Feminism Flashcards
(18 cards)
What is the main goal of Socialist feminism?
Abolishing capitalism would liberate women
What are the different branches in feminism?
- Socialist
- Radical
- Post-Modern
- Liberal
What are the main views of Liberal feminists?
- All individuals should be equally free and have the same opportunities.
- They support legal and political reforms to achieve true gender equality.
- Believe in reform over revolution.
Mary Wollstonecraft
- Liberal Feminist
- “I do not wish them (women) to have power over men; but over themselves.”
Betty Friedan
- Liberal Feminist
- “We need to see men and women as equal partners.”
What are the key issues/principles in Feminism?
- Sex & Gender
- Patriarchy
- The Personal is Political
- Equality vs Difference
- Intersectionality
What are the main views of Socialist Feminism?
- Collective velief that society is patriarchal in both the private and public spheres.
- Believe in revolution over reform, because reform is not enough.
- See the traditional family as maintaining gender inequalities.
- Women are socialised to be passive and nurturing from a young age.
- CPG, Sheila Rowbotham, Simone de Beauvoir
What are the main views of Post Modern Feminism?
- Third Wave
- Reject the idea that there is a single, universal experience of being a woman.
Gender Inequality
- All feminists agree that gender inequality is present across society.
Liberals:
- Reformist approach
- Focus on achieving gender equality through gradual change.
- Right to vote, equal access to education and equal political representation.
Socialist:
- Focus on eradication and abolishing capitalism.
- Believe that revolution is necessary for gender oppresion to be removed.
Radical:
- Believe that true gender equality requires a fundamental restructuring of society.
- Patriarchal systems are deeply embedded, requiring revolution.
Post-Modern:
- Believed that to truly tackle gender inequality and oppression, all voices and perspectives must be heard.
Sex & Gender
- Feminists challenge the idea that the traditional gender roles and stereotypes are natural.
- Feminists argue that gender is a social construct, reinforced from a young age.
- The vast majority of feminists (equality) believe that the biological differences between men and women are insignificant.
Gender differences are determined by societal conditioning.
Liberals:
- Reject the idea that gender inequality is biologically determined
Socialist:
- Also reject the idea that gender inequality was biologically determined.
Radicals:
- Also emphasised how socialisation and the portrayal of women forced women into subordinate positions in society, rather than being natural.
Post-Modern:
- Go even further, saying that gender is socially constructed.
Difference Feminism
- Most feminists are equality feminists
- Difference feminists were a small group in the 1980s.
- They believe that men and women have fundamentally different biologically determined natures.
- Many of these difference feminists consider themselves radical feminists.
- Difference feminists argue that women are more naturally nurturing and empathetic than men.
Patriarchy
- Liberals focus on legal reforms
- Socialists focus on class exploitation
- Radicals view gender oppression as a distincy susyem of oppression that defines all of society.
Liberals:
- Focus on securing equality in the public sphere, through legal and political changes.
Socialist:
- Society must be completely transformed.
- Gender inequality is strongly linked to capitalism.
Post Modern:
- Opprpession is wide spread
- They critique the traditional concept of patriarchy by rejecting the notionof a single, overarching system of male dominance.
The personal is political
- A key stage in radical feminism.
- The idea challenged the traditional separation of the private and publci spheres.
- It asserted that issues within the private sphere, such as domestic labour and power relationships between men and women within the family were political issues that need to be afdressed.
Liberals:
- Focus on the public sphere
Socialists:
- Focus on oppression within the private sphere.
Post-Modern:
- Accept the idea that women’s oppression wasn’t just in the public sphere.
Intersectionality
- Highlights how the oppression of women interact with other forms of oppression, leading to different women facing different experiences of patriarchy.
- This was heavily promoted by Post Modern Feminists
- They criticised radical and liberal feminists.
The State
Agreement:
1. That the state should be changed to promote gender equality.
Disagreement:
1. Whether the state and public sphere should be the focus in order to achieve gender equality.
2. Whether the state should be completely transformed via revolution or gradual reform.
The Economy
Agreement:
1. That the economy upholds gender inequalty
Disagreement:
1. The importance of abolishing capitalism.
2. Post-Modern disagree regarding the idea of intersectionality.
Society
Agreement:
1. That gender inequality must be challenged.
2. The importance of Societal attitudes on women’s oppression.
Disagreement:
1. How soicety should seek gender equality.
2. Private vs Public sphere
Human Nature
Agreement:
1. That human anture and gender roles are socially constructed.
Disagreement:
1. Difference vs Equality feminists
2. Post-Modern intersectionality
3. Private vs Public sphere
