Feminism

• Feminism is a structural conflict theory that suggests society is based on patriarchy - the exploitation of women by men
• Feminists think sociology is malestream - it is dominated by male sociologists who often overlook or ignore the female perspective
• Interestingly, though feminists say sociology is malestream, girls are more likely to study it at A-Level than boys
• The first wave of feminism focused on political equality with the suffragists and suffragettes
• Second wave feminism focused on social and economic equality with policies like the equal pay act and sex discrimination act
• Third wave feminism focused on intersectionality and equality between women
• Fourth wave feminism focuses on empowering women and utilising technology, eg #MeToo
• Liberal feminism aims to tackle inequality through law and reforms
• There have been many changes to the law, suggesting liberal feminism has seen success
• Critics argue liberal feminism is too optimistic and there is still a massive amount of inequality in society
• Marxist feminists say patriarchy is embedded into capitalism and that women are victims of both
• Benson says women are kept out of the workforce to server as a reserve army of labour to be released or restrained depending on the economy
• Ansley says women absorb men's frustrations under capitalism
• Delphy and Leonard say women perform unpaid labour in the form of housework and childcare that benefits their husbands and capitalism - that would not be as beneficial to the economy if it were paid
• There have been positive changes in the workplace and though slowly, the pay gap is narrowing
• Radical feminists say patriarchy is ingrained in society and only total reform can free women
• Radical feminists argue recent changes in society are only tokenistic and cover up the continued oppression of women
• Political lesbianism suggests women should be separate from men
• Radical feminists ignore the progress that has been made, and that women's lives are considerably better and freer than they were 100 years ago
• Marxist feminism may be called duel systems feminism, which just means both patriarchy and capitalism exploit women
• Intersectional feminists argue different women experience oppression differently and seek to study intersectional groups
• By studying specific smaller groups, intersectional feminism may weaken feminism overall or not be widely applicable
• Oakley introduced feminist interviewing which sought to form a rapport with women and be empathetic and offer advice
• Oakley believes sociologists should offer help where needed, not remain detached from subjects
• Feminist interviewing may be subject to interviewer bias
• Feminism has been successful in the west, but elsewhere in the world women are still severely oppressed
• Feminism may be seen as fragmented and unable to fully agree on goals and methods, limiting its impact
• Walby says there are six structures of patriarchy.
• The state is male dominated, so laws will favour men and their interests
• Men are physically violent and intimidate women to maintain power
• Even today women still complete most unpaid labour in the house
• In paid work, women still earn less than men
• Women's sexuality is stigmatised while men's sexuality is celebrated - women are sluts, men are players
• Culture and media reinforces women as having lower status