Theories of the Family - Feminism Flashcards
what does feminism aim to achieve
It aims to achieve political, social, economic and personal equality between the sexes
what approach does feminism take
It takes a structuralist approach
is it a conflict theory
yes
who is in conflict in society according to feminists?
Men and women
why are feminists critical of the family
They see the family as benefitting the patriarchy and maintaining male dominance over women
what are the different feminist perspectives and their key sociologists
Liberal Feminism - Willmott & Young, Somerville
Marxist Feminism - Ansley
Radical Feminism - Germaine Greer
Difference Feminism - N/A
Post-Modern Feminism - Smart?
what is Liberal Feminism concerned with?
It is concerned with fighting for equal rights and opportunities within the existing legal system.
what is the main argument put forward by LibFems
They argue that campaigns against sexual discrimination and laws can change people’s attitudes to women’s role in the family and that the best way to improve the position of women in the family and society at large is through legal reform.
what acts have helped improve women’s place in the workplace and the family
Equal Pay Act (1970)
Sexual Discrimination (1975)
Equality Act (2010)
what measures do liberal feminists believe help women
- Establishing the legal rights of women help make the family better
- Changing socialization practices - they argue that children are now socialized with equal aspirations
what have those measures help achieve according to LibFems
gender equality
why do they believe those measures have helped achieve gender equality
because men are doing more domestic labour
what view is the liberal feminist view in a nutshell
March of progress view.
what does the match of progress mean and who is behind it
Willmott and Young argue that there has been gradual progress in achieveing gender equality in the family
evidence to support the feminist view
Men doing more - 2020 survey by the American Sociological Association found that among heterosexual couples in the US, men reported doing a larger share of household work during the pandemic than before. Men were doing 30% of the housework compared to 15% previously.
Equal Socialization - 2017 study by the Pew Research Center found that the majority of parents in the US encourage their sons and daughters to pursue a wide range of activities, not limited to traditionally masculine and feminine ones.
Criticism of Liberal Feminism
Marxist and Radical Feminists argue that laws don’t change society’s attitudes as they do not address unconscious bias and underlying gender stereotypes, though they provide a framework which people are mandated to follow. It doesn’t mean they accept the laws or won’t find ways to get around this, as a result, women are still oppressed in the family.
LibFems do not address the causes of women’s weakened position in the family, they fail to challenge the underlying causes of women’s oppression.
Evidence to suggest that equality before the law doesn’t mean equality in practice - BBC
Though the Equal Pay Act was passed, the BBC gender pay gap scandal found that women still earned significantly less than their male counterparts. In 2018, it was found that among BBC journalists, men earned an average of 9.3% more than women in the same position; among the highest earners, men earned 14.6% more.
what according to radical feminists are all society’s founded on
the patriarchy
what does all societies being founded on the patriarchy mean
They are all dominated by men, which had led to women being subservient to the male.
what is the family and marriage a source of according to RFs
They act as a source of female exploitation
why do the family and marriage act as a source of female exploitation
because they are institutions in a patriarchal society
what does Greer argue that men benefit from
Women’s unpaid domestic work and sexual services
evidence to support the RF idea that women do unpaid domestic labour
Action Uk reported that 75% of women globally perform domestic work
what else according to RF’s maintains male dominance
girls are socialised to accept male dominance, this then allows them to be dominated through sexual and domestic violence when they become women with families
evidence to support RF view - socialization
A study published in the Journal of Social Issues by Bussey and Bandura 1999 - ‘Social cognitive theory of gender development and differentiation’ found that girls are socialised to believe that boys are more important and powerful than they are, which makes girls submissive to boys.
what is the solution according to Greer
Seperatism
what is seperatism
Women living independent of men
criticism of RF - somerville
LibFem Somerville, critiques radical feminism for failing to recognise that women’s position has improved considerably through the law. Women have autonomy, which has been strengthened by better access to divorce, better job opportunities and other rights they have been granted by the law. The fact that about 2/3rds of divorces are initiated by women suggests that the law has made it possible for women to escape from oppressive relationships which improve their position as well.
RF critic - Hakim
According to Hakim, RF assumes that women are passive victims with no choice. Women’s inequality in the family and what is treated as proof of gender discrimination may be proof of women’s personal choices and preferences. Some women may choose to be housewives, not because of the patriarchy but because they find it fulfilling.
what do difference feminists argue
they argue that the other feminist approaches generalise women’s experience of the family.
what point of view do other feminist arguments come from according to difference feminists
A white, middle class, nuclear family centered POV
what do the other feminist perspective overemphasise according to difference feminists
They argue that other perspectives regard the family as a purely negative institution which neglects the positive experience some women enjoy.
what do black feminists argue
They argue that the family can be a source of support and resistance against racism and racial oppression.
study to support black feminist argument
A study carried out by Burton and Tucker 2009, found that black families have developed a range of strategies for coping with and resisting racism. One key strategy is by developing a strong sense of racial pride and identity
what function do difference feminists argue the family serves
A positive role not necessarily a patriarchal role as identified by RF or a capitalist role as identified by MF
criticism of difference feminism
Other feminists argue that difference feminism neglects the fact that all women share many of the same experiences. For example, they all face a risk of domestic violence and sexual assault, low pay etc. The guardian in Feb 2022, reported that more than one in 4 women globally experience domestic abuse before the age of 50.
what do Marxist feminists argue
They argue that capitalism is to blame for women’s weaker role in the family
what are the 3 main functions women in the family perform for capitalism
- Reproducing the Labour Force
- Women absorb anger
- Women are a reserve army of cheap labour
reproduce the labour force
Women reproduce the labour force through their unpaid domestic labour. They also reproduce the labour force by socializing children into accepting capitalist ideology, this way they can produce the next generation of workers which helps capitalism thrive.
reproduce the labour force - examples
Unpaid Domestic Labour - ONS stat - women perform 60% of unpaid care/domestic work
Hobson found that women’s unpaid care work is a form of social reproduction that reproduces the workforce, which is essential for the functioning of capitalism
Socialise - Nathanson and Lopez 2005, found that women socialize their children into patterns of consumption that contribute to the reproduction of capitalist values.
women absorb anger
Women according to Ansley are ‘takers of shit’ who soak up their partner’s frustration from the workplace as they suffer from alienation.
according to Marxists, what happens when women absorb anger
Domestic Violence against women
women absorb anger - examples
Crime Survey England 2022, found that 1.7M of women are victims of domestic violence. 10.3% of which are from the west midlands, and according to data from the UK government in 2019/20, that area had a higher % of households in relative poverty with 23% compared to a national average of 22%.
CPAG 2019, 3.5% of women in low income households are more likely to experience DV
women are a reserve army of cheap labour
Women are employed when companies are short on staff and are the first to be let go to return to their primary role as unpaid domestic labourers when not needed.
women are a reserve army of cheap labour - examples
ONS 2022 labour stat, in the Oct-Dec 2022 period, women in employment make up 3.9% of those on zero-hour contracts while men make up 3.0%. This means that they have less job security and experience lower pay.
In addition, sections vulnerable to job cuts are hospitality, retail, social work and health care, according to the HofC 2022 summary on Women and the UK Economy, 78% of women hold jobs in the health and social work sector. People 1st 2017 report found that 65% of women are in hospitality, meaning when there are austerity cuts to public sectors and job cuts, women are the first to be let go
critique of marx fems - reserve army
Women are working and have independent incomes, women make up 72.3 of people in employment according to ONS 2022. Even with the conservatives since 2010 who advocate for job cuts in the public sector as part of their effort to create limited government intervention, women’s employment rate peaked and has not fallen below 65% since 2010.
critique of MF - reproduce labour force
Day-to-day relationships in the family are less likely today to create an unquestioning and obedient workforce. Children have much more status and power in the family today due to families being more child-centred. Women are also less likely to assert themselves in family life. Moreover, if Marxists argue that every single bit of society is capitalist surely children are learning capitalist ideology from outside secondary forms of socialization and not always from their mothers.
a general critique of feminists
Functionalists argue that feminists, particularly radfems and marxfems overemphasize conflict in the family. To parsons, the family is not a capitalist or patriarchal institution but a system in society which serves irreducible functions for society and maintains social stability.
