DISCIPLINES AND IDEAS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

FEMINIST THEORY (LESSON 8)

Feminist theory is a sociological theory mostly concerned with promoting women’s rights and interests to improve their
condition in society. Feminism holds the view that men and women should be equal in the political, economic and social
spheres. Feminists share the basic assumption that women suffer oppression or discrimination because of their gender.
They see patriarchy – the dominance of men in society – as the root cause of gender oppression. Feminists believe that
ridding society of patriarchy will lead to liberation for women.

Feminism is categorized into three waves:

First-wave feminism focused primarily on political inequalities and fought for women’s suffrage. The passage of the
Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1920, granting women the right to vote in all states ended
first wave feminism.
Second-wave feminism, which appeared in the early 1960’s and lasted through the late ‘80s, dealt with social and
cultural issues such as gender discrimination, reproductive rights, women’s sexuality, and patriarchal culture.
Third-wave feminism, which started in the early 1990’s emerged as a response to the failure of the first and second-
wave feminism to address other cultural issues such as racism.

Feminism has three basic forms: liberal, socialist, and radical feminism.
Liberal or mainstream feminism believes in the thought that equality for women can be achieved through political and
legal reforms. Liberal feminists support acts of legislation that gives equal rights and opportunities for women. Liberal
feminists have been responsible for the passage of many important laws that greatly improved the condition of women
such as reforms in welfare, health, and education. However, liberal feminism has been criticized for concentrating only
on the legislative part in its fight against patriarchy but ignored race and class issues. Liberal feminists also believe that
women have the same capabilities as men. Thus, women should be given the same opportunities in social, political, and
economic spheres.

Marxist ideas about oppression and exploitation in some ways influence Socialist feminism. Socialist feminists believe
that capitalism and patriarchy is the root of women’s oppression in society. Socialist feminists insist that women are
unable to be free because of their financial dependence on men in society. Advocates of socialist feminism argue that
liberation can only be attained by putting an end to class and gender.

Radical feminism views patriarchy as the fundamental cause of women’s oppression. Radical feminists believe that
ridding society of patriarchy by any possible means will liberate all women from oppression. Radicals argue that as long
as the patriarchal system are in place, society will not be able to be reformed. They view the total reconstruction of
society as the only alternative in order to achieve their goals.

Gender ideology refers to a set of attitudes and beliefs about the appropriate roles of men and women in the family or
society.

A traditional gender ideology maintains that men’s sphere is work and women’s sphere is the home. Traditional gender
ideologies believe that men should fulfill their roles as breadwinners, while women should fulfill their roles as
homemakers in the family. The implicit assumption is that men have greater power than women do.

An egalitarian gender ideology maintains that power is distributed equally between men and women and that each
group identifies equally with the same spheres. Though many societies around the world have experienced the
transition to an egalitarian one, many researchers stress that women still have the responsibility to take care of the
household and childcare tasks.

A transitional gender ideology maintains that it is acceptable for women to devote energy to both work and family
domains but women should hold proportionally more responsibility for the home and men should focus proportionally
more their energy on work.

Gender inequality, also sometimes called as sex discrimination, means receiving unequal treatment based on their
gender. Women are usually the subject of gender inequality. According to feminist theories, the root of gender
inequality is economic. Research from around the world has shown that gender inequality tends to slow economic
growth and make the rise from poverty more difficult. In some Asian societies, gender inequality can compromise the
basic health of women in poor families because they are the last in the household to receive food and medical care.