Feminism key notes

Feminism

Thinkers:

Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860 - 1935).

Liberal feminist, USA

The Yellow Wall-Paper 1892, inspired by her personal life, feeling unfulfilled as a mother and suffering from postpartum depression which was not correctly diagnosed or treated by either her doctor or husband (whom she later divorced, inspiring her thoughts on women's rights to property after divorce).

First wave feminism - suffrage, political and legal equality. Was part of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (American version of the WSPU).

Women and Economics 1898

Womens personal lives were entrenched in inequality – shown in The Yellow Wall-Paper.

Women should have the right to work and earn a wage, separate from their husbands. She later did this while married to her second husband.

Concerning Children 1900

Discussed the fact that maternal feelings are not innate for all women, and that children of both sexes should be raised the same with the same toys, clothes to avoid any possibility of inequality between the sexes. Coming from a mother.

A Protest Against Petticoats 1887.

Influenced the 19^th amendment (women’s suffrage) in the USA, was very influential.

Simone de Beauvoir (1908 – 1986)

Liberal feminist, France

The Second Sex 1949

“Otherness”

Men justify their status by declaring that women are weaker.

“One is not born, but rather becomes, woman.”

Difference between the classes of women (working class vs middle class) rather than differences between men and women. Feminism was not equal to all classes of women.

In time, men could accept women’s equality and freedom after temporarily rejecting these ideas.

Worked on the idea of existentialism with Sartre – the idea of people being “worth” something, both men and women. How much were women worth in comparison to men?

Kate Millett (1934 – 2017)

Radical Feminist, USA

Sexual Politics 1970

Second-wave feminism, focused on society’s attitudes towards women as they were legally fairly equal to men (suffrage at least)

The patriarchy must be completely eliminated in order for women to be equal – society enforces patriarchy so much that it must be completely overthrown to remove any form of patriarchy. Revolutionary feminism.

Cultural channels enforce gender stereotypes for young children, for example through TV shows, religion, radio etc.

Sex is not equivalent to gender.

Male domains should not exist – politics, economics, armed forces etc were accepted to be these male domains and therefore made it difficult for anyone to win support for an alternative to patriarchal power.

Created “The Farm,” a lesbian commune, as she agreed with Firestone’s ideas that reserving sex from men would allow women to be more powerful.

Father’s position in her life may have influenced her radical view of men – he was alcoholic and abusive towards her.

bell hooks (1952 – 2021)

Radical feminist, USA

Ain’t I a Woman? 1981

3^rd Wave feminism – equality amongst women in their fight for feminism

Intersectionality – that people are made of multiple identities e.g. race, religion, gender, which makes them do different things like…