14.1 - Core Ideas and Principles of Feminism (PAPER 2) Flashcards
(92 cards)
1
Q
Feminism Key Ideas
A
- Sex and Gender
- Patriarchy
- The personal is political
- Equality feminism and difference feminism intersectionality
2
Q
How many waves of feminism have existed since 1790?
A
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3
Q
Topics of Feminism Questions
A
- Human Nature
- Economy
- State
- Society
4
Q
What were the waves of feminism, and when were they active?
A
1st Wave - 1790s to 1950s (Liberal Feminism)
2nd Wave - 1960s to 1980s (Liberal, Radical, Socialist)
3rd Wave - 1990s to early 2000s (Postmodern, transfeminism)
4th Wave - early 2000s to date (Postmodern, Liberal, Radical, Trans)
5
Q
How does feminism differentiate between sex and gender?
A
Sex - Biological differences between men and women.
Gender - Gender roles of men and women that are socially constructed.
6
Q
What are the two main debates within feminism regarding sex?
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Difference feminism vs. equality feminism
Transfeminism vs. Transfeminist sceptics
7
Q
What do difference feminists argue about the differences between men and women?
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The biological differences are important.
Belief in essentialism.
8
Q
What is difference feminism?
A
Men and women are biologically and culturally different from men.
The differences need to be recognised and celebrated with women recognising they need to value their distinct gender characteristics.
9
Q
What is essentialism?
A
The idea that the biological differences in men and women lead to differences in their fundamental natures.
10
Q
What are some Misogynist conceptions of essentialism?
A
- Transgender women are not women
- Feminism should only be for ‘womyn-born-womyn’
11
Q
What is Androgyny?
A
The possession of male and female characteristics to imply that humans are sexless ‘persons’ and the differences between men and women are so minimal that they should have no impact on their role in society or economy.
12
Q
What does transsexual mean?
A
People who’s gender identity differs from the biological sex that they were classified with at birth.
13
Q
Who said “one is not born, but rather becomes a woman” and what did they mean by this?
A
Simone de Beauvoir
* gender is socially constructed by society.
14
Q
What is the Feminine Myth
A
A myth to oppress women.
- Idealised, false image of women — an image that defines women as “the Other” in relation to men.
15
Q
What are gender stereotypes?
A
Men’s and women’s roles are predetermined by society so they are socialised to behave in a certain way.
16
Q
How did de Beauvoir think the biological differences between men and women had been employed in society?
A
Biological differences were twisted by society to justify controlling women’s roles in a male-dominated world.
17
Q
What is ‘otherness’?
A
Women are treated as an inferior minority who are subordinate to men in a patriarchal society.
18
Q
Give an example of a difference feminist and what they argued
A
Gilligan
- Women have a different moral outlook, focusing on care and relationships instead of rules and justice.
- These differences are valuable and should be respected, not judged by male standards.
19
Q
Give an example of a equality feminist and what they argued
A
Gilman
- Gender roles are socially constructed from a young age, subordinating women to the will of men.
- Women are socialised into thinking they’re naturally frail and weaker than men.
20
Q
Key Ideas of Gilman
A
- The brain is not determined by sex so there’s no such thing as a “female mind” or a “male mind” by nature.
- Differences in thinking come from social conditioning, not biology.
- Because of this, Gilman supported androgyny: the idea that people shouldn’t be limited by gender stereotypes; they should develop their full human potential without being boxed into “male” or “female” roles.
21
Q
How do Kate Millett and bell hooks think social construction begin?
A
In childhood due to the family unit.
22
Q
What key ideology did first-wave feminism extend?
A
Classical liberalism.
23
Q
Who were the key authors for first-wave feminism?
A
- Wollstonecraft)
- Harriet Taylor Mill)
24
Q
Why did first-wave feminism join to classical liberalism?
A
The ideas of negative freedom would allow them to be independent (vote, be economically active etc.)
25
Who are the key authors of second-wave feminism?
- Germaine Greer
- Sheila Rowbotham
26
How did Liberal Second-Wave feminists think society could be improved?
The state should reform society and economy to allow female equality within the public sphere.
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How did radical second-wave feminists think society could be improved?
The state is part of the problem, so there would need to be radical changes to both public and private sectors.
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How did socialist second-wave feminists think society could be improved?
There would need to be revolution within a revolution. (Socialist revolution, but within a feminist revolution)
Capitalism and female oppression could both be solved through revolution.
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What was the idea that united second-wave feminism?
Women are oppressed by men (the patriarchy).
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How do liberal feminists think the patriarchy can be solved?
The patriarchy can be reformed by the state.
* Female emancipation
* Abortion
* Marriage and divorce law changes
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How do radical feminists think the patriarchy can be solved?
The patriarchy is too pervasive to be reformed, .˙., a revolution was needed.
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How did socialists feminists think the problem of patriarchy could be solved?
Female consciousness is created by men as part of the capitalist machine.
To remove the consciousness, a socialist revolution is needed.
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What is discrimination?
Treating a group or individual less favourably than another.
Women are treated less favourably than men according to feminists.
34
Define Patriarchy according to Sylvia Walby
System of social structures and practices. In which men dominate, oppress, and exploit women
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What did Sylvia Walby identify as the overlapping patriarchal structures that promoted discrimination?
* The state
* The household
* Violence
* Paid Work
* Sexuality
* Culture
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According to Walby, how was discrimination promoted by the state?
Women are underrepresented in power.
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According to Walby, how was discrimination promoted by the household?
Society conditions women to believe that their natural role is as a mother or homemaker.
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According to Walby, how was discrimination promoted by violence?
One in four women (in the UK) suffer domestic violence from men.
39
According to Walby, how was discrimination promoted by paid work?
Women are often underpaid when being in the same roles as men.
Stereotypically female careers tend to be linked to gender stereotypes of nurturing (nursing, teaching etc.)
40
According to Walby, how was discrimination promoted by sexuality?
Women are often made to feel that their sexual feelings are wrong or deviant.
41
According to Walby, how was discrimination promoted by culture?
Society reinforces the roles of women (particularly in looks)
Most media contains the male fantasy for women which pressures women to look like they see.
42
What is misogyny?
Ingrained prejudice against women
43
Why did bell hooks disagree with previous waves of feminism?
She felt they were too focused on white middle-class women as other women had been neglected by feminism.
44
What is the public sphere?
The visible area of society where relationships are public, such as the workplace and civic life.
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What is the private sphere?
The area of society where relationships are seen as private.
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What sphere of society do liberal feminists focus on?
The public sphere.
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How do liberal feminists focus on the public sphere of society?
Desire for equal pay.
Improvement of workplace conditions.
48
Why do liberal feminists choose to not focus on the private sphere?
The private life of women is outside the remit of political analysis.
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What sphere of life do radical feminists focus on?
Both public and private.
50
Why do radical feminists disagree with liberal feminists on the private sphere?
'The personal is the political'
.˙. the private sphere should be focused on.
51
Whats the Liberal Feminist conception of patriarchy?
Liberal feminists argue that discrimination (rather than patriarchy) within society and economy can be reformed by the state, and in Western society there are numerous examples: female emancipation, access to education, workplace equality, legalisation of abortion, changes in marriage and divorce laws.
52
Whats the Socialist Feminist conception of patriarchy?
Socialist feminists believe that female consciousness is created by men as part of the capitalist machine. Sheila Rowbotham concluded that women have always been oppressed and that a revolution was needed to destroy both capitalism and patriarchy.
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Whats the Radical Feminist conception of patriarchy?
Radical feminists focus on patriarchy in both the public and private spheres and believe that patriarchy is too pervasive to be reformed. Instead, there must be a revolutionary change, but revolutionary feminists have different suggestions for what that change might be.
54
Whats the Postmodern conception of patriarchy?
Bell hooks argued that feminist discussions have primarily been from a white middle-class perspective and that women of different ethnicities and socioeconomic classes were neglected by mainstream feminism.
Patriarchy operates differently due to the social characteristics of women. The nature and extent of patriarchy is therefore different for a middle-class white woman than a poor black-woman
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When do equality feminists think gender stereotyping starts?
Infancy.
56
How do equality feminists think gender stereotyping starts?
The exploitative nature of domestic roles.
Gender specific:
* Clothes
* Toys
* etc.
57
What were Millett's main points on family?
* Patriarchy granted men ownership over their wives.
* Family socialised the young - masculing authority, female marginalisation.
* Women take husband's surname to lose identity.
58
What did Millett believe about the family?
It is a social construct.
59
How did Millet define politics and why was this important for Second Wave Feminism
Defined politics as **power structued relationships**, particularly those between the sexes, arguing that patriarchy is a political institution that systematically subordinates women.
Crucial for Second Wave Feminism because it reframed gender inequality as a structural issue rather than a private matter, reinforcing the idea that "the personal is political" and inspiring feminist critiques of marriage, family, media, and work.
60
What are the two main categories to file other aspects of feminism into?
Equality
Difference
61
What category do the majority of feminists fall into?
Equality
62
What is equality feminism?
The belief that biological differences between the sexes are inconsequential.
63
Do most feminists believe in inequality feminism? If so which strands?
All
Small minority of Rad Fems that believe in difference rather than equality
64
How do Liberal feminists conceptualise equality feminism?
Liberal feminists champion legal and political equality with men, they are equality feminists. They have supported an equal rights agenda which would enable women to compete in public life on equal terms with men, regardless of sex. Equality thus means equal access to the public sphere
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How do Socialist feminists conceptualise equality feminism?
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How do Radical feminists conceptualise equality feminism?
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How do Postmodern feminists conceptualise equality feminism?
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Carol Gilligan
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70
She disgreed and agreed
71
What is difference feminism?
The belief that biological differences between the sexes are consequential.
72
Why did de Beauvoir dismiss the idea of innate female characteristics?
They are a 'myth invented by men to confine women to their oppressed state'.
73
What did de Beauvoir think would enable women to compete with men in society?
Contraceptives
Abortion
Rejection of Family
Non-monogamy
74
Where can difference feminism first be traced back to?
First-wave feminists.
75
When did difference feminism see a comeback in modern (ish) times?
1980s.
Carol Gilligan arguing that sex was one of the most important determinants of human nature.
76
Why did Gilligan think sex was important as a determinant?
Women are more naturally nurturing, caring and communal than men.
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Why did Gilligan think equality feminism was eroding womens natural natures?
Women attempted to replicate male behaviour while neglecting their own feminine natures.
78
What is cultural feminism?
A radical version of difference feminism that challenges the dominance of male culture by promoting female values.
79
How do critics argue against cultural feminism?
It is simply inverted sexism.
If the patriarchy is indefensible, then the matriarchy is similarly so.
80
What is intersectionality?
Women have multiple and overlapping identities as well as gender:
* Race
* Age
* Class
* Sexuality
* Religion
81
Who coined intersectionality?
| Quote from them
Crenshaw
"Intersectionality has given many advocates a way to frame theyr circumstances and to fight for their visibiity and inclusion"
82
What court case was relevant for the purposes of intersectionality
**DeGraffenreid v General Motors**
In 1976, five black employees sued General Motors for wrongful dismissal based on discrimination. The district court viewed discrimination through hte distinct lens of race and gender and dismissed the case because General Motors continued ot employ black men and white women. It failed ot recognise hte overlapping identities that had resulted ni black women being discriminated against.
83
Key ideas of Bell Hooks
**Women of colour:**
Hooks broadened the feminist debate as she felt it was too focused on
middle- and upper-class, college-educated white women. She focused on women of colour and all social classes.
**Intersectionality:**
Hooks' ideas greatly influenced the idea of intersectionality - a term
coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw - which chalenged the feminist assumption that gender was the most important factor ni determining a woman's life experiences.
84
What are the core principles of feminism?
Sex and Gender
Patriarchy
The Personal is Political (hmm..)
The State
Culture
85
What are the six structures of patriarchy?
Culture
State
Household
Violence
Paid Work
Sexuality
86
What is the concept of the Personal is the Political
| Who wrote it & when
Women's personal issues (e.g. sex, childcare, and women not being content with their lives at home) are political issues that need political intervention to generate change.
| Hanisch's 1969
87
How did Radical Feminist analyse personal is the political?
Keen opponents of personal is the political
Female oppresion is thought to operate in all walks of life, and to originate in the family. Radical feminists have therefore analysed 'the politics of everyday life.' This includes the process of conditioning innthe traditional family, the distribution of housework and other demostic responsibilities, and the politics of personal and sexual conduct.
88
How do postmodern feminists interpret personal is the political?
Personal experiences of women of colour, for example, have been crucial in raising the consiousness of all women.
Bell Hooks actively encouraged women to discuss their experiences, explaining how her own experiences as a Black girl left here feeling constrained by her familys view on gender
89
How do socialist feminists interpret the personal is the political?
| Rowbothams view
Link the womens roles within the traditional family to the maintenance of the capitalist economic system. Where they disagree with radical feminists is, on the political nature of oppression.
Radical feminists believe the political system that dominates society to the patriarchy - socialist feminists believe it to be capitalism
| Rowbotham: Marriage is a feudal relationship
90
Explain the Liberal Feminist view on the personal is the political
Struggle with the concept
Argue that society should concern itself with the public sphere, correcting historic discrimnation by ensuring that it is no longer upheld discrimnatory laws. If women are equal in the eyes of the law and have the same rights as men, they can fight any discrimation throufh these processes.
91
# K
Who wrote about the "problem with no name" what did this mean?
Modern housewives found their daily routine unfulfilling and unworthy of the education and independence they acquired in college and in their working years
* The widespread unhappiness of women in the 1950s and early 1960s.
| Kate Millet
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