the role of important people and power structures Flashcards
the internal structure in the belief system or ideology:
Who was Marry Wollstonecraft?
Referred to as the ‘first feminist’
1784 -death (1797)
- she was very critical of the way girls were educated and she argued that women are capable of rationality but men and their upbringing encourage them to be frivolous → (not having any serious purpose or value)
- marriage and education - woman have moral virtue
- Author of ‘Vindication of the Rights of Women’ (1792)
- she was the first to issue an unspoken rally cry to middle class women
Women should be able to enter the world of medicine and politics
Women’s interest in dressing up and looking pretty is primarily a case of nurture, rather than nature
If women are shamed for having sex before marriage, then maybe men should be as well
Women should speak their minds without worrying about being perceived as “masculine” or other undesirable traits
betty Friedan
- American feminist writer and activist
- published feminist mystique in 1963
Equal pay for equal work
End to sexual harassment in the workplace
Legalisation of abortion - the feminine mystique was dedicated to simone de beauvoir
What Simone de Beauvoir
- published ‘The Second Sex’ and became a feminist classic and the starting point for what is known as second wave feminism
- many feminist after de Beauviour claimed that they were influenced by ‘The Second Sex’
- 1949 til death (1986)
- she believed that the right to vote would not make a difference to women if they did not have, for example, adequate health, education and money
- author of ‘the second sex’ → created controversy, shifting discussions about women’s rights towards the cultural construction of women - shifted the way women looked at the world as they began to observe and critique the cultural practices that formed and constrained women
Naomi Wolf
American feminist who is known for starting the third wave of feminism
1990s onwards
What philosophical issues were they addressing?
The beauty myth published in 1990
It’s the beauty myth, an obsession with physical perfection that traps the modern woman in an endless spiral of hope, self-consciousness, and self-hatred as she tries to fulfil society’s impossible definition of “the flawless beauty.”
As the social power and prominence of women have increased, the pressure they feel to adhere to unrealistic social standards
She became the leading spokesperson for what is known as the third wave of feminism
Emma Watson
English actress who is known for her involvement in feminist activities such as talks, campaigns, advertisements
current
HeforShe campaign in 2014
Equal respect, leadership and pay
Safety is not a privilege but a right
Speech such as the HeforShe campaign at the United Nations
Why is these women’s involvement in the ideology important?
These people played an important role in bringing awareness to the feminist ideology
Feminist leaders have played a key role in connecting individuals and providing a sense of collective identity through common doctrines, also role of challenging male power structures
First wave power structure
The First Wave of Feminism established a platform for women to advocate their determination for equal opportunities, seeing the introduction of the suffragettes.
Suffragettes promoted the right to participate in the important social ritual of voting, and actively challenged the traditionally male power structures of society and the institutionalised male views they perpetuated.
Second wave power structure
By the 1950’s-1970’s the Second Wave of Feminism emerged, breaking away from the ideological framework of the prior movement of ‘less militant feminists’.
‘Second wavers’ critiqued the first waves’ ‘liberalism’ and ‘essentialism’ on the basis of its failure to address the entrenched gender constructs and stereotypes that continued to govern women.
Society’s increased access to technological outlets invited a female presence to the international stage, seeing potential for the erosion of men’s authoritarian role in the hierarchal institutions of society.
Third wave feminism
Third wavers have, however, maintained the continuity in ideology of empowering women to challenge gender roles and hierarchical patriarchy.
Traditional gendered interactions and hierarchical structures of discussion continue to delegitimize and disempower the contributions of women within the technological domain, and in correlation with female categorization as ‘technological inept’, the potential for the Internet to assist progressive feminist diffusion has been hindered.
Collective Feminism
Collective action involves women discussing their lives, analysing their shared experiences of injustice and oppression, and developing common goals.
leadership and hierachy
In 1970s, leadership was a difficult word for feminists
Leadership was associated with hierarchy and hierarchy was seen as inextricably with patriarchal domination of women
To exclude patriarchy, women tried to organise through collective networks
Leaded to unacknowledgement and unacceptable as informal power structures emerged
Freeman called this the “tyranny of structurelessness”
Better to have democratic structure than none at all
Feminism approach of “shared leadership”, not an individual aspect shared respectable among members
Determination to avoid mirroring masculine organisational structures was true even of the second wave organisations most dedicated to to “reformist goals”
1996, Eva Cox argued many women feel discomfort with the concept of leadership and power, identified with masculine values
Models of shared leadership have allowed women to become comfortable with power
Feminist leadership
“Transformative feminist leadership recognises the leadership capacity of every person in a change process because leadership is about to and committing to and taking responsibility for that larger change and contributing to each in our own way”
Since our primary understanding of leadership comes from traditional male forms of authority, it is crucial to examine more collaborative and creative models and approaches that are emerging from feminists and others interested in innovation and participation. By analysing different approaches to leadership and how they contribute to social transformation, people can define for themselves the qualities and behaviours they see as most crucial to leadership.
Patriarchal leadership reinforces a dynamic of dominance and subordination. It makes power a zero sum game: if I get some, there is less for you. Feminist leadership seeks to transform that dynamic: it tells us that we can become powerful by making those around us feel empowered, able and respected. It seeks power with others instead of power over others.
Feminist values
- self awareness
- self care and caring for others
- dismantling bias
- inclusion
- sharing power
- responsible and transparent use of power
- accountable collaboration
- respectful feedback
- courage
- zero tolerance
Power structure
The power structure is normally an overall system that tends to influence the relationship between an individual as well as every other person in any selected group of individuals. Normally the description of a power structure ought to capture ways in which authority as well as power is distributed amongst people in groups such as the governments, institutions, organisations, nations and also societies. Normally such as these ones are of great interest to different fields (Gumucio and Tufte, 2006). This includes government, economics, sociology as well as business. Usually power structures are normally constructed either formally or intentionally in order to minimise value such as efficiency and fairness.
On the other hand power structure could also be an informal set of roles, for instance those that are found within a dominance hierarchy where members of the social group tend to interact in order to construct a ranking system. Usually cultures that are organised in dominance hierarchy are usually a dominator culture.
Visible dominant groups and elites who tend to hold authority and power in a power structure are often referred to as the establishment.
The power structures are also fluid, with the changes occurring constantly.
This could be rapidly, slowly, evolving, violently, peacefully or even revolutionary.
Leadership diamond
power, politics & purpose, practises, principles & values
