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Flashcards by gregory.rolfe, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by gregory.rolfe
over 10 years ago
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| Question | Answer |
| Liberal Feminism | - The original feminists of the 18th and 19th centuries - Wollstonecraft (1792), writing at a time when women had no property or divorce rights (political and legal) - The main issue for Liberal Feminists at the time was gaining the vote - It was believed that the vote would lead to liberal rights for women - It would pacify politics and make it less aggressive and competitive - It would put an end to sexual oppression - Would counter the left wing militancy of working class men - This conditioning was to be challenged through "consciousness raising" - Discussion and education made women aware of their oppression |
| Liberal Feminism (continued) | - During the "second wave" of feminism in the 1960s, concern over the lack of women in the public sphere continued - Liberal Feminists like Frieden maintained that domestic work kept women out of the workplace, public life and politics and led to drudgery, alcoholism, depression, despair and subordination - Aimed to remove social and legal barriers to equality that still existed - Particularly concerning education and careers - Opposed to abolishing the public/private divide - Believed that women had natural impulses that make them lean towards family, home and children. Motherhood should be valued; still pro choice tho (with regards to abortion) |
| Critique of Liberal Feminism | Radical Critique - It has failed; men still dominate positions of power - The public/private divide is artificial. Domestic work and domestic violence, for instance, are political issues - The individualism of Liberal Feminism draws attention away from the gender divide and patriarchy. Women are subjugated as a sex, not as individuals - The stress on "personhood" limits the possibility of "sisterhood" - Denies the importance the importance of gender, allowing "male" attributes to be imposed on women. Equality means male equality |
| Critique of Liberal Feminism (continued) | Socialist Critique - It only benefits educated, middle class women; other women are unable to compete with men in the public sphere e.g. working class women, women from the developing world - The state and capitalism actively support the social domination of both men and the dominant social classes |
| Difference Feminism | - A strand of radical feminism - Believe that there are essential differences between men and women - Biological differences cause social and cultural characteristics - In this respect it is similar to chauvinist or patriarchal ideology, but difference feminists believe these differences make women superior - they believe that women should strive to be "fulfilled women" or "women identified" rather than like men |
| Postmodern Feminism (Critique of Difference Feminism) | - Criticise difference feminism as biology is not clear cut - There is biological gradation between men and women e.g. mixed sex individuals, non-fertile women and men etc - Sex and gender are interchangeable |
| Socialist Feminism | - Opposes Liberal Feminism because of its support for capitalism and a class based society - Socialist feminist believe that women are oppressed by men and capitalism - Female oppression was seen as serving the interests of capitalism - The purpose of domestic labour was to produce the next generation of workers, but capitalists were not paying for this, so were getting two workers for the price of one - Domestic work was unpaid, thus undervalued. The "wages for housework" campaign of the 1970s sought to remedy this problem |
| Socialist Feminism (continued) | - Men were freed from childcare and housework so they could concentrate their energies more on paid work and thus be more efficient workers - The existence of the "bourgeois family" encouraged men to seek paid employment (and long hours) as otherwise they would be unable to keep a family - The "bourgeois family" provided compensation for men; they might be a "wage slave" at work, but they are a "master" at home - Housewives were often used as a reserve army of labour - Most women were temporary or part-time workers - A revolutionary change was needed to destroy the family |
| Problems for Socialist Feminism | - Which form of oppression is the most important - that of social class or that of gender? - A socialist revolution is needed to end this oppression. Thus the wider labour movement is more important than the women's movement - Other socialist feminists have seen a range of factors, such as cultural, social and political ones as being of equal importance |
| Radical Feminism | - Believe that gender is the most important division in society - Patriarchy exists in many areas: Political, public life (culture, philosophy, morality, language and knowledge), economy, social, personal (family), sexual, reproduction, religious - Patriarchy is thus systematic, institutionalised and pervasive. It is a process of gender oppression leading to the subordination and inferiority of women |
| Radical Feminism (continued) | - Sees women's oppression as the most important form of oppression - Women have a common interest as a gender - The personal is political - Radical Feminists have developed a varied range of ideas since the 1960s |
| Radical Feminists Greer, The Female Eunuch (1971) | - The stereotype of "femininity" has kept women subordinate. Women have been conditioned to a passive sexual role and their true sexuality which is more outgoing and adventurous has been suppressed. Women are thus "socially castrated" |
| Radical Feminists Millet, Sexual Politics (1970) | - Patriarchy has existed throughout history an across all economies and religions - It has been constant and pervasive - This is because boys and girls are conditioned from an early age to conform to specific gender identities - This comes mostly within the family, but also throughout society |
| Radical Feminists Firestone, The Dialect of Sex (1970) | - Considered biology important in the oppression of women. Child bearing led to sexual division of labour which then led women to be dependent upon men and the biological family - Contreception, abortion and child rearing by the state or community would lead to gender equality - Gender differences should be diminished and eventually abolished - Women are equal to men, and humans are naturally androgynous, but social conditioning and/or biology have prevented this |
| Difference Feminists Dworkin, Daly and Spencer | - Often seen to have minority or extremist tendencies but have developed their own critique - They see women as being fundamentally and unalterably different to men - Fertility and motherhood are extolled and sisterhood embraced - Women are superior since they are creative, caring and sensitive - Women's characteristics may be as a result of subordination but they are still valuable and show the way ahead. Feminine qualities of caring and co-operation are celebrated - Patriarchy is biological; men are naturally oppressors of women - they from an oppressive sex class that is aggressive, dominating and destructive - To be free, women must engage in feminist separatism |
| Difference Feminists: Brownmiller, Against Our Will (1976) | - Men dominate women through sexual and physical abuse. Rape or the threat of rape keeps women in a state of fear - All men benefit from rape because it causes female subordination - Sexual equality and harmony are impossible because all female relationships are oppressive; heterosexual women cannot be liberated - Only through political lesbianism or celibacy can women escape male oppression and be liberated |
| Critique of Difference Feminists | - Mainstream feminists have criticised the latter views as the mirror image of misogyny - Difference Feminism, in particular, is rejected by Liberal Feminists and some Radical Feminists - For most feminists, a more unifying and egalitarian approach is still favoured |
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