Feminist Theories

Feminist Theories

Is there a distinct and separate feminist research methodology or simply social research informed by feminist ideas?

Introduction:

The feminist theories and ideas focus on the relationship that exist between gender and social analysis, the perspective of the feminist theory is that inequality in the society is not as a result of biological differences but as a result of social organisation. Some feminist argue that the sociology learnt today is sociology of men stating men point of view and therefore the theories and ideas given are biased with the absence of women based theories and ideas.

The feminist ideas are can be traced back to the work of Mary Wollstonecraft, according to the feminist idea they state that women are oppressed, restrained, used, abused by men and subordinated, therefore the feminist theories tend to answer the question what about women in the society. Therefore it is clear that there is a social finding that is informed by the feminist idea in the social research field. The feminist theories report on inequality in the society, they therefore borrow on the idea of Marx regarding inequality and therefore feminism is a Marxist theory, there exist various forms of feminism and these forms address various issues that affect women in the society, for this reason the feminism view of society is a distinct field of research whereby they focus on the existence of gender inequality in the society.

Feminist theorist however only focuses on gender problems in the society and do not address other society issues that are greater importance, other theorist such as Emile Durkheim and Karl Marx focused on almost all issues in the society. The feminist are concerned with male dominance and how changes in the society will lead to a gender equal society. This paper focuses on the feminist ideas and the methods they use in research in order to build up their theories and hypothesis.

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Feminist Theories

Feminist theories:

Mary Wollstonecraft (1759 to 1797) was a philosopher and a feminist theorist, she stated that women are not inferior to men and inferiority only occurred due to the fact that women lacked education, she was the founder of feminism. After Wollstonecraft many feminist theories have been developed and that there exist various political tendencies in feminism and these include: academic feminists, radical feminism, socialist feminism, material feminism, black feminism, white feminism, female supremacy feminism and liberal feminism. [1]

Liberal feminism:

The liberal feminism is considered the mainstream feminism. Their idea is to assert that men and women are equal through their efforts that are aimed at achieving legal and political reforms. Some of the theorists in this form of feminist include Wollstonecraft, Gloria Steinem, Rebecca Walker and Betty Freidan. Their actions help in showing women ability as a way by which they could gain equality, some of the issues they focus on include equal pay, health care and domestic violence. They achieve their objectives through law whereby they aim at eradicating institutional biasness, in the US their efforts led to the amendment of the equal right

constitution.                                                                                                       [2]

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The liberal feminist are aimed at ending domestic violence, ending of racism, promoting lesbian rights, gaining abortion rights and achieving economic justice among women. For this reason therefore the liberal feminism are referred to as the mainstream feminist because they have not deviated from their course of actions and that they are aimed at political reforms that will help achieve gender equality.

Black feminism:

Black feminism are more concerned with the needs of the black women, their needs include access to food, water and fuel, their needs vary with the needs of the white woman whose needs include equal pay, equal opportunity, equal education opportunities and abortion on demand, from the above therefore the black feminist focus on the needs of the black women and this needs are different from the needs of the white women. [3]

Radical feminism:

Radical feminists include Carol Hanisch, Judith Brown and Kathie Sarachild, Radical feminism is concerned with the issue of male dominance, they believe that male dominance is the cause of all the women problems, they believe that the power invested in men is the cause of all the problems they face, the radical feminist also view social institutions as rthe root cause of male dominance, they therefore believe that patriarchy is the major cause of oppression whereby the system of patriarchy teaches women how to submit and teaches men how to dominate. The ill of patriarchy are evident from cases of domestic violence, harassment and oppression. [4]

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Radical feminism state that men benefit from the oppression of women, they claim that men use the social system to maintain male dominance and to keep the women suppressed, for this reason therefore they believe that the elimination of patriarchy and other radical changes in the society will eliminate male domination and women oppression and problems. [5]

Material feminism:

Material feminism draw their ideas from the work of Marx on social class, they believe that there exist a relationship between class and gender, for this reason therefore there is a controversy in the material feminist idea on whether to seek men or operate independently where by Marx idea is sociology of men whereas other seek to work independently without referring to ideas of the opposite sex. [6]

Academic feminism:

Academic feminism are concerned with research and teaching of the sex blind academic knowledge taught in the institutions of education, they are concerned with criticising the social learning that does not include women ideas in these institutions, they believe that sociology taught in these institutions is sociology of men and states men point of view in the absence of women ideas in sociology. Academic feminist is the only way in which the feminist could make a breakthrough into the field of sociology, they argue that sociology learnt is sociology of men and for these reason sociology should be rewritten in the presence of women ideas. [7]

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Feminist research methodology:

Despite the various divisions in feminists it is clear that the feminists have led to an increase in the social knowledge regarding the society, feminist ideas are a new finding in the field of social inquiry, this can be supported by the feminist idea that the sociology we learn today is sociology of men that only give us the men points of view regarding the society, however others still argue that the existence of social systems that support male dominance is the main root course of women problems.

According to the feminist theory women are oppressed, there is the existence of domestic violence and dominated upon by men, for this reason the radical feminist state that there is need for radical changes in the society in order to gain social equality. They state that the system of patriarchy teaches women how to submit and men how to dominate, for this reason therefore this system should be abolished and replaced by another form of society system which is characterised by equality. [8]

Despite the feminist arguments as independent from men ideas it is clear that most of these feminist theories have borrowed from the work of previous men sociologist as a way in which to support their movement, the issues of oppression and domination by men is evident from the work of Marx, they have borrowed from men ideas, for example the material feminism have used Marx idea on social class and oppression, however from Marx theory about women he clearly states that women are not a propertied class and for this reason women are kept as

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Feminist Theories

possession to undertake certain activities.

Feminist theory is a holistic theory concerned with the global oppression of women and their subordination to men, feminist theory is a political theory practiced with the aim of freeing women from men supremacy and exploitation, for this reason the feminist theory can be viewed as a Marxist theory whereby it is concerned with domination and subordination.

Despite its criticism emanating from various theorists it is clear that the origin of feminist can be traced back to the work of Fredrick Engel who wrote the book the origin of the family and private property. According to Fredrick Engel the status of women today is not as a result of biological differences but as a result of the economic system that exist and the emergence of private property in our society. For this reason therefore feminist theorist should be more concerned with the origin of inequality in the society rather than the present state of inequality.

According to Marx women are not a propertied class but they produce heirs to the property owned by men, nature the entire family, provide emotional support, and provide sexual gratification to the men who are owners of the property. For this reason it is clear that feminist theory is a Marxist theory but still being a Marxist theory their views are criticised by Marxist theory.

Feminist being a Marxist theory depict that the sociology we learn today is a sociology based on the experience of those who hold political and economic power, in this case the sociology we learn is from those who hold power and it men, for this reason we are biased in learning from only those who hold power who according to the feminists are men, therefore the knowledge on social sciences and society is based on those who hold power in the society and for this reason the women in society still remain invisible.

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Despite the feminist deviating from their original ideas and theory it is still clear that the feminist theorist have their own original ideas and society knowledge, there exist many forms of feminist that have their concerns and issues. It is therefore wrong to criticise their ideas that the sociological knowledge we learn today is based on the work and experience of men in the absence of men.

The only way in which the feminist theorist can have a breakthrough is through academic feminism, this will involve challenging and criticising theories and introduction of findings through research. But the questions that feminist pose is that should we rewrite sociology again and this time include the view of women.

In most areas of social enquiry there is no ideological position supporting feminism, some support the subordination of women as a social factor and not as a result of biological differences, women are present in most social institutions and where they are not included it is through deliberate efforts to do so and where the women are present their positions and roles are inferior to those of women. [9]

The feminist theorist therefore still stand with the idea that in the society we live in today women arte restrained, oppressed, abused and used by men, for this reason therefore it is important to consider them in social scientific enquiry.

From the feminist view point it is biased to only take the ideas of men in society whereas there exist women in the society who also play a major role in the society, their ideas are based on Marxism theory of class and social inequality, however they have added on his ideas to a different perspective which is the gender perspective of inequality. To the feminist inequality exists as a division in society in terms of gender.

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Many sociological theories have failed to support feminist theory, most accept that inequality created in society as a result of gender is not as a result of biological differences between men and women but due to the social organisation that exist. For this reason therefore the feminist theories have contributed to the advancement in social knowledge where new findings are reported as a result of inequality that exists in the society.

According to Wollstonecraft book entitled Vindication of the Rights of Women, it is clear that she advocated for offering women equal opportunity to education so that they would gain equal opportunity in the society, she stated that women had rational thoughts if they were given equal opportunity to education. She criticised other scholars such John Gregory for their argument that women did not deserve to be educated. However Wollstonecraft called on the men to initiate the changes in the society that would see equality of opportunity in the society. [10]

From the work of Wollstonecraft it is clear that she wrote in a society that was faced with gender inequality, today feminist still report the changes in the society that will bring about gender equality in the society, like Wollstonecraft the feminist theorist urge men to initiate these changes in the society, changes have occurred but still there is evidence of inequality in our society. [11]

Betty Freidan was a radical feminist who wrote the feminist Mystique, her writing was influenced by findings in her research findings in 1942 where she found out that women were unease with their lives, for this reason she found out that women had a false belief and that there was need to for them to find an identity. For this reason Betty wrote the book Feminine Mystique. [12]

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She criticised the notion that women could only find fulfilment in homemaking and childbearing. Her book depicted the roles played by women in the industrial society as housewives and brought encouragement to those women who preferred to be educated. She was however criticised by scholars whereby she was criticised that her analysis was only relevant to the rich and middle class women, also doubts on the sample Betty used to conclude and hypothesis that women were had a false belief and felt unease with their lives. [13]

Betty Freidan and Mary Wollstonecraft were feminist theory who analysed the problems that women face, they both agree that women are oppressed and live in a state of false consciousness as Marx stated, Freidan undertook a survey on women regarding women and found out that women were unease with their lives and for this reason it is clear that the feminist research methodology is not different from that of the other theorist, however her findings was criticised for data and methodology used and other theorist claimed that her findings did not reflect the current state of the society.

Conclusion:

The feminist theories are concerned with inequality that exist in the society as a result of gender, according to the feminist men oppress women and they benefit from oppressing women, they also state that the existence of inequality in the society is as a result of social organisation that exist in the society and not as a result of biological differences. feminist argue that sociological knowledge learnt is the sociology of men stating men point of view and for this reason the theories and ideas given are biased with the absence of women ideas.

The origin of feminism can be attributed to the work of Mary Wollstonecraft (1759 to 1797), other feminist theories include Gloria Steinem, Rebecca Walker, Betty Freidan, Carol Hanisch,

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Judith Brown and Kathie Sarachild. However there exist divisions in feminist sociological enquiry depending on their objectives and needs, these forms include radical feminism, liberal feminism that are referred to as the mainstream feminism, lesbian feminism, black feminism and academic feminism.

The liberal feminism is concerned with the idea that men and women are equal and they do this through their efforts that are aimed at achieving legal and political reforms. Black feminism is concerned with the needs of the black women which include access to food, water and fuel.

Radical feminists are concerned with the issue of male dominance, they believe that male dominance is the cause of all the women problems and that the power invested in men is the cause of all the problems they face, they also view social institutions as the root cause of male dominance. Material feminism base their argument on Marx work on social class, and finally the Academic feminism are concerned with research and teaching of the sex blind sociological ideas taught in the institutions of education, they criticise the social learning that does not include women ideas in these institutions.

The feminist theories have initiated a new sociological research methodology whereby we are to be concerned about the knowledge we learn, we are supposed to be aware that the sociology we learn today does not include the views of women. It is therefore important to include the views of the women in the society and also their ideas because they live in the society and they exist in many institutions in our society. Their views are not taken seriously despite them being oppressed and dominated upon by men.

Mary Wollstonecraft and Betty Freidan were feminist theorist both agree that women are oppressed and live in a state of false consciousness as Marx stated, the survey undertaken by Freidan showed that women were unease with their lives and for this reason it is clear that the feminist research methodology is not different from that of the other theorist, however her findings was criticised by other scholars as incorrect.

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The feminist findings do not use any distinct research methodology but however they focus on different situations in the society which is gender inequality, they focus on the right of women and how inequality could come to an end. For this reason therefore we should not reject feminist ideas as they add into the social field of study, this is where new findings are reported and society and social knowledge is gained.

References:

Bryson (1999) Feminism Debate: Theory and Political Practises, Macmillan publishers, London

Daniel Horowitz (1998) the Making of Feminine Mystique, University of Massachusetts Press, Massachusetts

Ellen Willis (1992) Radical Feminism and Feminist Radicalism, Wesleyan University Press,

Mary Wollstonecraft (2004) Vindication of the Rights of Women, Penguin publishers, London

Mills S (1998) Postcolonial Feminism Theory: Contemporary Feminism Theories, Edinburgh

University

Press,

Edinburgh

Taylor B. (2003) Feminist Imagination of Mary Wollstonecraft, Cambridge University Press, Ca mbridge

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[1] Mills S (1998) Postcolonial Feminism Theory: Contemporary Feminism Theories, Edinburg h University

Press, Edinburgh

[2] Mills S (1998) Postcolonial Feminism Theory: Contemporary Feminism Theories, Edinburgh University

Press, Edinburgh

[3] Bryson (1999) Feminism Debate: Theory and Political Practises, Macmillan publishers, Lon

don

[4] Ellen Willis (1992) Radical Feminism and Feminist Radicalism, Wesleyan University Press

[5] Ellen Willis (1992) Radical Feminism and Feminist Radicalism, Wesleyan University Press

[6] Bryson (1999) Feminism Debate: Theory and Political Practises, Macmillan publishers, Lon

don

[7] Bryson (1999) Feminism Debate: Theory and Political Practises, Macmillan publishers, Lond

on

[8] Bryson (1999) Feminism Debate: Theory and Political Practises, Macmillan publishers, Lon

don

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[9] Bryson (1999) Feminism Debate: Theory and Political Practises, Macmillan publishers, Lon

don

[10] Mary Wollstonecraft (2004) Vindication of the Rights of Women, Penguin publishers, Lond

on

[11] Mary Wollstonecraft (2004) Vindication of the Rights of Women, Penguin publishers, Londo

[12] Daniel Horowitz (1998) the Making of Feminine Mystique, University of Massachusetts Press,

Massachusetts

[13] Daniel Horowitz (1998) the Making of Feminine Mystique, University of Massachusetts Press,

Massachusetts

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