Feminist theory paper. Research Paper On Feminism 2022-10-29
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Feminist theory is a broad and diverse field of study that encompasses a wide range of issues related to gender, power, and equality. It is an interdisciplinary approach that draws from a variety of disciplines, including sociology, psychology, political science, and philosophy, to examine the ways in which gender shapes and is shaped by social, political, and cultural systems.
At its core, feminist theory is concerned with understanding and challenging the systems of patriarchy, which is a social, political, and economic system that privileges men and disadvantages women. Patriarchy is characterized by the systematic oppression of women, and it manifests itself in a variety of ways, including through gender-based violence, economic inequality, and cultural and social norms that reinforce traditional gender roles and expectations.
Feminist theory also aims to understand and challenge other forms of oppression and inequality, including racism, colonialism, ableism, and classism, as these systems of oppression intersect and reinforce one another. This intersectional approach recognizes that individuals often experience multiple forms of oppression simultaneously, and that these intersecting systems must be dismantled in order to achieve true equality and justice.
There are many different strands of feminist theory, and no one theory can fully capture the complexity and diversity of the experiences of women and gender non-conforming individuals. However, some of the key ideas that have emerged within feminist theory include:
The concept of the patriarchy and the ways in which it shapes and is shaped by social, political, and economic systems.
The idea of intersectionality, which recognizes that different forms of oppression and inequality intersect and reinforce one another.
The concept of gender as a social construct, rather than a biological reality. This idea challenges traditional notions of what it means to be a man or a woman, and suggests that gender roles and expectations are culturally and socially constructed rather than inherent.
The idea of agency, which refers to the ability of individuals to act on their own behalf and to shape their own lives. Feminist theory emphasizes the importance of empowering women and gender non-conforming individuals to take control of their own lives and to challenge the systems that oppress them.
Feminist theory has had a profound impact on a wide range of fields, including politics, sociology, psychology, and law. It has also inspired a range of social movements, including the women's rights movement, the LGBTQ rights movement, and the anti-rape and domestic violence movements.
In conclusion, feminist theory is a diverse and interdisciplinary field of study that aims to understand and challenge the systems of patriarchy and other forms of oppression and inequality. It has had a significant impact on a wide range of disciplines and has inspired social movements around the world.
Feminist Theory in Psychotherapy
This is a pivotal point in her book since it is at this juncture that Simon deBeauvoir poses a question to her readers asking what is a woman. The feminist therapist aims to create equal relationships and helps a client to explore the objective equal relations in other spheres of life. By claiming to speak for all women as universality implied , white feminists denied their social and economic advantages, reproduced racism within their theories, failed to make their movements relevant to women of color, and excluded myriad struggles against racism from the histories of feminism. Further, Durkheim argued that these differences between males and females grew as societies evolved DiCristina 2006. Together, these two forces have increasingly made difficult male attempts to accomplish masculinity — at least in legitimate ways. I believe that there are many points of intersection between space and expression in postmodern position, which for a certain time were occupied by representatives of feminist theories. The Power of Feminist Theory: Domination, Resistance, Solidarity.
Their research indicates that rape is not present in all societies, but rather that it varies based on gender equality. In this process, existing theories were pried open and read for the spaces they could provide for feminist inquiry, 4 and writers previously excluded from the canon—Harriet Martineau is a leading example—were reread and declared sociological theorists Hoecker-Drysdale 1991; McDonald 1994, 1998; Adams and Sydie 2002; Rege 2003:12—13. Marxist feminist theory recognizes that violence against women in not equally prevalent in all societies and that high rates of rape and sexual violence are found among modern capitalist societies. Feminists have been more inclined to believe that sexual inequality— in many forms, and some far more pronounced than others—predated class society and, if left to its own devices, would certainly outlive it, a position now supported by the histories of socialism in many countries. During the rise of industrial capitalism, for example, men of capital, together with middle-class philanthropists and social reformers and the better-paid male skilled workers engaged in diverse, but mutually reinforcing, strategies to push women out of the labor force, a move legitimated through the promise of a family wage for male workers Land 1980. Liberal Feminist Theory Liberal feminist theory challenges the notion of the natural state of biological imperatives that long kept males and females in separate spheres.
Further, hegemonic masculinity socializes males into believing that they can accomplish masculinity by ridiculing, dominating, and subordinating all that is female. Secondly, it is believed that in a sexist society any relationship between man and woman is not equal, regardless of the goodwill of participants. However, there are many different kinds of feminism such as radical feminism, socialist feminism, cultural feminism, and liberal feminism. For instance, disparities in strength and in aggression in general between males and females and the greater innate nurturing and care-giving behaviors in general found among females compared to males were seen as reflecting the natural order of things. She also raises a critical point of the master man and slave woman relationship, whereby, she describes it as a reciprocal need for power and dependance that ultimately favors the oppressor man than the oppressed woman. Gendering happens through constant reiterative behavior whereby earlier reiterations are cited in support of present behavior, thoughts, and words and produce the materiality of the body.
New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. Of course, a feminist movement attracted researchers, who developed certain feminist theories. More than a Labour of Love. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: University of Toronto Press. For instance, one question asked respondents if they were physically restrained and forced to have sexual intercourse. The greater the emotional ties males have with other male peers in a hyper-masculine subculture, the greater the likelihood of sexual violence against females.
Haraway and Butler are bright representatives of postmodern feminist theories. By doing this, it has criticized the political and social relations which lead to gender bias. Radical Feminism Radical feminists, meanwhile, argued that buried deeper in human society, both historically and psychically, were the relations of domination and subordination between the sexes. But the underside was that this surplus could be controlled by some and used in the interests of the few against the many. Also postmodern feminism exists and it entails all the problems experienced in different fields of feminism Delay, 2007.
For example, how much sexual violence is there? For this reason, the moral significance of birth lies in protection of infants in contrast to fetuses, they are equal members of society. Thus, males are not uniformly afforded the same opportunities to accomplish masculinity. For example, sociology departments offer courses on stratification, women or sex roles, and race and ethnic relations. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. She is not oppressed in the Caribbean because she is a desirable client for most Caribbean lovers. One subsect of feminist theory is liberal feminism, which notes inequalities between the sexes are caused by social institutions Ryle, 2015.
Though political rights have been achieved by the late 19th century which is the highlight of the first wave movement and economic independence has been granted to women as a result of the second wave movement, still women has not yet achieved the full liberation as the same men. So it has been with feminism. Also, the researcher believes that it is necessary to turn the highly technological world into the new one; in the same time, people should not reject science and technologies. This is the power that many feminists, especially in the 1970s, referred to as patriarchy Fox 1986; Walby 1990. Daly is another representative of cultural feminist theory.
As we know men and women face very different and diverse challenges in life and therefore developing a theory that is supposed to suggest solutions to these problems of both men and women is supposed to look at both sides of the coin i. Another area that people have applied feminist theory is on increasing the insight and understanding how people think. Thinking Feminist, Thinking Black. Berkeley, CA: Berkeley University Press. In Wood, Ellen Meiksins, Democracy Against Capitalism: Renewing Historical Materialism. Parity allows for sex-based differences in treatments and policies.
The postmodern world can easily express the issue under examination. The Alchemy of Race and Rights. Engendering the Social: Feminist Encounters with Sociological Theory. First Wave Feminism Essay 726 Words 3 Pages The first wave of feminism has been a revolutionary social movement in terms of that it could lead to an overcoming of the previous social order Newman, 2012 p. In Philosophy 830 2001 : 1-23. New York University Press, pp.
Thus, both Wood and Ferguson can be considered as race and gender-biased researchers, who paid attention to these phenomena in their socialist feminist theories. Thus, a women prevails over men in some aspects of life. It is only necessary that acts of sexual violence be well known so that fear of this violence keeps females in a subordinated position. Since feminist theory looks at all female crime and victimisation- including crimes involving malesreasons as to why males become victims of female assault and why they assault females are explored. Surely, it is that we can take her anywhere.
