🔹Feminism Arguments

Question 1

Name the three types of feminism and one example of each

Answer 1

1) radical feminists (Greer)
2) Liberal feminists (Somerville)
3) Marxist feminists (Fran Ansley)

Question 2

Why do feminists dislike traditional family life?

Answer 2

Because it’s presented as the ‘ideal family’ and the nuclear family is used as an ‘ideological instrument’ so that all other family structures (SPF) seen inferior

Question 3

What does Jess Bernard suggest?

Answer 3

Marriage is much more beneficial for men than women as the family is patriarchal

Question 4

What do radical feminists argue that the nuclear family ignores, give statistics

Answer 4

• the ‘dark side of the family’
• BCS states domestic violence counts for 1/6 of all violent crime
• 1/4 women experience DV at some point
• 1/6 man experience DV at some point

Question 5

What does Devault state to positively evaluate radical administrators?

Answer 5

Devault 1991 showed women performed invisible work e.g organising family meals

Question 6

What did Warner find (2005) to positively evaluate radical feminism?

Answer 6

He showed that home based mother’s work 100 hours a week

Question 7

What did Marsden and Duncombe argue to positively evaluate radical feminism?

Answer 7

Women work the triple shift, carrying out the emotional work, going out to work and doing the house work

Question 8

Name a liberal feminist criticism for radical feminism

Answer 8

They show how there have been improvements to women e.g 70% of women now work in the UK showing all men do not oppress al women

Question 9

What does Somerville recognise?

Answer 9

That significant progress has been made in public and private life for women e.g 70% of women now work in the uk

Question 10

What do liberal feminists such as Somerville focus on?

Answer 10

Focus on making several small policy changes in the law as it would resist revolutionary change

Question 11

How do difference feminists criticise liberal feminists?

Answer 11

They argue that liberal feminism in an ethnocentric view as it only reflect the experiences of mainly white, middle class women

Question 12

Name a criticism of Somerville’s studies?

Answer 12

Her work is based on a secondary analysis of previous works and is therefore now back up by empirical (scientific) evidence

Question 13

How do radical feminists criticise Somerville?

Answer 13

Radical feminists such as Delphy, Leonard and Green argue that Somerville fails to deal with the patriarchal culture in contemporary family life

Question 14

What is the main argument by Marxist feminists?

Answer 14

Women are exploited by both capitalism and patriarchy

Question 15

What does Marxist Feminist Fran Ansley suggest about women and capitalism?

Answer 15

Argues that men are angered by capitalism and women absorb this anger as the ‘takers of shit’

Question 16

What does Marxist Feminist Margaret Benston suggest about women and capitalism?

Answer 16

Capitalism benefits from an army of women (unpaid workforce) who have been socialised into being compliant.

Question 17

Name the famous quote said by Benston

Answer 17

“The large amount of unpaid labour performed by women is very large and very profitable to those who own the means of mass production

Question 18

Name the statistic from the UK 2000 times survey about paid housework

Answer 18

If housework was paid it would cost the economy £700 billion which is 3/4 of the current wages paid for

Question 19

How does Hakim criticise Marxist feminism?

Answer 19

Her preference theory states that some women are not as oppressed as feminists claim and like domestic life e.g the triple shift

Question 20

Name a general criticism of Marxist feminism

Answer 20

Only has emphasis on the nuclear family ignoring diversity

Question 21

Name the % of women that do housework each day compared to men

Answer 21

Women= 92%
Men= 77%

Question 22

What does Leighton argue about the oppression of women?

Answer 22

That financial dominance and decision making only fall on women if men are unemployed

Question 23

What did Pahl (1994) state about women and spending?

Answer 23

If there are financial problems women are the most likely to make cutbacks e.g food/clothes

Question 24

What did Edgell say about middle class women?

Answer 24

Edgell 1980 said that middle class women rely on men for decision making

Question 25

According to the General Survey how many hours a week do women do compared to men?

Answer 25

Women= 56 hours
Men= 31 hours

Question 26

Why can’t you generalise the view of feminism?

Answer 26

Because feminism is not a united theory as it is fragmented into subgroups such as liberal and radical feminists with different beliefs

Question 27

What does Marxist feminist David Cooper say about the family?

Answer 27

It is ‘an ideological conditioning device in an exploitive society’

Question 28

What do radical feminists delphy and Leonard argue about women and oppression

Answer 28

Material factors cause women’s oppression as they criticise ‘labour relations in which men benefit from, and exploit the work of women and sometimes their children’.

Question 29

Name one argument advocated by Laura Purdy

Answer 29

According to an American study quoted by purdy men only do 20% of housework despite female employment making it difficult for women to compete in the labour environment and fight for greater equality