Feminism Theory

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Feminism

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>Feminism presents theories and practices that challenge male

dominance and privilege and critique patriarchal power relations

>Feminism – “the social movement and doctrine advocating legal and

socioeconomic equality for women”

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Feminist Social Work

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The integration of the values, skills, and knowledge of social work

with a feminist orientation to help individuals and society overcome

the emotional and social problems that result from gender discrimination.

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3 Time Periods: History of Feminism

First Wave Feminism Definition

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First Wave Feminism (1848-1930) covers the 19th and early 20th

century with the focus on equal property rights and gaining the vote for women

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3 Time Periods: History of Feminism

Second Wave Feminism Definition

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Second Wave Feminism began in the 1960s and 1980s and continues today

with a focus on ending discrimination against women

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3 Time Periods: History of Feminism

Third Wave Feminism Definition

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Third Wave Feminism began in the 1990s and continues today with

the focus on the failures of second wave feminism to address the

issues of race and class despite the early but unacknowledged

influences of Sojourner Truth and Iroquois women (second wave

feminism was criticized for its focus on the issues for white middle

class women)

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Types of Feminism

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Payne (2014) identifies several different types of feminism:

 Liberal feminism

 Radical feminism

 Socialist feminism

 Black / Women of Color feminism

 postmodern feminism

 Others……

 Global feminism

 Ecofeminism

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Standpoint Theory******

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Maintains that our perspective is determined by our position in society

Specific location in time and space that determines how you see the world

>What makes sense to you

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Standpoint Theory:

Social Groups

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Age, Race, socio-economic status, personal history, gender

>what we know depends on what groups we are a part of

Start from the perspective of the marginalized because thier viewpoint encouposes the

oppressors

>These perspective are more complete than those who are privileged

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What does Standpoint Theory Argue?

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The perspective of the lives of the less powerful provide a more objective perspective than lives of the powerful

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Marx Influence

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Those who have the power to name things shape the picture of the world

>The Factory owneer has no vested intrest in needed to understand how the way lower than him live, all he needs to see them as is workers in a factory

BUT: the workers, they need to know what people than higher than them think, b/c success for them (livelihood) is based on giving the owner what he wants

>they adopted the factory owners POV

owner defines the world for the factory workers

truth is not value free**

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What does Standpoint Theory argue about gender?

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Gender is socially constructed through society

>comes from those social groups

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Reflexivity in Research

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All research is political

>all scholarly inquiry should start from those who are marginalized

EX: Founding fathers of American History were slave owners ---> to understand American history we need to start with the view points of the "slaves", b/c they know what the slave owner want and have their own perspectives

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Relational-Cultural Theory (RCT)****

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RCT was founded on strong feminist principles with the traditional

focus on women and their relational experiences

>Premise that growth-fostering relationshipsare a central human necessity throughout our lives and

>chronic dis-connections are the

source of psychological problems.

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What is the primary goal of RCT?

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= to create and maintain mutually emphathic

growth-fostering relationships

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Shame Resilience Theory (SRT)****

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Focus on the emotional factors that affect women’s development

> Builds on the earlier work done in relational cultural theory (RCT)

> Examines the role of shame in mental/public health issues –

self esteem, depression, addiction, eating disorders, family violence,

sexual assault

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Shame Vs Guilt

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Guilt: I feel bad for making that mistake

Shame: I am a mistake

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Feminist Perspectives on Domestic Violence

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Cultural Acceptance of Violence

 Social group norms approve dominance, control, &/or violence

 Media models & approves violence victimization

 Societal current events convey approval for violence & victimization

 Social policy fails to prevent violence

 Ambiguous community sanctions against violence

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Examples of Feminist Applications and Social Work

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 Policy

>Anti-pornography legislation, family policy

 Casework

> Assisting lesbian/gay couples to adopt children, working

with battered women

 Social Work Research

>Examining experiences of different groups of women

 Community Organizing

>Birth control clinics, documenting license plates of men who use sexually exploited youth

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Empowerment and Domestic Violence

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Counsellor/social worker role also includes:

>Address exosystemic and macrosystemic levels that perpetuate

domestic violence

>Use resources to challenge and transform systems and structures

>Awareness of social, political and economic barriers for battered

women