Feminism · Notes

Feminism starts from one shared claim: patriarchy exists and harms women. The 9PL0 spec defines patriarchy as society, the state and the economy being shaped by "systematic, institutionalised and pervasive gender oppression". All four strands accept patriarchy exists. They disagree about where it lives and what to do about it.

What makes feminism possible

• The sex-gender distinction. Sex is the biological difference between male and female bodies; gender is the social roles society attaches to those differences. Once you separate them, the social half is open to political change. de Beauvoir: "one is not born, but rather becomes, a woman".
• The personal is political. If gender is socially made, then private life - family, home, sexuality, marriage - is shaped by power and is therefore political. All four strands accept some version; they argue about how far it goes.
• One running disagreement. Are men and women essentially the same kind of being (the androgyny position, "equality feminism") or are there real differences to be valued not erased (the essentialism position, "difference feminism")? This argument runs through every strand and every dimension. The exam tests it directly.

The reform strand. Spec named thinker: Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Liberal feminism sees individualism as the basis of gender equality (9PL0 spec) and works within liberal-democratic capitalism rather than seeking to overthrow it.

• Human nature: equality feminism. Men and women are essentially the same rational beings; apparent differences are products of socialisation, not biology (androgyny).
• The state: reformable. Pass anti-discrimination laws, secure the franchise, enforce equal pay, fund childcare. Liberal feminists trust the state, run on liberal-democratic principles, to deliver emancipation through legal reform.
• Society: change cultural attitudes and gender stereotypes through education and visibility. The public sphere is the proper site of politics; liberal feminists are wary of treating the private sphere as primarily political.
• The economy: equal access to capitalism. Outlaw workplace discrimination, close the pay gap, equal opportunity in education and work (Gilman on how economic conditioning imposes gender roles).

Patriarchy: liberal feminists are cautious about systemic patriarchy. They see historic discrimination - women excluded from the vote, education, property and well-paid work - rather than a pervasive patriarchal system in every institution. Other strands criticise this as too narrow.

The economic strand. Spec named thinker: Sheila Rowbotham (with Gilman's economic-dependence argument feeding in). Socialist feminism holds that gender inequality stems from economics and that capitalism creates patriarchy (9PL0 spec).

• Human nature: equality feminism, androgynous. Human nature is shaped by economic conditions; the gendered division of labour produces the apparent psychological differences between men and women.
• The state: the capitalist state serves capitalism first, patriarchy second (Rowbotham). Reform alone cannot solve it; revolutionary transformation of the economy is needed.
• Society: structured by the gendered division of labour. The personal is political because of capitalism (Rowbotham) - the family is where capitalism reproduces its labour force at no cost.
• The economy: capitalism is the root of patriarchy (Rowbotham). Women do unpaid domestic and care work; men sell their labour for wages. Socialise reproduction and abolish the wage-versus-unpaid-labour split.

The uncompromising strand. From the Latin radix, "root" - radical feminism pulls oppression up by the roots. Spec named thinker: Kate Millett (with de Beauvoir's sex-gender work cross-cutting). Radical feminism holds that the biggest problem facing society is gender inequality (9PL0 spec).

• Human nature: an internal split. Most radical feminists are equality feminists (androgyny) - patriarchy distorts an authentic androgynous nature. Cultural feminists within the strand are difference feminists who argue real feminine traits should be valued not erased.
• The state: the state itself is patriarchal at its core. Reform cannot fix the male power below it; the state must act in the private sphere too.
• Society: the personal is political - family, marriage, sex and motherhood are political institutions structured by male power. Millett: undoing the traditional family is the key to true sexual revolution.
• The economy: economic equality is necessary but not enough. Male sexual power is the deeper structure, so patriarchy would continue even under socialism (Millett).

Patriarchy is the central concept of radical feminism: a pervasive, systemic structure of male power, older than capitalism and independent of it. It is the strand most criticised by postmodern feminism for focusing on white middle-class women's experience.

The intersectional strand. Spec named thinker: bell hooks. Postmodern feminism argues patriarchy manifests in different ways depending on a woman's race, class and other identities (9PL0 spec).

• Human nature: there is no single, universal "female nature". Race, class and sexuality shape the experience of being a woman as much as sex does (hooks).
• The state: state-level solutions are too broad. The state treats all women alike, but lived experience of patriarchy varies by race and class; even feminist state action has often centred white middle-class women.
• Society: the key concept is intersectionality - race, class, gender and sexuality interact to shape each woman's specific oppression. Earlier strands focused too narrowly on white middle-class women (hooks).
• The economy: race and class shape women's economic position alongside gender. Radical and socialist feminism focus too narrowly (hooks).

The four required key terms

• Public sphere - the world of work, politics and the state; historically reserved for men.
• Private sphere - the home, family and domestic life; historically reserved for women.
• Essentialism - the belief that men and women have inherent, biologically-rooted differences (the difference-feminist position).
• Gender stereotypes - fixed cultural expectations about how men and women should behave.

Human nature

Agreement: all feminists believe gender roles imposed on women ignore women's true nature (de Beauvoir). Most are equality feminists - biological differences are insignificant. Disagreement: difference feminists (cultural feminism) argue men and women are innately different and women should not copy male behaviour.

The state

Agreement: all feminists see the current state as not delivering equality and believe it must change. Disagreement: liberal sees it as reformable; socialist sees the capitalist state as patriarchal (Rowbotham); radical sees the state itself as patriarchal (Millett); postmodern sees state-level solutions as too broad.

Society

Agreement: most feminists accept the personal is political and that the private sphere is shaped by power. Disagreement: what "political" means - capitalism (Rowbotham) or patriarchy (Millett) - and whose experience is the focus (white middle-class or intersectional, hooks).

The economy

Agreement: all agree the current economic system discriminates against women, that domestic work is devalued and unpaid (Gilman, Rowbotham, Millett), and that access to well-paid work is restricted. Disagreement: liberal wants equal access within capitalism; socialist says capitalism is the problem; radical says economic equality is necessary but not enough; postmodern adds race and class.

• Marks: 24, split AO1 8 / AO2 8 / AO3 8.
• 'To what extent' is a question of degree - judge how much, not yes or no. Weigh whether agreement or disagreement is more significant.
• Structure by theme, not by strand. Never write one paragraph per strand in sequence. Weave the strands together inside each theme. The textbook shape is three paragraphs - typically two agreement and one disagreement, or the reverse, depending on which way the judgement lands.
• Lead with strands; thinkers in support. The named thinkers add value and meaning to the strands.
• Cover the strands the question needs. A four-strand spread shows range; leaving relevant strands out weakens the answer.
• Two named spec thinkers minimum. No spec thinkers, or only one side argued, caps the answer at Level 2.
• Judge as you go. Interim judgements through the essay score better than a one-line summary at the end.
• Strands and thinkers only. Real-world politics is brief illustration at most - parties and current events belong in the UK Politics questions, not the ideology essay.