Meaning:

The advocacy of women's rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes. (en.oxforddictionaries.com)

Feminism is a range of political movements, ideologies, and social movements that share a common
goal: to define, establish, and achieve political, economic, personal, and social rights for women. This
includes seeking to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment. (en.wikipedia.org)

Theories of Feminism

Social scientist and women activist both accept that women are not
biologically inferior and her lower status to man is man-made. However

Radical

their approach to the cause of womens liberation differs. These

Liberal/In
dividual/
Moderate

Socialist
/Marxist
Feminism

approaches have resulted in the formulation of different theories.

They all maintain that the social inequalities between man and women as
creation of socio- cultural tradition. These theories have inspired several
women liberal movement all over the world.

An important aspect of liberal feminism was individualism, by which it was

meant that individual possess the freedom to do what one wishes without
interference of others.
Gandhi also took some of similar approach towards womens problems. He
strongly criticized excessive subordination of the wife to the husband. He
said that women should enjoy equal status with man. Sex discrimination
keeps half the population unproductive therefore women should be brought
out from the four walls of the house.
Radical feminism is an offshoot of moderate feminism. The radical feminist
believes that the womens subjection is due to sexual aggression by men.
Male supremacy is the oldest, the most basic form of domination, all other
forms of exploitation and oppression. (Racism, Capitalism, Imperialism,
etc) are extension of male supremacy.
For radical feminist The roots of subordination lies in the biological family.
Radical feminist main plea is not only the removal of sex distinctions but the removal of men in their life
sexual preferences, control over ones body, free sex experience and collective child care are some of the
action programs outlined by the radical feminist.
Socialist or Marxist Feminism :
Another approach to the status of women is Historical materialism or Socialist feminism. All to this approach
the root cause of the lower status of women lies in the family.
The family is the result of the private property in the means of production therefore complete equality of
women is possible when private property in the means of production is abolished.
The concept of private property brought a basic change in the family.
CONCLUSION
These 3 main approaches have been used for understanding womens subordinate status and also for
evolving strategies to establish womens equality.

FEMINISM
Bapna Ankita C.

Architectural design theory, Sem - X

Viva school of architecture (2016-2017)

Ethel Charles (1898), the first British women to gain the membership of the Royal Institute of Architects,
went on to design cottages even though she was the first woman to win an International prize for
architecture and the RIBA Silver medal winner. Perhaps that shows that academic or professional excellence
did not always lead to wider recognitions and bigger commissions- in particular, for female architects,
education and recognition served to formalize a concern with domestic scale. Later women worked in the
periphery as influencers- teachers, researchers and in public institutions rather than branching out on their
own.

FEMINISM
Bapna Ankita C.

Architectural design theory, Sem - X

Viva school of architecture (2016-2017)