and can only be removed if

Answer 7

it is directly challenged and dismantled which required a profound transformation of societal norms , institutions , and personal relationships , rather thean just changing the economic system

Question 8

on the other hand it must be recognised that some later socialist feminists argued that

Answer 8

gender relations in the private sphere needed to be tackled as well as capitalism removed

Question 9

rowbotham called for a “revolution within a revoloution” that required not only restructuring the economic system to eliminate class inequality but

Answer 9

also radically transforming social relations and institutions to eradicate gender oppression