Karteikarten
Strands of Feminism
Karten in diesem Stapel (17)
- 1Liberal Feminism- The original feminists of the 18th and 19th centuries
- Wollstonecraft (1792), writing at a time when women had no property or divorce rights (political and legal)
- The main issue for Liberal Feminists at the time was gaining the vote
- It was believed that the vote would lead to liberal rights for women
- It would pacify politics and make it less aggressive and competitive
- It would put an end to sexual oppression
- Would counter the left wing militancy of working class men
- This conditioning was to be challenged through "consciousness raising"
- Discussion and education made women aware of their oppression - 2Liberal Feminism (continued)- During the "second wave" of feminism in the 1960s, concern over the lack of women in the public sphere continued
- Liberal Feminists like Frieden maintained that domestic work kept women out of the workplace, public life and politics and led to drudgery, alcoholism, depression, despair and subordination
- Aimed to remove social and legal barriers to equality that still existed
- Particularly concerning education and careers
- Opposed to abolishing the public/private divide
- Believed that women had natural impulses that make them lean towards family, home and children. Motherhood should be valued; still pro choice tho (with regards to abortion) - 3Critique of Liberal FeminismRadical Critique
- It has failed; men still dominate positions of power
- The public/private divide is artificial. Domestic work and domestic violence, for instance, are political issues
- The individualism of Liberal Feminism draws attention away from the gender divide and patriarchy. Women are subjugated as a sex, not as individuals
- The stress on "personhood" limits the possibility of "sisterhood"
- Denies the importance the importance of gender, allowing "male" attributes to be imposed on women. Equality means male equality - 4Critique of Liberal Feminism (continued)Socialist Critique
- It only benefits educated, middle class women; other women are unable to compete with men in the public sphere e.g. working class women, women from the developing world
- The state and capitalism actively support the social domination of both men and the dominant social classes - 5Difference Feminism- A strand of radical feminism
- Believe that there are essential differences between men and women
- Biological differences cause social and cultural characteristics
- In this respect it is similar to chauvinist or patriarchal ideology, but difference feminists believe these differences make women superior
- they believe that women should strive to be "fulfilled women" or "women identified" rather than like men - 6Postmodern Feminism (Critique of Difference Feminism)- Criticise difference feminism as biology is not clear cut
- There is biological gradation between men and women e.g. mixed sex individuals, non-fertile women and men etc
- Sex and gender are interchangeable - 7Socialist Feminism- Opposes Liberal Feminism because of its support for capitalism and a class based society
- Socialist feminist believe that women are oppressed by men and capitalism
- Female oppression was seen as serving the interests of capitalism
- The purpose of domestic labour was to produce the next generation of workers, but capitalists were not paying for this, so were getting two workers for the price of one
- Domestic work was unpaid, thus undervalued. The "wages for housework" campaign of the 1970s sought to remedy this problem - 8Socialist Feminism (continued)- Men were freed from childcare and housework so they could concentrate their energies more on paid work and thus be more efficient workers
- The existence of the "bourgeois family" encouraged men to seek paid employment (and long hours) as otherwise they would be unable to keep a family
- The "bourgeois family" provided compensation for men; they might be a "wage slave" at work, but they are a "master" at home
- Housewives were often used as a reserve army of labour
- Most women were temporary or part-time workers
- A revolutionary change was needed to destroy the family - 9Problems for Socialist Feminism- Which form of oppression is the most important - that of social class or that of gender?
- A socialist revolution is needed to end this oppression. Thus the wider labour movement is more important than the women's movement
- Other socialist feminists have seen a range of factors, such as cultural, social and political ones as being of equal importance - 10Radical Feminism- Believe that gender is the most important division in society
- Patriarchy exists in many areas: Political, public life (culture, philosophy, morality, language and knowledge), economy, social, personal (family), sexual, reproduction, religious
- Patriarchy is thus systematic, institutionalised and pervasive. It is a process of gender oppression leading to the subordination and inferiority of women - 11Radical Feminism (continued)- Sees women's oppression as the most important form of oppression
- Women have a common interest as a gender
- The personal is political
- Radical Feminists have developed a varied range of ideas since the 1960s - 12Radical Feminists Greer, The Female Eunuch (1971)- The stereotype of "femininity" has kept women subordinate. Women have been conditioned to a passive sexual role and their true sexuality which is more outgoing and adventurous has been suppressed. Women are thus "socially castrated"
- 13Radical Feminists Millet, Sexual Politics (1970)- Patriarchy has existed throughout history an across all economies and religions
- It has been constant and pervasive
- This is because boys and girls are conditioned from an early age to conform to specific gender identities
- This comes mostly within the family, but also throughout society - 14Radical Feminists Firestone, The Dialect of Sex (1970)- Considered biology important in the oppression of women. Child bearing led to sexual division of labour which then led women to be dependent upon men and the biological family
- Contreception, abortion and child rearing by the state or community would lead to gender equality
- Gender differences should be diminished and eventually abolished
- Women are equal to men, and humans are naturally androgynous, but social conditioning and/or biology have prevented this - 15Difference Feminists Dworkin, Daly and Spencer- Often seen to have minority or extremist tendencies but have developed their own critique
- They see women as being fundamentally and unalterably different to men
- Fertility and motherhood are extolled and sisterhood embraced
- Women are superior since they are creative, caring and sensitive
- Women's characteristics may be as a result of subordination but they are still valuable and show the way ahead. Feminine qualities of caring and co-operation are celebrated
- Patriarchy is biological; men are naturally oppressors of women - they from an oppressive sex class that is aggressive, dominating and destructive
- To be free, women must engage in feminist separatism - 16Difference Feminists: Brownmiller, Against Our Will (1976)- Men dominate women through sexual and physical abuse. Rape or the threat of rape keeps women in a state of fear
- All men benefit from rape because it causes female subordination
- Sexual equality and harmony are impossible because all female relationships are oppressive; heterosexual women cannot be liberated
- Only through political lesbianism or celibacy can women escape male oppression and be liberated - 17Critique of Difference Feminists- Mainstream feminists have criticised the latter views as the mirror image of misogyny
- Difference Feminism, in particular, is rejected by Liberal Feminists and some Radical Feminists
- For most feminists, a more unifying and egalitarian approach is still favoured
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- A Levels Sociology (Social Division) Karteikarten am Strands of Feminism, erstellt von gregory.rolfe am 02/04/2014.
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