Feminist Contributions Essay

Feminism is a conflict theory which thoughts golf-club as male dominated and it coverks to describe, explain and permute the position of wo hands in familiarity. Feminism is because a theory of womens command and also a political movement. in that respect be different types of feminism, which I leave behind be evaluating in this essay open-hearted, Radical, Marxist, gruesome and Postmodernist womens rightist. Feminists criticise mainstream sociology for being malestream. By contrast, feminists examine society from the spatial relationpoint of women an underwrite their encounter as part of the bring on out over against womens subordination. However, although all feminists oppose womens subordination, there be disagreements among feminists theories about its causes and how to overcome them.Liberal feminists argon concerned with the human and civil rights and freedoms of the individual, they call back that all human beings should commence concern rights. In bragg y feminism, the concept of society changing itself to adapt to women does non occur. Liberal feminists insist that all that is needed to depart the status of women is to change existing laws that atomic number 18 unfavorable for women and that this will open up more opportunities for women to prove themselves as bear on to the opposite sex, this is referred to as re reboundism. In addition, grown feminists turn down the idea that biological differences make women little competent or judicious than me, nor are men biologically less emotional or nurturing than women are. Liberal feminist Oakley, distinguishes in the midst of sex and sex activity. She claims sex differences are seen as fixed, whereas gender differences vary between purifications and over time.Therefore what is considered a ripe role for women in one society or at a particular proposition time may be disapproved of or forbidden in an another(prenominal). According to liberal theorists, sexist attitudes and s tereotypical be livefs about gender are culturally constructed and transmitted by amicableisation. However, liberal feminism scum bag be seen as a critique of the functionalist view of gender roles. For example, Parsons distinguishes between instrumental and communicatory roles. In his view, instrumentals roles much(prenominal) as nonrecreational work are taken on by males, while expressive roles such as unpaid interior(prenominal) press and childbearing are taken on by females. On the other go by liberal feminism challenges this view. It asks that men and women are equally capable ofperforming distributively roles. Radical feminists emerged in the early mid-seventies and its describe concept is patriarchate. Radical feminists have three key arguments patriarchy is familiar as male domination of women is diaphanous in all societies.Firestone argues that the origins of patriarchy lie in womens biological electrical condenser to bear and care for infants, as a forget of this women become dependent on men. The back argument is that patriarchy is the capital and most fundamental form of social inequality and conflict. Thirdly, all men persecute women and all men benefit from patriarchy. particularly from womens unpaid domestic ram and from their internal services. For radical feminists, immemorial conquering occurs in the public sphere of work and politics and also in the privy sphere of the family. According to radical feminists, patriarchal power is expressed through sexual or physical violence or the threat of it. As Brownmiller notes, fear of foul up is a powerful deterrent against women overtaking out alone at night. as well as Rich argues that men force women into a narrow and unsatisfying compulsory heterosexuality, which becomes the and socially acceptable form of sexuality. Radical feminists believe that if women are to be free, personal and sexual relations mustiness be transformed.They have suggested three strategies to carry out this. Firstly separatism, which is when women live apart from men and create a new culture of female independence. Feminist Greer argues for the creation of all-female or matrilocal households as an alternative to the heterosexual family. The second schema is consciousness raising, through sacramental manduction their experiences in women-only consciousness-raising groups, women come to see that other women face the same problems. The third strategy is political lesbianism many radical feminists argue that heterosexual relationships are inevitably tyrannic because they involve sleeping with the enemy and that lesbianism is the only non-oppressive form of sexuality. Marxists have a key criticism of radical feminists. They argue that twelvemonth is the primary form of inequality and that capitalist economy is the main cause and beneificiary of womens oppression, not men. Another criticism comes from Anna Pollert, who argues that the concept of patriarchy is of little val ue in explaining womens position because it involves a circular argument. In contrast, Marxist feminists dismiss liberal feminists view that womens subordination is merely the ingathering of stereotyping or outdate attitudes.Likewise theyalso reject the radical feminist view that it is the result of patriarchal oppression by men. Marxists see womens subordination as root in capitalism. This results from their primary role as unpaid homemakers, which presents them in dependent sparing positions in the family. Their subordination performs four most-valuable functions of capitalism women are a blood of cheap, exploitable crusade. As they are viewed as financially dependent on their male partners, they can be paid less by employers. Women are a reserve soldiery of comprehend, that can be moved into the labour force during economic booms and out again at times of recession. Women produce the labour force through their unpaid domestic labour, by nurturing and socialising children t o become the neighboring generation of workers by maintaining and servicing the incumbent generation of workers. Thirdly, women absorb anger that would other than be directed at capitalism. Ansley describes wives as takers of shit who soak up the defeat of their husbands, this explains male domestic violence against women.