feminism AO1

• Emergence: Late 19th and early 20th centuries.

• Focus: Formal inequalities in the public sphere.

• Goals: Legal and political rights for women.

  • Women's suffrage

  • Property rights

  • Access to education

• Achievement: Women granted the right to vote in the US (1920) and the UK (1928).

• Associated with liberal feminism.

What was First Wave Feminism?

• Wollstonecraft

• Perkins Gilman

First wave thinkers

• Friedan

• Beauvoir

• Millet

• Sheila rowbotham

Second wave thinkers

• Krenshaw

• Bell hooks

• Butler

Third wave

• imeframe: 1960s to 1980s.

• Expansion: Expanded the debate to a wider range of issues including sexuality, family, the workplace, and reproductive rights.

• Challenges: Traditional nuclear family model and gender roles.

• Key Concept: "The personal is political."

"The personal is political" emphasizes that oppression and power dynamics in the family and private sphere are deeply political and should be addressed.

• Articulation: Distinction between sex and gender.

• View: Gender depression upholds a patriarchal society dominated by men.

• Associated with radical feminism.

What was Second Wave Feminism?

• Emergence: Early 1990s.

• Focus: Diversity and intersectionality.

• Motivation: Response to the perceived failures of the second wave.## 🚺 Postmodern Feminism and the Fourth Wave

What was Third Wave feminism?

• The fourth wave of feminism began in the 2010s.

• It is characterized by the use of social media for advocacy and mobilization.

• Key focus areas include combating:

  • Sexual harassment

  • Body shaming

  • Gender inequality in public spaces and online

• The #MeToo movement became a central element of this wave.

• It exposed the widespread nature of sexual assault and harassment, particularly in Hollywood.

• The movement is intersectional and global, driven largely by internet activism.

What is Fourth Wave Feminism?

The belief that women are biologically different from men (essentialism) and so women should create a superior form of culture away from men. Liberal feminists largely see this as defeatist

What is difference feminism?

The biological differences men and women assigned at birth

What is sex?

Cultural differences assigned by society towards the different genders according to gender stereotypes and societal constructs

What is gender?

The belief that sex has no bearing on gender as assigned by society and only men and the patriarchy benefit from any perceived differences between men and women

What is equality feminism?

The idea that men are seen as superior to women and are the 'first sex' and that women are the 'other' or 'second sex'

What is otherness?

Radical feminist idea that sex differences should be eliminated and children created artificially

What is androgony?

The social construct entrenched within institutions that men are the first sex

What is patriarchy?

An area of patriarchy focused on by liberal feminists who believe that the state and therefore the patriarchy can be reformed through legal equality and education

What is the public sphere?

Areas of patriarchy beyond the reach of the state focused on by radical feminists. Radical feminists believe there is no distinction between the public and private sphere and believe 'the personal is the political'

What is the private sphere?

A post-modernist concept that non-white and working-class women should be equally represented in the feminist movement

What is intersectionality?

There is a common human nature between men and women but this is stopped by social constraints

What is a shared feminist view with regard to human nature?

Differences in gender are artificially constructed and reinforced by institutions such as schools so differences in gender should be tackled through reforms such as education reforms in order to break the cycle of male superiority over women

What is the liberal feminist view on human nature?

Gender differences are pervasive throughout life and must be destroyed accordingly. This can also be seen through the creation of a female consciousness on patriarchy

What is the radical feminist view on human nature?

The inferior role of women as a gender is due to capitalism where women have become an oppressed class. This can be solved either through the abolition of capitalism or radical modification to stop women being treated as second-class labour

What is the socialist feminist view on human nature?

The state can be reformed through legislation such as constitutional and legal reforms and giving women the vote

What is the liberal feminist view on the state?

Reforms do not address the fundamental issues of the state such as issues of discrimination, exploitation and inequality

What is the radical feminist view on the state?

Society is deeply patriarchal in nature and must be driven out

What is a shared view of society by feminists?

Reform of society should take place as patriarchy is a characteristic of society but not necessarily fundamental

What is the liberal feminist view of society?

Patriarchy is the key fundamental of society and so must be removed for women to be emancipated. This can be done through a full-scale attack on cultural values in society or through the creation of a female counter-culture

What is the radical feminist view of society?

Capitalism is the key fundamental of society which drives patriarchy

What is the socialist feminist view of society?

Patriarchy is still a key fundamental of society but it does not apply equally to all women as there are other identities also undermined by society such as class and race

What is the post-modernist feminist view of society?

Women's labour is worth less than men's labour as it is often treated as a second-class form of labour leading to a pay gap and a lack of equality of opportunity

What is the shared view of the economy by feminists?

Reforms can create economic equality such as eliminating the pay gap and creating equality of opportunity

What is the liberal feminist view on the economy?

Women created a reserve army of labour of cheap labour so the destruction of capitalism will see women become equal to men

What is the socialist feminist view on the economy?

Accepting that men are different than women and these different characteristics for women are useful for society and can be superior to male characteristics

What is cultural feminism?

Liberal Feminist. Patriarchy stopped the liberation of women as it was cultural in nature creating 'the problem with no name'

What are Betty Friedan's feminist beliefs?

Gender differences are created by society which leads to the idea that women are the Other

What are Simone de Beauvoir's beliefs on human nature?

Social constraints do not affect just women from achieving true freedom and self-realisation but everyone. The nuclear family should be destroyed

What are Simone de Beauvoir's beliefs on society?

The state reinforces a culture that prevents women from expressing true freedom and identity

What are Simone de Beauvoir's beliefs on the state?

Men's domination of economic life restricts the choices open to women

What are Simone de Beauvoir's beliefs on the economy?

The biological differences between men and women are irrelevant and women can compete equally to men

What are Charlotte Perkins Gilman's beliefs on human nature?

Society has always assigned inferior roles to women

What are Charlotte Perkins Gilman's beliefs on society?

Domestic servitude of women allowed men to dominate the outside economic world

What are Charlotte Perkins Gilman's beliefs on the economy?

Women are capable of freeing themselves from male oppression through forming lesbian relationships

What are Kate Millet's beliefs on human nature?

Modern society is characterised by the patriarchy, which infests both the private and public spheres

What are Kate Millet's beliefs on society?

The state is an agent of the patriarchy

What are Kate Millet's beliefs on the state?

Quasi-socialist but not relevant to her feminism

What are Kate Millet's beliefs on the economy?

Women's consciousness is created by men

What are Sheila Rowbotham's beliefs on human nature?

Society is economically determined and reflects the dominant position of both men and capitalists

What are Sheila Rowbotham's beliefs on society?

State is the servant of capitalism. There should be two revolutions to overcome patriarchy

What are Sheila Rowbotham's beliefs on the state?

Women are a reserve army of labour

What are Sheila Rowbotham's beliefs on the economy?

Women have multiple identities and so suffer oppression on multiple fronts

What are bell hooks' beliefs on human nature?

Society is full of complex relationships between different minorities and so love between multiple cultures must be established

What are bell hooks' beliefs on society?

The state is dominated by white males and reinforces their dominant position in society

What are bell hooks' beliefs on the state?

Feminists should focus on working class women as much as middle class women

What are bell hooks' beliefs on the economy?

The Second Sex

What is de Beauvoir's main work?

Feminism is for Everybody

What is hooks' main work?

Women's Consciousness, Men's World

What is Rowbotham's main work?

Women and Economics

What is Charlotte Perkins Gilman's main work?

Sexual Politics

What is Kate Millet's main work?

What is the core critique of third-wave feminism?
Third-wave feminism emphasizes diversity and intersectionality, critiquing the earlier waves for focusing mainly on middle-class white women's experiences and advocating for recognizing multiple identities and forms of oppression.

What is the core critique of third-wave feminism?

What is Kate Millett's view on the family as a site of patriarchy?
Millett saw the traditional family as a central institution of patriarchy that normalizes male dominance and female subservience, advocating for its dismantling and redefining family structures.

What is Kate Millett's view on the family as a site of patriarchy?

What does essentialism mean in the context of difference feminism?
Essentialism is the belief that certain characteristics and roles are inherently tied to biological sex, and that these differences should be acknowledged and valued.

What does essentialism mean in the context of difference feminism?

What is the main critique of postmodern feminism regarding women's experiences?
Postmodern feminism critiques earlier feminism for generalizing women's experiences and emphasizes the importance of intersectionality, diversity, and fluidity of gender identities.

What is the main critique of postmodern feminism regarding women's experiences?

Who was Mary Wollstonecraft and what was her contribution to feminism?
Mary Wollstonecraft was an 18th-century philosopher who argued that women are rational beings capable of reason and that their perceived inferiority is due to lack of education and opportunity, advocating for equal rights and education.

Who was Mary Wollstonecraft and what was her contribution to feminism?

What is the radical feminist stance on women's spaces?
Radical feminists often advocate for women-only spaces as safe environments for empowerment and resistance against patriarchal oppression.

What is the radical feminist stance on women's spaces?

What are some key reforms supported by liberal feminism?
Reforms include women's suffrage, equal access to education, equal pay, reproductive rights, increased political representation, and challenging societal gender stereotypes.

What are some key reforms supported by liberal feminism?

What are the main characteristics of the first wave of feminism?
The first wave focused on formal inequalities, primarily legal and political rights like suffrage, property rights, and access to education, mainly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

What are the main characteristics of the first wave of feminism?

How do radical feminists view patriarchy as a social structure?
They view patriarchy as a pervasive system of male dominance that influences all aspects of society, requiring profound societal transformation to dismantle.

How do radical feminists view patriarchy as a social structure?

What is the main focus of the fourth wave of feminism?
The fourth wave, emerging in the 2010s, focuses on social media activism, addressing sexual harassment, body shaming, and gender inequality through movements like #MeToo.

What is the main focus of the fourth wave of feminism?

What does Betty Friedan's 'The Feminine Mystique' critique?
It critiques the societal expectation that women find fulfillment solely through domestic roles, highlighting the dissatisfaction and unfulfilled potential of many women confined to the home.

What does Betty Friedan's 'The Feminine Mystique' critique?

How did second-wave feminism expand the feminist debate?
Second-wave feminism, from the 1960s to 1980s, expanded the debate to issues like sexuality, family, the workplace, and reproductive rights, emphasizing that the personal is political.

How did second-wave feminism expand the feminist debate?

What does 'the personal is political' signify in radical feminism?
It signifies that issues in the private sphere, like domestic labor, sexual violence, and family power relations, are political issues that need systemic change.

What does 'the personal is political' signify in radical feminism?

Equality feminism believes gender roles are socially constructed and advocates for sameness and equal opportunities, while difference feminism emphasizes inherent biological or cultural differences and celebrates female qualities.

What is the key difference between equality feminism and difference feminism?

Intersectionality highlights how women's experiences of oppression intersect with race, class, sexuality, and other identities, emphasizing the need for inclusive, multifaceted approaches to feminism.

How does intersectionality influence feminist theory?

Walby identified six interconnected structures—household, paid work, state, violence, sexuality, and cultural institutions—that operate systematically to sustain patriarchy.

What does Sylvia Walby's theory contribute to understanding patriarchy?

De Beauvoir distinguished between sex (biological) and gender (socially constructed), famously stating 'one is not born, but rather becomes a woman,' emphasizing societal conditioning of gender roles.

What is Simone de Beauvoir's key contribution to feminist theory?

Radical feminists see the traditional family as a key site of patriarchal oppression and advocate for its dismantling and replacement with alternative, non-heteronormative structures.

What is the radical feminist view of the family?

Postmodern feminism rejects the idea of a single, unified experience of womanhood, emphasizing fluidity, diversity, and intersectionality, and critiques universal narratives of gender oppression.

How does postmodern feminism differ from earlier feminist waves?

Betty Friedan authored 'The Feminine Mystique,' critiquing the societal belief that women could only find fulfillment in domestic roles and advocating for legal and societal reforms for gender equality.

What was Betty Friedan's contribution to second-wave feminism?

Intersectionality highlights how women's oppression intersects with race, class, sexuality, and other social categories, emphasizing the need for inclusive, diverse feminist approaches.

How does intersectionality influence feminist theory?

Feminism became prominent during the Enlightenment in the 18th century, with Mary Wollstonecraft as a key figure advocating for women's rights.

During which historical period did feminism become prominent, and which philosopher was key to its emergence?

Cultural institutions like media, education, and religion reinforce stereotypical images and norms that uphold traditional gender roles and societal expectations.

What is the role of cultural institutions in perpetuating gender roles?

Feminism aims to promote equality and emancipation for women, challenging societal and political oppression based on gender.

What is the main goal of feminism according to the lecture?

Liberal feminism advocates for gradual reform through legal and political changes, emphasizing equal rights and opportunities in the public sphere.

What is liberal feminism's approach to achieving gender equality?

They oppose pornography and prostitution, viewing them as tools of patriarchal control and sexual exploitation that perpetuate violence against women.

How do radical feminists view pornography and prostitution?

Radical feminists see the traditional family as a central institution of patriarchy that normalizes male dominance and female subservience, requiring fundamental restructuring for gender equality.

How do radical feminists view the family as a site of oppression?

Gilman argued that capitalism confines women to domestic roles and makes them economically dependent on men, trading their reproductive and domestic labor for survival, which she believed needed to be collectivized for women's independence.

What is the central idea of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's critique of capitalism?

Sylvia Walby identified six interrelated structures through which patriarchy operates, including the household and paid work, perpetuating gender inequality systemically.

What is Sylvia Walby's contribution to understanding patriarchy?

Equality feminism advocates for social and legal equality regardless of biological differences, while difference feminism emphasizes inherent biological and cultural differences as valuable.

What is the difference between equality feminism and difference feminism?

Radical feminists see the traditional family as a key site of patriarchal oppression that must be dismantled and replaced with non-heteronormative, non-monogamous, and communal relationships.

How do radical feminists view the family structure?

Simone de Beauvoir argued that sex is biological, while gender is socially constructed, and that women 'become' women through societal conditioning rather than natural inheritance.

What is the core idea of Simone de Beauvoir's distinction between sex and gender?

The 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, granted women voting rights and was a key achievement of the suffrage movement within liberal feminism.

What was the significance of the 19th Amendment in the US for liberal feminism?

Essentialism is the belief that certain characteristics and roles are inherently tied to biological sex and define women's nature.

What does essentialism mean in difference feminism?

'The personal is political' emphasizes that issues within the private sphere, such as domestic labor and sexual violence, are political issues that require systemic change.

What does the term 'the personal is political' signify in radical feminism?

Radical feminists oppose pornography and prostitution, viewing them as tools of male control and sexual exploitation that perpetuate patriarchy and violence against women.

What is the radical feminist view of pornography and prostitution?

Liberal feminism was mainly focused on the PUBLIC sphere but acknowledged issues like violence against women, oppressive divorce laws, abortion, and reproductive rights.

How did liberal feminism view the private sphere, and what issues did it acknowledge there?

Essentialism is the belief that certain characteristics, behaviors, and roles are inherently tied to biological sex and should be recognized and valued as such.

What does essentialism mean in the context of difference feminism?

Postmodern feminism critiques earlier feminism for generalizing the experiences of white middle-class women and emphasizes intersectionality, diversity, and that gender is fluid rather than fixed.

What is the main critique of postmodern feminism regarding women's experiences?

Liberal feminists focus on reform through legal and political changes, such as equal rights legislation, voting rights, and equal access to education and employment.

How do liberal feminists aim to achieve gender equality?

Liberal feminism focused on achieving gender equality through legal and political reforms in the public sphere, such as suffrage, education, and equal pay, emphasizing gradual change.

What was the main focus of liberal feminism in relation to gender equality?

Mary Wollstonecraft was an 18th-century thinker who emphasized that women are rational beings deserving of equal education, rights, and opportunities, challenging societal notions of female inferiority.

What role did Mary Wollstonecraft play in liberal feminism?

Cultural institutions propagate stereotypical images and norms that reinforce traditional gender roles and norms, supporting patriarchal values.

What role do cultural institutions like media and religion play in perpetuating gender roles?