theories in context- feminism

What is a conflict theory

Looking at history and events in society in terms of structural power divisions

What is a structuralist approach

Human behaviour must be understood in the context of the social system in which they exist.

Femenism

Feminism is a conflict theory that tends to adopt a structuralist approach.

Feminists argue that inequalities are based on patriarchy or male dominance.

Feminists seek to show how social institutions such as family, education and media can contribute to the oppression of women.

Feminism is critical of traditional sociology for being mainstream.

Waves of femenism

First wave of feminism- associated with women’s suffrage movement and their campaign for votes before and after the First World War.

Second wave of feminism- associated with womens li’s liberation movement in the 1960s and 1970s - this grew out of a wider civil rights movement in the USA.

Third wave of feminism- associated with postmodernist ideas of individualism and differentiation- this wave can be dated to the 1990s and was a response to the claims of some people that the women’s liberation movement had achieved its aims and feminism was no longer necessary.

A new generation of feminist campaigners argued that women remain unequal in several ways. For example, in terms of their income.

Liberal femenism

Liberal feminists are concerned with human rights, civil rights, and individual freedoms.

Reformism: the idea that progress towards equal rights can be achieved by gradual reforms in society.

Laws and policies: liberal feminists believe laws against sex discrimination in employment and education can secure equal opportunities.

Cultural change: beliefs that women are less rational and more dominated by emotion are used to legitimise their exclusion from decision-making roles, confining them to child-rearing and housework.

Liberal feminists reject the idea that biological differences make women less competent.

Liberal feminists believe sexual attitudes about gender are transmitted through socialisation; therefore, we must change society’s socialisation patterns.

So feminists promote appropriate roles in education and family.

Liberal feminism- Anne Oakley

Anne Oakley (1972)

Sex: biological differences between males and females

Gender: culturally constructed differences between masculine and feminine roles.

Sex differences are seen as fixed, whilst gender differences vary between cultures.

Liberal femenists criticism of functionalists

Liberal feminists criticise functionalists for believing men and women are equally capable of performing instrumental roles like unpaid work and politics.

Women are subjected to expressive roles such as unpaid work, child-rearing, and caring roles.

Liberal feminists argue that by ending this stereotype, both men and women will benefit.

Liberal femenism- limitation

Overly optimistic- they ignore the possibility that there are deep-seated structures causing women’s oppression, such as capitalism and patriarchy.

Sylvia Walby argues they do not explain the overall structure of gender equality.

Radical femenism

Belief that patriarchy is universal and male domination of women exists in all societies.

All men oppress women, and all men benefit from the patriarchy- especially women’s unpaid domestic labour.

Patriarchal oppression occurs in work, politics, family and relationships.

Radical feminists focus on how patriarchal power is exercised through sexual and physical violence in relationships- controlling women.

Adrienne Rich argues men force women into “compulsory heterosexuality”.

Radical femenists solutions

Separatism- living apart from men and creating a new culture of female independence.

Consciousness-raising- collective action, marches about women facing these problems.

Political lesbianism- heterosexual relationships are oppressive; lesbianism is the only non-oppressive form of sexuality.

Radical feminism limitation

This type of feminism can be seen as extreme by some, and it neglects issues such as violence against men and violence within lesbian relationships.

Marxist femenism

Women’s subordination is rooted in capitalism.

Women’s unpaid domestic role places them in a dependent economic position in the family.

Women are sources of cheap, exploitative labour

Women are the reserve army of labour

Women reproduce the labour force by socialising children to become the next generation of workers.

Fran Ansley (1972) suggested women soak up frustration husbands feel because of exploitation and alienation they experience at work.

This explains male domestic violence against women.

The ideology of familism

Michael Barrett (1980) argues that we must give more emphasis to women’s consciousness and motivations and the role of ideology in maintaining oppression.

For example, women marry and living into the conventional nuclear family that oppresses them.

It suggests the only way women attain fulfilment is through motherhood and sexual satisfaction.

Barrett argues we must overthrow the idea of familism- freeing sexes from restrictive stereotypes.

Marxism limitation

This type of feminism doesn’t explain gender inequality in non-capitalist societies.

Postmodern femenism

Butler and Scott (1992)

The essential argument of postmodernism is that we are now living in an increasingly fragmented and pluralistic society centred on individuality and multiple identities,

They recognise that while gender is clearly a very important determinant of life chances, the experiences of individual women differ.

Factors like social class, age, ethnicity and physical appearance all shape and individualise women’s experiences.

Clearly, some women are more oppressed by men than others, and so a more individualistic approach is necessary.

Post modernism limitation

This type of femenism while acknowledging womens experiences, minimises their similarities, e.g. lower pay and domestic violence.

Black femenism

Black women felt white feminists failed to recognise that some women were oppressed not only by feminism but by racism as well.

Black feminism criticised the ethnocentricity of most feminism, which focused on just white women’s experiences.

Black feminists believe the system of racism must be challenged alongside the patriarchy and capitalism.

Bell Hooks argued that feminism must consider race; she criticised mainstream feminism for focusing too much on the experiences of middle-class white women.

Black femenism limitation

Black feminism overemphasises the differences between women; this can divide women and make it harder for feminists to find common experiences and fight feminism together.