Theories Topic 3 : Feminism

Question 1

What are walby’s 6 structures of patriarchy?

Answer 1

The household - women’s main responsibility, meaning limited access to paid work

Paid work - lower paid and lower status

The state - policies are primarily in men’s interests

Sexuality - different standards of behaviour expected of men and women

Male violence - domestic violence, rape that is ignored or inadequately tackled by the state

Cultural institutions - religion, media, education etc. all reinforce patriarchy

Question 2

Liberal feminism AO1

Answer 2

Women’s inequality arises from factors like:
sexist stereotyping
gender role socialisation
women’s primary responsibility for housework / childcare

these generate a lack of opportunities for women, and keep them in lower paid, lower status jobs

Ann Oakley :
Sex is fixed / biological
Gender is a social construct
= women are oppressed because of their gender not sex - society tells women their role

Question 3

Liberal feminism synoptic links to families / education AO2

Answer 3

Families:
Jennifer Somerville - principled pragmatism
= creation of policies to encourage greater equality within relationships
= in order to achieve equality, women need flexibility in paid employment - help working mothers

Education:
Previously subjects were specifically for a certain gender - now subjects are open
= girls now achieve higher
= stem programmes for girls like GIST

Question 4

Liberal feminists solution to the problem AO1/AO2

Answer 4

Oakley and Sharpe - legal, economic and social equality for women will come through gradual reform

EG:
More affordable / free childcare
Equal pay
Anti discrimination
Challenging stereotypes

ANALYSIS - Has this happened? Are they right?
Equal Pay Act 1970
Equality Act 2010
Divorce Reform Act
Sex Discrimination Act 1975
Education Reform Act
GIST

Question 5

Liberal feminism AO3

Answer 5

Strengths:
Shows that gender differences are socially constructed and not inborn, but linked to socialisation and stereotypes

Liberal feminism HAS led to legislation changes

Weaknesses:
Has a rose-tinted view

Ignores the deeper rooted structures that CAUSE women’s inequality such as capitalism (Marxist feminist) and
patriarchy (radical feminist)
= REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE IS NEEDED

Question 6

Radical feminism AO1

Answer 6

Patriarchy as the most fundamental form of inequality

World is divided into 2 ‘sex classes’ - men dominating women in all areas + reaping the benefits (seen in Walby’s 6 structures)

Liberal feminists argue that marriage can be reformed - child marriage, polygamy, changing surname all reproduce the patriarchy

Firestone and Ortner - women’s subordination is due to biology (pregnancy and childbirth) = males them dependent and vulnerable
= this enables men to develop physical and physiological control over them

Question 7

Radical feminism synoptic links to families / education AO2

Answer 7

Ferri and Smith - Dual burden / Duncombe and Marsden - Triple shift
= these are evidence of patriarchy - reflects how gender inequalities are embedded in social structures and practices

Germaine Greer - women as wives, mothers and daughters
Dobash and Dobash - domestic violence was a way for men to maintain control over their wives

Education:
Hidden curriculum - supports gender roles
Sexual harassment in schools
Subject choice remains heavily gendered as girls struggle to break the ‘glass ceiling’

Question 8

Radical feminists solutions to the problem AO1/AO2

Answer 8

Propose the complete destruction of patriarchy

Childbirth to be carried out independently of men

Women to begin to free themselves from oppression – through separatism (living apart from men) and political lesbianism

Question 9

Radical feminism AO3

Answer 9

Strengths:
Identifies and critiques the root causes of women’s oppression - patriarchy is a deeply embedded system of power that is built into all structures of society

Weaknesses:
Liberal feminists - they ignore the reform that has occurred and has improved women’s opportunities

Marxist feminists - it is capitalism not patriarchy which oppresses women

Intersectional feminists - they assume all women share common interests - not all women are the same

Dual systems feminists - its not just patriarchy that must be eradicated, but capitalism too

Question 10

Marxists feminism AO1

Answer 10

Gender inequality arises from the nature of capitalist society, not just patriarchy alone

Capitalism intensifies patriarchal inequalities for its own interest:
- Women are a source of cheap labour (dependent on men)
- Women are a reserve army of labour (in and out of jobs when needed e.g. WWI and WWII)
- Women reproduce the labour force (socialise children into capitalist values)

W/C women suffer the most

Ansley argued that women’s unpaid domestic labour in the family plays a critical role in sustaining capitalism.

Question 11

Marxist feminism synoptic links to families / education AO2

Answer 11

Ainsley - ‘takers of shit’ to absorb men’s anger at their exploitation at work

‘Cereal packet’ is patriarchal and harmful to women

Production of labour power - women’s expressive role is unpaid (only one person [man] needs to be paid)

Ideological conditioning

Social Policy - Austerity
= stops women from working

Education:
Socialises girls to accept the role of a wife / mother

Question 12

Marxist feminists solutions to they problem AO1/AO2

Answer 12

Improving the position of women involves a fundamental challenge to capitalism / class inequality and patriarchy which is used to support it

Capitalism is the root cause of women’s oppression
= not men (as RF suggest)
= not outdated attitudes (as LF suggest)

Question 13

Marxist feminism AO3

Answer 13

Strengths:
Gives a greater understanding of women’s exploitation and is essential to understand the role of women in a capitalist society

Weaknesses:
Radical feminists - they don’t explain that patriarchy has existed in all known societies - not just capitalist societies

Radical feminists - it is men, not just capitalism, who benefit from women’s subordination (they’re the ones who commit violence against women)

Intersectional feminists - they essentialise women’s experiences + overlook their differences based on factors such as race, ethnicity, sexuality etc.

Question 14

Dual systems feminism AO1

Answer 14

Blend Marxist and radical feminist theories

Capitalism and patriarchy are seen as 2 (dual) separate systems that interact with and reinforce one another in the form of ‘patriarchal capitalism’
= this generates dual roles for women – housewife and paid work

Not only are they subordinate to men, but to capitalism too (Walby)

Other factors are important too – social class + ethnic inequalities

Unlike radical feminism, all men are not seen as the ‘enemy’

Question 15

Dual system synoptic links to families / education AO2

Answer 15

Dual burden / triple shift

Education:
Focus on boys’ underachievement - moral panic
Education - ethnic minority

Question 16

Dual systems feminists solutions to the problem AO1/AO2

Answer 16

Remove the twin structures of patriarchy and capitalism

They also support reform measures like LF suggest
= tackling the patriarchal nature of male/female relations in the private sphere of the home and the family
= tackling the patriarchal/capitalist exploitation of women in public spheres, EG business and media

Question 17

Dual systems feminism AO3

Answer 17

Strengths:
Demonstrates how patriarchy and capitalism combine to subordinate women (unlike MF and RF - use DSF to criticise them)

Weaknesses:
Criticised for its primarily theoretical approach

Doesn’t offer many / other solutions to women’s subordination that haven’t been offered already

Question 18

Intersectional feminism AO1

Answer 18

Originated from black feminism

Accuse the other feminisms of ‘essentialism’ – they assume all women have the same ‘essence’ of what it is to be a woman

Suggest that other variants of feminism viewed women’s subordination through the eyes of white M/C women

Subordination differs between social groups – especially in postmodern societies

Different conceptions of what oppression is…e.g. religious beliefs
= so we can’t use other feminisms to explain all women’s oppression

Question 19

Intersectional feminism synoptic links to families / education AO2

Answer 19

Inequalities between a white, MC nuclear family and a black WC lone parent family

Social policy : anti-discrimination policies to protect women who are more prone to inequality

Education:
May be discrimination between a white vs BAME girl

Question 20

Intersectional feminists solutions to the problem AO1/AO2

Answer 20

Not to assume a single strand of feminism can account for all inequalities faced by women

Extend discrimination policies beyond the Sex Discrimination Act

Question 21

Intersectional feminism AO3

Answer 21

Strength:
Recognises that generalised feminist theories do not consider diversity and different experiences of women

Weaknesses:
LF and RF - by emphasising the differences between women, intersectional feminism deflects attention away from the problems shared by all women (patriarchy)

Having so many sub groups weaknesses the feminist movement

USE INTERSECTIONAL FEMINISM TO EVALUATE ANY FEMINISM

Question 22

Feminism as a political ideology

Answer 22

3 waves of feminism

1st (late 19th century to early 20th century) - suffragettes (gaining the right to vote, improved working conditions and and education rights)

2nd (1960s - 80s) - wanted roles beyond the home, rights in cultural institutions and to being men’s sex objects

3rd (current) - inclusivity of women’s differences