Feminist family theory

what is feminist family theory?

Feminist: “The search for rights, opportunities, and identities women believe they deserve.”

Reflects on idea of traditional nuclear family

Uses a feminist lens to understand family structure, function, and interactions

liberal feminist

Equal rights and respect in particular related to career, education, and role in society

marxist feminist

Exploit women for cheap labor including household chores, employment

exploitation of women in their reproductive roles and in household labor

radical feminist

All relationships based on patriarchy (men in power)

male dominance is a problem in society

cultural feminist

Focus on bringing respect and value to women’s roles (feminine roles)

Focus and celebrate the differences between women and men, and

history of feminism: wave 1

(Late 1800’s-early 1900’s)
Rights and equality
Susan B. Anthony
1930’s Margaret Mead

history of feminism: wave 2

(late 60’s early 70’s)
Equality; Liberation
National Organization of Women (NOW)

history of feminism: wave 3

(1990’s-present)
Intersectional nature of family life experiences

basic assumptions about feminism

Women’s experiences are central to our understanding of families
-What is the perspective of families from a woman’s point of view

Gender is socially constructed concept: Social meanings of masculinity and femininity

Social and historical contexts are important

There are many family forms: Diversity in families

Emphasis placed on social change: praxis

stratification

Value placed on categories e.g. better to be kind or aggressive

deconstruction

Bringing everyone to the conversation about gender expectations and behaviors

praxis

Step after analysis to put beliefs and values into action

common area of research and application

-family violence
-equity and families
-family roles and responsibilities

ARTICLE: Chinese immigrant mothers negotiating family and career: Intersectionality and the role of social support

Focus on intersection of immigration status, gender, and ethnicity for Chinese women as related to career and family roles.

Used grounded-theory approach to interview and then analyze responses

Findings:
-employment difficult
-childcare expensive and difficult to find
-lack of support without extended family

feminist theory vignette

Bob: thought they were having a nice relaxing dinner away from the kids. Thought they should do it more often

Alice: Was not relaxed at the dinner because she had already done a million things during the day leading up to the dinner. She picked up her husband dry cleaning, made the reservations, got the babysitter, cooked dinner for the kids, did laundry. She was stressed about work as she was being treated fairly as a woman in law and wanted to gain parter status at her firm.