Feminism
Briefly outline the 4 waves of feminism - ✔✔✔First wave (1850s-1940s): focused on legal and political
rights of women, mostly famously via the suffragette movement, culminated in equal suffrage (1928).
Second Wave (1960s-80s): focused on the different roles that society expected of men and women.
Concepts of patriarchy, sex v. Gender and the personal is the political.
Third wave feminism (1990s): concerned with intersectionality, feminism thus far had focused solely on
white middle class women.
Fourth-wave feminism (2008-): reactions against media images of women, online misogyny & other
issues arising through social media.
Identify the key principles of feminism. - ✔✔✔- Sex and gender
- Patriarchy
- The personal is the political
- Equality vs. Difference
- Intersectionality
(These concepts/terms are mainly associated with radical feminism)
Outline the key principle of Sex vs. Gender. - ✔✔✔Sex: biological differences between men and
women.
Gender: the 'innate character' of men and women, e.g. sensitive vs. Logical.
,Feminists argue that biological differences are clear (e.g. consistent throughout cultures) there is no
evidence for gender existing objectively (e.g. different cultures have different notions of masculinity and
femininity).
Therefore, gender is a learned behaviour imposed by society.
Feminists argue that concepts of masculine and feminine, which describe ideal gender types, are used
by society to maintain women's subordinate position. The key characteristics for women to aspire to are
to be calm, passive, compassionate, poised and elegant - traits which discourage rebellion and
encourage traditional roles of mother/carer.
Outline the key principle of Patriarchy. - ✔✔✔Patriarchy: used by most feminists to describe a society
dominated by, and run in the interests of men. Involves the systematic oppression of women by men.
Pervasive throughout society.
Walby identified 6 structures in which patriarchy pervades.
How did Walby define patriarchy? - ✔✔✔In 'Theorising Patriarchy' (1990), Walby identified patriarchy
as a 'system of interrelated social structures which allow men to exploit women'.
- identified 6 overlapping structures, which take different forms in different social and historical
contexts:
1. State
2. Household
3. Violence
4. Paid work
5. Sexuality
6. Culture
, Outline Walby's 6 structures of patriarchy - ✔✔✔1. State: women have been denied formal power or
representation throughout history. If they have achieved these positions, they are discouraged by the
anti-family working hours and sexist culture.
2. Household: women are socialised to believe domesticity is destiny, discouraged from pursuing their
career. Tend to do the housework/be the main carer.
3. Violence: women are more prone to abuse. In the past, domestic abuse was considered a private
matter and the police tended not to interfere. Official statistics suggest 2 women are killed every week
in England and Wales by a current or former partner (ONS, 2015).
4. Paid work: women are likely to be paid less. When women entered the job market, they were pushed
to lower paid/part time roles, or in assistant positions to men (Nurses, secretaries), or roles which
focused on stereotypes of their caring nature (e.g. education).
5. Sexuality: women's sexuality is more likely to be policed & treated negatively. Germaine Greer argued
society forces women to repress natural sexual desires, considering them unladylike, deviant and
abnormal, while encouraging men to fully explore their sexuality (a symbol of masculinity).
6. Culture: women are misrepresented in the media and popular culture. Adverts in the 50s encouraged
the concept that women's purpose should be a good wife by excelling domestically. In modern times,
unreasonable expectations of women's beauty have been perpetuated, as well as issues of porn/lad
culture mags.
How has the media contributed to the oppression of women? - ✔✔✔Feminists argue that patriarchal
society uses the media (since the 1950s) and now social media to subtly tell women what is expected of
them & make them feel inadequate if they do not meet such expectations.
E.G. Use of size 0 models tells women that their appearance is paramount. Seeks to oppress women by
making them feel inadequate about their normal body.
Briefly outline the 4 waves of feminism - ✔✔✔First wave (1850s-1940s): focused on legal and political
rights of women, mostly famously via the suffragette movement, culminated in equal suffrage (1928).
Second Wave (1960s-80s): focused on the different roles that society expected of men and women.
Concepts of patriarchy, sex v. Gender and the personal is the political.
Third wave feminism (1990s): concerned with intersectionality, feminism thus far had focused solely on
white middle class women.
Fourth-wave feminism (2008-): reactions against media images of women, online misogyny & other
issues arising through social media.
Identify the key principles of feminism. - ✔✔✔- Sex and gender
- Patriarchy
- The personal is the political
- Equality vs. Difference
- Intersectionality
(These concepts/terms are mainly associated with radical feminism)
Outline the key principle of Sex vs. Gender. - ✔✔✔Sex: biological differences between men and
women.
Gender: the 'innate character' of men and women, e.g. sensitive vs. Logical.
,Feminists argue that biological differences are clear (e.g. consistent throughout cultures) there is no
evidence for gender existing objectively (e.g. different cultures have different notions of masculinity and
femininity).
Therefore, gender is a learned behaviour imposed by society.
Feminists argue that concepts of masculine and feminine, which describe ideal gender types, are used
by society to maintain women's subordinate position. The key characteristics for women to aspire to are
to be calm, passive, compassionate, poised and elegant - traits which discourage rebellion and
encourage traditional roles of mother/carer.
Outline the key principle of Patriarchy. - ✔✔✔Patriarchy: used by most feminists to describe a society
dominated by, and run in the interests of men. Involves the systematic oppression of women by men.
Pervasive throughout society.
Walby identified 6 structures in which patriarchy pervades.
How did Walby define patriarchy? - ✔✔✔In 'Theorising Patriarchy' (1990), Walby identified patriarchy
as a 'system of interrelated social structures which allow men to exploit women'.
- identified 6 overlapping structures, which take different forms in different social and historical
contexts:
1. State
2. Household
3. Violence
4. Paid work
5. Sexuality
6. Culture
, Outline Walby's 6 structures of patriarchy - ✔✔✔1. State: women have been denied formal power or
representation throughout history. If they have achieved these positions, they are discouraged by the
anti-family working hours and sexist culture.
2. Household: women are socialised to believe domesticity is destiny, discouraged from pursuing their
career. Tend to do the housework/be the main carer.
3. Violence: women are more prone to abuse. In the past, domestic abuse was considered a private
matter and the police tended not to interfere. Official statistics suggest 2 women are killed every week
in England and Wales by a current or former partner (ONS, 2015).
4. Paid work: women are likely to be paid less. When women entered the job market, they were pushed
to lower paid/part time roles, or in assistant positions to men (Nurses, secretaries), or roles which
focused on stereotypes of their caring nature (e.g. education).
5. Sexuality: women's sexuality is more likely to be policed & treated negatively. Germaine Greer argued
society forces women to repress natural sexual desires, considering them unladylike, deviant and
abnormal, while encouraging men to fully explore their sexuality (a symbol of masculinity).
6. Culture: women are misrepresented in the media and popular culture. Adverts in the 50s encouraged
the concept that women's purpose should be a good wife by excelling domestically. In modern times,
unreasonable expectations of women's beauty have been perpetuated, as well as issues of porn/lad
culture mags.
How has the media contributed to the oppression of women? - ✔✔✔Feminists argue that patriarchal
society uses the media (since the 1950s) and now social media to subtly tell women what is expected of
them & make them feel inadequate if they do not meet such expectations.
E.G. Use of size 0 models tells women that their appearance is paramount. Seeks to oppress women by
making them feel inadequate about their normal body.
