Theories on the family - Feminism Flashcards
Liberal feminism - argument overview
Are concerned with campaigning against sex discrimination and for equal rights and opportunities for women. → hold similar view to march of progress
Liberal feminism argument
- Argue oppression is gradually being overcome due to a societal shift in attitudes → illustrated by changes in legislation ie 1970 sex discrimination act
- Believe we are moving towards greater equality
full equality will depend on further reforms → in socialisation patterns of both sexes / attitudes - Some studies illustrate that parents now socialise sons and daughters more equally than in the past and have similar aspirations for them. - illustrating the progress made
Marxist feminism - argument over view
Argues the main cause of women’s oppression in the family is not men but capitalism -
Women perform these functions for capitalism
Marxist feminism - argument
- Reproduce labour force - through their unpaid domestic labour socialising children whilst maintaining and serving the current generation of workers
- Women absorb anger - absorb the anger that otherwise would be directed at capitalism Ansley ‘takers of shit’ absorbing husbands anger about alienation and exploitation at work
- Women are a reserve army of cheap labour - when extra workers are needed they are taken on but when not needed are let go and made to go back to primary role of housewife
What do marxist feminists argue the reasons for women domestic violence?
Capitalism
What do Marxist Feminists think would resolve the issues?
Therefore they view the oppression of women in the family linked to the exploitation of the WC
Argue that family must be abolished at the same time as the socialist revolution replaces capitalism with a classless society.
Radical feminism - argument overview
Argue that all societies have been founded on patriarchy - rule by men
They believe the key divisions in society are between men and women
Radical feminism argument
- Men are the enemy - source of women’s oppression and exploitation
- Family and marriage are key institutes - Men benefit from women’s unpaid domestic labour and from their sexual services
→ men dominate women through domestic and sexual violence or the threat of it
Radical feminism –> solution
They believe the patriarchal system needs to be overturn - such as the family they believed needs to be abolished as it is the root of womens oppression
* Argue the only solution is ‘separatism’ → women must live independent of men
* Many argue for ‘political lesbianism’
GREER - argues for the creation of all female (matrilocal) households seen as alternative to the heterosexual family
Evaluation of radical feminism
SOMERVILLE - radical feminists fail to recognise that women’s position has improved considerably - better access to job, control over their own fertility and able to choose to marry or cohabit → also argues heterosexual attraction makes separatism not possible
- Recognises the fact that full equality is not achieved and argues there is a need for more family friendly policies such as more flexible working → to allow greater equality in partnership
Difference feminism
- Argue that we cannot generalise women’s experiences.
- They argue that lesbian and heterosexual, white and black women , WC and MC women all have different experiences of family life to each other
- Such as, generalisations regarding the family purely negative
White feminists → neglect black women’s experience of racial oppression
Black feminists → view the black family positively as a source of support and resistance against racism
difference feminism evaluation
Other feminists argue that difference feminism neglects the fact that all women share many of the same experiences → all face risk of domestic violence and sexual assault, low pay etc
