Feminism

1. Feminism

2. Lesson objectives • To understand the key ideas of feminism

3. Write down five words that spring to mind when you think about feminism. Don’t show anyone

4. A Bad reputation? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pdbnzFUsXI

5. But Perhaps we should all be feminists? ChimamandaNgoziAdichie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg3umXU_qWc

6. What are fundamental values of feminism?

7. It’s axiomatic (self evident!) • All varieties of feminist thought (even the most politically conservative) tend to begin from the observation that women are not only socially different but also fundamentally unequal to men.

8. Did you know? • On average two women a week are killed by a violent partner or ex partner in the UK? • Up to 3 million women and girls across the UK suffer domestic abuse, stalking or other violence every year • In 2011 the Forced Marriage Unit advised over 1,450 people – 78% of these were women or girls • Around 66,000 women in the UK have suffered genital mutilation

9. Did you know? • Women represent 42% of the workforce, but only: • 22% of MPs • 6.1% of FTSE 100 executive positions • 20% of university professors • 3% of chairpersons • Women earn an average of £140,000 less than men over their working careers

10. Class and patriarchy • The dual burden (Home and work) • The triple shift (children, job, housework)

11. "malestream" bias. • "appendages" of men "...sociology examines the status quo, calls it phenomena, and pretends to take no stand on it, thereby avoiding the necessity to comment on the invidious character of the relationship between the sex groups it studies. Yet by slow degrees of converting statistic to fact, function to prescription, bias to biology (or some other indeterminate) it comes to ratify and rationalize what has been socially enjoined or imposed into what is and ought to be. And through its pose of objectivity, it gains a special efficacy in reinforcing stereotypes...Functionalists, like other reactionaries, are out to save the family". Radical feminist Kate Millett ("Sexual Politics", 1971)

12. Homework: Observe 2 days of your household. Who does the chores? Follow this up with a quick interview to find out what attitudes people have towards the division of labour.

13. Plenary Now look back at the 5 words you wrote at the start of the lesson. Have you changed your mind?

14. Lesson objectives • Identify the different branches of feminism. • Explain the feminist view of the family. • Evaluate the feminist view of the family.

15. The three major types of feminism a. Liberal feminism. b. Marxist feminism. c. Radical feminism.

16. 1. Liberal feminists Ann Oakley Claire Wallace

17. Liberal Feminism What does the word liberal mean? Willing to respect or accept behaviour or opinions different from one's own; open to new ideas.

18. Liberal Feminism Liberal feminists do not spend time blaming men or capitalism for women’s position in society. They aim to change social policy/laws to support women. Liberal Feminists believe that laws such as the Sex Discrimination act are making life better for women although equality still does not exist.

19. LAWS Look at the timeline and identify any significant acts that have created greater gender equality in the uk

20. Key Terms • Emotional work • Economic  dependency • Gender stereotypes • Discrimination • Patriarchy

21. Evaluation • Marxist and radical feminists argue that liberal feminists are too optimistic. • Marxist feminists argue that there needs to be a revolution and capitalism must be overthrown in order to women to gain equality. • Radical feminists argue that women will only experience equality when patriarchy is no longer in place.

22. Evaluation • New laws don’t necessarily stop people committing crimes

23. 2. Marxist feminists

24. Marxist Feminism • A combination of Marxism and Feminism. • What is Marxism? • Marxism is a perspective inspired by Karl Marx. • Society is unequal due to the economic system • The powerful minority exploit the majority • Most things in society can be attributed to the economic • system

25. Marxist Feminism Marxist Feminists look at the ways women are exploited and how this benefits the capitalist society. Can you think of any ways the exploitation of women

26. Marxist Feminist view of Family • Zaretsky: • Family must be abolished • Paying wages for housework preserves traditional inequalities • Socialisation of household work

27. Ansley (1972) The emotional support that wives provides help to support the husband’s frustration and this frustration comes from the stress of working within a capitalist system.

28. Marxist Feminism Ansley (1972) ‘Women are takers of shit’ Talking point: how might take out the frustrations of capitalism on men their partner/wife?

29. Marxist Feminism Beechey believes that housewives carry out two functions: • To provide care for current and future workers • To be a cheap reserve army of labour Veronica Beechey Pair/Share: when might the second function come into play?

30. Marxist Feminism Enemy=capitalism Capitalism is the cause of oppression in the family not men

31. To summarise Barrett: a "patriarchal ideology" only develops effectively out of the initial relations of (male) domination and (female) subordinationproduced by the Capitalist system of production - not the other way around as many Radical feminists have argued.

32. Evaluation • Radical feminists argue that patriarchy not capitalism is the issue that needs to be addressed. • Liberal feminists argue marxist feminists ignore the progress that has been made over the last 50 years.

33. Rihanna ‘Man Down’ • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEhy-RXkNo0 • ‘Man Down’ is about domestic abuse. In this video Rihanna was sexually abused by her boyfriend. The song depicts her retaliation.

34. Domestic Violence The ‘Dark side’ of family life

35. Interview with Rihanna • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-wyhPK81Io&feature=related • Watch this clip and make notes. Do you feel sorry for Rihanna? Did she bring this on herself?

36. Chris Brown’s response • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5DQ8qh1slQ&feature=related • Do you think Chris Brown is remorseful? • Do you feel sorry for him?

37. What is domestic violence? • “Physical, psychological, sexual or financial violence that takes place within an intimate or family-type relationship and forms a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour. It may involve partners, ex partners, household members or other relatives.” • Taken from the Women’s Aid Federation (2008)

38. Victims of domestic violence Lorena Bobbit Pamela Anderson

39. Lorena Bobbit • http://www.dailytop10.net/top-10-celebrities-who-suffered-domestic-violence/ • Lorena fights back! • Are Lorena’s actions justified?

40. The British Crime survey (2007) • Domestic violence accounts for almost a sixth of all violent crime. • It is estimated that there are 6.6 million domestic assaults a year, about half involving physical injury.

41. Mirlees- Black • Mirlees- Black found that: • Most victims are women • 99% of all incidents against women are committed by men. • Nearly one in four women has been assaulted by a partner at some point in her life time, and one in eight repeatedly so.

42. Dobash and Dobash (1979) • Interviewed women in women's refuges in Scotland and used police and court records to research domestic violence. • Dobash and Dobash found that violent incidents could be set off by what a husband saw as a challenge to his authority. • They argue that marriage legitimates violence against women.

43. Kathryn Coleman Kathryn Coleman (2007) found that women were more likely than men to have experienced ‘intimate violence’ across all four types of abuse – partner abuse, family abuse, sexual assault and stalking.

44. Official Statistics • Official statistics understate the true extent of domestic violence. Why?

45. Stephanie Yearnshire • Victims may be unwilling to report it to the police. • Stephanie Yearnshire(1997) found that on average a woman suffers 35 assaults before making a report. Domestic violence is the violent crime most likely to go unreported.

46. David Cheal • Police and prosecutors may be reluctant to record, investigate or prosecute those cases that are reported to them. • David Cheal1991 found that this reluctance is due to the fact that Police and other state agencies are not prepared to become involved in the family. They make 3 assumptions about the family...

47. WHY IS IT IGNORED? • The family is a private sphere so access to it by the state agencies should be limited. • The family is a good thing and so agencies tend to neglect the ‘darker side’ of family life. 3) Individuals are free agents, so it is assumed that if a woman is experiencing abuse she is free to leave.

48. Radical Feminist view point • The evidence from Dobash and Dobash is evidence of patriarchy according to Firestone and Millet. • The key division in society is between men and women. • The family is the main source of female oppression. Women are dominated through domestic violence or the threat of it.

49. Radical Feminism Radical Feminists see the exploitation of women as being a result of having men dominate society. Delphy and Leonard (1992) • Family role  maintains patriarchy (rule by men). • Family is a system whereby men benefit at the expense of women.

50. Radical Feminism Men benefit from women’s unpaid domestic labour and from their sexual services, and they dominate women through domestic and sexual violence or the threat of it. Women should find alternative family forms to the nuclear family to escape patriarchy. Talking point: what alternative families might radical feminists prefer?