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FEMINISM

- Many feminists are very NEGATIVE about the society we live in and always see the BAD in everything. Most feminists believe that society is male dominated – this is called PATRIARCHY.

- They look at society on a MACRO scale [this means that they look at society on a large scale]. They want to generalise their ideas about males and females to the whole of society.

- Feminists also believe that society is based on CONFLICT, this means disagreement. The conflict is between the SEXES – males and females. They believe that women have been disadvantaged in society and that men have more power than women and that this is not right.

- There are lots of different feminist theories not just one. They all share one thing in common – they look at the differences in society between men and women and try to see how these problems could be solved.

THE 3 MAIN FEMINIST THEORIES IN AS SOCIOLOGY ARE:

- Liberal feminism – they believe that women and men are becoming more equal in society. They see that the problem was caused by the law being sexist and also the differences in socialisation [way we are brought up] between males and females. To solve this we need to be socialised differently and get rid of sexist laws.

- Marxist Feminism – they believe that men and women are still unequal in society. Women are there to benefit capitalism by being unpaid housewives and having low paid part time jobs. The problem is capitalism and the solution is to get rid of it and replace it with a communist society where men and women will be equal.

- Radical Feminism – they also believe that men and women are still unequal in society. Women are seen as being exploited by men and patriarchal society. Some radical feminists believe the solution is separatism – this means that men and women should live apart.

TEST YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF FEMINISM

1. True or False Quiz

2. Drag & Drop Quiz I

3. Drag & Drop Quiz II