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HDFS215-Feministstheory.pptFeminists Family Theory
History, Ideas, Postulates and Analyses
Family Feminists Theory essentially has its roots in feminist theory.
It is essential to acknowledge that there are several types of feminism.
Feminism in general is—
The organized movement which promotes equality for men and women in political, economic and social spheres.
Feminists believe that women are oppressed due to their sex—
patriarchy is the system which oppresses women;
ridding society of patriarchy will result in liberation for all.
- As an ideology, feminism has existed in at least five waves.
- Some ideas of early theorists can be seen in some of these developments.
- 1st Wave Early feminism 1700s—1920s
- 2nd Wave Sufferage 1920s—1940s
- 3rd Wave Modern 1950s—1960s
- 4th Wave Reformation 1970s—1980s
- 5th Wave Post Modern 1990s—now
- Mary Wollstonecraft (1759—1797) was one of the first women to rebel against the idea of separate spheres.
- Public—men (finances, legal, politics, industry, struggle)
- Private—women (home, childcare)
- She saw these spheres as debilitating and reductionist.
- Wollstonecraft believe that these spheres kept women pretty, uneducated, and emotionally passive
- This meant that women could never be equal to men.
- By the end of the 19th Century feminism started to develop as a major political movement known as women’s sufferage.
- During the 2nd Wave feminism was strongly supported by Simone de Beauvoir and Virginia Woolf.
- These two women are often called the “mothers of feminism.”
They were the first to attack and theoretically comment on women’s opporession
Simone de Beauvoir said, “one is not born but rather becomes a woman.”
She made this statement based on her distinctions between sex and gender.
Beauvoir became the first person to apply Hegel’s master—slave dialectic to the power relation between men and women.
- In Hegel’s dialectic here is a struggle between self and other. The dependence of the other clashes with each self’s wish to be autonomous.
- Once self asserts its superiority and imposes recognition of his power of oppression on the other who submits—
- In other words, the master needs the slave to confirm his power—if he destroyed the other there would be no one to recognize him as master.
- Feminism in the 3rd Wave (contemporary) is committed to progressive or emancipatory goals of achieving equality for women in direct opposition to the Hegelian Master/Slave dialectic.
- Modern feminism began in the 1960s concurrent with the Civil Rights and anti-Vietnam War protests—
- Issues were
- equal pay for women
- job training for women
- reproductive choice
- maternity leave
- subsidized childcare
- end of sex discrimination.
- The modern feminists movement generated several types of feminism
Liberal feminism
Marxist (Social) feminism
Radical feminism
Socialist feminism
- Each perspective examined the issues of subjugation and devaluation of women via male hegemonic systems.
- Each examined the laws and customs that that served to restrict and/or reduce women’s roles in society.
| Liberal Feminism | Viewed the subjugation of women in terms of their career paths. Focused on equality for women in all areas by working for change within the existing system. |
| Marxist Feminism | Focused on the exploitation of women in their reproductive roles and in household labor. Linked women’s oppression to the class structure. Women’s work is not values, therefore women are not valued. |
| Radical Feminism | Emphasized male dominance as the problem in society—both power and authority. Sees oppression of women as the worst kind of oppression. All oppression stems from the patriarchy. Must overthrow the male created patriarchy in order to achieve equality. |
| Socialist Feminism | Focused on women’s liberation from class oppression and the patriarchy. |
- Most feminists in the United States tend to find the liberal approach of feminism as more acceptable.
- The was a shift in feminists thought during the 1980s which began to blur the distinctions that were so clear before.
- Feminists, who were now joined by enlightened men, focused on class status and workplace issues.
- In effect, feminism began to reexamine the gendered society in which we live.
Jesse Bernard’s early work (The Future of Marriage, 1972) experienced a resurgence.
Bernard examined marriage and found that there were two marriages.
His— Hers—
His marriage was undoubtedly better than hers.
Such work defied the conventional and theoretical (structural functionalist) thought that dominated the era.
- Her work was pivotal in getting family feminist theorists to consider status within a family.
- It was also critical in generating thoughts about how power is used within families—both intentionally and unintentionally.
- Theorist began to realize that power was a result of socialization and not natural or inevitable as had been previously believed.
- The modern feminists movement also gave rise to other schools of feminism, most notably—
Psychoanalytic feminism
Cultural feminism
These perspectives examined how women developed their identity through relationships, particularly intimate relationships.
| Psychoanalytic Feminism | Argued that women’s experiences must be taken into account in the analysis of their development. Argued that the Freudian tradition provides the best framework for understanding how langue shapes subjectivity and gender definitions. |
| Cultural Feminism | Attempts to recover lost or marginalized women’s works and traditions and create a culture that nurtures and supports women’s experiences and values. |
- The 4th Wave of the feminist movement involved a combination of societal and individual perspectives.
- At this point issues of oppression besides gender were also included.
- Some of these issues were
- class, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation religion, physical ability, and age
- This perspective sought to examine the within class status of women—in other words, it examined why some women had more privilege than others.
| Postmodern Feminism | Focused on women rather than the singular woman. Emphasis on difference, situated knowledge, and the absences of meta-narratives to explain experience |
| Multicultural Feminism | Believes that not all women are constructed equally. Each woman experiences oppression differently. Supports diversity, believes that sexism, racism, and classism are not separable. |
| French Feminism (Helene Cixous Luce Irigaray) | Draws on the French intellectual traditions to examine the role language plays in creating subjectivity and maintaining gender asymmetries. Explicitly critiques many of liberal feminism’s presuppositions but supports its political advances. |
| Sepratism Feminism (Mary Dally; Andrea Dworkin) | Argues that women’s primary responsibility is to care for each other and combat patriarchy. It is best achieved by creating female-only spaces and relationships. |
| Lesbian Feminism | Heterosexuality is fundamental to patriarchy, therefore women should escape heterosexuality, embrace lesbianism and challenge the social order. |
| Queer Theory Feminism | Examines the ways the marginalized sexualities subvert, parody, and disrupt dominant gender and power relations. |
- General Concepts
- Sex—refers to one’s biological assignment as defined at birth (male or female).
- Gender—refers to the social meanings and behaviors ascribed to one’s sex.
- Categorization—is the process of applying labels to behaviors and roles according to one’s sex.
- Stratification—the application of value to different categories.
- Privilege—the social status given to one with more power and value in society.
- General Concepts
- Social deconstruction—analysis of how views of reality are constructed by social interactions.
- Social discourse—how the analysis of social deconstruction is brought into the “conversation” of gender expectations and behaviors.
- Praxis—the step in which beliefs and values are put into action.
- Basic Assumptions
- Women’s experiences are central to our understanding of families.
- Gender is a socially constructed concept.
- Social and historical contexts are important.
- There are many forms of families.
- Emphasis is placed on social change.
- There is no objective, unbiased observations of humans.
