women and gender studies q1

feminism

The basic premise of liberal political theory is that all people should be treated alike, with no formal barriers to opportunity and equal rights before the law. feminist theoretical position that interprets the origins of women’s oppression as in blocked opportunities and legal obstacles to equal participation in society

post feminism

Postfeminism is the idea that feminism has already done its job—that women are now equal, so we don’t really need feminism anymore.

anti-feminism

Anti-feminism is opposition to feminist principles, such as women's rights and gender equality, and has evolved over time to challenge specific policies and ideas like suffrage, reproductive rights, and gender-inclusive language. Contemporary anti-feminism can manifest as a hierarchical, differentialist view of the sexes, a belief that traditional social orders are threatened by feminism, and a tendency to blame feminism for current societal problems. 

liberal feminism

feminist theoretical position that interprets the origins of women’s oppression as in blocked opportunities and legal obstacles to equal participation in society

Discourse of “Rights and Freedoms” not often extended to women
• Gender Inequality:
– Unequal opportunity
– Socialization of children into distinct gender roles
• Politics
– Of the Workplace
• Critique:
– Focus on career women
– Ignores differences among women
• Contributions:
– Workplace equality
– Political and legal rights for women

radical feminism

feminist theoretical position positing that male power is the source of women’s oppression

Roots:
– Feminist praxis and theory in the 1960s and 1970s
• Gender Inequality:
– Structural oppression of women (patriarchy), e.g. rape, domestic
violence, sexual harassment, lesbian oppression
– “the personal is political” and collective politics
• Politics:
– Of the body
• Critique:
– Alienates working and heterosexual women
– Essentialism and global distrust of men
• Contributions:
– Theory of patriarchy
– Attention to violence against women
– Visibility to environmental damage and its effects on women’s lives

socialist feminism

Roots:
– Marxist theory: critique of class battle between proletariat (wage
labour) and the bourgeoisie (owning class); proletariat seen as
site of revolution
• Gender Inequality:
– Economic (capitalist) oppression of marginalized groups on the
basis of gender, race and class
– “feminization of poverty”
• Politics:
– Of the Family and Society
• Critique:
– Gender focus can sometimes be lost
• Contributions:
– Visibility to complex social structures of exploitation
– Significance of unpaid domestic labour
– Class analysis

Radical Feminism

3 strands of feminism

liberal, radicalist, socialist

3 strands of first wave feminism

the new woman, maternal feminism, socialist feminism

the new woman

• Pursued higher education and professional careers.

• Advocated for women’s suffrage and political rights.

• Rejected the idea that a woman’s only role was marriage and motherhood.

• Often associated with changing fashion (shorter hair, simpler clothes, sometimes even trousers).

• Sought sexual autonomy and questioned strict Victorian morality.

• often times with rich white women and men!

maternal feminist

• Women’s natural qualities—nurturing, moral guidance, compassion—gave them a special duty to improve society.

• Instead of rejecting traditional motherhood, maternal feminists used it as the basis for political and social participation.

• Beliefs & Goals:

  • Women needed the vote to influence laws affecting children, families, and morality.

  • Called for reforms in areas like education, public health, child labor, and prohibition.

  • Saw the home as connected to the wider society: if women made good mothers, they could also “mother” the nation.

socialist feminist

feminist theoretical position that interprets the origins of women’s oppression in the system of capitalism, including the intersections of capitalism and patriarchy

Patriarchy defined as the “decline of
mother right” by Friedrich Engels
– Oppression of women develops
alongside class in property-based
economies beginning with agrarian
societies to control economic surplus
– Rise of the family and the state to
control women’s sexuality and ensure
paternity rights to children so that
property is handed down through the
father

Socialist

men’s studies

field of study that examines men’s lives from a feminist perspective

first-wave feminism

women’s studies

field of study that examines women’s lives from a feminist perspective

gender

Gender refers to the cultural expectations and societal arrangements by which men and women have different experiences in society.

tempereance movement

nineteenth-century social movement with feminist values, organized to oppose alcohol abuse

transnational

feminist movement that spans across nations with a core belief that women are entitled to the same human rights as men.

multiracial feminism

feminist theoretical position positing that male power is the source of women’s oppression

queer theory

an argument that interprets sexuality as socially constructed through institutional practices. opposes sexuality classifications
as artificial, limiting, and
inaccurate and instead focuses
on challenging heteronormativity

Anita Hill Affair

Anita Hill, an African American lawyer,
accused Clarence Thomas, a nominee
to the US Supreme Court, of sexual
harassment that occurred while she
worked for him as a clerk
– Case details were leaked by the FBI
– Anita Hill testified in a Senate hearing
– US Senate supported Thomas 52-48
– Sparked huge debate on race and
gender politics by black feminists
– Written about critically by Toni Morrison

essentialism

the idea that there are fundamental differences between women and men

intersectionality

teaches us that gender does not exist in a vacuum, systems of priviledge or power over another group

instiutionalized oppression

“exists beyond the intentions of individual
people” in social and cultural structures

internalized opression

the internalization of structural oppression so
that no external punishment or monitoring is
required to ensure social compliance

ngos

Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs):
• Sex trafficking and violence against women
• Reproductive health and rights
• Environmental impacts on women
• Micro-finance projects

rebecca walker 

founder of third wave feminism

Simone de Beauvoir

The
Second Sex (1949)
– “one is not born a
woman, but
becomes one”
– Women are
socialized into
traditional gender
roles

betty friedan

Argued against the
policy of domestic
containment
– Women were not
happy being isolated in
the home

State

Feminist Roots: Theory

state feminism

State feminism basically means when the government itself takes action to promote women’s rights and gender equality, often by creating commissions, policies, laws, or institutions that address women’s issues.

bird comission

The Bird Commission is the nickname for the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada, created in 1967.

• In 1970, the Commission released its final report with 167 recommendations, which became a blueprint for advancing women’s rights in Canada.

Ms Magazine

Ms. co-founded by Gloria Steinem
– began in 1971 as an insert in the New York
– 1972-1987 ran as a monthly
– Late 80s controversies over ads and content
– 1991 ran ad-free; still in publication
– Liberal feminist publicatio

New York Radical Women

The New York Radical Women (NYRW) was a short-lived but very influential radical feminist group that existed from 1967 to 1969.

• It was co-founded by Shulamith Firestone, who was actually Canadian-born.

• The group believed that women’s oppression was rooted in patriarchy (male domination), not just in unequal laws or lack of opportunities. That’s why it’s tied to radical feminism—they wanted to transform society at its core, not just reform it.

• Members were committed to raising women’s consciousness about sexism in daily life, not only fighting for legal rights.

Key actions and legacy:

• They helped organize the 1968 protest against the Miss America Pageant, where feminists criticized how women were judged and objectified. (This protest is often remembered as a landmark feminist event of the 1960s.)

lesbian seperatism

Lesbian Separatism (early 1970s) was a strand of radical feminism that argued the best way for women to escape male domination was to separate entirely from men—socially, politically, and sometimes physically.

Key ideas:

• Non-cooperation with men → Women should not rely on or involve men in their personal lives, activism, or communities.

• Lesbian “homelands” → Some groups created intentional communities made up only of women, where they could live free from male control and oppression.

• It wasn’t only about sexuality—it was also a political strategy. Many believed that heterosexual relationships reinforced patriarchy, so lesbian separatism was seen as a radical rejection of male power.

👉 In short: Lesbian separatism was about building women-only spaces and choosing solidarity with women over relationships or cooperation with men, as a way to resist patriarchy.

john stuart mill

John Stuart Mill is important to feminism because he was one of the first major male philosophers to argue strongly and publicly for women’s equality.

decline of the mother right

Engels argued that in early societies, women had more power and respect (“mother right”). But when farming and private property became important, things changed. Men wanted to pass land and wealth to their own children. To guarantee this, they needed to control women—especially their sexuality—to be sure of paternity.

This led to the rise of patriarchy, where men had authority over women. Families became structured around the father, and the state helped enforce these rules. So, women’s oppression wasn’t “natural”—it developed alongside private property, wealth, and class divisions.

1. Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is an international treaty adopted by the United Nations in 1979. It is often described as the “international bill of rights for women.”

Here are the key points:

• Purpose: To eliminate discrimination against women in all areas of life, including political, social, economic, and cultural spheres.

• Obligations: Countries that ratify CEDAW agree to take steps to:

  • Abolish laws and practices that discriminate against women.

  • Ensure equality in education, employment, healthcare, and political participation.

  • Protect women from gender-based violence.

• Monitoring: The CEDAW Committee, based in Geneva, monitors implementation. Countries must submit periodic reports on progress.

• Significance: It provides a legal framework for advancing women’s rights globally and has been used to challenge discriminatory laws and practices in many countries.

Canada ratified CEDAW in 1981 and is expected to implement its principles domestically.