Feminist Theories
Harriett Martineau (1802-1876)
focus was on Gender & Democracy, studies America and applied sociological methods: Morals and Manners; Society in America
morals (stated beliefs) Manners (observable practice)
looked at a range of things that constitute elements of culture
employed a muli-methodological approach
considered philosophy (human nature, emphasis on happiness) and morals (looking at society without prejudice)
focus on inequality - democracy only works if the least (based women and minorities) also have opportunity for happiness
Martineau’s Methodology
can study society both objectively and subjectivity - learn to develop skills to observe society as well as to have sympathy or to understand (empathy)
referred to the “traveler,” almost like an ethnographer, traveled around America taking notes
Martineau on Gender & Family
referred to the “domestic state” and home as the primary part
emphasis importance of happiness in marriage
identified a “cultural logic” about gender relations - men are to be brave or have courage which reflects the public sphere and women are to protect their chastity which represents the private sphere
also identifies link between women not working and a “helplessness” and link between lack of power and physical dominance by men over women
as long as women are left out of the work force their primary goals will be to marry and have children
Martineau on Religion
forms of religion (evolutionary move from more to less ritualistic), and conditions of religion (space, architecture, geography)
modern religions more concerned about humanity and self actualization through education rather than use of ritual to rid of personal sin
Martineau on Education
democracy, liberty depends on access to education (public education) and critical thinking taught in Universities rather than simply occupation skills
Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935)
major work Women and Economy
functional evolutionist
ideas similar to spencer
saw women having to operate in an androcentric culture: a man-made world; men monopolize the public world, world of work, and women viewed as sub-species
“to the man, the whole world was his world; his because he was male; and the whole world of women was the home; because she was female. She had her prescribed sphere, strictly limited to her feminine occupations and interests; he had all the rest of life; and not only so, but having it, insisted on calling it male.”
Gilman’s Gynaecocentric Theory
female is the basic social model rather than male
women necessary for birthing and socialization, functional adaptation, initially
observe differences between sexes but cutting women out of economic sphere created imbalance
Gilman views equal role for race (species) preservation and self preservation (selfless & selfish); but when women are excluded, self preservation dominates creating an imbalance
Excess in Sex Differentiation
distinct male and female energies good for evolution
but men’s energies need to become more social and less individualist and aggressive; this is aided by patriarchy that requires women and children to be dependent upon men, so initially, a social adaptation
The Future
as long as women occupy separate sphere of home, they will be domestic servants
right to work is core to human existence and life for male and female
women should mother and work for pay
motherhood as the “noblest and highest process”
Gilman envisioned the occupation professionalization of the domestic sphere
Jane Addams (1860-1935)
from the chicago women’s school
activist and researcher, affiliated with the hull house (scholars lived among the poor or those who studied)
ushered in the progressive era (reform and improvement of society) and fight for women’s rights
her work is focused on promoting “democratic social ethics”
action based on work for the welfare of the community and “identification with the common lot”
Addams combines social action with philosophical pragmatism
confronts the idea of authority of the text over individual experience
first to acknowledge a bifurcation of consciousness
personal experience differs from what is described by others (men)
seeks to understand the vantage point of those she studies
not interested in naming and understanding social institutions but in ensuring that all social processes incorporate social ethics
sees reason and emotion working together and promotes ‘kindness’
seek to help others as a friend rather than impose a view that they must change in order to receive charity
The Chicago Women’s School
like Addams core belief that society needs not individual but collective action realized in democratic association is the under girth of the Women’s Chicago School
individuals & social structures are interdependent
people must act collectively to shape human environment
the groups most affected by change and the failure to control change or the disenfranchised
role of the social scientist is to give people the tools for understanding and action by presenting facts about social conditions, plans for associations, and proposals for state policies
basically, the Chicago School began the study and academic field of “social problems”
with an emphasis on collective action and social change
Marianne Schnitger Weber (1870-1954)
Max Weber’s wife
activist and scholar
developed a sociology from the woman’s standpoint
need for autonomy for women equal to men (a debate with Max)
note significance in women’s work in the production of culture (a debate with Simmel)
acknowledge the situated differences of standpoint among women (a partial debate with Gilman)
used legal research, historical data, statistical data to support her theoretical ideas
Fast Forward to Contemporary Standpoint Theory
Dorothy Smith (born 1926):
ruling texts in a patriarchal society (law, politics, religion, mass culture, sociology, etc)
structures and expectations institutionalized in society are men’s (not women’s) creation
texts organize practices; everyday relations of ruling
texts include not only the written word but also images, all forms of media, stories, etc.
Relations of Ruling
discourse of femininity
evident across multiple sites - in advertising, store displays, soap operas, theology, psychology
structures gender relations and practices
objectifies women; women as objects; emphasis on appearance; objects to please men
Rules of Sociology
ethos of objectivity; separates knowledge from everyday lives, everyday experiences
pre-defined conceptual frameworks define what is relevant and what is not
written and practiced from the standpoint of men
legislate a reality rather than discover one; thus omits/excludes many people’s experienced realities
Knowing from Within
the only way of knowing social reality is to now it from within; from how it is experienced by the people who live it
sociological inquiry is necessarily a social relation; cannot separate sociological knowledge and sociological practitioners from realities/lives studied
challenges the positivist view of sociological objectivity
Different Realities, Different Experiences
men and women inhabit and move between different social worlds
men’s experiences/knowledge is more valued
women’s experiences → bifurcated consciousness
emerges from the split and the contradictions experienced in moving between domestic and public spheres
women have to juggle multiple, often contradictory realities simultaneously (e.g., motherhood and paid work)
Women’s Standpoint
a feminist sociology
validate women’s embodied experiences. embodied reality
ana alternative sociology; begins from the particularized, localized, everyday reality as it is experienced by women
problematizes how institutions organize/structure everyday experiences
Private vs Public & the Bifurcation of Consciousness
progress mad but women still hold only 28% of the seats in congress (2025)
14 out of 50 governors are women (2025) and 18 states have never had a female governor
state legislatures include 30% of women
first female V.P., Kamala Harris, and 1st to run as party nominee for President of the U.S.
Institutional Ethnography
focus on experience, not concepts
explore and trace how women’s everyday experiences fit with/work against how social institutions (e.g. the courts) work
remedy the gap between institutional knowledge/routines and lived experiences
Patricia Hill Collins
Black women’s standpoint
commonality of African-American women’s experience
legacy of struggle against racism adn sexism
vulnerability to assault → independence and self-reliance
domestic and public spheres not separate; Black women have a different history of family, work, and community than white women do
Controlling Images of Black Women
symbols/images that maintain race, class, gender oppression
de-legitimate black women; suppress their voices of resistance
stereotypical images/symbols of black women reinforce their Otherness:
the mammy (faithful, obedient servant)
the matriarch (emasculates men, unwomanly)
the welfare mother (intertwines laziness, poverty, and fertility)
the hot mamma (sexually aggressive)
Black Feminist Thought
the knowledge generated from black women’s experiences of oppression
is outside the paradigm of objective accredited knowledge
like all knowledge, it reflects the standpoint of its creators
Afrocentric and gendered
fosters resistance
Social Intersectionality
interlocking race, gender, class, and other social locations in which individuals are situated produces particularized experiences
privilege and oppression always defined ni relation to others; different social contexts produce different relations of privilege/oppression
the activist knowledge that emerges from diverse intersectional contexts fosters resistance and emancipation
individual empowerment and collective action produces social change
Black Sexual Politics
activist knowledge must also include recognition of how sexuality is used to disempower individuals and groups
activism against racism must include attention to persistent black divisions around gender and sexuality
pursue social conditions that affirms the sexual autonomy of honest bodies; reject sexual degradation/violence in favor of a body politics that rejoins mind, soul, and body
resist the commodification of black bodies that is part of the new racism
Arlie Hochschild
emotions largely ignored by social theorists; not seen as relevant to the analysis of social and institutional practices
expression and feeling of emotion not natural; but socially learned and culturally determined
feeling rules; social sanctions used to evaluate emotion behavior
men and women do emotion work in private life and at work
women do more emotion work than men; are expected to enhance the status and well-being of others
Emotional Division of Labor