Feminist theories of inequality

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  • Created by: jesskeayy
  • Created on: 14-06-17 20:43
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  • Feminist theories of inequality
    • Women experience social control and domination because society is patriarchal
      • Women do not experience the same freedom as men
    • Biological theory of male domination
      • Women's child-baring functions make them unfit for life outside of the home
      • Males and females are emotionally and psychologically different
      • Women are programmed to want children and therefore do not put as much effort into work than males do
      • FEMINIST CRITICISMS
        • Differences between individuals are more complex than based on gender
        • Gender differences are culturally shaped from childhood
          • Women may be weaker but this is because they're encouraged to be inactive and passive
        • Certain characteristics are deemed 'female' i.e. caring
          • If this weren't such a stereotype, men would take a more active role in fatherhood
        • Social gender inequalities cannot be explained biologically, as social structures create gender inequality
    • Legal/Social structures
      • We are socialised into gender roles from birth, so women are discouraged from being strong and encouraged to be subordinate to men
      • Despite achievements in education for females, after the age of 40, they become disadvantaged in the work place as they lose status
        • gender pay gap
        • Women are less likely to achieve high positions aand are under-represented in the government
    • Family influences on gender
      • New Right believe the nuclear family is essential for western culture to be instilled into children
      • Family is dominated by legal processes
        • Who can be married, how many people can be married, family inheritance, divorce and abortion laws
          • STANKO
            • Family life is a dark place, with acts of oppression in the home being justified by the idea that males control the family
      • DURRANT
        • Women carry out 2/3 of domestic work when in a relationship
    • Economic control
      • Women were controlled by pay until the mid-70s when the equal pay act was implemented. After this, employers had to call jobs 'female roles' to be able to pay them less
      • Traditional female roles are the 4 C's. Cleaning, cooking, caring and check-outs.
      • FAWCETT SOCIETY 2010- WOMEN STILL PAID 17% LESS THAN MEN FOR SAME JOBS
    • symbolic violence
      • Symbolic power makes women feel they are weaker as victims than males are
        • Victims accept this without question i.e. sexism
      • Teachers in schools would not have authority without children accepting their 'lesser' position
      • Values of men imposed on women without question, no consciousness
    • 'Nothing Happened'
      • Threat of violence impacts women's lives- fear of walking alone at night
        • Points viewed as distressing for women are not seen to be important to police, so sexual abuse, intimidation and comments become part of our normal lives
      • Men claim to be 'only joking' when making sexist remarks
    • CRITICISMS
      • Difficult to measure some forms of power and how experiences really are for women
      • Lack of statistical evidence
      • Not all women believe in and support feminism, this is an issue as we are not united on our opinions
      • Women choose to take on the 4 C's they are not forced to

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