Non-core ideologies (feminism)

• Public sphere


  Public institutions of wider society, which is viewed by feminists as the masculine domain
• Private sphere


  Domestic role, which feminists argue women are socialised/forced into as a means of oppression
• Gender stereotypes


  Behaviours, roles, etc. associated with each gender, which feminists argue are constructed in a way that disadvantages women
• Patriarchy


  Male dominance in society
• Essentialism


  Element of feminist ideology arguing women are fundamentally different to men
• Intersectionality


  Different systems of oppression overlap with one another so oppression is individual, based on a person’s social characteristics
• Discrimination


  When an individual/group are treated differently from other members of society
• Equality of opportunity


  All individuals have equal life chances regardless of gender, class, race, etc.
• Political equality


  Equal treatment of citizens regardless of background/social characteristics
• Legal equality


  Legislation to prevent discrimination & ensure equality of opportunity between social groups
• Reserve army of labour


  The unemployed who are (by necessity) prepared to work for poor wages in poor conditions, & so can be used to replace troublesome/unproductive workers - feminists argue this group is disproportionately female
• Gender equality


  Equal treatment, opportunity, & representation of men & women in society
• Cultural feminism


  Women have distinct cultural values which have been historically devalued but are superior to male values of aggression/competitiveness
• Reformist


  Equality can be achieved through gradual legal & political reform rather than a revolution
• First-wave feminism


  1850s-1940s: focused on legal forms of inequality
• Second-wave feminism

  1960s-1980s: recognised that legal/political reform hadn’t created true equality so focused more on the private sphere
• Third-wave feminism


  1990s: focused on the varied experiences of different women (rather than just white, middle-class women)
• Fourth-wave feminism


  Proposed new wave of feminism: a reaction against gender inequality in new media
• Equality feminism


  Belief that there are no inherent differences between men and women & that these have been socially constructed to serve the purpose of oppression
• Difference feminism


  Belief that there are inherent biological differences between women and men based on sex and that this should be embraced
• Transfeminism


  Movement that focuses on the marginalisation of transgender women
• Otherness


  The representation of women is controlled by men as they have greater power, so women are portrayed in a negative way as the ‘other’
• Liberal feminism key points:

  • Women are rational individuals entitled to universal human rights
  • Aims to facilitate diversity of lifestyles among women
  • Aim of legal equality e.g. Sex Discrimination Act (1975), Equality Act (2010)
  • Equality of opportunity
  • All humans have equal moral value
  • Women traditionally confined to private sphere but due to legal changes are entering the public sphere: once they have equal access their individuality can be fulfilled
  • There are still issues like the gender pay gap/dual burden
• Wollstonecraft (Liberal):

  • Formal equality: women should be entitled to the same civil liberties as men to enable genuine freedom from the patriarchy
  • Educational & social equality: women need to be educated as well as men so they can grow into moral & autonomous human beings
  • Women should be treated equally as rational human beings
  • Women aren’t naturally inferior to men but may appear that way because they have been denied educational opportunities
  • True equality includes women being able to have a career outside the home
• Friedan (Liberal):

  • Female emancipation: political process is dominated by men but sufficient scope for women to advance the feminist position
  • Legislative reform to address gender inequality
  • ‘Feminine mystique’ prevents women reaching their full potential & women feel trapped by its expectations
  • Cultural attitudes (i.e. of gender inferiority) are so powerful that men/women think of them as natural rather than artificial, learned behaviours
  • Women are as capable as men at performing any work
  • Women need to be able to pursue different careers instead of solely working in the domestic sphere
• Feminine mystique (Friedan)


  Illusion that the most valuable lifestyle for women is to fulfil their femininity through a life centred around the home/marriage/family
• Socialist feminism key points:

  • Root cause of gender inequality is capitalism: serves male interests & exploits women (so capitalism & patriarchy are linked)
  • Nuclear family reinforces patriarchy: mothers are expected to undertake the responsibility of nurturing children & caring for male workers (needs to be abolished)
  • Collectivism: female liberation requires solidarity & end goal is overall gender equality (less focus on individual choice than liberal)
  • Women are underrepresented in powerful positions which facilitates their gender/economic oppression
• Rowbotham (socialist):

  • Liberation only achievable through revolutionary movements
  • Women’s liberation needs ‘revolution within a revolution’ because sexism is present on the left e.g. after revolution women relegated to housewives
  • Female oppression is both economic & cultural
  • Origins of sexism predate capitalism
  • Men do have a role to play in female liberation: men & women should stand in solidarity against capitalist oppression
  • Capitalism systematically oppresses the working class & women: must sell their labour to support their husband/children
  • Family serves as an instrument of control
• Perkins Gilman (socialist):

  • Society is ‘androcentric’: limits female contributions to civilisation
  • Girls are forced to conform to their predestined role as mothers
  • Girls & boys should be socialised in the same way e.g. same clothes
  • Capitalism relegates women to the ‘reserve army of labour’
  • Need equal division of labour because domestic environment = patriarchal instrument
  • Women financially dependent on their husbands: uneven power structure
  • Only when the economic dynamics of relationships are altered can women escape patriarchy
  • Key to female emancipation = economic independence
• de Beauvoir (socialist):

  • Destroy patriarchal institutions (including the family unit)
  • Women are socialised into a passive role & a clear separation is created between male breadwinners & female caregivers
  • Women should be free to reject male stereotypes to create equality
  • Men construct an idea of femininity to serve their economic ends; concept of a woman = social construction (for male benefit) 
  • Women = the ‘other’: men define women as different from the norm & so inferior, relegating them to secondary status; pervades all of society & prevents female emancipation
  • Politics of sameness
• Radical feminism key points:

  • Patriarchy is the aim of all current social structures: only way to end sexism is a complete restructuring of society (legal equality insufficient)
  • Women have a ‘false consciousness’: patriarchy imposes values and ideals which they consider their own
  • Gender = set of cultural norms/values the patriarchy constructs & imposes on women
  • Reorder society along a matriarchal basis
  • Transform the basis of society towards a celebration of feminine virtues
  • Men are both head of the household & breadwinners so exert direct economic power over their wives
• Millet (radical):

  • Patriarchy reinvents itself from one generation to the next
  • Alternative state required: political reform has failed women
  • Sex-based oppression is both political & cultural
  • Abolish family unit in favour of communes for true sexual liberation (because it socialises children into gender roles)
  • There remains covert sexism in modern society
  • ‘Personal is political’: address both spheres
  • Revolution in the domestic division of labour
  • Capitalism relies on patriarchy to maintain hierarchy
  • Glass ceiling/gender pay gap need to be addressed and removed
• Postmodern feminism key points:

  • Gender = the way we talk, present ourselves to others etc. (largely learned over time: not natural or innate)
  • Intersectionality
  • State is not one unified entity but a ‘space’ influenced by various power dynamics e.g. gender, race, class, sexuality
  • Patriarchy pervades all of society & manifests itself in different ways depending on race, class etc.
  • Revolution to eradicate intersectional oppression & social conflict
  • Critical of ‘white feminism’
  • Unpaid labour e.g. childcare, housework should be recognised & valued more & shared equally between men & women
• bell hooks (PoMo):

  • Systems of oppression can perpetuate themselves over time
  • Education/media have a role in constructing a white-supremacist-capitalist-patriarchy
  • Feminism = movement to end sexism/sexist exploitation/oppression
  • Solution to female oppression is community: can overcome race/class/gender inequalities