A Short History on Feminism

Gender & Society Lecture Week 2 FEMINISM microlecture one - A short history of feminism There are multiple types of different feminism. What feminism means to one person may be different to another. WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE CAMPAIGN 1887 the national union of women's suffrage societies 1903 Pankhurst founded the women's social and political union (WSPU) RADICAL FRACTURING (FEM TERRORISM?) The Suffragettes Militant Activism Bombing Campaigns Arson Contents of letterboxes destroyed Windows smashed Slashed paintings in galleries AIMED TO AVOID HURTING PEOPLE The Impact of WW1 Women doing men's jobs Suffrage organisations paused activity 1918 Representation of the people Act gave some women the vote 1928 Act gave women the vote on level terms as men Prior to 1918 around 40% of men couldn't vote as they did not own property. The second wave - Feminism 60s/70s resurgence of women seeking more equal rights. 1st INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 6th March 1971 London SUCCESS OF THE MOVEMENT 1970 Equal Pay Act 1974 Women's Aid Federation formed 1975 Sex Discrimination Act 1976 Domestic Violence Act microlecture 2 - Strands of Feminism LIBERAL FEMINISM As rational beings, women have the same legal, political, social and economic rights and opportunities as men. Women are unfairly discriminated against on the basis of their sex. Much of this discrimination is informal, based on customs and is the product of gender role conditioning. They favour political action and reform to provide women with opportunities to challenge stereotypes and prejudices. Emphasis on incorporating women into mainstream, giving women equal opportunities in the public sphere of education and employment. BETTY FRIEDAN (1963) THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE Friedan criticized the notion that women can find fulfillment only in domestic roles and encouraged women to engage in paid work outside the home to provide more economic power and personal fulfillment. CRITIQUE OF LIBERAL FEMINISM The strategies put forward may bring changes for some women, but not for the majority, fundamental changes to the social system are needed. It only brings opportunities for women on men's terms - women working within the status quo merely endorse the hierarchical and competitive structures of capitalism and patriarchy. It encourages women to be male clones - successful women adopt 'male' strategies and values. RADICAL FEMINISM Associated with the women's liberation movement of the 1960s and 1970s Gender inequalities are a central and primary form of social inequality Much of social and political theory, as well as institutions and organizations, are androcentric (male-centered) Gender inequalities and women's subordination is the outcome of an autonomous system of patriarchy Patriarchy is used to describe a structural system of male domination. It encapsulates the deep-seated social, political and sexual structures which have enabled men historically to gain and maintain their dominance and control over women. KATE MILLETT (1970) SEXUAL POLITICS Millett describes all societies as patriarchal, male-dominated and male-oriented. She argues that political relations between men and women are political relations of power. Female subordination is a process of sex role socialization which takes place in the male-headed family. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN Radical feminists have identified violence, both physical and sexual, as a key source of male control over women (Radford et al. 1995). Identify violence against women as a social issue and social problem. Brownmiller (1975) - the act of rape lies at the origins of men's oppression of women. Kelly (1988) - violence is an important mechanism for maintaining the subordination of women. Violence is an expression of power and hatred which controls, humiliates, objectifies and disempowers women. CRITICISMS OF RADICAL FEMINISM Some argue that identifying men as oppressors and women as exploited has fuelled conflict between men and women. The concept of patriarchy is seen as rigid, static and unchanging. It masks women's 'varied and complex social reality' (hooks 1984) - their differing experiences based on factors such as 'race', class, nationality, age, sexual identity. MARXIST FEMINISM The oppression of women is inextricably linked to the capitalist order. Women's unpaid labour and exploitation are exploited by capitalism - maintaining the working classes and reproducing the next generation of workers. The family is seen as a useful means of social control, keeping male workers focused on their employment by also assuming childcare responsibilities, gender roles and acting as a useful unit of consumption. Marxist feminists have been very active in examining the exploitation of women in paid work. SOCIALIST FEMINISM Michelle Barrett (1980) - women's oppression is a product of not only the economic needs of capitalism but also patriarchal gender ideology, which existed prior to capitalism. The family-household system is crucial to women's oppression. DUAL SYSTEMS THEORY Sylvia Walby (1986, 1990) argues that capitalism and patriarchy are separate systems but also intersect. Patriarchal structures restrict women and maintain male domination in 6 ways: Via the labour market Via the domestic division of labour in the home Via culture Via heterosexual relationships, e.g. marriage Via male violence Via the activities of the state, e.g. the law NB: Patriarchy & capitalism do not necessarily have the same goals. BLACK FEMINISM Much of feminist theory is produced by white women and is ethnocentric; it fails to recognise the differences between women and specifically the effects of race and racism. Not all men as equally powerful - black men have been denied positions in the white male hierarchy by slavery and imperialism; patriarchy is radically demarcated. bell hooks (1984) has noted that the experiences of Black women shows that oppression is not something that is easily overcome; rather, collective circumstances struggled to survive and resist oppression. microlecture 3 - Contemporary Feminist Movements DOES FEMINISM STILL HAVE A ROLE IN THE 21ST CENTURY? FT women workers paid 19% less than men 100 women murdered in UK yearly by partner/ex 2x women are illiterate compared to men BUT ALSO 95% prison population England/Wales are men 2/3 UK suicides are men UK Paternity leave is 2 weeks UK 13% dads have no contact with kids Gender and Society Seminar 2 Do you think we still need feminism? Yes, but less radical and maybe needs to be 're-branded' as the word has negative connotations. INTERSECTIONALITY Patricia Hill Collins (1990) examines the ways that gender, race, class, and sexuality work in concert to create inequalities, reinforcing them in a matrix of domination. She says any discussion on the result of several forces working hand in hand—the matrix of domination. No one singular force is the cause of injustice. Inequality functions on 3 levels: Personal/individual Groups Institutions/societies POSTMODERN FEMINISM Critical of 'universalising' feminisms that attempt to produce meta-narratives or grand theories to explain women's oppression. Judith Butler (1990) outlined the problems she identified with the category 'woman'. There is no fixed identity of woman. Feminism has played an important role in showing that there are not now and never have been any generic 'men' or 'men'. Only embodied men and women. Once the ideal universal man dissolves, so does his hidden companion, woman. We have instead myriads of women living in elaborate historical complexes of class, race and culture. (Sandra Harding 1987-285) CRITIQUE OF POSTMODERN AND POSTSTRUCTURALIST FEMINISM Postmodernism is seen as denying the political and social influence of gender and perpetuating gender inequality. Removing the categories of men and women may in fact hide gender inequalities. Overly academic and inaccessible. Some argue that postmodern feminism is removed from the reality and daily conditions of women's lives.