Feminist Theory

Jo Ann Arinder

Feminist theory falls under the umbrella of critical theory, which in

general has the purpose of destabilizing systems of power and
oppression. Feminist theory will be discussed here as a theory with a lower case
‘t’, however this is not meant to imply that it is not a Theory or cannot be used
as one, only to acknowledge that for some it may be a sub-genre of Critical
Theory, while for others it stands alone. According to Egbert and Sanden
(2020), some scholars see critical paradigms as extensions of the interpretivist,
but there is also an emphasis on oppression and lived experience grounded in
subjectivist epistemology.
The purpose of using a feminist lens is to enable the discovery of how people
interact within systems and possibly offer solutions to confront and eradicate
oppressive systems and structures. Feminist theory considers the lived
experience of any person/people, not just women, with an emphasis on
oppression. While there may not be a consensus on where feminist theory fits
as a theory or paradigm, disruption of oppression is a core tenant of feminist
work. As hooks (2000) states, “Simply put, feminism is a movement to end
sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression. I liked this definition because it does
not imply that men were the enemy” (p. viii).
Previous Studies
Marxism and socialism are key components in the heritage.of feminist
theory. The origins of feminist theory can be found in the 18th century with
growth in the 1970s’ and 1980s’ equality movements. According to Burton
(2014), feminist theory has its roots in Marxism but specifically looks to Engles’
(1884) work as one possible starting point. Burton (2014) notes that, “Origin of
the Family and commentaries on it were central texts to the feminist movement
in its early years because of the felt need to understand the origins and
subsequent development of the subordination of the female sex” (p. 2). Work in
feminist theory, including research regarding gender equality, is ongoing.
Gender equality continues to be an issue today, and research into gender
equality in education is still moving feminist theory forward. For
example, Pincock’s (2017) study discusses the impact of repressive norms on
the education of girls in Tanzania. The author states that, “…considerations of
what empowerment looks like in relation to one’s sexuality are particularly
important in relation to schooling for teenage girls as a route to expanding
their agency” (p. 909). This consideration can be extended to any oppressed
group within an educational setting and is not an area of inquiry relegated to the
oppression of only female students. For example, non-binary students face
oppression within educational systems and even male students can face barriers,
and students are often still led towards what are considered “gender
appropriate” studies. This creates a system of oppression that requires active
work to disrupt.
Looking at representation in the literature used in education is another area of
inquiry in feminist research. For example, Earles (2017) focused on physical
educational settings to explore relationships “between gendered literary
characters and stories and the normative and marginal responses produced by
children” (p. 369). In this research, Earles found evidence to
support that a contradiction between the literature and children’s lived
experiences exists. The author suggests that educators can help to continue the
reduction of oppressive gender norms through careful selection of literature
and spaces to allow learners opportunities for appropriate discussions about
these inconsistencies.
In another study, Mackie (1999) explored incorporating
feminist theory into evaluation research. Mackie was evaluating curriculum
created for English language learners that recognized the dual realities of some
students, also known as the intersectionality of identity, and concluded that this
recognition empowered students. Mackie noted that valuing experience and
identity created a potential for change on an individual and community
level and “Feminist and other types of critical teaching and research provide
needed balance to TESL and applied linguistics” (p. 571).Further,
Bierema and Cseh (2003) used a feminist research framework to examine
previously ignored structural inequalities that affect the lives of women working
in the field of human resources.
Model of Feminist Theory
Figure 1 presents a model of feminist theory that begins with the belief that
systems exist that oppress and work against individuals. The model then shows
that oppression is based on intersecting identities that can create discrimination
and exclusion. The model indicates the idea that, through knowledge and action,
oppressive systems can be disrupted to support change and understanding.

Concepts
The core concepts in feminist theory are sex, gender, race, discrimination,
equality, difference, and choice. There are systems and structures in place that
work against individuals based on these qualities and against equality and
equity. Research in critical paradigms requires the belief that, through the
exploration of these existing conditions in the current social order, truths can be
revealed. More important, however, this exploration can simultaneously build
awareness of oppressive systems and create spaces for diverse voices to speak
for themselves (Egbert & Sanden, 2019).
Constructs
Feminism is concerned with the constructs of intersectionality, dimensions of
social life, social inequality, and social transformation. Through feminist
research, lasting contributions have been made to understanding the
complexities and changes in the gendered division of labor. Men and women
should be politically, economically, and socially equal and this theory does not
subscribe to differences or similarities between men, nor does it refer to
excluding men or only furthering women’s causes. Feminist theory works to
support change and understanding through acknowledging and disrupting power
and oppression.
Proposition
Feminist theory proposes that when power and oppression
are acknowledged and disrupted, understanding, advocacy, and change can
occur.
Using the Model
There are many potential ways to utilize this model in research and
practice. First, teachers and students can consider what systems of power exist
in their classroom, school, or district. They can question how these systems are
working to create discrimination and exclusion. By considering existing social
structures, they can acknowledge barriers and issues inherit to the system. Once
these issues are acknowledged, they can be disrupted so that change and
understanding can begin. This may manifest, for example, as considering how
past colonialism has oppressed learners of English as a second or foreign
language.
The use of feminist theory in the classroom can ensure that the classroom is
created, in advance, to consider barriers to learning faced by learners due to sex,
gender, difference, race, or ability. This can help to reduce oppression created
by systemic issues. In the case of the English language classroom, learners may
be facing oppression based on their native language or country of origin. Facing
these barriers in and out of the classroom can affect learners’ access to
education. Considering these barriers in planning and including efforts to
mitigate the issues and barriers faced by learners is a use of feminist theory.
Feminist research is interested in disrupting systems of oppression or barriers
created from these systems with a goal of creating change. All research can
include feminist theory when the research adds to efforts to work against and
advocate to eliminate the power and oppression that exists within systems or
structures that, in particular, oppress women. An examination of education in
general could be useful since education is a field typically dominated by
women; however, women are not often in leadership roles in the field. In the
same way, using feminist theory for an examination into the lack of people of
color and male teachers represented in education might also be useful. Action
research is another area that can use feminist theory. Action research is often
conducted in the pursuit of establishing changes that are discovered during a
project. Feminism and action research are both concerned
with creating change, which makes them a natural pairing.
Conclusion
Pre-existing beliefs about what feminism means can make including it
in classroom practice or research challenging. Understanding that feminism is
about reducing oppression for everyone and sharing that definition can reduce
this challenge. hooks (2000) said that, “A male who has divested of male
privilege, who has embraced feminist politics, is a worthy comrade in struggle,
in no way a threat to feminism, whereas a female who remains wedded to sexist
thinking and behavior infiltrating feminist movement is a dangerous threat”(p.
12). As Angela Davis noted during a speech at Western Washington University
in 2017, “Everything is a feminist issue.” Feminist theory is about questioning
existing structures and whether they are creating barriers for anyone. An interest
in the reduction of barriers is feminist. Anyone can believe in the need to
eliminate oppression and work as teachers or researchers to actively to disrupt
systems of oppression.
References
Bierema, L. L., & Cseh, M. (2003). Evaluating AHRD research using a feminist
research framework. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 14(1), 5–26.
Burton, C. (2014). Subordination: Feminism and social theory. Routledge.
Earles, J. (2017). Reading gender: A feminist, queer approach to children’s
literature and children’s discursive agency. Gender and Education, 29(3), 369–
388.
Egbert, J., & Sanden, S. (2019). Foundations of education
research: Understanding theoretical components. Taylor & Francis.
Hooks, B. (2000). Feminism is for everybody: Passionate politics. South End
Press.
Mackie, A. (1999). Possibilities for feminism in ESL education
and research. TESOL Quarterly, 33(3), 566-573.
Pincock, K. (2018). School, sexuality and problematic girlhoods: Reframing
‘empowerment’ discourse. Third World Quarterly, 39(5), 906-919.

Feminism Literary theory | Types of Feminism

Feminism is both a political stance and a theory that focuses on gender as a

subject of analysis and as a platform to demand equality, rights, and justice.
Feminism’s key assumption is that gender role is predetermined and the woman
is trained to fit into those roles. This means that roles like ‘daughter’ or
‘mother’ are not natural but social because the woman has to be trained to think,
talk, act in particular ways that suit the role.
The feminist theory argues that the representation of women as weak, docile,
innocent, seductive, irrational, or sentimental is rooted in where she does not
have power. A woman is treated as a sex object or a procreating- machine, has
less power political, and financial rights, and is abused. Feminism, therefore, is
a worldview that refuses to delink art from existing social conditions and
practices. Feminism explores the cultural dimensions of the woman’s material
life. Cultural texts naturalize the oppression of women through their
stereotypical representation of women as weak/vulnerable, obstacle, sexual
object, etc. The task of criticism, therefore, is to reveal the underlying
ideologies within these texts because they are instrumental in continuing
women’s oppression.
Feminism’s key political and theoretical stance is this: the inequalities that exist
between men and women are not natural but social, not preordained but created
by men so that they retain power. Religion, the family, education, the arts,
knowledge systems are all social and cultural ‘structures’ that enable the
perpetual reinforcement of this inequality. These structures are effective means
of emphasizing male domination because they do not appear oppressive. They
retain power because, with their ability to persuade, the structures convince the
woman that she is destined to be subordinated.

The feminist theory works to unpack these ideologies of dominance. It analyses

gender relations: how gender relations are constructed and experienced by both
men and women. Toril Moi is emphatic that feminist criticism is a political
project: “Feminist criticism is a specific kind of political discourse, a critical
and theoretical practice committed to the struggle against patriarchy and
sexism.” European feminism as a theory might be traced back to the 18 Century
writings of Mary Wollstonecraft. In her A Vindication of the Rights of Women
(1792), Wollstonecraft rejected the established view that women are naturally
weaker or inferior to men. The unequal nature of gender relations, she proposed,
was because the lack of education kept the women in a secondary position. She
further proposed that women must be treated as equals because they play a
crucial role in society. Women themselves should strive to become
‘companions’ rather than mere wives to their husbands.

In the 20″C the novelist Virginia Woolf provided the first critiques antly that we
can recognize as marking feminism as we know it today. In works like A Room
of One’s Own(1929) and Three Guineas(1938), Woolf explored gender
relations. One of the first writers to develop a woman-centric notion of reading
and education, she argued that the patriarchal education system and reading
practices prevent women readers from reading as women. They are Constantly
trained to read from the men’s point of view. Woolf also argued that authorship
itself is gendered. The language available to the women is patriarchal.

Cotemporary social views of gender owe much to critiques of patriarchy in the

words of Simone de Beauvoir. De Beauvoir argued in her most famous
work, The Second Sex that men are able to mystify women. This mystification
and stereotyping were instrumental in creating patriarchy. She argued that
women, in turn, accepted this stereotype, and were thus instruments of their
own oppression. In fact, women are measured by the standard of men and found
‘inferior’. This is the process of othering where women will always be seen, not
as independent or unique but as a flawed version of the male. Men and women
are, therefore, constantly engaged in this subject- other relationships where the
man is the subject and the woman the other.

The third-wave feminism of the 1990s argued that ‘men and ‘women’ are social
categories that can only be defined in relation to each other. The writings of
Judith Butler embody a postmodern view of gender. Butler (1990)argued that
far from being a set of fixed values and roles imposed by society, gender was a
performance or role enacted by individuals. This performance of gender is, of
course, social in the sense that it is enacted, validated, and accepted by society.
Thus, gender and its meaning are constructed through repeated performances.
(As Judith Butler put it, “Identity is performatively constituted by the very
‘expressions’ that are said to be its results.” Even clothing, mannerism, speech,
and language are all signs that bodies are to declare their gender to the world.

The postcolonial feminists suggest that the category ‘women’ is itself a

dominating ideology because it sees only white women and their lives as
standards. The postcolonial critics have argued that women are not
homogeneous and that the experiences of a woman in interior Rajasthan or
Kenya cannot be compared with that of a white woman banker or Wall Street.
Postcolonial women’s studies in Asia and Africa have put forwarded issues like
women’s health, legal rights, domestic abuse, the rights of the tribal and the
Dalit women.
Indeed, the terms like race, ethnicity, class and even geography came to be
included as analytical categories within feminism and produced new forms of
feminist cultural theory: black, lesbian, or more recently cyberfeminism.

Different types of feminism

Liberal Feminism: Liberal feminism asserts the equality of men and women
through political and legal reforms. Liberal feminists sought to abolish political,
legal, and other forms of discrimination against women to allow them the same
opportunities as men. Liberal feminists served to alter the structure of society to
ensure the equal treatment of women. More recently, liberal feminism has
additionally taken on a more narrow meaning which emphasizes women’s
ability to show and mention their equality in their own actions and choices. In
this sense, liberal feminism uses the personal interaction between men and
women as the place from which to transform society. This use of the term
differs from liberal feminism in the historical sense, which emphasized political
and legal reforms and held that women’s own actions and choices alone were
not sufficient to bring about gender equality.

Issues important to modern liberal communists include reproductive and

abortion rights, Sexual harassment, voting, education, “equal pay for equal
work”, affordable child care affordable health care, and bringing to light the
frequency of sexual and domestic violence against women.

Radical feminism: Radical feminism is a movement that believes sexism is so

deeply rooted in society that the only cure is to eliminate the concept of gender
completely. Radical feminists suggest changes, such as finding a technology
that will allow babies to grow outside of a woman’s body to promote more
equality between men and women. This will allow women to avoid missing
work for maternity leave, which radical feminists argue is one more reason
women aren’t promoted as quickly as men. In fact, radical feminists would
argue that the entire traditional family is sexist. Men are expected to work
outside the home while women are expected to take care of children and clean
the house.

Socialist feminism: Socialist feminism rejects radical feminism’s main claim

that patriarchy is the only or primary source of oppression of women. Rather,
socialism communism asserts that women are unable to be free due to their
financial dependence on males in society. Women are subjected to the mail
rulers in capitalism due to an uneven balance in wealth. They argue that
liberation can be only achieved by working to end both the economic and
cultural sources of women’s oppression.
Cultural feminism: It is developed from radical feminism, although they hold
many opposing views. It is also a feminist theory of difference that raises the
positive aspects of women. As radical feminism died out as a movement,
cultural feminism has moved on cultural feminism believes in encouraging
feminine behavior rather than masculine behavior, for example, the belief that
“women are kinder and gentler than men,” prompts cultural feminists to call for
an invasion of women’s culture into the male-dominated world, which would
presumably result in less violence and fewer wars.

Eco-feminism: Eco-feminism is a social and political movement that unites

environmentalism and feminism. Eco-feminists believe that these connections
are illustrated through traditionally “females” values such as reciprocity,
nurturing, and corporation, which are present both among men and women in
any nature. Eco-feminists argue that the men in power control the land, and
therefore are able to exploit it for their own profit and success. In this situation,
eco-feminists consider women to be exploited by men in power for their own
profit, success, and pleasure. The eco-feminists argue that women and the
environment are both exploited as passive pawns in the race of domination.
Eco-feminists argue that those people in power are able to take advantage of
them distinctly because they are seen as passive and rather helpless. Eco-
feminism connects the exploitation and domination of women with that of the
environment.