theory and methods - feminism Flashcards
(25 cards)
1
Q
What are the four main approaches in feminism?
A
- liberal feminism
- radical feminism
- marxist feminism
- intersectional feminism
2
Q
What are the main concerns of liberal feminists?
A
- they are concerned with the human and civil rights and freedoms of the individual
- all humans should be equal and therefore all men and women should be equal
3
Q
How do liberal feminists argue change should be?
A
- gradual and careful, not rash or revolutionary
- equal legislation can secure equal opportunities for women
4
Q
What are the key distinctions Ann Oakley makes between sex and gender?
A
- sex = refers to the biological difference between men and women - fixed
- gender = refers to culturally constructed differences between the ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’, transmitted across the generations via gender role socialisation - socially constructed
5
Q
What are the key areas of change for liberal feminists?
A
- gendered socialisation and education
- over time, this will encourage cultural change and that gender equality will become the norm
6
Q
How can liberal feminists be critiqued?
A
- they have been critiqued for being overly optimistic, regarding laws as having the potential to ‘fix’ prejudices and change attitudes
- they ignore the fact that there may be deep seated structural causes of women’s oppression
7
Q
When did radical feminism emerge?
A
- in the 1970s
8
Q
What is the key concept of radical feminism?
A
- patriarchy = men control and hold power over women
9
Q
What does Firestone argue?
A
- the roots of women’s oppression lie in the biological ability of women to have children - this makes women dependent on men
10
Q
What do radical feminists argue about the patriarchy?
A
- it is direct and personal - oppression takes place in the public sphere of the workplace, etc as well as in the private sphere of the family
11
Q
What do radical feminists suggest about relationships between men and women?
A
- they are rife with sexual politics
- all relationships involve power and they are political when one person uses this power to dominate another
12
Q
What did Brownmiller (1976) argue?
A
- fear of rape is a powerful control over women’s behaviour
13
Q
What did Rich argue?
A
- that men force women into a narrow and unsatisfying ‘compulsory heterosexuality’ which becomes the only socially acceptable form of sexuality
14
Q
What strategies do radical feminists offer?
A
- separatism = men and women living apart
- consciousness raising = when women share experiences in groups, they see that they are not alone - this may lead to collective action, e.g. marches
- political lesbianism = lesbianism is he only non-oppressive sexuality
15
Q
How have radical feminists been critiqued?
A
- it offers no explanation of why female subordination takes different forms in different societies
- they overlook women’s violence towards men and violence within lesbian relationships
16
Q
What are the main ideas of marxist feminists?
A
- they see women’s subordination as a result of capitalism
- although men benefit from women’s subordination, the main beneficiary is capitalism
17
Q
What are the ways in which female subordination serves an important function for capitalism?
A
- women are the source of cheap exploitable labour - they can be paid less because it can be assumed that they are dependent on their husbands
- women are a reserve army of labour
- women reproduce the labour force
- women absorb anger
18
Q
What are the strengths of liberal feminism?
A
- LF research has produced much evidence demonstrating that gender differences are socially constructed, through prejudice and discrimination generated by the socialisation process and the legal and political system
- it has had important effects on social policy, with the passing of anti-discrimination laws like the Equal Pay Act, and has done much to change traditional attitudes and improve women’s lives and opportunities
19
Q
What are the weaknesses of liberal feminism?
A
- it doesn’t challenge the fundamental causes of women’s subordination
20
Q
What are the criticisms of marxist feminism?
A
- don’t explain the fact that patriarchy has existed in all known societies, not just capitalist societies
- it is men, not just capitalism, who benefit from women’s subordination and it is men who are instruments of oppression
21
Q
What is meant by dual systems feminism?
A
- dual systems feminists blend Marxist and radical feminist theories
- capitalism and patriarchy are seen as two separate systems that interact and reinforce one another
22
Q
Why did black feminism emerge?
A
- as a result of concerns that many early feminist theories ignored the different experiences of patriarchal subordination found among black women and others from minority ethnic groups
23
Q
What are the main arguments of difference feminists?
A
- they suggest that other variants of feminism viewed women’s subordination through the eyes of white MC women
- while all women suffer many of the same problems, not all women are in the same position
- there are substantial differences in the experiences of women from different social classes and from different ethnic groups, and between non-disabled and disabled women, between lesbian, transgender, bisexual and heterosexual women
24
Q
What is a strength of difference/intersectional feminism?
A
- recognises that generalised feminist theories don’t take into account this diversity in the nature and experience of women’s subordination, and that it is necessary to explore patriarchy and women’s subordination in this increasingly complex and fragmented context
25
How has difference/intersectional feminism been critiqued?
- by emphasising the differences between women, difference feminism deflects attention away from those problems shared by all women
