Lecture 3

Feminist Theory and Practice

Amna Baig
What is Feminism?
 French Word: Feminism, a medical term to
describe feminization of male body or to
describe women with masculine traits
 Used in USA – Early part of twentieth century
for the group of women with the political
agenda of changing the social position of
women.

Lecture 1 Gender (LIHernandez)

What is Feminism?
 Feminism – A movement that confronts the
abuse of power and seeks equality (political
social and economic) and justice. It rests on
two premises women are disadvantaged
because of their sex and this established norm
must be changed.
What is Feminism?
 Feminist – a basic commitment to end female
oppression with different political and social
discourse. Heterogeneity- Sign of a healthy
debate
 Feminist Theory:
1) Comprehensive account of women’s
subordination
2) Identifies underlying causes
3) Develops effective strategies to overcome them
Liberal Feminism
 Gender differences aren't biological – they are
socially constructed
 Common humanity supersedes and overcomes
procreative differences - pushes for equal
opportunity
 Reformist in nature – tries to open up public life
equally to women + men without discrimination,
without challenging patriarchy
 Highlights discrimination at work
Liberal Feminism
 Criticism – Accepts male values and pushes
for women to act like men to ensure equality
in a society.
Radical Feminism
 Cutting edge feminist theory 1967 - 1975
 Focus on oppression of women – Intent on
social change
 Revolutionary in nature – questions gender
roles based on biology
 Labels sexuality as the root cause of
oppression
 Patriarchy – from discrimination to
oppression
Radical feminism
 Criticizes male dominant culture – Male
attributes lead to destruction, Wars.
 Celebrate womanhood – biology gives rise to
psychology, creativity is good.
 Definition – analyses how patriarchy
generates the threat of violence and how
actual violent behavior by men acts as a
controlling agent for women in general,
affecting their identities.
Marxist/Socialist Feminism
 Puts housewives into the structure of
Capitalism – vital to economy
 Criticizes Family as a source of women's
oppression + exploitation – economically
dependent on man. Family is Latin for
servant.
 Brief history of Womanhood – prehistoric
times and evolution of male dominant society
Marxist/Socialist Feminism
 Women's position in Global system – World
systems theory, periphery and core.
 Capitalism should be replaced by socialism to
bring in equality
 Socialist = neither patriarchy nor capitalism
can explain gender inequalities alone
 Two way system = Interaction of economic
system with gender relations
Psychoanalytical Feminism
 Freud's theory of personality development – Oedipus
complex
 Source of Men’s dominance – Focus on childhood
development
 Two sided unconsciousness of men – Emotional
needs and rejection as potential castrators
 Psychological gendering of childhood – role of
unconsciousness
 Break the cycle – Shared parenting
Men's Feminism
 Application of Feminist theories to the study of
men + masculinity
 Scrutiny of different masculinities in gender
debate
 Analysis of Hegemonic Masculinity
 Gender is embedded in society not in traits
 Gender inequality is not only b/w men and
women but also men of lower economic status
 Military and aggressive sports lead to wars
Post Modern Feminism
 Gender and sexuality are shifting
 Equality will come when there are so many
recognized sexes and genders which cant be
played against each other
 Queer theory – Unique narrative , Celebration
of anomalies
Feminism Waves
 For distinction – categorized into waves
 Different people – different goals – different
influences
 1st , 2nd and 3rd
First wave of Feminism
 Origin: USA + Europe
 Late ninetieth century – early twentieth
 British women struggled for legal rights –
Property rights
 Woman suffrage movement in the USA –
NWP after & during WW1 (parades, marches)
 Interwoven with reformist movements
(abolishment)
First wave of Feminism
 Suffragettes confronted stereotypes – engaged
in public persuasion, challenging the cult of
domesticity.
 Denying vote is denying full citizenship
 19th amendment – 1920
Second Wave of Feminism
 Equality – Equity - 1960s-1980s
 Equality in broader societal spheres
 Radical Women's liberation Movement
 Post war western societies – clamor for civil
rights
 Neo- Marxists – Patriarchy is inherent in the
society and sexual differences are more
fundamental than class differences
Second Wave of Feminism
 Socioeconomic struggle – highly theoretical
(Rape, Equal Pay, Family decisions)
 Goal = Equitable access to resources and
opportunities
Third wave of Feminism
 Movement to embrace ambiguity and differences
(age, class, race)
 Women are now more capable, strong with better
opportunities
 Activism through performance, mimicry and
rhetoric's
 Concerned with establishing new critical global
perspective based on alliances
 Concept of travesty – Commands respects of
diversity
United nations conferences on
Women
 Four conferences in Past Quarter century
 Instrumental in elevating the cause of gender
equality to the very center of Global Agenda
 First three decades focused on codification of
women's legal and civil rights and gathering
of data on women’s status
 Second stage developed strategies and plans
of actions
United nations conferences on
Women
 Mexico City – 1974
International year of Women
Start of worldwide dialogue on women issues
 Copenhagen – 1980
Review and appraisal of World Plan of Action
Areas of focus – Equality Development and
peace
United nations conferences on
Women
 Nairobi – Birth of Global Feminism 1985
Shifted focus to women of developing areas
All issues are women issues
 Beijing – 1995
Shift from women to gender
restructuring institutions according to gender
needs
Policies to have gender perspective
Feminism in Pakistan
 Two dominant discourses
Secular and Modern Islamic feminism
 Is feminism anti-Islamic?
 Fatima Jinnah and Begum Rana Liaquat Ali
 All Pakistan Women Association – 1949
 Hudood Ordinance – Zia ul Haq 1980
 Conspiracy theories related to feminism on
Pak