Feminist sociology

Feminist sociology approaches sociology by observing gender and its role in social structure.

Feminist Sociology

Feminist sociology studies the current climate of feminism in relation to all other interactions of society. Feminism is in its third wave of thought, and this is reflected in feminist ideology by the current awareness of differences in women throughout the world. In the previous waves of feminism, only the needs of a specific type of women were addressed. In third wave feminism, feminists have attempted to stop making generalizations of all women, and instead, have focused on the needs of their gender with intersection of sexual orientation, race, economic status, and nationality differences among women. Third wave looks to give voices to the women who have gone unheard throughout the previous waves of the feminist movement. As a result, other issues have arisen within feminist sociology.

Oppression

The core element to the feminist movement and feminist sociology is the idea of systematic oppression against women. This oppression exists essentially due to patriarchic systems that exist in society. The basic idea of oppression is that all women, no matter where they live or what religion, race, or social status they possess, are oppressed due to their sex. Oppression can overlap if women are in other oppressed groups, such as a race that is oppressed or a sexuality that is oppressed within a certain society. These overlapping oppressed identities can create issue of which oppression to fight and which to accept.

Sexism and Sex Politics

People are socialized to give a certain degree of respect and power to a person based solely on their appearance. In most societies, this is true for age, race, as well as sex. When someone encounters another person, one of the first things they will do is to try to determine whether this person is male or female. Cues varying from a person’s clothes to physical features to voice could cue a person to what sex someone is. Because this is the first thing that happens when an encounter is made, sex is a status category with political implications. A person has to determine what sex a person is in order to know how they should address them. Sexism has been defined as any cultural or economic structure which creates or enforces the patterns of sex-marking, which divide the species into dominates and subordinates.

Language (English)

Certain words have become commonly attributed to each sex. This is a result of socialization and gender power structures and has no true basis in biology or gender differences.

Male versus Female

Aggressive versus Passive

Intelligent versus Ignorant

Outspoken versus Quiet

Emotionless versus Emotional

Strong versus Weak

Virile versus Virtuous

Detached versus Nurturing

This language affects not only everyday speech, but also finds it’s way into academic arenas such as science, which in turn creates a new type socialization that is potentially more dangerous due to it’s covert infiltration of an educational and academic setting that is supposed to be unbiased. A classic example of this is how the process of fertilization is commonly described in textbooks and other scientific sources of information. Cultural stereotypes about gender have affected and biased society’s ideas about the egg and the sperm. Writers of textbooks in the past have put the sperm on a hero’s quest to conquer, penetrate, and overpower the helpless and passive egg.

The feminist movement has been criticized in the past for catering to issue of primarily white, heterosexual, middle class women, ignoring the needs of women of color, lesbians and bisexuals, and women of lower class.

Heterosexism

• Laws and Policies

United States

• • Currently, heterosexual marriage is the only lawful union between two people that is recognized and given full benefits by the United States. This clearly puts homosexual couples of both sexes at a disadvantage, [citation needed] making their relationships less valid in the eyes of the government than that of a relationship between a man and a woman.

[citation needed]

States in the U.S. regulate "many aspects of marriage law affecting the day to day lives of inhabitants of the United States are determined by the states, not the federal government, and the Defense of Marriage Act does not prevent individual states from defining marriage as they see fit. "

"Massachusetts has recognized same-sex marriage since 2004. Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey, California, and New Hampshire have created legal unions that, while not called marriages, are explicitly defined as offering all the rights and responsibilities of marriage under state law to same-sex couples. Maine, Hawaii, the District of Columbia, Oregon and Washington have created legal unions for same-sex couples that offer varying subsets of the rights and responsibilities of marriage under the laws of those jurisdictions." wikipedia

Feminism and Race

• Oppression due to Race

United States

• • Feminism and race sometimes seem to be at odds. Women who already suffer from oppression due to their race find themselves in a double bind. They are forced to choose between backing issues important to their race and betraying their sex, or backing issues important to women and betraying their race. Feminists who are not oppressed due to their race have overlooked this issue in the past.

Feminism and Culture/Religion

The question has been raised as to whether it is possible to be a feminist and a multiculturalist at the same time. The reason this is an issue is because there are conflicting factors on certain stances. Some practices that are carried off by cultures or religions are clearly not beneficial and are oppressive to women. But a multiculturalist would argue that a culture should not go in and attempt to insert its own ideals and beliefs on another culture.

• Marriage

In some cultures, women are focused into arranged marriages to the cultural customs of their region or their religion. Taking away a woman’s right to choose a life partner would clearly be an issue with feminists.

• Rape/ Infidelity and Honor Killings

Some cultures punish women after a rape has occurred, claiming that her impurity has brought shame on the family. Women are also tortured or killed in other cultures throughout the world for infidelities that bring shame to the family.

• Mutilation

In various cultures throughout the world, female genital mutilation (FGM) is a cultural practice that has been allowed and even encouraged to occur. If a woman has not undergone FGM, she is thought to be unclean and un-marriageable in her culture.

External links

• http://www.soc.msu.edu/FeministSociology.html