3.5 - Feminism

• What is feminism?

  • studying society from the perspective of women
• What are the waves of feminism?

  1. Wave One - linked to the suffragette movement
  2. Wave Two - linked to the civil rights movement in America
  3. Wave Three - new generations of feminists that campaign about the differences between men and women
• What are the characteristics of feminism?

  • It is a conflict theory - conflict between men and women in society
  • Most or all existing societies are patriarchal
  • Explain what should be done about inequalities against men and women
• How do feminists critique sociology?

  1. There has been more research conducted about men
  2. Particular concern to women has been neglected
  3. Women are often presented in sexist ways in research
  4. When females are in research, they are just added existing variables
• Liberal Feminism -

  • oakley distinguishes between sex and gender
  • Sex - your biological makeup
  • Gender - what you socially regard yourself to be
• What is the Enlightenment Project?

  liberal feminists recognise the successive progress towards gender inequality

  1. Changes in socialisation and culture - gradually leading towards more rational attitudes towards gender
  2. Political action - bringing progress into society in which gender is no longer important
• Evaluation of liberal feminism -

  1. Have been influential in some change - equal pay/opportunities act
  2. radical feminists argue that LF have not completely eradicated gender inequality. Need to resort to medical tech
  3. Limited success in poorer countries
• What is radical feminism?

  firestone

  1- PATRIARCHY - the origins lie in women's biological capacity and care for infants. All men oppress women, all men benefit from patriarchy}

  2 - PERSONAL IS THE POLITICAL - focus on the way in which patriarchal power is exercised through personal relationships (sexual/physical violence)

  3 - ACHIEVING WOMEN'S LIBERATION - seperatism (living apart from men and creating new independence), political lesbianism
• Evaluation of radical feminism -

  • Has been beneficial in challenging oppression of women by focusing on role of violence
  • Liberal argue they do not focus on women being less oppressed
  • Exaggerate that all women are the same (ethnicity/class)
• What is marxist feminism?

  • Barret
  • capitalism is the main cause of oppression, capitalism benefits from female oppression
• What do women provide (marxist feminism)?

  • provide cheap, exploitable labour
  • are a reserve army of labour
  • reproduce labour force
  • absorb anger
• What is the ideology of familism?

  • Barret believes the ideology in society from birth and 'brainwashes' women to believe the sexual division of labour and their position is 'natural' and 'normal'
• How to achieve women's liberation?

  • ACHIEVING WOMEN'S LIBERATION - overthrow capitalism, overthrow ideology of familiasm
• Evaluation of marxist feminism -

  • women work in more higher paid jobs then men due to participation in the workplace
  • fails to explain gender inequality in non-capitalist societies
  • other factors such as violence are more important in feminism
• What is difference/black feminism?

  • do not see women as a single homogenous group - differences of class, ethnicity and sexuality all lead to different experiences of patriarchy
  • argue previous feminists claim 'false universality' - only about experiences of white, middle class, hetero women
  • ESSENTIALISM - criticising other feminists as seeing women as all essentially the same
• Evaluation of difference/black feminism -

  • draws attention to the fact not all women have the same interest
  • Have been accused of over emphasising the differences between women based on ethnicity at the expense of age, class, sexuaility
• What is poststructuralist feminism?

  • butler
  • discourses (ways of seeing, speaking and feeling) are what cause oppression
  • butler is highly critical of the way white, western, middle class women have taken over feminism
  • ANTI-ESSENTIALISM - no fixed essence on what it is to be a woman because identities are constructed through diff discourses
• Evaluation of postmodern feminism -

  • Walby criticises for neglecting the shared interests of women (many still experience effect of patriarchy)
  • criticised for neglecting important areas such as male violence
  • performativity - male and women body language has an effect