Feminism and the family
Marxist Feminists
“Real feminists fight capitalism”
Soft solutions
- Payment for invisible work
- Closing the pay gap
Hard solutions
- Revolution to overthrow capitalist systems.
Criticisms
- Women are no longer the reserve labour force
- Women are oppressed in non capitalist countries
- Domestic violence laws
Women are takers of shit- 50/50 agree (not all women are)
By getting rid of capitalism you will also get rid of the patriarchy - Disagree
Invisible labour such as domestic labour should be paid - Disagree
Radical feminists
Main role of the family is to maintain patriarchy
Delphy & Leonard
- Family is a reflection of patriarchy in society
- Family = Ownership
- Gender Role Socialisation ( reinforces heteronormative values)
Only by getting rid of patriarchy and the family in particularly will lead to the
end of women’s oppression
Solutions
- Separatism ; Women must organise themselves to live independently of
men
- Politicl Lesibianism ; heterosexual relationships are inevitably
oppressive
- Matrifocal Households ; all female households ( greer)
Criticisms
- Ignores the progress that has been made
- Solutions are unobtainable
- Ignores those that choose traditional roles
Family is at the root of patriarchy - Disagree
Family equals ownership- 50/50
Family is the main means by which men dominate women- disagree
Equality can only be achieved through separatism - Disagree
, Intersectional Feminism
There is a false universality of women’s experiences in the family - lesbian,
heterosexual , black , white , middle class and working class women will have
very different experiences of the family.
Personal life Perspective
Sociology of the family is ethnocentric-focuses on white , middle class.
Interactionist approach : definition of the family
Smart & Nordqvist : Donor conceived children
Significant Relationships
New definitions of the family
Carol Smart - Shaping the modern family
Life projects and Personal Biography - you can make goals to get places in life
but you cannot write your own story.
Choice & Diversity - you can choose who is your family
Public v Private spheres - certain aspects of us that we share with specific
people , private or public sphere does not refer to a main group , but only who
you want it to.
Me vs I - me = person you show to the world based on most things you can’t
decide. I = your internal person , who you choose to be.
Carol Smart - core concepts in the study of personal life
Memory - Those you’ve had events with ; the most significant have the most
impact on our memory. They are more likely to last a lifetime.
Biography - A person’s story so far , understanding their movement through
life.
Embeddedness - how we are embedded with others , we go through phases
where people interlink.
Relationality - how we relate to one another
Imaginary - how we imagine a person in our life course , do we view them in
our future?
Postmodernism view of the family
- Structures of family are no longer dictated by tradition or society
- There is no such thing as the universal family type.
Marxist Feminists
“Real feminists fight capitalism”
Soft solutions
- Payment for invisible work
- Closing the pay gap
Hard solutions
- Revolution to overthrow capitalist systems.
Criticisms
- Women are no longer the reserve labour force
- Women are oppressed in non capitalist countries
- Domestic violence laws
Women are takers of shit- 50/50 agree (not all women are)
By getting rid of capitalism you will also get rid of the patriarchy - Disagree
Invisible labour such as domestic labour should be paid - Disagree
Radical feminists
Main role of the family is to maintain patriarchy
Delphy & Leonard
- Family is a reflection of patriarchy in society
- Family = Ownership
- Gender Role Socialisation ( reinforces heteronormative values)
Only by getting rid of patriarchy and the family in particularly will lead to the
end of women’s oppression
Solutions
- Separatism ; Women must organise themselves to live independently of
men
- Politicl Lesibianism ; heterosexual relationships are inevitably
oppressive
- Matrifocal Households ; all female households ( greer)
Criticisms
- Ignores the progress that has been made
- Solutions are unobtainable
- Ignores those that choose traditional roles
Family is at the root of patriarchy - Disagree
Family equals ownership- 50/50
Family is the main means by which men dominate women- disagree
Equality can only be achieved through separatism - Disagree
, Intersectional Feminism
There is a false universality of women’s experiences in the family - lesbian,
heterosexual , black , white , middle class and working class women will have
very different experiences of the family.
Personal life Perspective
Sociology of the family is ethnocentric-focuses on white , middle class.
Interactionist approach : definition of the family
Smart & Nordqvist : Donor conceived children
Significant Relationships
New definitions of the family
Carol Smart - Shaping the modern family
Life projects and Personal Biography - you can make goals to get places in life
but you cannot write your own story.
Choice & Diversity - you can choose who is your family
Public v Private spheres - certain aspects of us that we share with specific
people , private or public sphere does not refer to a main group , but only who
you want it to.
Me vs I - me = person you show to the world based on most things you can’t
decide. I = your internal person , who you choose to be.
Carol Smart - core concepts in the study of personal life
Memory - Those you’ve had events with ; the most significant have the most
impact on our memory. They are more likely to last a lifetime.
Biography - A person’s story so far , understanding their movement through
life.
Embeddedness - how we are embedded with others , we go through phases
where people interlink.
Relationality - how we relate to one another
Imaginary - how we imagine a person in our life course , do we view them in
our future?
Postmodernism view of the family
- Structures of family are no longer dictated by tradition or society
- There is no such thing as the universal family type.
