feminism

Question 1

first wave

Answer 1

mid 1800s

focussed on social and legal reform
fought to allow women to better educated
led mainly by middle class women called suffragettes
successful in vote, education, access to professional jobs, women’s rights to property

Question 2

second wave

Answer 2

1960s-1970s

liked to several other key movements eg civil rights, gay rights
argued personal and public life inherently patriarchal
focused on awareness of oppression, equal pay, access to contraception, equal rights in jobs and education

different types emerged - liberal, radical, marxist

Question 3

third wave

Answer 3

mid 1990s

focus on individual desires and wishes, rather than seeing all women as sharing the same experiences

focus on being able to express identity uniquely
focus on challenges traditional ideas about sexuality and gender

Question 4

fourth wave

Answer 4

2010 onwards

some debate if there is fourth wave
uses new technology - online networks of support

everyday sexism project and mumsnet

Question 5

liberal feminism concerned

Answer 5

human and civiil rights and freedoms

all humans should be equal

believe in equality legislation

seek cultural changes

Question 6

liberal feminism - sociologist arguments

Answer 6

Ann Oakley - sex is biological, gender is culturally constructed
- gender roles vary according to time and place - comparative studies eg rise of new man

Somerville - whilst women still disadvantaged in the family - women have more choice - slowly moving towards gender equality

Question 7

liberal feminism - how to improve women’s position

Answer 7

gendered socialisation and education - focus on men contributing more to domestic labour and role models within education

more law changes eg equal pay act

therefore - optimistic theory - believe that change is occurring

Question 8

liberal feminism strengths

Answer 8

positive forward looking approach to gender inequality

recognises change and equality of women with men is evidence

equality in laws - help protect women’s rights

made significant changes in legal system

Question 9

liberal feminism limitations

Answer 9

marxist feminism - overly optimistic - draws a partial picture - fails to look into experiences of women from different social classes

difference feminist - bell hooks - too focus on equality with men in own class - maintains cultural basis of group oppression - fails to look into experiences of women from different ethnic groups

radical feminists - judging their success by male standards - not acknowledging systemic nature of women’s oppression and encourages women to accept unequal society - will not change the patriarchal control

Question 10

radical feminists aims

Answer 10

patriarchy most fundamental form of inequality
- direct and personal - oppression takes place in both public and private sphere

focus on ways in which patriarchal power exercised through personal relationships

Question 11

radical feminist - sociologist arguments

Answer 11

brownmiller - domestic violence - central to male supremacy - all part of the systematic oppression of women - controls all women

firestone - roots of women’s oppression lie in the biological ability to have children - women can be emancipated through abolition of family - reproductive technology

greer - women suffer if live in same household as men - should exercise political lesbian - live in matrilocal households

Question 12

radical feminism - how to improve women’s position in society

Answer 12

sexual politics must be reformed

separatism - living apart

consciousness raising - women share experiences in group - lead to collective actions such as marches

political lesbian - only non-oppressive sexuality

Question 13

radical feminism strengths

Answer 13

did make a change - esp with women experiencing violence

personal is political - draws attention to domestic labour and marriage all have a political dimension

Question 14

radical feminism limitations

Answer 14

marxists - social class is primary form of inequality - capitalism is the cause of women’s oppression and not men

difference feminism - assumes all women are in the same position

liberal feminism - outdated - women’s position improved greatly in recent years eg men doing more domestic labour

Question 15

marxist feminism aims

Answer 15

women are source of cheap exploitable labour - reserve army of labour - reproduce the labour force and women are the takers of shit (women absorb anger)

Question 16

marxist feminism sociologist argument

Answer 16

barrett - ideology of feminism - women’s role also supports capitalism eg nuclear family where women acts as housewife - must remove expectations about role women play in family - domestic labour shared

ansley - women takers of shit - absorb anger that would be focused on capitalist bosses - suffer at frustration of husbands - why government refused to focus on domestic violence and viewed as private affair

Question 17

marxist feminism - how to improve women’s position

Answer 17

women’s interests lie in the overthrow of capitalism

overthrow the ideology of familism

Question 18

marxist feminism limitations

Answer 18

lost validity given increasing participation of women in labour market and decline of traditional housewife role - eg women now working and having children later, women being breadwinner

fails to explain women’s subordination in non-capitalist societies

makes no sense within marxist family for women to not be creating for surplus value for employers

Question 19

difference feminism aims

Answer 19

other types of feminism focus on white westernised notions of gender - women do not share all the same experiences eg w/c and upper class, lesbian and ethnic minorities

originally known as black feminism as black women rejected notion of sisterhood by white women

later expanded to address class ethnicity age disability and sexuality

Question 20

difference feminism sociologist arguments

Answer 20

bell hooks - feminism is guilty of false universality - no unified form of gender opression

Cheshire Calhoun - influenced by postmodernism - not family itself but family life within patriarchal marriages is the problem - lesbianism and mothering

Question 21

difference feminism - how to improve

Answer 21

challenge the view that nuclear family is the major form of family and celebrate diversity

understand the role of slavery and racial prejudice play in family life

celebrate diverse family structures and equality in all forms

Question 22

feminist views on role of the family

Answer 22

radical - family is oppressive institution - socialisation reinforces patriarchal ideology - mum as housewife and dad as breadwinner - reinforces power relationship - argue for political lesbianism - greer - creation of matrilocal families

liberal feminists - acknowledge positive changes eg domestic labour - patriarchal oppression is gradually becoming overcome eg sex discrimination act - socialisation by parents more equal for daughters than past

marxist feminism - women reproduce next labour force for free - ansley - takers of shit - reserve army of labour

difference feminists - we cannot generalise experiences - all live in different family structures

Question 23

feminist views on role of education

Answer 23

gendered expectations reinforced through language double-standards
Sue Lees - girls seen as slags and boys suds
Mulvey - uniform expectations - what is acceptable for girls
Textbooks depict gendered stereotypes
Francis - teacher attitudes, expectations

Question 24

role of education limitations

Answer 24

fail to recognise changes - girls outperform boys

interactionists - girls can actively resist the stereotype label being placed on them and can reject this

marxists - education socialises a class-based ideology and not patriarchal ideology

Question 25

views on the media

Answer 25

tuchmann - media symbolically annihilates women

Mulvey - women objectified and subjected to male gaze

Billington - media portrays masculinity as dominant

Question 26

views on media limitations

Answer 26

traditional feminists fail to recognise media changed and fewer stereotypes and wider range of roles available eg Lara Croft

feminists argue objectification increased - manipulation of media images to portray idealised versions of femininity and sexualisation of young girls

Question 27

views on religion

Answer 27

religion part of patriarchal structure of society - teaches to accept gender roles and be subservient

armstrong - women excluded from being priest in most religions

places of worship - women segregated and behind blinds

sacred texts - male gods, reinforce stereotypical images of women

religious laws - women have less rights than men eg access to divorce

Question 28

views of religion limitations

Answer 28

this is changing

many progressive schools within major religions now accept women as equal and give them roles in power structures eg female Rabbis in some branches of Judaism