SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY - Feminism

Question 1

What is the definition of Patriarchy?

Answer 1

Male dominance in society

Question 2

What is the definition of Malestream?

Answer 2

Viewing society from the male perspective.

Question 3

What is the definition of the ‘Glass Ceiling’?

Answer 3

The social barrier that stops women getting higher jobs.

Question 4

What is the definition of ‘Matrilocal’?

Answer 4

Where the husband lives with or near the wife’s parents.

Question 5

What are the 4 Basic Tenants within Feminism (that applies to each branch/type/perspective)?

Answer 5

• INEQUALITY between men and women
• CONFLICT between men and women
• Gender inequalities are SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED
• The importance of PATRIARCHY in explaining inequality

Question 6

What do Radical Feminists believe?

Answer 6

• They believe that women are exploited by and are subservient to men by the patriarchal/male-dominated society.
• They believe that changes made to support women (such as the Equal Pay Act 1970) has actually not done a lot and that women are still restricted in society.
• Some are female supremacists (believe women are superior to men)
• Some are female separatists (believe that men and women should live independently from one another)

Question 7

What does Firestone say (RADICAL)?

Answer 7

• She says that women and men are biologically different and that women are disadvantaged biologically, due to the fact that they can get pregnant,have children, menstruate and breastfeed; she depicts these features as weak and vulnerable.
• Due to this, women are seen as being weak and vulnerable, which men can then exploit and use, in order to monopolise and gain power.
• She believed that by abolishing pregnancy with the use of artificial wombs, women would be one step forward to being freed from their biological restraints in society.

Question 8

What does Millet say (RADICAL)?

Answer 8

• She believes that (alongside biology) there are multiple factors causing women’s disadvantage in society.

These factors include:

• Psychological factors (the idea that men are more violent and stronger than women)
• Ideological factors (the idea that women are less ambitious and assertive than men)
• Sociological factors (the idea that women are caregivers and belong in the home)
• Educational and economic inequalities (the idea that men can easily rise in the workplace and get more money)
• Myth and religion (the idea that only men can be religious leaders; the first bishop was ordained in 2015)
• Use of violence (the idea that men can use rape and sexual violence to underpin their power)
• Psychology (the idea that women believe they are inferior to men due to the patriarchal ideology).

Question 9

Evaluate Radical Feminism.

Answer 9

POSITIVES:

• It has challenged sociological views and highlights factors that women face.
• It has allowed changes to be introduced, such as the Suffragettes and the Suffragists (EG = Emily Davison throwing herself in front of the Kings’ horse and becoming a martyr for the Women’s Rights campaign).

NEGATIVES:

• Seen as too ‘violent’ and ‘too extreme’.
• They ignore other factors, such as ethnicity.
• LIBERAL EVALUATION - They say that Radical Feminists focus on the negatives and that it ignores steps taken for female liberation in Western societies
• MARXIST EVALUATION - They believe that Radical Feminists attach too much importance to violence, ideology and biology; focus on the economy is needed (they say)!
• EVALUATION OF FIRESTONE - Firestone’s argument does give some explanation to the lack of female independence in society; as men monopolise off women’s lack of power, this create the idea of that women need to be dependent on men in society.
• EVALUATION OF MILLET - Millet helps to explain multiple factors that disadvantage women in contemporary society and helps to demonstrate that there is not one particular thing that oppresses women, there are multiple factors.

Question 10

What do Liberal Feminists believe?

Answer 10

• They seek REFORM rather than revolution!
• They argue that small, legislative improvements in society can ultimately lead to equality between the sexes.
• They believe changes in society should be achieved through reform and education!

Question 11

What does Friedan say (LIBERAL)?

Answer 11

• She says that a lack of equal opportunities between men and women in society is down to the fact that women have to fulfil the mother and housewife roles
• She argued that socialisation into gender roles and ideas about masculinity and femininity in the education system, the media and the workplace all distort ideas regarding equality between men and women
• She believes that these issues could be addressed with non-sexist socialisation of children and more challenged made against sex discrimination.

Question 12

What are significant Acts that were passed in the UK that link to Feminism? (LIBERAL). HINT: Name as many as you can; there are 4 here!

Answer 12

• Equal Pay Act 1970
• Sex Discrimination Act 1975
• Divorce Reform Act 1969
• Abortion Act 1967

Question 13

Evaluate Liberal Feminism.

Answer 13

POSITIVES:

• There have been changes school curricula in the UK to remove certain sexist assumption about the sorts of subjects girls and boys should study
• Females now outperform males in just about every subject in the UK education system
• The Acts passed, such as the Equal Pay Act 1970, give women more legal protection against discrimination

NEGATIVES:

• Too positive/optimistic that reforms will manage to get rid of the patriarchy all together and permanently
• Changes that have been made have only impacted western societies and western women = Girls in Afghanistan are not permitted to have an education after primary school!
• RADICAL EVALUATION = Greer (2000) –> She argued that women have not been truly liberated and they will not be until women do not have to act or dress a certain way in order to please men.
• THIRD-WAVE EVALUATION = Redfern and Aune –> They believe that radical changes are still needed to fully liberate women and they believe the use of blogs and social media will help to promote this.
• Legislative changes do not change society’s opinion as a whole; there is more work that is needed to be done before equality can be reached - There are still multiple ideas that need to be tackled, such as the existence of sexist music and language in the media and the use of violence against women, in order for equality to be truly reached

Question 14

What do Marxists Feminists believe?

Answer 14

• They focus on the impact of the economy and financial/economic factors in understanding the position of women in patriarchal society.
• They see capitalism as one of the main sources of women’s oppression.
• Women are more disadvantaged in society because they do more unpaid labour.
• In order to stop being exploited, women have to achieve economic equality and gain financial independence from men.

Question 15

What does Engles say (MARXIST)?

Answer 15

• He says that the creation of the institution of marriage in the ‘promiscuous horde’ in order for men to figure out who their offspring was led to women’s sexuality being controlled
• He says that this has escalated and allowed men to control women’s sexuality and dominate in society

Question 16

What does Ansley say (MARXIST)?

Answer 16

• This links to the Warm Bath Theory by Parsons (FUNCTIONALISM)!
• They say that women are the ‘takers of shit’ because they experience physical and verbal abuse from their husbands when they come home from work
• At home, men can relieve their stress, instead of the stress being aimed at their employers and capitalism in general; instead, they unleash their anger onto their wives and family (can lead to domestic violence in extreme cases)

Question 17

Evaluate Marxist Feminism.

Answer 17

POSITIVES:

• Focuses on the impact of the economy in depicting women’s position in society

NEGATIVES:

• Ignores the use of non-material causes of inequality and other factors, including ethnicity, violence, ideology and biology = It is important to remember that wealthy women still face inequalities due to other external factors (other than the economy and their wealth).
• Over-generalises the idea that all women are in low-paid work; there are (albeit relatively few) women in the best-paid jobs.
• CONTEMPORARY SOCIALIST EVALUATION = Ward (2002) –> Believes that globalisation has undermined the income of women working in the UK, due to competition from low-wage economics, and welfare cuts.
• Unpaid labour of women is still in existence today –> Women are still the ‘takers of shit’ and freely contribute to the capitalist society we live in.
• Women are still the ‘reserve army of labour’ due to the existence of the ‘glass ceiling’ in many workplaces today!

Question 18

What do Intersectional Feminists believe?

Answer 18

• They do not see women as a single group of people who all share the same issues and problems as each other.
• Other feminists are essentialists (they are all the same) and they have created a false universality (where everyone’s experience is the same) between every woman in society - THIS IS NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF WOMEN IN SOCIETY!
• They disagree with the idea that all women experience the same oppression as each other.
• Other factors that Intersectional Feminists look at include: Age, race and ethnicity and sexuality.

Question 19

What does bell hooks say (INTERSECTIONAL)?

Answer 19

• She says that white, middle class women dominate the feminist movement –> This leads to people basing other women’s experiences off white, middle class women’s experiences!
• Intersectional feminism allows there to be a discussion and analysis of different forms of oppression.
• “As long as women are using class or race power to dominate other women, feminist sisterhood cannot be fully realised” = Women are divided, not united! We should look at all factors and elements, not just one!

Question 20

Evaluate Intersectional Feminism.

Answer 20

POSITIVES:

• Allows for the analysis of different forms of oppression
• Allows for different forms of resistance and struggles to achieve equality

NEGATIVES:

• It is so broad - How can we be influential when people do not know where to even start/begin? = Having so many sub groups can weaken the feminist movement

Question 21

What do Postmodern Feminists believe?

Answer 21

• They believe in 4 main things: Change, diversity, individualism and choice
• They agree with other feminists that gender is very important to identity and that women are often subject to discrimination.
• Postmodern feminists are interested in how people can pick and mix their identities, including gender and are also interested in the nature of masculinity
• They see gender as a ‘metanarrative’ (BIG STORIES).
• Society should look at individual experiences to highlight differences - there are a range of different femininities. All about the individual perspective!
• They celebrate differences rather than believing that all women have the same interests
• They reject the idea of progress inherent in claims about how women can be liberated in liberal, Marxist and radical feminist accounts. They see such claims as a product of male rationality, which states that the world can be planned to become a better place.
• They believe there is no single path to female liberation, as liberation may mean different things to different women in different societies.

Question 22

What does Cixous say (POSTMODERNIST)?

Answer 22

• She describes language as phallocentric = Male-dominated and reflecting a male view of the world.
• For example = Sex, from a phallocentric perspective, is often seen in terms of male objectives, which neglects the female perspective on sex, which is more subtle and has much less of a focus on a single part of the body.
• She refers to ‘jouissance’ - the joyous female sensuality that incorporates the whole body.

Question 23

What is Tong’s Evaluation of Post-Modern Feminism?

Answer 23

• She sees some merit in post-modern feminism and its awareness of an acceptance of differences between men and women.
• However, other people argue that postmodern feminism loses sight of the key importance of inequality between men and women.

Question 24

What is a Negative Evaluation of Postmodern Feminism?

Answer 24

• They have been criticised for neglecting important areas such as the male use of violence to maintain power and gender inequalities in the home.

Question 25

What does Walby say? HINT: 6 ways that the patriarchy continues today.

Answer 25

• Paid Work
• Household Work
• Culture
• Sexuality
• Violence
• The State

Question 26

WALBY = Give an example of Paid Work as a factor of the patriarchy that continues today!

Answer 26

In 2013, data from ‘Pay Act’ suggests that women between the ages 30-39 were paid around £590, whilst men were paid £600.

In 2016, the average pay of women compared to men working full-time was only 90.6% of men’s pay!

Question 27

WALBY = Give an example of Household Work as a factor of the patriarchy that continues today!

Answer 27

According to data from 2013, women do around 6 hours of housework a week, whilst men do around 2 and a half.

Question 28

WALBY = Give an example of Culture as a factor of the patriarchy that continues today!

Answer 28

Gender stereotypes and reinforced by the media - Women in GQ magazines are presented in bikinis or in revealing clothes, whilst men are in suits and business attire.

Question 29

WALBY = Give an example of Sexuality as a factor of the patriarchy that continues today!

Answer 29

Men = Player, hot, ladies’ man!

Women = Dirty, sluts, told they are asking for it!

Question 30

WALBY = Give an example of Violence as a factor of the patriarchy that continues today!

Answer 30

Between 2012-2013, around 85 women were killed by their partner or ex-partner, whilst around 15 men were!

Question 31

WALBY = Give an example of the State as a factor of the patriarchy that continues today!

Answer 31

In 2015, 30% of MPs were women. Out of that 30%, around 15% were from the Labour Party.

December 2022 = Women make up about 29% of the members of the Lords, which compares with about 35% of the members of the Commons.