Gender Ideologies

Patriarchy

 Literally, patriarchy means rule by the male head of a

social unit (a family or tribe, for example).
 The patriarch, typically a societal elder, has legitimate
power over others in the social unit, including other
(especially, younger) men, all women and children.
 However, since the early twentieth century, feminist
writers have used the concept to refer to the social
system of masculine domination over women.
 Patriarchy is a social system in which males are the
primary authority figures central to social organization,
occupying roles of political leadership, moral authority,
and control of property, and where fathers hold
authority over women and children.
 It implies the institutions of male rule and privilege,
and entails female subordination. Many patriarchal
societies are also patrilineal, meaning that property and
title are inherited by the male lineage.
 Historically, patriarchy has manifested itself in the
social, legal, political, and economic organization of a
range of different cultures
 Patriarchy has been a fundamentally important concept
in gender studies, leading to the development of a
number of theories that aim to identify the bases of
women’s subordination to men.
 Most Feminist theories see patriarchy as a central
concept in lower status of women in society
 the institution of the family is identified as a key means
through which men’s domination is achieved. In other
radical feminist accounts of patriarchy, the control men
have over women’s bodies is regarded as important.
Feminism
 word ‘feminism’ has many meanings,However, in our context it denote a
political stance of someone committed to changing the social position of
women.
 A belief that women are subjugated because of their sex and that women
deserve at least formal equality in the eyes of the law.
 Feminism means different things to different people, ranging from a wish to
change and challenge the whole existing order of things to the desire to
bring about a more balanced equality between the sexes and achieve a
respectable individual liberty for women with their natural instincts and
characteristics intact.
 Feminism as a definition is a changing concept, it has flexibility as a term.
We can define feminism as a term which is used to cover the all approaches
and ideologies which are related to women oppression and the role of
women in society. Feminism is also used as a term for women’s movements
from 18th century till today.
 Feminism is a collection of movements and ideologies aimed at defining,
establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for
women. This includes seeking to establish equal opportunities for women in
education and employment.
 A feminist advocates or supports the rights and equality of women.
 Feminist theory aims to understand the nature of gender inequality by
examining women's social roles and lived experience;
 it has developed theories in a variety of disciplines in order to respond to
issues such as the social construction of sex and gender.
 Some of the earlier forms of feminism have been criticized for taking into
account only white, middle-class, educated perspectives.
 This led to the creation of ethnically specific or multiculturalist forms of
feminism
 Feminist writers and activists, even those who were in existence long
before the term feminism came into popular usage, shared the will to
imagine a world where women were able to realise their potential as
individuals.
 In doing this, they had to conceptualise ideas that were, when women had
no legal identity as individuals, literally unknowable.
 Epistemological Meaning of Feminism
 Feminism in its customary meaning is the belief of equal rights for women
and it is based on the theory of equal rights for gender. Earlier writers
used an alternative term ‘Womanism’ with the same hostility (Magaret,
2006, p.6).
 The word feminism according to the dictionary means “one who champions
the rights of women.”
Since the 1980s it has become common to use the plural
form when talking about feminism in order to signify that
although all feminists may share a basic commitment to
ending female oppression, they do not always approach this
problem from the same philosophical or political base.
 It is also an acceptance that part of the richness of
feminism’s legacy is this diversity and heterogeneity of
positions.
 We can say that all feminists agree that women suffer
social and/or material inequities simply because of
their biological identity and are committed to
challenging this, but the means by which such
challenges might be made are many and various.
 This inevitably means that feminism as a term becomes
rather unwieldy and overburdened with meaning.
 Given that all feminists agree on the central fact of
women’s subordination, most feminists regard
feminism’s heterogeneity as a sign of healthy debate –
although feminism’s detractors tend to see it as a sign
of feminism’s inbuilt weakness.
 It is clear, too, that although some critics associate this
fragmentation with modern feminism, feminists have
always emerged from diverse cultural and political
perspectives and focused on issues germane to the time
and location they inhabit.
 The historical development of feminism (especially in
Britain and the USA) is commonly divided into several
key periods.
 They are characterised by a relative absence of
feminist thought and mobilisation, and others by the
sustained growth both of feminist criticism and of
activism with a high public profile .
 The apparent pattern of rise and fall of feminism over
time has led to the ‘wave’ analogy
 The wave analogy developed along with the resurgence of feminism in the
1960s,
 A distinction was drawn between the resurgent feminism dating from the
1960s and an earlier period of similarly prolific, high profile feminist analyses
and political activism.
 The earlier period (dating from at least the mid to late nineteenth century
up until about the 1920s), became ‘first wave’ feminism.
 In turn, the resurgent feminist analyses and activism dating from the 1960s
became ‘second wave’ feminism.
 First Wave of Feminism
 I. What influenced the first wave ?
 2 The period of first wave of feminism was politically influenced from the
French Revolution of 1789 in which demands for the rights of women were
first made.
 The first feminist treatise was also influenced by this event written by Mary
Wollstonecraft titled ​Vindication of the Rights of Women ​(1792).
 It was a direct result of the change in the social structure by
Industrialisation.
 Constitutional rights were being provided to the wider sections of the male
which were denied to females.
 The first wave of feminism is commonly identified with the movements of
feminists in the 19th and early twentieth centuries in North America and
Europe.
 In these movements the issues of equality for women, right to vote, legal
and educational improvements for women and abolition of slavery were
concerned.
 However the first wave is basically about the struggle for women’s
suffrage.
 During this period Philosopher and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) and Harriet
Taylor (1807-1858) penned a number of essays including Taylor’s The
Enfranchisement of Women (1851) and Mill’s the Subjection of Women
(1869) which advocated more egalitarian partnerships in marriage, based on
full citizenship, voting rights and equal opportunities for women
 When did it begin and what was its purpose?
 ● First wave feminism (in Britain and the USA) is most often dated as
occurring between c.1880s and the 1920s. ● It’s principal concern was
women’s attainment of equality with men by securing legislative change.
 ● In USA it began with the Seneca falls women’s rights Convention (1848)
organised by Elizabeth Caddy Stanton.
 The convention of women’s rights which was held at Seneca Falls is
considered the beginning of the women’s movement in the United States.
This convention was the result of women’s 72 year struggle which ended in
the ratification of the 19th amendment in the US constitution almost 27
million women gained the right to vote
 It was the first woman's rights convention. The
declaration of sentiments of Seneca falls demanded;
 ○ Right to vote (also called Suffrage)
 ○ Right to own land
 ○ Right to education
 ○ Right to employment
 1840’s Feminist ideas were spread among the middle
class
 ● 1850’s It became an organised movement
 .Began with the Langham Place group that demanded
education rights, employment rights and improved legal
rights for married women.
 ● Mid - 1860’s The suffrage movement began
 ● Early 20th century it was the predominant concern and public campaigning
focused on it.(Overwhelming support from all feminists as believed to put
equality of females on legislative agenda)
 Due to difference in tactics two societies were formed;
 ○ The National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies formed in 1897, with
Millicent Fawcett as the President, consisting of mainly well-connected
middle-class women.
 ○ The Women’s Social and Political Union formed in 1903, by the Pankhurst
sisters. It employed more militant tactics.
 Resultantly thousands of suffragettes were imprisoned; many went on
hunger strike and were subjected to force feeding.
 ● The outbreak of World War One in 1914 ended militant activities of the
suffragettes and diversified over whether to support war or be pacifists.
 ● In 1918, the Representation of the People Act allowed the right to vote
for all men over 21 and women over 30 who had property

 The first wave of the movement has been characterized
as seeking national level policy and legislative change
 Liberal feminists played an important role by writing
articles, holding conventions etc.
 In 1900 women were given the right to vote in New
Zealand and in 1893 women were given right to vote in
Australia.
 Affected the US constitution as 19th Amendment in
1920 gave females the right to vote.
 Second wave feminism
 It began in the late 1960’s. This is when the concept of waves of
feminism was introduced.
 During World War II women were brought back in the labor market
because during the war, the issue of shortage of men occurred in the
civilian and military jobs.
 During 1939 to 1945 over 6 million women were being employed outside
their home
 feminism in the West in the 1960s and 1970s took some time before it ​
recognized its history​and the​​longevity of the struggle​that it
represented
 They lobbied for liberation from oppressive patriarchal society.
 As suffrage did not lead to equality, the focus of second wave feminists
was on the representation of the female body, the meanings attached to
it and the biological difference between it and the male body
 Gender differences are socially constructed so ideological opposition of
women needs to be focused on.
 Notable advocates and their works Simone de Beauvoir: The Second Sex ​
is a 1949 book written by de Beauvoir has two major premises.
 Two important components of this book.
 First, that man, considering himself as the essential being, or subject,
has treated women as the unessential being, or object.
 The second is that much of woman’s psychological self is socially
constructed, with very few physiologically rooted feminine qualities or
values.
 De Beauvoir denies the existence of a feminine temperament or nature—
to her, all notions of femininity are artificial concepts
 B. Betty Friedan: She wrote ​‘The Feminine Mystique’​
published in 1963 according to which an idealized image
of domestic womanhood, which is the feminine
mystique, had created an identity crisis among
American women.
 It was reinforced by media, education and academic
theories. “The Feminine Mystique has succeeded in
burying millions of American women alive”
 Major works focused on how cultural and social
marginalisation of women has been occurring
throughout history.
 It also focused on enormous social change making the
existing social structures absurd due to their inherent
patriarchy.
 How the social change will take place was a bone of
contention and so it divided the feminists in to
marxists, liberal and radical feminists.
 Major supporters were from the New Left and civil
rights political movement and they tried to raise
consciousness through demonstrations and direct
actions making their movement more dominant in the
public.
 They raise issues of social and economic injustice such
as the glass ceiling , wage gap and commercialization of
female bodies .
 Allowed the inclusion of LGBT groups as well as women
of color and working class women.
 VII. Objectives:
 A. Sexual Freedom (Reproductive rights and right to abortion)
 B. Intersexualisation (Legalising and ensuring rights to LGBT community and safety and
equal opportunity to them)
 C. Equality (Overcome gender based discrimination)
 D. Empowerment of women
 E. Integration of women into the workforce
 F. Equal funding to women from banks.
 Impacts:
 A. Led to a mass realisation of gender inequality.
 First World Conference on Women held by UNO in Mexico City in 1975.
 B. Global network of feminist ideology and feminists emerged after the conference
which was spread through the phenomenon of globalization.
 C. First accredited Women’s Studies course was introduced in 1969 at Cornell and in
1990’s the subject was widened to “Gender Studies”.
 D. Led to campaigning for female rights in international forums.
 Third Wave of Feminism
 A. It is the feminism of a younger generation of women who acknowledge
the legacy of the second wave of feminism.
 However it also identifies its limitations such as the fact that it remained
too white and middle class oriented and that it made ordinary women feel
guilty for enjoying self expression.
 They also believe that the conditions of second wave feminism no longer
exist so it does not resonate with today’s women.
 They are mainly young and university educated women who are sceptical
of the concepts of sisterhood and identity.
 It emerged in mid 1990s.
 Some adherents were actual daughters of the second
wavers.
 The Third Wave Foundation which supports ​“groups and
individuals working towards gender, racial, economic, and
social justice”; was founded by Rebecca Walker, along with
others, who was the daughter of Alice Walker.
 The term Third wave is also accredited to her when she
published her article “I am the Third Wave” in 1992.
 C. “Feminism aims to end domination, to free us to be who
we are- to live lives where we love justice, where we can
live in peace. Feminism is for everybody.”-Alice Walker
 This wave focuses on queer and non white women.
 It believes that all ideas and concepts are socially constructed including
masculism and that everyone should be treated equally.
 Culture is an important factor
 Race is also a social construction. E. Riot grrrl​was thought by some to be
the beginning of third-wave feminism.
 This was a movement that talked about issues like rape, patriarchy,
sexuality, women empowerment, and other feminist issues.
 Fourth wave feminism
 Social media role
 Me too campaign