Women’s Psychology Unit 1

Women’s Psychology: Course Study Guide Unit One: A Feminist Psychology of Women What Is Feminism/Who Is A Feminist? ● Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression. They all share the same goal of ending sex bias and the unequal treatment of girls and women. ● There are many different types of feminists but mainly, a feminist is someone who supports equal rights for women. You’re a feminist if you’re willing to FIGHT for women’s rights mentally and physically. If you support it, it makes you pro-feminist. ○ You are a feminist if you believe that there is still work that needs to be done. You are willing to commit to causes larger than themselves and more likely to confront sexism. You're also less likely to believe negative stereotypes about feminists and have more positive views. ○ Some women prefer the term womanists and mujerista because it acknowledges racism and other forms of discrimination along with sexism. ● Oppression is the ways in which certain people experience degradation because of political, economic, or social realities. ● There are a lot of stereotypes of feminist women such as bra-burners, man-haters and general characteristics like being hairy, selfish, unattractive, angry, tense, and more. ● Post-Feminism is the idea that the women's movement has reached its goals and, therefore, feminism is no longer needed. One of their goals is to convince girls and women that identifying with feminism is problematic and that leads to confusion about what it means to be a feminist. ● Empowerment: capacity to attain power. Waves Of Feminism ● What is a wave though? It’s suggested that there are direct connections between movements and that activism peaks at certain points and retracts at others. ● The First Wave: People believe the first wave started in 1848 at the Seneca Falls Convention where people met to create priorities for advancing women’s rights. The main importance was getting the right to vote which they gained in 1920 -- this was for white women only. ● The Second Wave: Emerged in the 1960s. It was mostly about changing the day-to-day lives of women, such as more access to the paid labor force, and redefining a women’s role as wife and mother. This was also the time of the civil rights movement and the sexual revolution. Gained momentum at the Miss America pageant in 1968-1969. Feminists had a revolt burning stuff that represented female oppression like the bra and makeup to end unrealistic standards of beauty. ● The Third Wave: Emerged in the mid-1990s. This wave was about everyone’s experience of being a woman and how it was NOT the same. Before this time, feminists focused mainly on white educated, rich women and ignored diversity. This introduced the idea of intersectionality where oppression tied in with feminism. ○ An example is that race ties greatly into feminist movements. This wave was the revival of feminine aesthetics such as lipstick and high heels. The first two waves considered these items as oppression by a male-dominated society while the third wave considered them as female empowerment. ● The Fourth Wave: Usage of social media to promote activism. Though, some people reject this wave because the fight for equity is a constant and continuous process. ● The first and second wave were more of fighting against the oppression of a maledominated society while the third wave was about empowerment. Intersectionality ● Different types of oppression (racism, classism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, sexism) are interconnected and cannot be examined separately. ○ A woman is not just a woman. She has an age, identity, race-ethnicity, a religion, and other social identity characteristics. ● Racism played a huge deal for black women when fighting for rights. Types of Feminism Type Book Definition Simple Definition Liberal It focuses on gaining equal rights and Similarities to “we’re equal”; Feminism: prioritizes changing laws and structural inequalities (class promoting education. system) Radical Focuses on transforming women’s Against patriarchy (only men have Feminism: thinking since women are absolute authority) conditioned to prioritize men and to deem heterosexuality as a social ideal. Socialist Highlights the ways in which money Focuses on ending capitalism Feminism: and capitalism are interconnected through socialist reforms with gender inequities. Cultural Perceives gender inequity as being Focusing on women’s inheritance Feminism: related to a lack of appreciation for difference from men. women’s unique feminine qualities. Women of Connects gender inequity to other This movement is for women of Color structures of oppression, especially, color because they lacked Feminism: but not limited to, racism. representation. Queer Eliminated binary gender categories There were more genders; not just Feminism: since they are the main reason for two. gender inequality. Post-Colonial/ Connects women’s inequity to the White women assumed women of Transnational continued legal system of color needed their help while Feminism: colonialism. ignoring women of color’s culture. White savior. LGBTQ ● The term LGBTQ places all sexual minority individuals into one category, ignoring differences among them. ● The term places all people who are sexual minorities in comparison to heterosexual people which creates a bias in the research. ● Androcentric: male centered ● Lesbian Feminism: focuses on sexuality and reproduction as a central place of oppresion.