The theories for the basis of gender inequality all have the same goal, but vary widely. The five main theories, functional feminism, liberal feminism, radical feminism, black feminism, and postmodern feminism all strive to address the causes of gender inequality and work to gain women their desired and inalienable right to be treated equally to a man. The functional theory of gender inequalities is based upon the belief that men and women have innately different biological make ups that naturally divide them. Functionalist believe that men and women are inclined to do activities that best suit their physical and mental capacities. Scholars such as Talcott Parsons uses research from industrial age families to determine that men led stressful …show more content…
This dependency sometimes gives men infinite power over women because without the monetary support of a man, they have little chance of surviving on their on their own. Unlike functionalist theories, feminist theories address the problem of inequalities against women and implement agendas to overcome the disparity that they face. One such theory is the liberal feminist theory. The practice of liberal feminism is consistent with developing initiatives to allow one to be on an equal platform as men. Through programs and legislation such as the Equal Pay Act and the Sex Discrimination Act women are able to have the same opportunities as men. Although many of these legislations have allowed women to gain significant opportunity and decrease inequality in nations such as the United States, many individuals feel as though this does not deal with the root of inequality against women. Radical feminist believe that functional feminist are not willing to deal with the root of the problem and show women how to circumvent the discrimination that they face. Radical feminist believe that legislation cannot solve inequality
While they do recognize the inequalities women face, they do not see subordination as part of a larger system. Instead they believe there are many smaller factors that contribute to the imbalance. Liberal feminists work towards change by democratic means such as congressional acts and reform. This perspective of the feminist theory tends to follow the slow and steady wins the race method, unlike their radical feminist counterparts. Critics of this branch of feminism tend to criticize just that, claiming they fail to comprehend the bigger
According to Jane Flax, feminist theory has several purposes. First is understanding the power differential between men and women. We all know that in the world we live in today, men are the superiors because of what we call patriarchy and women are highly encouraged to do or follow what men does and want.
Focusing on gender as a construct that perpetuates inequality between men and women in society, the ideology of Feminism is based on the fundamental principles of Liberalism. While Feminism summarily promotes social, political, and economic equality between men and women, historically it’s fulcrum was and remains to a significant extent the fight for women’s rights and interests.
Feminism is the movement for removing inequalities from society. Women imbued with a spirit of radicalism understand that a liberal feminist attitude, despite the seeming slowness of change that accompanies it, may transform a community more rapidly than a revolutionary approach that alienates those to be convinced and, thus, extinguishes the possibility of improvement. (Weaver 49) Feminists confront the problems of their society in hopes of altering society to be equal.
Liberal feminists believe that oppression and inequality must be justified. In other words, any inequality between genders must be explained and justified, in order for it to be accepted by the liberal feminists. According to our textbook, the liberal feminism originated from the social contract theories. Such theories state that all forms of social domination or authority must be justified, according to the textbook. Liberal feminists hold a view that every member of the society should be equal. They also insist that the violent forms of oppression should be controlled throughout the society, for they find domestic violence and violence against women to an unjustifiable form of oppression. They also argue that the development of an individual is usually forced into a gender "channel", where members of different sex groups are gradually taught and instructed to follow a certain particular gender pattern.
...present today. Both the functionalist and Marxist-feminist perspectives provide reasons for this inequality, however, none of them provide a solution. The functionalist perspective believes men and women have distinct qualities that separate them thus the inequality. The Marxist-feminist perspective believes the inequality between men and women in due to the power gained by men as a result of the surplus of their crops. The film Missrepresentation, by Jennifer Newsom exhibits these inequalities and provides disturbing statistics that illustrate how bad this inequality is in reality.
Liberal feminism de-emphasized gender differences, claiming that women were the equals of men and that this would be obvious if only they were offered the same opportunities as men with no special privileges necessary.
True feminism sought for women to have freedom and rights, such as the right to vote, the right to gain an education, and the right to equal wages. In most aspects, we have been given these rights, but radical feminists are not content. There has been a jump from “We are equal to men,” to “women are superior.” Women have been fighting stereotypes for ages, proclaiming how horrid they are, yet quickly turn around and stereotype men and see no issue with this hypocrisy. The way for women to reach the equality they seek is to bring others up as well as themselves, not to tear them down. When feminists realize and act upon this, they will begin to see the results they have been hoping
Our society is faced with many social problems that have existed for ages. Sociology studies and investigates these issues and how they impact individuals within our society. Each of the three sociological theories has a different perspective on how the problem is viewed and dealt with. One of these pressing issues is sexism towards women and gender roles. Of the three sociological theories, functionalism has had a huge impact on gender studies.
It is only recently that sociology has begun to explore the topic of gender. Before this, inequalities within society were based primarily on factors such as social class and status. This paper will discuss gender itself: what makes us who we are and how we are represented. It will also explore discrimination towards women throughout history, focusing mainly on women and the right to vote, inequalities between males and females in the work place and how gender is represented in the media.
Where Marxists are focused on production and the wage gap, Feminists are focused on gender inequality. Marxists see society as operating solely to make a profit for the bourgeoisie, with the proletariat forced to conform to the needs of a ruling class who benefit the most from using a capitalist economic system. On the other hand feminists see society as operating to meet the needs and wishes of men. Patriarchal societies are created in order to meet the desires and needs of men through institutions like the family and the education system. On this basis feminists say women become second-class citizens. According to Gayle Rubin, “there is no theory which accounts for the oppression of women- in its endless variety and monotonous similarity, cross-culturally and throughout history- with anything like the explanatory power of the Marxists theory.”(Rubin
Feminist theory helps to analyze gender inequality and its themes which are discrimination, sexual objectification, oppression, stereotyping and so on.
Feminism seeks equality amongst men and women and to eliminate sexism, which is the degradation, oppression, and subordination of women (“What is Radical Feminism?”). One branch of feminism, radical feminism, concerns itself with the idea that society is influenced by a patriarchal or male dominated hierarchy. Radical feminists tend to focus on culture change that undermines patriarchy and associated hierarchical structures. Under this principle, the patriarchy can be described as "the division of rights, privileges and power primarily by gender, as a result of oppressing women and privileging men (“What is Radical Feminism). A radical feminist essentially believes that they are oppressed on the single ideal that the gender of a woman is inferior and it can be considered that to alter one 's gender would be a radical feminist
Feminism is defined as the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. It began as an organized activity on behalf of women?s rights and interests. This concept was developed to help women earn a place in a predominantly male society. Unfortunately over the years, the intentions of feminism have become distorted, not only by anti-feminists, but also by the feminists themselves. The principle of equality for women and men has turned into a fight in which feminists wish to be better than men. Feminism has been twisted and misunderstood so much that it has become a harmful idea.
Feminist theory is similar to critical theory which focuses on social status of two genders i.e. man and woman in the Patriarchal societies. Its main concern is rights of women. For example voting rights, property right, equal pay in the office, equal opportunities which are the things that women always want to achieve in their life. ...