Feminist

• Liberal feminism 


  The family is becoming more and more equal over time.

  • Willmott & Young: symmetrical family, husband & wives roles aren’t the same but similar.
  • Women working means men are taking up more domestic tasks.
  • Somerville: much better than before.
• Marxist Feminism

  1. Women reproduce the labour force
  2. Women absorb anger (Ansley - wives are the takers of shit - cushioning effect)
  3. Women are the reserve labour force (face more zero hour contracts and redundancies)

  • Womens primary role is caregiver
• Radical feminism


  All societies are founded on patriarchy:

  1. Men are the enemy(-> political lesbianism)
  2. Family & marriage are key institutions that serve patriarchal society (women’s free domestic labour & sexual services)

  Dobash & Dobash: marriage legitimises violence against women.

  • Before 1971, men could rape wives
  • Triple shift & dual burden
  • Greer argues for matrilocal households to replace nuclear
• Difference feminism


  Previous feminists assume all women share the same life experiences but we can’t generalise this.

  • Lesbian vs heterosexual women,
  • m/c vs w/c women
  • black vs white women

  all have different experiences if the family.

  By regarding the family as purely negative, white feminists neglect black womens experience of racial oppression. Black feminists view the family positively as a form of support and resistance against racism.