FEMINISM THE ROLE OF EDUCATION

MAINTAINING , REPRODUCING MALE DOMINANCE & GENDER INEQUALITY

OBJECTIVE –

LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR TODAYS LESSON

• What does feminism stand for ?• What are different types of feminism that exist •What is the role of education according to feminists ?

•All of you should be able identify what feminism is

• All of you should be able to explain the role of education from a feminist perspective

• All of you be able to evaluate feminist perspective and use it as an evaluation for other theories

What comes to mind when you think of the word

“feminism”?

GENDER SYSTEM – main source of conflict between the sexes

PATRIARCHY – maintains and reproduces gender inequality

“the rule of men as a social group over women as a social group,” and

“a system based on sexual hierarchy,” with men at the top and women below.

MALE DOMINANCE

GENDER INEQUALITY – difference between men and women e.g. division of labour

•LEGITIMATION – natural and inevitable - sexism•SOCIAL CONSTRUCT

FEMINISM – theory and a practice ( feminist research)

Belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.

The goals of feminism are:To demonstrate the importance of womenTo reveal that historically women have been

subordinate to menTo bring about gender equality

LIBERAL FEMINISTS & EDUCATION All people equal = no one denied because of

gender women and men are becoming more equal

in society. law being sexist 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. Inequality stems from the denial of equal

rights. The primary obstacle to equality is sexism.

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.

schools' role in reproducing a gender as well as a social division of labour ,in the family as well as the workplace.

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

Sexism is the ultimate tool used by men to keep women oppressed

Speak out against all social structures because they are created by men

Some radical feminists believe the solution is separatism – this means that men and women should live apart.

DISCUSS WHAT KIND OF INEQUALITY THERE MAYBE BETWEEN MALES AND FEMALES IN EDUCATION – LIST AS MANY AS YOU CAN

HOW FEMALES ARE PROTRAYED – GENDER STEREOTYPES - TRADITIONAL GENDER ROLES- - SEXISM – MALE BIAS WHAT SUBJECTS THEY TAKE – SUBJECT

CHOICES / CAREERS CIRRICULUM GENDERED LANGUAGE HOW TEACHERS BEHAVE TOWARDS

FEMALE STUDENTS

Where else can you use feminist argument in education

Good points Exposing gender inequality Key developments – number of females in

higher education , how well females are doing , schemes for females to get into male areas

Bad points Generalize ideas about males and females

to the whole of society. Does not look at class differences or

ethnicity between females Does not look at why boys are

underachieving

LIBERAL FEMINISTS : Idea of equality , individual achievement –is encouraging women to be men which is male standards . Not enough is done to get rid of oppression for women . Ignores that not all women have shared interest

MARXIXTS FEMINIST – does not look at other inequality in terms of race , ethnicity , sexuality .

RADICAL FEMINIST – use of patriarchy just a description does not actually explain womens position . They focus on negative experiences . Ignore variation in experiences in terms of class ethnicity . See women as good men as bad

AS Sociology > FEMINISM sixthsense.osfc.ac.uk/sociology/as

sociology/feminism.asp