5.3 Feminist thinkers and their ideas Flashcards
(11 cards)
1
Q
Simone De Beauvoir
What does she argue in her The Second Sex 1949 how does she use existentialism?
A
- she questioned what is a woman?
- argued men have created a feminine myth to oppress women
- De Beavoir viewed oppression through a synthesis of biological, psychological, and socialist analysis
2
Q
Simone De Beauvoir
what were her main ideas?
SG, O
A
- sex and gender: femininity was a social construct
- otherness: imposed on women by men. Male domination meant women were ‘the second sex’
3
Q
Kate Millett 1934-2017
mantra?
A
- argued against liberal feminism by stating ‘the personal is political’
4
Q
Kate Millett 1934-2017
main ideas?
F, POWIAAL
A
- Family: the family unit is the foundation of patriarchal thought, as it established gender roles from a young age. Marriage also saw women lose their surname, and identity. Millett wished to dismantle this
- portrayal of women in art and literature: women’s stereotypes were reinforced in art and literature. She branded D.H. Lawrence, Henry Miller and Norman Mailer as sexist.
5
Q
bell hooks, 1952-2021
Key work
A
Aint I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism 1981
6
Q
bell hooks, 1952-2021
main ideas?
WOC, I
A
- women of colour: she felt the debate was too focused on middle-upper class, college educated white women
- intersectionality: hooks greatly influenced this. It was coined by Kimberle Crenshaw and challenged the feminist assumption that gender was the most important factor in a woman’s life experiences.
7
Q
Charlotte Perkins Gilman 1860-1935
work?
A
the yellow wallpaper 1892
- influenced by her postnatal depression and unhappy marriage
8
Q
Charlotte Perkins Gilman 1860-1935
where did her ideas influence?
A
- the radical and socialist feminism of the 20th century
- though she thought of herself as a humanist
9
Q
Charlotte Perkins Gilman 1860-1935
main ideas?
SADP, SP, PS
A
- sex and domestic politics: sex and the capitalist economy were interlinked, women were reliant on their sexual assets to gratify their husbands. Gilman viewed marriage as comparable with prostitution
- societal pressures: gender roles are socially constructed from a young age.
- proposed solutions: economic independence and centralised nurseries, co-operative kitchens
10
Q
Sheila Rowbotham (1943-)
key work/
A
- Women’s consciousness, Man’s world 1973
11
Q
Sheila Rowbotham (1943-)
main ideas?
C, F
A
- capitalism: worsened the opression of women, forcing them to sell their labour to survive in the workplace and cede their labour in the family home
- family: family had dual function. To subject women to the demands of capitalism and to offer a place of refuge for men from the alienation of capitalism
