Key Thinkers

• Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860 – 1935)

  • Sex and domestic economics are hand in hand- because women are expected to be homemakers, they are expected to not have paid work. As a result, women have to depend on their sexuality and body in order to pleasure their husbands and gain economic power. If they fail to do this then they are at risk of being economically isolated and could slip into poverty/destitution.

  • Societal pressure- young girls are compelled to conform in society and prepare for motherhood by playing with certain toys and wearing clothes that are specifically designed for and marketed to them. These pressures continue throughout women’s lives as they are expected to become mothers, follow the whims and desires of their husbands, be socially passive etc. These pressures also allow for some stereotypes about women to linger in society (e.g the characterisation of women as overly emotional).

  • Culture is ‘androcentric’ (i.e too focused on men and as a result women are often forgotten about).  This also informed her views regarding human nature where she advocated Reform Darwinism- the idea that the mind of a woman is actually different to the mind of a man (and as such human nature is split by sex).

• Simone de Beauvoir (1908 – 1986)

  • Sex versus gender- “one is not born, but rather becomes, a woman”. Sex is about your biological nature whereas gender is a socially constructed idea. Gender roles are imposed onto people by society and then women are treated differently because of these roles. In that sense, gender is not only about what you personally think you are but also how other people treat you.

  • ‘Otherness’- men are perceived as the ‘norm’ and women deviate from this norm (and thus are treated as suspect/with hostility). Because women are ‘Other’ in spaces, these spaces (social, economic, cultural, political etc.) were designed not to include women and as a result women are perceived as ‘causing trouble’. As a socialist, de Beauvoir also emphasises how workers are marginalised and oppressed as a means of protecting the ‘norm’ of capitalism.

  • Feminist existentialism- existentialism emphasises the role of individual experience and that science and morality alone will not fully encapsulate the complexities of human life. Feminist existentialism, therefore, emphasises how women understand their freedom in the face of patriarchy as well as how power can manifest in relationships between human beings. This existentialist position usually informs how feminist thinkers understand restrictive gender roles.

• Kate Millett (1934 – 2017)

  • Family- undoing the traditional family is key to true sexual revolution because it is in institution based on patriarchy. As a social institution, family has historically been based on a power dynamic that puts women at a disadvantage and therefore the traditional family unit should be altered or abolished. Millett was also an advocate of political lesbianism and the notion of people actively taking part in non-heterosexual activities and relationships as this too will undermine the prevalence of the traditional family unit in society.

  • Portrayal of women in art and literature- patriarchal culture produces writers and artists that degrade women and exist to promote what men want. This links to a later idea called the ‘male gaze’, which is the idea that women are objectified because that is what men want and this then results in cultural depictions of women being incredibly sexualised without a relevant reason.

  • Sexual politics- Millett coined a theory of sexual politics that argued in favour of a broader understanding of gender that included how homosexuals encounter gender norms. These ideas would later to many feminists becoming interested in LGBT issues, and indirectly prompted some women to become interested in political lesbianism.

• Sheila Rowbotham (1943 – present)

  • Capitalism- women are forced to sell their labour to survive and use their labour to support their family under the capitalist system. Because capitalism does not value the labour of women who support their families, they are effectively being exploited both in their professional life and their private lives.

  • The family- not only is this an instrument for disciplining and subjecting women to capitalism but a place where men took refuge from their alienation under a capitalist economy. As a result, men are in need of support and care but women have to be the caregivers in that situation. Women, on the other hand, are not considered by this equation and are provided less opportunity to receive care from their husbands. Links to the idea of a ‘double revolution’- women should develop class consciousness

• bell hooks (1952 – 2021)

  • Women of colour- Although white women and black women are both treated in gendered ways, they are still differences because of their race. Women will all experience some form of gender expectation, norm or role because of patriarchy, however this does not mean that patriarchy works in the same way for all women.

  • Intersectionality- the mainstream feminist movement has previously focused mostly on the plight of white, university-educated, middle/upper-class women and these women also often had no stake in or concern for the problems of non-white women. As a result, looking at where different parts of people intersect is important for recognising how patriarchy works for different people. For example, a black working class lesbian will experience patriarchal expectations also in relation to her class position and her homosexuality.