Feminism

Question 1

What did Sylvia Walby (1990) argue in ‘Theorising Patriarchy’ (Radical feminst)

Answer 1

Describing the patriarchy as ‘a system of interrelated social structures which allow men to exploit women’, highlighting the negative perception of the partriarchy by (radical/second wave) feminists

Question 2

What are the six structures of the partiarchy

Answer 2

State
Household
Culture
Paidwork
Violence
Sexuality

Question 3

What is meant by ‘the person is political’

Answer 3

All relationships between men and women in the private or public sphere are based on power and dominance. Contrary to the idea that the public sphere (society) and the private sphere (family) should be distinguished

Question 4

What are the roles that the family plays in women’s oppression

Answer 4

-Socialises girls and boys to accept their different, hierarchichal roles. Daughters to show dependence, obedience, conformity whilst boys to be dominant, competitive and self reliant
-It socialised women into accepting the role of the housewife and believing it is there only and most fulfilling role.
-Children see their parents acting out these gender roles and therefore percieve them as innevitable
-Women are expected to carry out free domestic work even when they are carrying out paid work
-Wives are expected to cater for the emotional, sexual and physical needs of their husband
-Once married women have children, they sacrifice their career prospects and are expected to raise children at whatever cost to their paid work
-When they leave paid employment to raise children they find their previous promotion prospects gone when they return.

Question 5

What do equality feminists believe?

Answer 5

They seek equality for men and women and believe that the biological differences between men and women are inconsequential for modern society.

Question 6

What do difference feminists believe?

Answer 6

Argue that men and women are fundamnetally different and that there are essential, biological differences between men and women

Question 7

What do difference feminists propose?

Answer 7

Aim to highlight the differences between men and women, rather than encouraging women to deny their destinctiveness in order to ‘be like men’. By celebrating female’s unique qualities and differences they will create a more female orientated culture.

Question 8

What is difference feminists perspective on equality feminists?

Answer 8

Argue that they have encouraged women to deny their own nature which only alienates them from themselves. Froming a ‘malde identified’ society and perpetuating a feeling of ‘otherness’ for women.

Question 9

What is the equality feminst perspective on difference feminism?

Answer 9

Argue that suggesting that women has a passive, caring nature takes women back hundreds of years and undermines all the progress that the women’s movement has made.

Question 10

What is ‘intersectionality’

Answer 10

Challenged the notion that gender was the sole determinant of a women’s fate, other factors such as race played a part. Argued that black and working-class women’s experience of the patriarchy was different to that of white, middle-class women.

Question 11

What politcal concern was assosciated with Liberal feminism

Answer 11

Suffrage. The assumption was that once women had a vote, they would have a voice and politicians would need to listen to them if they wanted to be elected.

After suffrage was achieved their aim became equality in all areas of law.

Question 12

What are the two specic types of equality that liberal feminists advocate for?

Answer 12

Legal equality - no one is above the law
Political equality - equal right to vote and protest

Question 13

How do liberal feminists believe gender inequality should be overturned?

Answer 13

They are ‘reformist’ - believing that gender imbalance can be tackled through democratic pressure

Question 14

Detail how liberal feminists believe change will be created

Answer 14

-Democratic pressure
-Once barriers to workplace have been removed, women will enter all areas of industry
-When women start doing traditionally men’s jobs society will accept that there is no industry that women cannot work in
-The more young girls see more women in all types of jobes and positions of authority, the sooner gender stereotypes will disappear

Question 15

What is the liberal feminist opinion of the private sphere?

Answer 15

Rejects it and the idea that the patriarchy is a pervasive system of oppression, instead highlighting discrimination against women.

Question 16

How did Engels argue that women serve the needs of capitalism?

Answer 16

-Capitalism needs workers to be supported and looked after by unpaid helpers to help them carry out a proper days work
-Socialising children into becoming the next generations of workers and carers that capitalism needs
-Reserve army of labour, women constitute a spare workforce that can be called upon when needed
-Ensuring paternity due to capitalism being based on the accumulation of private property (meaning women must remain virgins until marriage and monogomous throughout marriage)

Question 17

What did Engels suggesting about the movement of a matriarchal society to a patriarchal one?

Answer 17

That it coincided with capitalism.

Question 18

How do Socialist feminists propose to solve gender inequality

Answer 18

Communal childcare practices therefore reducing the burden of housework and domestic responsibilities, liberating women

Question 19

What do Socialist feminists believe the source of the patriarchy is?

Answer 19

Capitalism

Question 20

What is the difference between traditional and modern socialists feminists?

Answer 20

Traditional prioritise class over gender modern sees the patriarchy and capitalism as interlocking systems of oppression, suggesting that the patriarchy could survive the collapse of capitalism

Question 21

How did Juliet Mitchell (Modern Socialist Feminism) crticise Marx and Engels (Traditional Socialist Feminism)

Answer 21

-Disagreed with their belief that women’s oppression was nothing more than an extention of the bourgeois family
-Arguing that the family was an independent source of oppression as it keeps women hidden away and dependent on their husbands financially

Question 22

How does Mitchell (Modern Socialist Feminists) argue that women are oppressed?

Answer 22

In four ways
-Reproduction
-Sexuality
-Socialisation of children
-Production

Argues that whilst capitalism is responsible for some of these, the others are unrelated. Only when all four areas are transformed will women be free.

Question 23

What is the solution for Modern Socialist Feminists

Answer 23

Women should fight both capitalism and the patriarchy to establish a classless society, where men and women can work together as equals.

Question 24

What do radical feminists propose as the solution?

Answer 24

A sexual revolution, fundamentally changing the strucuture and nature of society

Question 25

How do radical feminists define society?

Answer 25

As purely patriarchcal. Seeing gender inequality as the foremost system of oppression and the patriarchy as an idependant system of oppression.

Question 26

What actions from the state could help reduce inequality according to Radical feminists?

Answer 26

-Outlawing pornography -Harsher punishment for domestical violence, rape and other crimes primarily against women

Question 27

How do radical feminists believe society treats women?

Answer 27

As the property of their husbands, women are socialised into believing having sexual desires is unfeminine - being 'sexual acceptors' and criticised from men and women if they sought pleasure from sexual activity.

Question 28

How do feminists differ on human nature?

Answer 28

Feminsts are divided on human nature, equality feminists believe that the natures of men and women are the same. Difference feminists fundamentally disagree believing men and women have fundamentally different natures stemming from biology

Question 29

What do Radical feminists believe about the state?

Answer 29

Disagree with the liberal view of the state (to ensure equality of opportunity between the sexes) believing that providing an equal, legal framework is insufficient to overthrow the patriarchy, arguing that the state primarlily promotes the interests of the patriarchy. Believe that the state has a role to play in both the public and private sphere: outlawing pornorgraphy, ensuring stronger punishment for crimes against women

Question 30

What do Socialist feminists believe about the state?

Answer 30

Suggest that the state works in the interests of capitalism and thus the partiarchy.

Question 31

What do Liberal feminists believe the states role is?

Answer 31

Operate in the public sphere ensuring equality of opportunity and outlawing discrimination.

Question 32

What do all feminists agree on?

Answer 32

All agree that women are not treated equally within society

Question 33

How do postmodern feminists criticise mainstream feminism

Answer 33

Argue that it focuses in the experience of the partiarchy for white middle class women, and disregards the idea that the patriarchy is experienced differently for different class, religions and races of women. Argue that the generalisation of a 'women' is problematic and women should understand eachothers cultures whilst deciding what feminism means to them based on their own values and expereinces rather than fitting into the umbrella term level of feminsim, which promotes the interests of white middle class women and ignore the concerns of minority groups of women.

Question 34

What is the socialist feminist view of the economy?

Answer 34

Believe that the economy is key determinant of female oppression. That capitalism in the economic sphere, not the patriarchy determines the nature of female oppression in society. Modern socialists believe that there is an interplay between capitalism and the patriarchy.

Question 35

What strand is Charlotte Gilman?

Answer 35

Socialist feminism

Question 36

What are the key ideas of Charlotte Gilman?

Answer 36

-To be free women need economic independance -Gender stereotyping is wrong

Question 37

What did Gilman believe about sex and domestic economics?

Answer 37

-Sex and domestic economics go hand in hand, for women to survive they are reliant in their sexual assets to please there husband so that he would financially support their family

Question 38

How did Gilman argue that women were forced to conform to their domestic role

Answer 38

-From childhood, they are prepared for motherhood and a domestic role through toys that are marketed to them and clothes designed for them

Question 39

What solutions did Gilman present to fix Gender inequality

Answer 39

-No difference in what young girls and boys wear and no difference in the toys they play with and what activities they do -Economic independence as most essential, arguing that motherhood should not prevent a woman from working outside home -Construction of communal housing that would be open to men and women, allowing individuals to live singly and still have companionships and comforts of a home. This would allow men and women to be economically independent and women to be freed from their role as domestic slaves.

Question 40

What were Simone de Bevoir's key ideas?

Answer 40

-Women are taught and socialised into becoming 'women' -Otherness

Question 41

What is 'otherness'?

Answer 41

The idea that women were considered to be fundamentally different who were seen as the norm, women were seen to be deviating from the norm

Question 42

Give a quote from Simone De Beauvoir

Answer 42

'One is not born, but rather becomes a women'

Question 43

How did Simone De Beavoir percieve motherhood?

Answer 43

-Called motherhood a way of turning women into slaves as they were forced to focus on motherhood and femininity instead of politics, technology or anything home and family.

Question 44

How did De Beavoir argue that the idea of 'otherness' had affected women?

Answer 44

Argued that women have internalised and accepted otherness - not only had it been imposed upon them by men but women had also come to accept it themselves. Making them, not only inferior in the eyes of men, but also in the eyes of themselves. Women have to first become conscious of their domination before they could struggle against it.

Question 45

What was De Beavoirs criticism of the women's movement?

Answer 45

Argued that it has done some good but also that women should not reject the idea of becoming part of a man's world and taking on 'masculine' qualities. Arguing that the idea of a 'women's nature' was an example of further oppression

Question 46

What type of feminism did Simone Debeavoir belong to?

Answer 46

Equality feminist

Question 47

What are Kate Millet's key ideas

Answer 47

-The family is the key tool of the patriarchy -Socialisation gives men power, and denies women power

Question 48

Give a quote from Kate Millett

Answer 48

'Because of our social circumstances, male and female are two cultures and their life experiences are utterly different'

Question 49

What did Kate Millett argue in her book Sexual Politics

Answer 49

-Argued that the traditional family was the patriarchy's key institution as a mirror of a larger society, a patriarchal unit within a patriarchal whole. Where young girls are taught 'their place' in relation to their brothers and where they learned about the hierarchical relationship between their mother and father. -The patriarchy granted the father nearly total ownership over his wife and children, the status as his property continued through the loss of her name and the legal assumption that marriage involved an exchange of women's domestic service and sexual consent in return for financial support. -Attacked monogomous love and called for an end to monogomous marriage and the family. Proposed that a sexual revolution would bring the patriarchy to an end.

Question 50

What strand did Kate Millett belong to?

Answer 50

Radical Feminism

Question 51

What were Sheila Rowbotham's key ideas?

Answer 51

-Women are oppressed economically and culturally -Capitalism and Sexism are closely linked

Question 52

What did Rowbotham argue about sexism in relation to capitalism?

Answer 52

-Argue that the origins of sexism predate capitalism

Question 53

How did Rowbotham argue that women's liberation could be achieved?

Answer 53

-Achieved by a 'revolution within a revolution', arguing that capitalism and sexism are so closely linked that the only way to destroy both was a radical change in the 'cultural conditioning' of humanity regarding: child bearing, homes, laws and the workplace

Question 54

What did Rowbotham say about the nature of women's oppression?

Answer 54

Argued that women are 'doubly opressed' as capitalism oppressed not only the proletariat but also women. This forces women to sell their labour in order to survive, but also forces them to use their labour to support their husbands and children.

Question 55

How did Rowbotham argue that capitalism related to the family?

Answer 55

-Maintained that the domestic work done by women allowed the reproduction of men's labour -However, also claimed that the family was not just an instrument for disciplining and subjecting women to capitalism, but was a place where men took refuge from alienation under capitalism

Question 56

What strand did Sheila Rowbotham belong to?

Answer 56

(Modern) Socialist Feminism

Question 57

What strand did bell hooks belong to?

Answer 57

Post modern feminsim

Question 58

What were bell hooke's key ideas?

Answer 58

-Mainstream feminism excludes the concerns of women of colour -Solidarity is important, between genders, races and classes