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5. Discuss the role that Feminist theory has played in providing a voice for
marginalised groups in society.

Feminist theory is a means for justifying and enacting the claims made by the
feminist movement as a whole. It aims to understand the nature of gender inequality
by examining women’s roles and experiences in a number of different fields, such as
social theory. “Feminist sociologists are also concerned to understand the ways in
which relationships between men and women, and between men and between
women, are changing, and to reflect on the causes and consequences of some of
these changes” (Abbott, Wallace and Tyler, 2005). There are many types of feminist
theories including liberal, radical, socialist feminism and so on, which all stem from
the feminism movement which in its most basic form is a movement fighting for the
social, economic and political equality of the sexes. Primarily it has been argued to
seek to establish equality not with the view that women should be seen as equal to
men in every sense but rather that they are different but of equal value, and those
differences should be acknowledged in a way which does not make them less
qualified for any given role. In terms of how feminism has sought to improve the
standard of living and understanding of marginalised groups of society, it has often
been argued that women themselves are a marginalised group of society. Following
on from this, within society that feminism looks to aid and provide a voice for other
marginalised groups – these include but are by no means limited to black women
and those who don’t identify as having a ‘normal’ sexuality (heterosexual and within
a marriage). This essay will argue that although feminist social theory can only go so
far in enacting changes based on the social inequality it defines, in terms of providing
a voice for and in improving the quality of life of marginalised groups within society, it
has managed to establish and give credibility to feminist issues within these groups,
and attempted to take the first steps in solving them.

Perhaps one of the marginalised groups for whom feminist theory has had
the most beneficial impact has been for those who do not identify as ‘normal’ in
terms of sexuality. “‘normal’ sexuality came to be defined as heterosexual
(penetrative) monogamous and procreative” (Abbott, Wallace, Tyler, 2005). Feminist
theory has helped here by studying and then working to change the way we view

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sexuality and sexual/gender identities. Abbot, Wallace and Tyler (2005) state that
“the sexological research carried out in the early to mid-twentieth century was far
from scientific, but rather represented patriarchal interests in the production of
‘evidence’ that served to give credibility to the maintenance of a sexual double
standard, to the sexual objectification of women and to the marginalisation of gay,
lesbian and celibate sexualities (Jackson, 1987)”. Sexology is supposedly the
scientific research of sex and relationships, meaning it is both a science and a social
science. Here they are saying that looking at sexuality from this mostly ‘scientific’
point of view only reiterates the idea that sex is for reproduction and male pleasure,
implying that it should only happen between a man and a woman, meaning it feeds
in to homophobia by disregarding any other sexual/gender orientation. Sex and
consequently sexuality has often been seen as a natural, pre-social thing, this view
is taken as truth by most, however “sociologists tend to challenge common-sense
assumptions and taken-for-granted views of the social world, and focus instead on
the ways in which what might appear to be natural and pre- social is actually socially
constructed and shaped by power relations. Sociologists therefore link sexuality to
broader patterns of social stratification and inequality” (Abbott, Wallace and Tyler,
2005). The sociologists arguing this are opening up to the probability that sexuality is
a social construct and there is no such thing as a ‘natural’ sexuality. Feminist
theorists like these have worked to point out the unfairness of these assessments of
what a ‘normal’ sexuality is, and to work on combatting the discriminating and
homophobic mentalities that they lend justification to. Feminist theory has sought to
change similar assumptions made about women based on their various ethnicities.

In its history of endeavouring to provide a voice for black women within social
theory itself, social theory has sought to reshape our view of the relationship
between sexuality and race and how this affects the way people are seen and
treated. While most feminist theory has been developed by middleclass white
females there has been an increased acknowledgment of the way in which race
affects the marginalisation of women in recent years. Within feminism there is now a
sub-genre, multi-cultural feminism, specifically dedicated to providing a voice for
women of colour, where many more classical forms of feminism and feminist theory
have arguably ignored race as a factor which affects the levels of oppression faced

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by women. The influence of racism on the way people are treated, in this case
African-American women, has led to a number of wrongful social assumptions.
“Black women’s sexuality has often been constructed in terms of their ‘nature’
therefore, involving, as Jean Carabine (1992) has put it, normative values about
sexuality that are also replicated and reasserted in social policies through ideologies
of racism, heterosexuality, familialism and motherhood” (Abbott, Wallace and Tyler,
2005). In simpler terms, black women are often over-sexualised because of their
colour, in an attempt to mould them to the feminine ideals that a predominantly male
dictated society wishes for them to aspire to. Feminist theory acknowledges the
gender and ethnicity inequality, even within the study of sociology, and has taken
steps to provide more of a voice for people (women) of colour.

As previously stated, although there are other groups, and sub-groups of

marginalised people that social theory has sought to provide a voice for, the main
aim is to provide a voice for women, arguably the largest group of marginalised
members of society. This inequality between the sexes is abundantly clear, even in
the study of sociology itself. As pointed out by Abbott, Wallace and Tyler, even
though there is an increasing number of female sociology researchers and lecturers
as well as more female students than male, women are still found in senior posts
less frequently than their male colleagues. They also point out that although it is
declining in frequency, there is still a tendency to generalise social theories over the
entire population based on a male sample group. However in terms of female voices
within the discipline there has been progress made. Although there is still “a
tendency for feminist thought to be seen as an addendum deserving one or two
lectures….rather than as a core element of the sociology curriculum” (Abbott,
Wallace and Tyler, 2005) there is now discussion within the discipline about the
changes that need to be implemented in order to overcome this inequality, largely
thanks to feminist theorists and sociologists.

To say that feminist theory has been the main or most effective movement
aiming to aid in providing a voice for marginalised groups in society would be wholly
untrue, but so would the argument that it has not played any role in the matter. If the

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argument is that the role of feminist theory is to analyse the various roles of women
in order to understand gender inequality, then it has done so in a number of different
fields affecting various marginalised groups – non-‘normal’ sexual orientations and in
regards to women of different ethnicity are the examples used in this essay, but are
by no means the only groups who have benefitted from feminist theory. In regards to
women in general, especially those in the sociological field of which feminist theory
should, and is beginning to, play a larger role, feminist theory has sought to
acknowledge issues in order to act as an incentive for change and to aid in the
reformation of issues in regards to gender inequality. Feminist theory acts as the
main movement seeking to understand and define various relationships and how
they are changing as society evolves, in order to address issues that may arise with
these changes, so that feminism too can evolve and develop to create a more equal
society. In doing this it is fair to say that it has not only provided a voice for women
but for many other marginalised groups within society.

Word count: 1384

Reference list:
Abbott, P., Wallace, C., Tyler, M., 2005. An introduction to Sociology: Feminine
Perspecitves. Routledge Ltd. Available through: Keele University library website
[Accessed: 24 November 2016]

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Jackson, M., 1987. Cited from: Abbott, P., Wallace, C., Tyler, M., 2005. An
introduction to Sociology: Feminine Perspecitves. Routledge Ltd. Available through:
Keele University library website [Accessed: 24 November 2016]
Carambine, J., 1992. Cited from: Abbott, P., Wallace, C., Tyler, M., 2005. An
introduction to Sociology: Feminine Perspecitves. Routledge Ltd. Available through:
Keele University library website [Accessed: 24 November 2016]