Overview
This lecture provides a comprehensive overview of feminism for A Level Politics, covering its historical development, key strands, core principles, major thinkers, and typical exam questions.
Parts of the Specification & Exam Questions
- Feminism covers key principles: patriarchy, "the personal is political," sex/gender, equality vs. difference feminism, and intersectionality.
- Exam questions often focus on areas of agreement/disagreement between strands, and on society, state, human nature, and economy.
Development of Feminism Through Time
- First wave (19th-early 20th c.): Focused on legal equality (suffrage, property rights); associated with liberal feminism.
- Second wave (1960s-80s): Expanded to sexuality, family, workplace, reproductive rights; "the personal is political"; associated with radical and liberal feminism.
- Third wave (1990s): Emphasized diversity, intersectionality, and critiques of previous waves' generalizations; linked to postmodern feminism.
- Fourth wave (2010s+): Use of social media for activism; focus on harassment, body shaming, and intersectionality.
Types of Feminism
Liberal Feminism
- Seeks equality through legal reform and gradual change, mainly in public sphere (politics, economy, education).
- Key reforms: suffrage, education, equal pay, reproductive rights, increased political representation.
- Thinkers: Mary Wollstonecraft argued for women's rationality and education; Betty Friedan critiqued domestic expectations.
Socialist Feminism
- Links women's oppression to capitalism and economic dependency; advocates abolition of capitalism and communal domestic labor.
- Later socialist feminists argue removing capitalism isn't sufficient; private sphere relations must also change.
- Thinkers: Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Sheila Rowbotham.
Radical Feminism
- Argues society is fundamentally patriarchal; demands transformative change in both public/private spheres.
- Key concepts: patriarchy as systemic oppression, "the personal is political," focus on private sphere, opposition to pornography and prostitution.
- Thinkers: Kate Millett, Mary Daly (difference feminism).
Postmodern/Intersectional Feminism
- Critiques earlier feminism for generalization; emphasizes diversity and intersectionality (multiple sources of oppression).
- Gender viewed as fluid rather than binary or fixed.
- Thinkers: bell hooks focuses on intersectionality and solidarity.
Key Principles: Agreements & Disagreements
- All feminists seek to eliminate gender inequality, but disagree on causes, solutions, and focus (public vs. private).
- Sex/Gender: Most are equality feminists (believe gender roles are socially constructed); difference/essentialist feminists believe in innate differences.
- Patriarchy: Radical feminists see it as systemic; liberals see inequality as fixable via reform; socialists focus on capitalism; postmodernists see patriarchy as complex/fragmented.
- "The personal is political": Radical/socialist feminists emphasize private sphere; liberals focus on public sphere; postmodernists highlight diversity of experience.
- Intersectionality: Central to postmodern feminism; less so in liberal, radical, or socialist feminism.
Major Thinkers
- Mary Wollstonecraft: Advocated education and legal equality.
- Charlotte Perkins Gilman: Highlighted economic dependence and societal conditioning.
- Simone de Beauvoir: Introduced sex/gender distinction; critiqued "otherness."
- Betty Friedan: Exposed limits of domestic roles.
- Kate Millett: Critiqued family as site of patriarchy, analyzed culture/literature.
- Mary Daly: Advocated essentialism and separatism.
- Sheila Rowbotham: Connected capitalism and sexism, called for dual revolution.
- bell hooks: Developed intersectionality and solidarity across differences.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Patriarchy — Systemic dominance of men over women in society.
- Intersectionality — Theory that multiple social categories (race, class, gender) intersect to create unique experiences of oppression.
- Equality Feminism — Belief that gender roles are socially constructed and should be dismantled for equal rights.
- Difference/Essentialist Feminism — Belief in innate, biologically-based differences between men and women.
- The Personal is Political — Slogan meaning private experiences reflect broader power structures.
- Sex vs. Gender — Sex: biological differences; Gender: socially constructed roles/behaviors.
- Solidarity — Unity and cooperation between oppressed groups to challenge systems of oppression.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review and create essay plans on society, state, economy, human nature, and core principles.
- Memorize key thinkers’ main arguments and which strand they represent.
- Practice adapting content to different possible exam questions.
- Read further on intersectionality and key feminist legislation/reforms.