Feminist theories of inequality
- 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
- STANKO
- Who can be married, how many people can be married, family inheritance, divorce and abortion laws
- 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
- Symbolic power makes women feel they are weaker as victims than males are
- '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
- Threat of violence impacts women's lives- fear of walking alone at night
- 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
- Women experience social control and domination because society is patriarchal
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