the development of feminism

Question 1

what does malestream mean?

Answer 1

• the term malestream is used in place of mainstream to describe an apporach where the point of view of men is taken as normal and usual
• it is also used to describe the type of sociological research that concentrates on men is usually conducted by men and then assumes that the findings can be generalised to women as well
• this has lead deminists to suggest women have been understudied as sociology has mostly been dominated by men

Question 2

what is the aim of feminist sociologists?

Answer 2

• a key aim of feminist sociologists is to redress this imbalance by focusing on issues that affect gender relationships and in particular the role of women in society
• some feminist sociologists have devised their own approach to carrying out research and most favour qualitative methods because they enable researchers to gain a fuller understanfing of womens ecperiences
• feminist sociologists are also often keen to empower the women taking part in the research process because they believe that women have been oppressed in all areas of social life and they want to treat them as equals when they are doing their research

Question 3

what is the aims of the first wave of feminism (1800)?

Answer 3

• the first wave of feminism emerged in the mid 1800s with the main aim of reforming the social and legal inequalities affecting women and in particular to achieve universal female suffrage
• the first wave of feminism was mainly led by middle class women often known as sufffragettes
• as well as campaigning o achieve the right to vote, they were concerned about the poor educational opportunities available to girls and fought for better secondary education and access to higher education
• they also wanted to open up entry to the professions for women and change the law that stated tnat once women were married, their wealyj and income became the property of their husbands
• in addition women at this time could not divorce their husbands unless their husbands agreeed and once divorced women were forced to give up contact with their children
• first wave feminists wanted to address these inequalities

Question 4

what did the first wave of feminism achieve (1900)?

Answer 4

• by the early 1900s the first wave of feminism was seen as having achieved a number of its goals
• laws were passes that gave women greater access to higher education
• the education system was reformed to give girls more rights for example girls were allowed to take part in formal national examinations
• in terms of employment, women were granted greater access to some professions, such as medicine, which enabled some women to enter high status careers
• other achievements included the recognition of married womens property rights and some improvement in divirce and child custody rights

Question 5

what is the aims of the second wave of feminism 1970?

Answer 5

• the second wave of feminism grew in the 1970s and was linked to other campaigs for social change such as the civil rights movement, gay rights and anti war protest
• the focus of the secons wave of feminism is summed uo by their slogan the personal is political
• this refers to the view that many of the personal problems that women experience in their lives are the result of the unequal way that society is organised, which gives men more power over somen
• this leads to womens oppression in the private sphere of work, politics etc.
• the key issues for the second wave of feminism centred on achieving anti discrimination policies and equal rights

Question 6

How did the second wave of feminism go about achieving their aims?

Answer 6

• feminists aimed to raise wmens consciousness about the problems that they faced in society, often through female only meetings and groups that would provide support networks
• these groups created a sense of sisterhood whereby women felt responsible for each other and worked collectively to bring about social change

Question 7

what are the demands of the second wave of feminism (1970)?

Answer 7

1. equal pay for equal work
2. equal education and job opportunities
3. free contraception and abortion on demand
4. free 24-hour nurseries
5. Domestic violence persecution
6. Financial and legal aid for women
7. No discrimination of lesbians

Question 8

what were the further demands added in 1978 to the second wave of feminism?

Answer 8

• legal and financial independednce for all women
• an end to the discrimination against lesbians
• freedom for all women from intimidation by the threat or use of violence or sexual coercion regardless of material status
• an end to all laws, assumptions and institutions that perpetuate male dominance and mens aggression toward women

Question 9

what is third wave of feminism (1990s)?

Answer 9

• third wave feminism is seen as a much more diverse and individualistic form of feminism which came into existance in the context of globalisation and an increasingly digital information society
• it acknowledged that women come from many ethnicities, nationalities, religions and cultural backgrounds so there can be no single approach to feminism

Question 10

why do third wave feminists criticise second wave feminists?

Answer 10

• the thrid wave criticises the second wave of feminism for mainly expressing the interests of white middle class women
• third wave feminists agrus that they want eomen to define feminism for themselves in a way that reflects their own idnetities and belief systems
• despite this third wave feminists do have distinct goals they focus on making changes to traditional ideas about sexuality and abolishing gender roles and stereotypes including those seen in the media

Question 11

Who is the fourth of wave of feminism a contested concept?

Answer 11

-the fourth wave of feminism is a contested concept, with some theorists agruing that it is not distinct from previous waves

Question 12

what did Cochrane (2013) say about the fourth wave of feminism?

Answer 12

• Cochrane (2013) its defined by technology; tools that are allowing women to build a strong, popular, reactive movement online
• fourth wave feminists claim that they use the internet to bring about change wherever they see the need by means of online petitions and direct action

Question 13

which examples of new feminist activism support their claim that the fourth wave of feminism is a powerful force in chalenging sexism?

Answer 13

• the success of the everyday sexism project which began as a social media campaign in 2012 with the aim of documenting experiences of sexism harrassment and assault to show how bad the problem is and create solidarity
• the introduction of an activism badge for girl guides under the heading go for it! be the change
• the growing influence of online organisations such as mumsnet, a survey of mumsnet users in 2013 found that 59% consider themselves to be feminists
• UK feministas campaign against supermarkets displaying lads mags

Question 14

What did as a significant even in the second wave of feminism?

Answer 14

-in the Uk a significant event in the second wave was the first national womens liberation movement conference held in 1970 which brough together many groups

Question 15

Why do fourth wave feminists say it’s necessary?

Answer 15

-fourth wave feminists claim that it is a movement that is necessary in the 21st century to take action against sexism and a range of inequalities facing girls and women across the globe