Feminism Flashcards
(12 cards)
How do Feminists explain the cause of social inequality?
Feminists argue that social inequality is maintained through patriarchy — a system of male dominance that controls women in both their public and private lives, reinforcing gender inequality.
How are women controlled in the public and private spheres?
In the public sphere, women face inequality through limited access to power structures (e.g. politics, law). In the private sphere, women experience control through domestic expectations, unpaid labour, and vulnerability to male violence.
How does marriage legitimise gender inequality?
Marriage, according to Feminists, reinforces male dominance by formalising male authority over women. It naturalises the idea that women should serve men emotionally, sexually, and domestically, while giving men social and legal power.
How does Dobash and Dobash’s study support the Feminist view?
Dobash and Dobash conducted in-depth interviews with women who experienced domestic violence. They found that violence often occurred when women challenged male authority or failed to meet domestic expectations — showing how patriarchal control operates in the home.
How do Feminists view traditional biological explanations of gender?
Feminists argue that social inequality is maintained through biological essentialism — the idea that gender roles are natural and based on biological differences, which justifies male dominance.
How do biological ideas reinforce patriarchal expectations?
Traditional views claim women are biologically programmed for childbearing and domestic roles, which restricts them to the private sphere. This justifies excluding women from power, careers, and leadership.
What do Radical Feminists say about biology and inequality?
Radical Feminists argue that biological assumptions prevent women from smashing the glass ceiling, as they’re expected to leave work for motherhood. From childhood, girls are socialised into domesticity via gender scripts like chores and bedroom culture.
What evidence challenges the idea that gender inequality is biological?
Feminists argue gender inequality is culturally constructed, not biological. For example, Finland has high gender equality, showing that social structures, not nature, shape opportunity — proving biology is used to justify, not explain, inequality.
Example of a country with high gender equality.
How do Feminists explain inequality through social and legal structures?
Feminists argue that social inequality is embedded in the structure of society, both legally and culturally. Even with legal reforms, gender inequality persists in everyday life.
What do Liberal Feminists say about legal change and inequality?
Liberal Feminists acknowledge that legal progress (e.g. Equal Pay Act, Sex Discrimination Act) has occurred, but claim it hasn’t eradicated cultural inequality — women still face social barriers and gendered expectations.
What cultural forces maintain gender inequality?
Society maintains inequality through dominant ideologies of family life — seen in the media, politics, and education — which normalise the unequal division of labour, the male gaze, sexual double standards, and the triple shift.
What shows that social inequality continues despite legal change?
For example, women continue to do the majority of unpaid domestic labour even when working full-time (triple shift), and are often objectified in media through the male gaze — showing law alone doesn’t dismantle deep-rooted sexism.
