Feminism
Feminism: describes political, cultural, and economic movements that aim to establish equal rights
and legal protections for women
Key thinkers:
Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935)
Sex and domestic economics are hand in hand – for women to survive, they have to depend on their
sexuality and body in order to please their husbands
Societal pressure – young girls are compelled to conform in society and prepare for motherhood by
playing with toys and wearing clothes specifically designed for and marketed for them
Simone de Beauvoir (1908-86)
Sex Vs gender – ‘one is not born, but rather becomes, a woman’
‘Otherness’ – men are perceived as the ‘norm’ and women deviants from this ‘norm’
Kate Millet (1934-2017)
Family – undoing the traditional family was the key to true sexual revolution
Portrayal of women in art and literature – she showed how patriarchal culture had produced writers
and literary works that were degrading to women
Sheila Rowbotham (1943-)
Capitalism – women are forced to sell their labour to survive and use their labour to support their
family under the capitalist system
The family – not just an instrument for disciplining and subjecting women to Capitalism but a place
where men took refuge from alienation under a Capitalist economy
bell hooks (1952-)
Women of colour – she brought the cultural concerns of women of colour into the mainstream
feminist movement
Intersectionality – mainstream feminist movement had focused mostly on the plight of white,
college educated, middle/ upper-class women who had no stake in the concerns of women in colour
5 core ideas:
1. Sex and gender: sex refers to biological differences between men and women, whereas
gender refers to the different roles that society ascribes to men and women
2. “The personal is political”: idea that all relationships, both in society and in private
relationships, between men and women are based on power and dominance
3. Patriarchy: society, state the economy are characterised by systematic, institutionalised and
pervasive gender oppression
4. Equality Feminism and Difference Feminism: Equality feminists seek equality for men and
women in society, whereas difference feminists argue that men and women have a
fundamentally different nature from one another
, 5. Intersectionality: argues that black and working-class women’s experience of patriarchy in
state, society and the economy are different from white, middle-class women
Different strands:
o Liberal
o Radical
o Socialist
o Post-Modern
Sexism Vs Feminism
Sexism: any expression based on the idea that some persons (most often women) are inferior
because of their sex
Feminism: the ideology seeking to eradicate sexism, discrimination, and gender-based oppression
from society
Women spend x2 as much time on unpaid housework
45% - 55% of women have experienced sexual harassment since the age of 15 in the EU
Approx. 15 million girls globally will have experienced rape in their life
Everyday Sexism: Laura Bates
Why does sexism happen?
Patriarchy: “the rule of the father”
Historically patriarchy has been used to refer to autocratic rule by the male head of a family;
however, since the late 20th century it has also been used to refer to social systems in which power
is primarily held by adult men
Patriarchy: a society dominated by men where women are seen as inferior
Human Nature
Sex Vs Gender:
Feminism is focused on the way which the nature of women has been “constructed” by confusing
these two ideas and subsequently been used to justify oppression and sexism
Sex: for feminists = biological differences between men and women, they’re seen as inevitable,
natural, and unalterable
Essentialism: contested within feminism, the fundamental nature of the biological differences
between men and women. Some feminists say such differences are essential in understanding of the
status of women; others claim it should be irrelevant
For most feminists sex = irrelevant but others believe in essentialism
Gender: cultural differences between sexes, leading to the feelings of superiority of men and
inferiority of women and the assignment of inferior roles in society for women. Feminists view
gender differences as the creation of patriarchal society and see them as not natural. It has nothing
to do with the biological differences between men and women.
Feminism: describes political, cultural, and economic movements that aim to establish equal rights
and legal protections for women
Key thinkers:
Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935)
Sex and domestic economics are hand in hand – for women to survive, they have to depend on their
sexuality and body in order to please their husbands
Societal pressure – young girls are compelled to conform in society and prepare for motherhood by
playing with toys and wearing clothes specifically designed for and marketed for them
Simone de Beauvoir (1908-86)
Sex Vs gender – ‘one is not born, but rather becomes, a woman’
‘Otherness’ – men are perceived as the ‘norm’ and women deviants from this ‘norm’
Kate Millet (1934-2017)
Family – undoing the traditional family was the key to true sexual revolution
Portrayal of women in art and literature – she showed how patriarchal culture had produced writers
and literary works that were degrading to women
Sheila Rowbotham (1943-)
Capitalism – women are forced to sell their labour to survive and use their labour to support their
family under the capitalist system
The family – not just an instrument for disciplining and subjecting women to Capitalism but a place
where men took refuge from alienation under a Capitalist economy
bell hooks (1952-)
Women of colour – she brought the cultural concerns of women of colour into the mainstream
feminist movement
Intersectionality – mainstream feminist movement had focused mostly on the plight of white,
college educated, middle/ upper-class women who had no stake in the concerns of women in colour
5 core ideas:
1. Sex and gender: sex refers to biological differences between men and women, whereas
gender refers to the different roles that society ascribes to men and women
2. “The personal is political”: idea that all relationships, both in society and in private
relationships, between men and women are based on power and dominance
3. Patriarchy: society, state the economy are characterised by systematic, institutionalised and
pervasive gender oppression
4. Equality Feminism and Difference Feminism: Equality feminists seek equality for men and
women in society, whereas difference feminists argue that men and women have a
fundamentally different nature from one another
, 5. Intersectionality: argues that black and working-class women’s experience of patriarchy in
state, society and the economy are different from white, middle-class women
Different strands:
o Liberal
o Radical
o Socialist
o Post-Modern
Sexism Vs Feminism
Sexism: any expression based on the idea that some persons (most often women) are inferior
because of their sex
Feminism: the ideology seeking to eradicate sexism, discrimination, and gender-based oppression
from society
Women spend x2 as much time on unpaid housework
45% - 55% of women have experienced sexual harassment since the age of 15 in the EU
Approx. 15 million girls globally will have experienced rape in their life
Everyday Sexism: Laura Bates
Why does sexism happen?
Patriarchy: “the rule of the father”
Historically patriarchy has been used to refer to autocratic rule by the male head of a family;
however, since the late 20th century it has also been used to refer to social systems in which power
is primarily held by adult men
Patriarchy: a society dominated by men where women are seen as inferior
Human Nature
Sex Vs Gender:
Feminism is focused on the way which the nature of women has been “constructed” by confusing
these two ideas and subsequently been used to justify oppression and sexism
Sex: for feminists = biological differences between men and women, they’re seen as inevitable,
natural, and unalterable
Essentialism: contested within feminism, the fundamental nature of the biological differences
between men and women. Some feminists say such differences are essential in understanding of the
status of women; others claim it should be irrelevant
For most feminists sex = irrelevant but others believe in essentialism
Gender: cultural differences between sexes, leading to the feelings of superiority of men and
inferiority of women and the assignment of inferior roles in society for women. Feminists view
gender differences as the creation of patriarchal society and see them as not natural. It has nothing
to do with the biological differences between men and women.
