Feminism

1. Feminism As theory and practice

2. Patriarchy (95) • System of male dominance

3. Social construction of woman • Woman as inferior, flawed man. • Seductress, temptress, cause of original sin. • Only good woman is an obedient woman.

4. Autonomy and Emancipation • Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own. • Women should be able to participate, to be and to become themselves.

5. Simone de Beauvoir • Argued that women have been defined purely in relation to men and not as autonomous beings. • Her goal was the right of women to express themselves as individuals.

6. Woman as peaceful • One aspect of socialization • Reclaiming power

7. The personal is political (112-113) • In 2002-2003, there were an average of 223,280 victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault. • Only about 40% of rapes sexual assaults were reported to law enforcement in 2003. • Since 1993, rape/sexual assault has fallen by over 65%. • Every two and a half minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted. --source: http://www.rainn.org/statistics/

8. Murder • Every day four women die in this country as a result of domestic violence • the most conservative estimates indicate two to four million women of all races and classes are battered each year --source: http://www.now.org/issues/violence/stats.html

9. The public/private myth (112-113) • Feminists argue that the separation of public and private perpetuates inequality of women. • Housework is one example.

10. Women in leadership • Women have the vote but do they have power? • Women priests? • Women politicians? • 16 women in the Senate (33 women senators have been elected) • 70 women in the House

11. Descriptive representation • Seeing a woman in office will inspire more women to run for office.

12. The politics of language (115-116) • Political correct… • The “B!@#$”

13. Reform or Liberal Feminism (117) • Focus on Rights • The equal rights amendment • On March 27, 2007 House and Senate Democrats reintroduced the measure under a new name: “the Women’s Equality Amendment.” • What are the 15 states that have not ratified the ERA?The 15 states that have not ratified the ERA are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia.

14. Marxist feminism • Critique based upon the patriarchal family’s role in supporting capitalism.

15. Socialist Feminism • Similar to other forms of feminism but emphasize the democratic, egalitarian aspects of socialism.

16. Integrative Feminism • Focus on equality but not sameness

17. Separatist or Radical Feminism • Takes Woolf’s argument to the extreme. • Women will only be free when they completely escape the patriarchal world. • For an interesting novel read “Herland”.

18. Intersectionality-race/class/gender • bell hooks Feminist Theory: from margin to center • Unity of oppression • Advocating feminism

19. Third World Feminism • Poverty vs. Patriarchy

20. Reproductive Rights • Transforming society to allow full participation by women. • The right to choose is about more than a woman's right to safe, legal abortion. Freedom of choice encompasses preventing unintended pregnancy through sex education and improved access to birth control, defending a woman's right to bear healthy children, defending the independence of our nation's courts, and addressing the inequities in reproductive health care.