Name:

I.D Number:
Course Title:
Course Code:

Alisha Gobinsingh
813002732
Feminist Theoretical Framework
GEDN2203

Question: Choose one feminist perspective covered in the course. Critically

assess the merits and shortcomings of existing knowledge. Discuss the
validity and limitations of its take on inequalities and inequities in societies.
The history that was taught in schools all introduced role specialization
between sexes. Biologically, a woman was different from a man, and this
idea of difference sought to separate sexes based on gender roles that was
socially constructed. Globally, different societies would socialize children in a
particular manner because of their biological makeup. The definition of male
and female is a social construct that has been produced and reproduced in
every society which limits the actions of people. If you are considered a
male you are expected to not cry in public because this emotion is
associated with that of femininity. The same principles limits someone who is
consisted female to act daintily and be soft spoken, among other things,
because opposite actions are associated with masculinity. Gender constructs
have given birth to concepts such as gender stratification, which refers to
the unequal ranking of sexes based on variables such as power, resources,
prestige or presumed worth. (Eitzen 2000, 247). This existing inequality and
inequity has led to the study of feminism. Feminism explores gender with the
goal of changing society to make the sexes equal. Gender stratification has
caused men to be ranked over women and various disparities have been
created due to the sex you identify with, and not your objective difference.
Feminist theories such as radical feminism emphasize the subordination of
women as the root of all male power. For the purpose of this essay, the
limitations of radical feminism would be explored whilst highlighting the main
arguments of the theory, regarding its relevance to issues of equity and
equality in contemporary society.
Most of the theories today are created based on existing knowledge;
therefore, the epistemological stance of many feminist theorists lies with
their personal experience that have been hypothesized and tested in order to
validate the existing knowledge. It is not assumed knowledge, but rather it is
a relevant and validating body of facts that governs and explains the way
certain things work. A major tenet of radical feminism is the rejection of
division of labour at its roots. Radical feminist believe that the heterosexual
relationships between men and women have created gender roles that
subordinate and oppress women. When a woman goes into a relationship

with a man, the patriarchal society that we live in has made it clear that the
man is expected to lead and the woman is expected to follow.
In the Caribbean, the legacy of slavery has caused the widespread
religious principles of Christianity to be adopted into the society and one
engraved principle of the religion exclaims that wives are to submit to their
husbands as the husband is the head of the wife. (The Holy Bible, Ephesians
5: 22-23). This union of man and woman has allowed women to accept an
inferior position in society as a norm. This allows many women to not
question a man. The subordination of women in a heterosexual relationship
is further perpetuated by the patriarchal society that put the standpoint of
men at the height of all knowledge. Radicals believe that men use these
sexual relationships between a man and a woman to oppress women further,
hence radicalists treat men as the enemy. Women who conform to this view
believe that the complete separation from men in all areas of life is the
solution to womens oppression. Therefore, lesbianism is one step closer to
promoting equity for the oppressed women of all societies.
The term radical lesbianism was created to refer to radical feminists
who support the separation of man and woman by creating more
homogenous relationships within society between two women. In this space
of radical feminism, women are not expected to conform to patriarchal norms
such as child baring, which is usually seen as an obligation of a women in a
heterosexual relationship (Witting 1993, 179).If a person is biologically born
with the capabilities of reproducing children, it does not mean that they are
immediately inferior. Radical lesbians reject the notion of child baring
through conventional means as they see this as unequal since men cannot
biologically do the same and it brings about a sense of superiority since
women have to be the ones to carry a child for nine months since there is no
other choice. Radicals say that the technological means of acquiring children
are being developed and the more women that turn away from the
conventional method of an egg being fertilized by a sperm to produce
children, can destroy the male female concepts of difference as a source of
womens sexual oppression. If women can have children without the need for
sexual relations with a man, radicals believe that women are then equal to
man since they do not have to subject themselves to putting their careers on
pause to produce children. It is then a break through in equity for men as
well since they are no longer dependent on a woman to carry their child or
children. This equity for males and advanced technology in child raring is not
highlighted by radicalists as rights for men are not in their agenda.
Radicalists feminists do not want to become allies with men in the struggle
against male chauvinism since radicalists believe that the nature of men is to
dominate women.
The woman is expected to care for children and take care of the house
as an unpaid duty due to the biological makeup and the femininity attributes
attached. Radicalists reaction to this notion is to reject the nuclear family as
the basic unit of production and consumption is a capitalists society (Bunch
1993,176). Male supremist ideas, attitudes, and role models for men and

women are developed in each generation through the family this is why most
radical feminists advocate for discontinuing the nuclear family as
realistically, it is the nuclear patriarchal family. The more children that
women bare in nuclear patriarchal families are the more children that going
to be socialized into the mainstream teachings of men and their oppressive
actions towards women. It is not an innate feature of a man to expect a
woman to be subordinate towards him, but society has taught young boys
that women are limited to certain tasks because men hold the power within
society. Creating alternative institutions, lifestyles, and culture ,based on the
female principle is one of the major tasks of radical feminists. If radicalists
are able to create a movement big enough where their ideas are circling the
globe to evoke an understanding that equality for women is a necessity.
Radicalists believe that the rejection of the patriarchal principles would
create a revolutionary matriarchal principle that the world will now follow.
Radicals believe that women are a sex class but the universal ideology of
woman does not exist(Witting 1993,179). Patriarchy in itself causes men to
assert themselves as a dominating class to control women because of
political agendas and structures in society. If women are able to control the
society their rights to sexual preference would be acknowledged, rights for
prostitutes would begin to form and abortion would not be frowned upon.
Freedom, which is a tenant of liberal feminism, can be transformed to sexual
freedom in the radicalits agenda. Radical feminism usually clash with the
idealogies of the liberal feminist, because radical feminists believe that
society must be changed at its core in order to dissolve patriarchy, not just
through acts of legislation. Radical feminists note that the struggle against
capitalism, racism, imperialism and any other product of man's attempt at
domination of the other, must be based on an understanding of their basic
patriarchal nature, and must be therefore regarded as part and parcel of the
feminist struggle (Al-Hibri 1981, 166, 167 & 190).
One limitation of the radical feminist is that, there is no real evidence
that women constitute a "sex class", since it is clear that, apart from a
common biology, women may have no real shared interests "as a class apart
from men". It is difficult to see, for example, what "common interests" are
shared by upper class and working class women, aside from the fact that
they are women. The experiences and life chances of upper class females
are significantly different to those of working class females ,where the
position of the upper class may be closer to that of men than to their working
class counterparts. Therefore, not all women would support the efforts of
radical feminists, especially upper class women who experience less forms of
oppression than the working class.
Another limitation lies with the idea that all oppression comes from
female subordination. Conflict theories would have highlighted that the
economic disparities between men and women in the sphere of work have
continued to oppress women as they are treated inferior to men in this
realm. To view women as a "sex class" whose basic interest involves
emancipation from men ,would leave the problem of economic exploitation

unresolved. There is very little equity within the work place. Women are
given promotions slower than men because it serves the capitalist society to
keep women in a subservient role. This is a result of economic exploitation
rather than male subordination by itself.
The rejection of nuclear families may create greater social ills for the
society. Studies show that children who experience a disruption, such as the
divorce of parents, are more likely to act out aggressively or in an antisocial
manner rather than children who belong to a nuclear family (Rutter 1980,
289). This stirred aggression can act as a catalyst for juvenile acts,
therefore, the higher the divorce rates due to the rejection of the nuclear
family, the more aggressive children being produced in some instances.
There is a distinct observation that boys from divorced families were more
hostile than girls from divorced families. (Rutter 1980,289). The hypothesis
that children become functioning adults when socialized by a parent of the
same sex may be true when analyses from a perspective of boys existing in
matrifocal homes disrupted by divorce and they are not being socialized by a
male.
Radical feminist also take extreme measures of lesbianism because it
seems as a fast track to fighting the systems that have been rooted into
heterosexual relationships. If, perhaps, all women did become radical
lesbians as a means of rejecting female subordination by a man, the problem
of greater male unity could set feminist movements further back since men
would now be engaging in homosexual relationships as well. The clear
distinction that radicalists seek to create between oppressed and oppressor
can cause greater efforts by men to maintain patriarchy. The road to
achieving equality cannot be rushed and it is a gradual process hence radical
lesbianism may encourage more males to maintain patriarchy as they are
being rejected by the growing population of radical lesbians.
Not all male to female relationships are characterized by oppression
and exploitation. Technological "solutions" to female exploitation, such as
babies being bon out of the womb, are also viewed with suspicion since
control over development and exploitation of technology has traditionally
been a male dominated field. As such, the idea that a matriarchal society is
somehow superior and preferable to a patriarchal society may not a step to
equality for all sexes. The very essence of radical feminism does not see the
man as being oppressed in anyway. This thought separates man from this
class of women because he is thought of as the oppressor. If feminism is
supposed to fight for equality across the board, then radical feminists are
disregarding males altogether which is not keeping in line with the
problematic definition of feminism.
Men may not always be the enemy and both sexes can unite for the
common cause of equity and equality for all. Radical feminism seeks to
separate both men and women for the cause of bringing equality. Most
feminist have highlighted that the patriarchal nature of society has caused
men to hold the powerful positions in society. Hence, many women are not at
the top of this hierarchal pyramid where they are able to make a large-scale

difference in the world. Men are still the ones who hold the power in that
aspect and possibly uniting with those who understand the way in which the
society has oppressed women can bring about a change in attitudes. Men
who hold the power to influence populations can take up the cause of
equality for all because, at the moment, the structure of society still gives
the power to men, hence to get the point of equality and equity for all, may
need to be extended to those who currently have the power, along with
feminist women who are fighting for the cause as well.
Feminist research and publications expanded considerably and radical
feminism has developed in a number of different directions since the 1970s.
The theory is relevant in understanding where some forms of oppression can
emerge from society based on traditional roles that men and women uphold,
due to the patriarchal nuclear family that they have been socialized into.
Though everyone may not agree with the radicalists approach, which they
critique as extreme actions being taken out against men, radicalists theory
has enlightened many women on the state of affairs which resides in the
home reading unpaid labour. Conclusively, radical feminism does make
equality for women the major concern of their struggle. It is problematic
trying to fathom how equality for women can be achieved if equality for all is
not the motive as the very essence of equality lies with equity. There are
some gaps to the theory where they exclude men yet hope to bring about a
revolutionary change from patriarchy to matriarchy. Racial feminist theory
can be used by those who believe that sexual relationships between man
and woman is the link to womens subordinate position in society. Feminist
theories are centered around equity and development of the entire society
regardless of gender therefore, feminist theories are supposed to enlighten
all sexes of inequalities amongst groups in society. The feminist movement
was created as a vehicle for social change to help reduced these inequalities
experienced by all genders.

References
Al-Hibri, Azizah. 1984. Reproduction, Mothering, and the origins of
Patriarchy. 81-93 in Mothering: Essays in Feminist Theory. Totowa: Rowman
and Allenhead Publishing.
Bunch, Charlotte. 1993. Lesbians in Revolt.176-178 in Feminist
Frameworks: Atternative Theoretical Accounts of the Relations between
Women and Men. Boston: McGraw Hill Publishing.
Eitlen, Stanley and Maxine Baca-Zinn. 2000. Social Problems. Boston: Allyn
and Bacon Publishing.

Edina, Barriteau. 2001. The Political Economy of Gender in the 20th Century
Caribbean. Basingstoke: Palsgrave.
Rutter, Michael. 1987. Developmental psychiatry. Washington:American
Psychiatric Press.
The Holy Bible:New International Version.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%205:22-33
Witting, Monique. 1993. Woman is not born a Woman. 178-182 in Feminist
Frameworks: Atternative Theoretical Accounts of the Relations between
Women and Men. Boston: McGraw Hill Publishing.