Feminist Thinking: Freedom & Equality Practise Flashcards

A comprehensive set of Q&A flashcards covering the major figures, ideologies, and historical turning points in feminist thought from the late 18th century through the 19th century based on the lecture notes.

Which three political revolutions are considered catalysts for radical feminist and abolitionist demands at the end of the 18th century?

The American Revolution ($1775$), the French Revolution ($1789$), and the Haitian Revolution ($1791$).

What was the 'Despotism of the Petticoat' as described by John Adams in 1776?

A mocking phrase used by John Adams in response to Abigail Adams, expressing his refusal to grant women legal power for fear it would subject men to women's control.

Who authored the 'Déclaration des droits de la femme et de la citoyenne' (Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen) in 1791?

Olympe de Gouges, the pseudonym for Marie Gouze.

In the context of the French Revolution, what did the term 'mothers of the nation' imply?

A double-edged positioning of women as vital to the state through their maternal role, yet often excluded from full political citizenship.

According to Nicolas de Condorcet, what is the cause of the perceived difference between men and women's reasoning?

Education and social existence rather than nature.

What significant event occurred regarding women's rights in France in 1795?

The introduction of a new constitution that abolished acquired women's rights, prohibiting women's clubs and giving them an inferior social and political status.

What is the 'sexual contract' as defined by Carole Pateman?

The dimension of the original contract that justifies the government of women by men and establishes the patriarchal structure of the modern state.

In J.J. Rousseau's 'Émile ou de l’éducation', how is the role of Sophia (Sophie) characterized?

As a life companion to the republican citizen whose role is complementary but subordinate, focused on being passive and pleasing to the man.

What was the primary goal of Mary Wollstonecraft's 'A Vindication of the Rights of Woman' (1792)?

The abolition of privileges based on status, wealth, and sex, and a plea for girls and boys to be educated together to foster independence.

What is known as 'Wollstonecraft's dilemma'?

The tension between demanding radical equality through universal rights (modeled on men) and recognizing the specific interests and needs of women within a patriarchal society.

How did Mary Wollstonecraft describe the 'Beauty Trap' for women?

As a 'gilt cage' where women are taught from infancy that beauty is their only power, which forces their minds to shape themselves to their bodies and adore their own prisons.

Who is famously quoted as saying, 'The most oppressed man can oppress a being, who is his wife. She is the proletarian of the proletarian himself'?

Flora Tristan in her manifest 'L’Union Ouvrière' ($1843$).

What is the central theme of Sojourner Truth’s 1851 speech in Ohio?

'Ain’t I a Woman?', which challenged the exclusionary nature of the 'woman' category by highlighting her own experiences of labor and suffering as a Black mother.

What did Anna Julia Cooper define as the unique position of 'colored women' in 'A Voice from the South' (1892)?

Being confronted by both a 'woman question' and a 'race problem' simultaneously.

In 'The Subjection of Women' (1869), how did John Stuart Mill view the existing nature of women?

As an 'eminently artificial thing' created through forced repression and unnatural simulation for the benefit of their masters.

What was the focus of the Ladies National Association founded by Josephine Butler?

Protesting the Contagious Diseases Acts ($CDA$), which allowed the police to force medical examinations on women suspected of prostitution while men remained unpunished.

What concept did Charlotte Perkins Gilman explore in 'The Yellow Wallpaper' (1892)?

The destructive impact of medical and marital paternalism on women's autonomy and mental health.

What does the 'gynaecocentric theory' discussed by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Lester Ward propose?

That the female sex is the original, primary sex, and that the patriarchal system has no natural basis.

What was the significance of Hull House, co-founded by Jane Addams?

It was a neighborhood center in Chicago that practiced 'participatory democracy' by combining social work, education, and collective services for the poor immigrant community.

According to Friedrich Engels, why was the transition to a patriarchal society the 'world historical defeat of the female sex'?

Because it shifted power to the man in the house, degrading women to mere instruments for breeding children to ensure patrilineal inheritance.

What did Alexandra Kollontai argue was the key difference between feminists and proletarian women?

Feminists seek equal rights within the capitalist framework as an end in itself, while for proletarian women, equal rights are a means to join the class struggle against economic enslavement.

For Emma Goldman, where does the 'true emancipation' of women begin?

In a woman’s soul, through 'inner regeneration' and asserting herself as a personality rather than a sex commodity.