Introduction

Feminist theory is one of the major sociological theories, which attempts to analyse the status of both women and men in contemporary society. Its purpose is to use the knowledge obtained to help better the lives of women everywhere. Theorists have also recently begun to question certain cultural differences that exist between women, such as how race, class, ethnicity and age correlate with gender. Feminist theory, in common with all other forms of feminism is primarily concerned with offering a voice to women and highlighting how women, in various ways have made positive contributions to society.

The theory can be broken down into four main types; each one attempts to explain the cultural and societal differences between men and women:

Gender Differences

This aspect of the theory examines how women and men often experience the social situations and the social world as a whole in vastly different ways. Other aspects of gender differences examined by theorists centre on the different roles assigned to both men and women within certain institutions, with particular emphasis on the sexual division of labour in the family home. There is also a look at how women have often been marginalised and simply described as the ‘other’ in deeply patriarchal societies. As a result, women are seen as nothing more than objects and denied the opportunity for self-realisation and fulfilment.

Gender Inequality

This aspect of the theory centres on the argument that women have exactly the same capacity as men for moral reasoning, it’s just that our largely patriarchal civilisation has historically denied women the chance to put this theory to the test. For most of the last 10,000 years women have been isolated in the family home (private sphere) and have therefore been left without any sort of representation in the public arena, or sphere. In recent times of course, it has become more acceptable for women to enter the public sphere, but, at the same time society still expects them to manage the private sphere, e.g. perform housewifely duties and rear children. Indeed, liberal feminists often point out that marriage, far from being a harmonious union is in fact a perfect example of gender inequality. They argue that benefits wise, married women are worse off than male counterparts by a considerable margin. This argument is supported by the fact that married women often have higher levels of stress than either single women or married men. Liberal feminists recommend that the sexual division of labour be altered in both spheres in order for true equality to be achieved.

Gender Oppression

This aspect of the theory goes further than the previous two by pointing out that as well as being perceived as different or unequal to men, women are also actively oppressed to the point of abuse by men. Power is the common factor that unites two of the main sub theories of gender oppression.

The first is psychoanalytic feminism, which attempts to explain the power relationship that exists between both genders. It does this by examining and reformulating Freud’s works on the subconscious and unconscious, emotions and childhood development. In their view conscious calculation cannot always explain the on-going production of oppressive patriarchal behaviour.

Radical feminists meanwhile, point out that womanhood is a positive thing, but has so far failed to gain recognition in deeply patriarchal societies where women suffer routine oppression. They identify physical violence as the core trait of patriarchy, but state that it can be overturned if women collectively recognise their own self-worth and strength. They suggest that women suffering from patriarchal oppression establish some form of sisterhood and confront oppression head on, forming so-called separatist organisations that work both in the home and in the public arena.

Structural Oppression

The final aspect of the theory centres on the fact that as well as patriarchy, women experience oppression and inequality as a result of capitalism and racism. Socialist feminists concur with thinkers such as Marx and Engels, who concluded that the working class is exploited as a direct consequence of the capitalist nature of society. Socialist feminists go further by stating that this exploitation also extends to gender, as well as class.

Intersectionality theorists meanwhile, make a very important insight; while it’s true that many women do routinely experience oppression, not all of them do so in the same way. For example, white and black women face and often experience differing forms of discrimination in the public arena. As a result, different groups of women have come to regard human society through a shared philosophy, known as ‘heterogeneous commonality.’