Feminism (AQA A Level Sociology): Revision Note

Feminism

• Feminism is a conflict theory that focuses on gender inequality in society

• It is a structuralist theory, as feminists examine how patriarchy is embedded in social structures such as the family and education

  • As a conflict theory, feminists see society as based on conflicting interests between genders

• Feminism is not one unified theory but includes different strands that explain the causes of and solutions to gender inequality in different ways

• The four broad feminist explanations are:

  • Radical feminism

    • Focuses on the inequality between men and women

  • Marxist feminism

    • Focuses on the exploitation of women at home and in the workplace

  • Liberal feminism

    • Focuses on achieving equality between men and women

  • Difference feminism

    • Explains that the patriarchal experiences of women differ due to class and ethnic differences between women

Radical feminism

• Radical feminism emerged in the early 1970s and sees patriarchy as the most fundamental and deep-rooted source of women's oppression

• Unlike liberal feminists, radical feminists argue that patriarchal power runs through all areas of life and that reforms within the current system are not enough

• Instead, society must be radically transformed to dismantle male dominance

Key ideas

• Patriarchy is universal: It exists in all societies and is the most basic form of inequality

• Men benefit directly from patriarchy, e.g., from unpaid domestic labour, sexual services, and control over women’s lives

• All men oppress all women: patriarchy is not limited to the state or economy but operates in personal relationships too (e.g. family)

The personal is political

• Radical feminists argue that personal relationships are shaped by power, not just emotion

• Everyday experiences of women—such as domestic work, sexual expectations, and fear of male violence—are political because they uphold patriarchy

  • E.g., Brownmiller (1976) highlighted how the threat of male violence (e.g., walking home at night) controls women's behaviour, showing that private fear is a public issue

Patriarchy and sexuality

• Radical feminists reject the idea that sexuality is purely natural or individual

• Instead, they argue that sexuality is shaped by male dominance

  • E.g., Women are often portrayed in media as passive sex objects, reinforcing male control over female sexuality

• Adrienne Rich (1981) coined the term compulsory heterosexuality to describe how women are pressured into heterosexual relationships that benefit men

Strategies for change

• Separatism

  • Some radical feminists advocate for women-only spaces and households to escape male control

  • E.g., Germaine Greer (2000) supported all-female communities as a form of resistance

• Consciousness-raising

  • Sharing personal experiences helps women see their struggles as collective and political

  • This strategy has inspired movements like SlutWalk, where women protest victim-blaming and reclaim their sexual agency

Evaluation of radical feminism

Strengths

• Challenges gender norms

  • Radical feminists question the traditional gender roles that are seen as “natural”, encouraging society to rethink institutions like the family

Criticisms

• Overlooks diversity of women's experiences

  • Radical feminism tends to treat patriarchy as a universal experience, implying that all women are oppressed in the same way

  • Critics argue that it ignores how class, ethnicity, and sexuality shape women's lives differently

• Seen as too extreme

  • This is because of calls for separation from men as a solution to ending patriarchal oppression

  • Such views can alienate potential allies

• Not all men benefit equally

  • Critics point out that not all men benefit equally from patriarchy, and many actively support gender equality

• Underestimates progress

  • Radical feminism has been criticised for ignoring the legal, political and social reforms that have improved women's lives

    • E.g., equal pay laws and growing female representation in education and politics

Marxist feminism

• Marxist feminism focuses on the relationship between capitalism and patriarchy, arguing that women’s oppression is rooted in the capitalist system

• Marxist feminists see capitalism as the key system that exploits and benefits from women’s unpaid labour, both at home and in the workplace

Key ideas

• Reproduction of labour power

  • Women raise and care for the next generation of workers at no cost to the capitalist system

  • They also maintain the current workforce through domestic work and emotional support

• Women as cheap and flexible labour

  • Women are often paid less and employed in part-time or insecure jobs, making them a useful reserve army of labour who can be hired and fired as needed by employers

• Support for male workers

  • Through domestic work and emotional care, women support the well-being of male workers, helping them stay productive for the capitalist system

Barrett: the ideology of familism

• Familism is the idea that women naturally find fulfilment in caring roles within the nuclear family

• Barrett argues this ideology masks women’s exploitation, as it encourages women to remain in roles that serve capitalism

• It also prevents women from questioning their position or imagining alternatives outside the family structure

Solution for change

• Marxist feminists believe that true gender equality can only be achieved by abolishing capitalism

• Without capitalism, the structures that rely on women’s unpaid and low-paid labour would collapse, removing the root cause of gender oppression

Evaluation of Marxist feminism

Strengths

• Highlights the economic roots of oppression

  • Marxist feminism draws important attention to how capitalism exploits women's unpaid domestic labour and low-paid work

  • This helps explain the economic dependence many women experience and how gender and class intersect

Criticisms

• Too economically deterministic

  • Critics argue Marxist feminism focuses too much on class and economics, neglecting other sources of oppression like race, and culture

• Ignores oppression in non-capitalist societies

  • If capitalism causes patriarchy, Marxist feminism struggles to explain why women have been oppressed in pre-capitalist and non-capitalist societies

• Assumes all women experience oppression equally

  • Marxist feminism often overlooks differences among women based on class, ethnicity, and sexuality

• Underestimates social and legal progress

  • Liberal feminists argue that Marxist feminists ignore how far women’s rights have advanced in modern Western societies, e.g., equal pay and maternity rights

Liberal feminism

• Liberal feminism believes in gradual change through legal and political reform

  • Women's rights and opportunities have improved over the last century

• Liberal feminists acknowledge that inequalities remain in society

  • E.g., in childcare and the stereotypical portrayal of women in popular culture

• Liberal feminism advocates for:

  • equal pay

  • anti-discrimination laws

  • more female representation in positions of power

  • cultural change in the perception of women

• Liberal feminists are optimistic that progress is possible through system reform, rather than revolution

  • They believe that gender inequalities will eventually disappear

Sex and gender

• Liberal feminists, like Ann Oakley (1972), distinguish between sex and gender

  • Sex refers to biological differences between males and females (e.g., reproductive role, hormones, physical traits)

  • Gender refers to culturally constructed roles and behaviours associated with masculinity and femininity

• Gender roles vary across societies and time periods, showing that they are learned, not fixed or biological

• Liberal feminists argue that traditional gender roles are based on stereotypes and restrict individuals’ potential

• They seek cultural change to challenge outdated beliefs, such as men being naturally more rational or women more emotional

• Progress comes through education, awareness, and gradual reform—e.g., anti-discrimination laws and equal opportunities policies

Evaluation of liberal feminism

Strengths

• Successful in driving legal and policy change

  • They have led campaigns in Western governments introducing laws and policies that have improved women's position in society, e.g., the Equal Pay Act

Criticisms

• Too optimistic about progress

  • It underestimates the depth of structural patriarchy

    • E.g., the unequal division of labour in the home and misogyny in the media, politics, and some religions

• Fails to explain private patriarchy

  • Liberal feminism focuses on public legal rights but struggles to explain why patriarchal control persists in private life

    • E.g., there is still significant violence against women even in modern Western societies

• Narrow and middle-class focused

  • Often criticised for focusing mainly on the experiences of privileged women

  • It often neglects the intersecting inequalities faced by working-class women or those from ethnic minority backgrounds

Difference feminism

• Difference feminism rejects the idea that all women share the same experience of oppression

• It criticises the essentialism of liberal, Marxist, and radical feminism, which often treat women as a single, unified group with common interests

• Instead, it argues that gender intersects with other social divisions—such as class, ethnicity, sexuality, age, and religion—to shape women's experiences in different ways

  • E.g., a heterosexual, middle-class white woman may experience patriarchy very differently from a working-class, lesbian woman of colour

• Difference feminism argues that there is not one feminism but multiple feminisms

• It is often seen as a foundation for postmodern or poststructuralist feminism

Evaluation of difference feminism

Strengths

• Recognises intersectionality

  • Difference feminism has helped the feminist movement evolve by drawing attention to how gender intersects with class, race, sexuality, religion, and disability

  • This approach challenges essentialism—the belief that all women experience patriarchy in the same way—and has broadened and deepened feminist theory and practice

Criticisms

• Risks weakening feminist unity

  • By emphasising diversity over common experience, difference feminism has been criticised for fragmenting the feminist movement

  • It can make collective goals and shared campaigns more difficult to organise and sustain