Feminism 4 QUESTION AND ANSWERS ALREADY PASSED

The Public / Private Divide -The "public" refers to activities that take place within a public sphere, that can involve or affect everybody, such as politics, pressure groups, public debate, employment etc. The "private" on the other hand refers to private activities which solely affect individuals alone, such as housekeeping affairs, and family life. While those such as Liberal Feminists have seen the private divide as "non political", and thus not to be interfered with as it could affect people's liberties (thus allowing women to keep traditional roles if they wish), radical feminists argue that politics takes place within all social areas, not just publicly, but also privately, where their holding of traditional roles engrains male supremacy, allowing men to exploit not only in the home, but in all other walks of life. "The Personal is the Political" -The opposite to the Public / Private Divide. This term was developed by Hanisch, and it suggests that the dominant position of men and the political power they exert over women are not confined to public life alone, because all relations between men and women are political. Family life, sexual relations, work relations and politics itself, all display aspects of the power relationship between men and women. The Response to "The Personal is the Political" by different factions -Lesbian Feminists believe that since this shows relations between men and women as power based, they should be ceased, and lesbianism should instead be opted for, in order to produce a genderless community of women. Radical feminists have been closely associated with the idea, as they view the process of conditioning in the family (the distribution of housework and other responsibilities) and the politics of personal and sexual conduct in the home (the private), as the root of patriarchal oppression, which needs to be recognised. Socialist feminists agree with this, and thus criticise the public/private divide in that it conceals aspects of female oppression in the home (unpaid domestic work, subservience to husbands etc). However, other feminists have been deeply suspicious, particularly liberal feminism. This is because of their belief in the need for distinction between public and private, to allow women to make their own lifestyle choices in the private which are not interfered with by the state, as long as they don't interfere with other women's choices in the public sphere. "Otherness" (how it came about / acceptance) -This is the general term that women are seen as fundamentally different than men, not just biologically, but in every other sense, particularly economically, culturally and psychologically. Feminists argue that otherness was not only imposed on women by men, but that they came to accept it themselves, largely due to their perception that they have a separate role based on their biological differences (relating a little to Freud's "penis envy" theory). This therefore meant that not only were women inferior to men, but also to themselves. Because it was imposed on them however, those like Simone De Beauvoir argued that women were not conscious of their own acceptance, with Betty Friedan arguing it was a learned response from childhood through witnessing traditional family roles, making it difficult to dislodge Response to "otherness" by Factions -For liberals, otherness can only be combated if other experiences of women change, such as being granted equal status, which would allow women to shred their own sense of inferiority. Radical feminists on the other hand argue that women need to set up a complete counter culture against Patriarchy, rather than wait for gradual developments. The consciousness of women themselves can thus be altered if they become separated from men, as they can take control of their own inner being. Freudian Theory and Feminism -Freud was a psychoanalyst who had extensive and highly complex theories, but the most important one regarding feminism is the idea of "penis envy", which Freud argued made women suffer from an undeniable sexual inferiority. This was because in his mind, women grew up to believe that men must be more powerful since they possess a penis, while women do not. Most feminists reject this analysis, as they believe that superiority arises from social conditioning (such as Radical Feminist views on the family). However, post modernists use his theory to help understand Patriarchy, as they believe his views on sexual differences are valid. Feminist Views on Sex and Gender -Most feminists believe that sex and gender are two different things. They tend to believe that sex is referring to biology (based on genitalia, chromosomes and hormones, as well as social legal and medical classifications given to one's body at birth). These distinctions are scientifically unavoidable. Gender however refers to traditional male or female roles which are stemmed from childhood (men being expected to become producers and leaders and women the housekeepers and child rearers). The process of developing such expectations are clear, being seen for example in children's play, the relationships between father and sons, mothers and daughters, and through traditional literature. In the past, it was also encouraged through educational practice (girls learning sowing and cooking and needlework while men learned woodwork and metalwork). The Response to Gender Roles by Faction -Feminists argue that gender roles are not inevitable, and differences can be modified or eliminated. Liberal Feminists argue that women must be given choice as to whether or not to hold traditional roles, and have total equality with men. Radicals on the other hand, point to traditional roles as the genesis of wider political control by males, and thus want to destroy traditional roles altogether. Stereotyping -Feminists are strongly against stereotypes of women (such as not being as skilled physically as men), and have argued for getting rid of them, especially Radical Feminists, who believe in gaining an equal playing field for women by challenging norms like traditional roles and temporary segregation of women from men. Why Sex and Gender is so important for Feminists (Chronologically) -Early Feminists like Wollstonecraft and Taylor saw gender arising differently from biological differences, which was natural. For them, not only were these differences inevitable, but it meant that women would naturally play a different role to men. Gender was therefore not a separate problem, they focused on improving what women's different opportunities could be. This view would change after Second Wave Feminism, once a clear distinction between "sex" and "gender" was made. On gender, Liberal Feminists argued that women could hold natural gender roles if they wished, but only if they consented, and equality between the genders could be created through legal reforms to produce equality of opportunity and economic equality. Radicals on the other hand proposed a radical transformation of society in order to wipe out gender differences. Meanwhile for sex, liberals believed the differences were natural, since they were biological. There was a little less clarity for radicals, because while they too accept the biological differences as natural, some have used it to create a superior female hierarchy, or to make women superior or separate from men Feminists Views on Equality -Liberal Feminists believe that equality for women should mean full political, legal, economic, and social rights for women, with total equality of opportunity for education and employment. While Radicals accept that equality is an essential goal, some such as Firestone see women's culture as superior - she for example proposed the removal of man's reproductive role as a way of removing their oppression. Others replace the emphasis on superiority with the need for separation, in the belief that men and women are simply incompatible, such as Millett, who proposed