Feminism

What are the key characteristics of feminism?

• structural, individuals controlled by patriarchy

• conflict

• macro

• social movement, aims to create changes in attitudes/laws

• later modern

What are the five main types of feminism?

• liberal

• marxist

• radical

• difference

• postmodernist

What is the feminist view of society and family?

• patriarchal, the role of the family is to reinforce male dominance

• unequal, men tend to have more status, control and wealth

• gendered, socially constructed differences

What do liberal feminists say about the family?

The position of women has improved in the family, and greater gender equality will be achieved through changing attitudes and laws

What do marxist feminists say about the family?

Wives suffer as a result of the frustration experienced by their husbands in alienating work that they do for capitalists

What do radical feminists say about the family?

marriage legitimates violence against women by conferring power and authority on husbands and economic dependency on wives.

What do difference feminists say about the family?

Women all experience patriarchy in different ways, depending on factors such as class, ethnicity etc

What do post modernist feminists say about the family?

Globalisation and increased choice has given women greater freedom to leave patriarchal relationships.

What does ansley(MF) say about the family?

The emotional support provided by the wife acts as a ‘safety valve’ for frustration produced by working in a capitalist system- ‘takers of shit’, absorbs any revolutionary ire

What evidence supports the marxist view?

• the CPP found that unpaid work is one of the driving forces of gender based inequalities in the workplace

• women provide 23.2bn hours of unpaid childcare while men only provide 9.7bn

What does Oakley say about the family?

Argues industrialisation led to the separation of paid work from the home, causing women to be subordinate and economically dependent on their husbands.

Housewife role was socially constructed, not biological as parsons says

What is the evaluation of Oakley?

An unequal DDOL is not an inevitable outcome of industrialisation or capitalism, women’s experiences are varied

What does somerville(LF) say about the family?

Due to changing laws and attitudes women now have more choice and freedom

e.g. divorce rates, extended families

What is the evaluation of liberal feminism?

Valiant challenge the underlying cause of women’s oppression, RF say changes to deep rooted social structures are needed

What did Dobash and Dobash( RF) say about the family?

Patriarchal and heterosexual marriage legitimates violence against women. to combat patriarchy women need to live in radically different family structures

e.g. political lesbianism

What is the evaluation of Dobash and Dobash?

Does not take into account the progress women have made, heterosexual attraction makes it unlikely that separatism would work

What two ways can difference feminism be interpreted?

• women all experience patriarchy in different ways

• women and men should not focus on trying to create total equality, acknowledge the differences

What did Mirza (black feminist) say about the family?

claims that stereotypes have been drawn about black family life, WC black women are seen as teenage and dependent on benefits but MC black women are seen as ‘superwoman’

What did Dunne(DF) find about lesbian couples and gender scripts?

There is far more discussion of a more equal distribution of domestic work and paid work, in heterosexual couples they automatically defer to stereotypical ‘gender scripts’

What did stacey(PMF) say about the family?

found that women were using their increased choice to leave patriarchal relationships and select new family arrangements

What did stacey and meadow say about the family?

Despite the increased fluidity in family life, increased use of reproductive technologies, increased same sex families, mainstream political ideology still remains pro TNF