The Impact of The Feminist Theory on Society

According to Lay and Daley (2008), Feminism can be defined as the act of advocating for the rights of women when it comes to political, social and economic equality to men. The feminist theory is one which has developed as a part of a large feminist movement which strives to challenge methodologies, priorities and traditions in all aspects of the lives of the society at large. The Feminist movement has brought about many structural changes to the family and these changes, are both demographic and economic which have led to the emergence of new gender relationships and at the same time enhanced various developments the feminist movement ( Andersen, 1991). Some of the changes which have been observed and have had an impact on family life include women participating in the labour force and being in charge of their reproductive health.

The purpose of this paper is to look at the impact that the Feminist Theory has made on the society. Like sociological theory, the Feminist Theory aims to analyze the relationship between the society’s culture and structure, the experiences of women and the impact that it has on the family.

The Feminist theory is one which offers a new perspective when it comes to understanding how human beings behave in their social environment, by mainly focusing on women and the issues that they face in society. According to Andersen (1991), the feminist theory looks at the world as a place whereby women are not discriminated in any way and also that there is no injustice when it comes to dealing with their problems. The theory seeks to understand the world and everything that we experience as we all take part in a systematic analytic approach to tackle our everyday experiences.

There are many assumptions which have been made about feminism for example, men and women are from different worlds and therefore have different experiences. Other individuals believe that the goal of feminism is only to promote equality, meaning that women and men have the same opportunities or choices (Lay and Daley, 2008). Feminism however aims to explain the various differences which exist between men and women and hence advocate for considerations based on the effects of gender differences on human behaviour, when it comes to gender based oppressions, social, political and cultural structures.

According to Flax (1999), as cited by Lay and Daley (2008), the feminist theory sees the oppression of women as a collection of social problems which need to be understood by the society at large. Oppression is viewed as how we treat other individuals in society and it is based on how a particular society is structured both politically and socio-economically (Andersen, 1991). The structure being referred to in this context is patriarchy, and it is a phenomenon which has existed in our societies since time in memorial.

There are various types of feminism and each one of them seeks to explore the various ways in which women have been oppressed and hence seek for their liberation.  Liberal feminism is a movement which began in the 1960s. According to Lorber (1997), Liberal feminists claim that men and women are not all that different, except when it comes to our biological differences which exist. They believe that since men and women are not different, they should receive equal treatment especially when it comes to the law.  This basically means that women should enjoy rights similar to men and also be exposed to the same opportunities when it comes to work and education (Lorber, 1997).

The main focus of Liberal feminists was to try and change laws which are discriminatory to women, when it comes to issues like wages, top positions in organizations and also when it comes to hiring in the workplace. Liberal feminists are believed to have adopted techniques from the civil rights  movement, which include affirmative action and  anti discrimination legislations, and used them in their cause. According to Lorber (1997), affirmative action is an aggressive method in which qualified individuals point out ethnic and gender imbalances which exist in the workplace. It seeks to encourage males to go for training in fields like secretarial work, nursing and teaching, while women go for jobs in male dominated fields like police work, construction and engineering. This will encourage employers to employ them and hence have a gender balance in their various institutions, which in turn gives both men and women an equal opportunity to advance in their careers. Liberal feminism has made a contribution to society in that, it has shown the discrimination of women by society. It has also helped in other ways for example giving women an entry point into jobs which were considered male dominated.

According to Lorber (1997), Marxist or Socialist feminists believe that capitalism is a system which oppresses women. Marxist feminists believe that housewives play an important role in the capitalist structure due to their unpaid labour in the home is essential in bringing up the future generation.  Marxist feminists blame the family structure for oppressing and exploiting women (Lorber, 1997).  According to Lorber (1997) a study was done on the differences between wages paid to men and women revealed that the wages depend on conventional worth. This means that the wages paid solely depend on skill, the hazard that comes with the job, responsibility and one’s position. Liberal feminists advocated that the salaries of women who did housework as a source of income should be raised. This is to give women an opportunity to also have some form of economic resources, and hence make them less dependent on their husbands for survival.

According to Rowland and Klein (1996), Radical feminists believe that the patriarchal system is responsible for the oppression of women. Patriarchy can be defined as a male dominated structure that is oppressing. Radical feminists believe that males control every aspect when it comes to the lives of women, be it public or private. Radical feminists call for a reorganization of the society’s social structure, so as to ensure the liberation of women.  According to Rowland and Klein (1996), patriarchy is a structure or institution men created in order to sustain their dominance over women. Looking at marriage as a social institution, men have established themselves as the dominant figure thus forcing women to submit and follow their husband’s lead when it comes to decision making.

Patriarchy has taken control of the economic system in that it has made it difficult for women to get jobs and hence make money, in a society which views money as a source of power (Rowland and Klein, 1996). This has made women dependent on men because their survival depends on the breadwinner.  For this reason, Radical feminists advocate for women’s economic freedom so that they would be able to sustain themselves. According to Rowland and Klein (1996), Radical feminists also believe that a woman’s body is patriarchy’s currency. This is because the use of women’s bodies is advertising and pornography was solely for the enjoyment of men. Men were also viewed as individuals who controlled reproduction laws since the government and pharmaceutical companies are male dominated and therefore determine the availability and use of contraceptives.

According to Andersen (1991), the definition of an ideal family is a nuclear family, which is comprised of a father, mother and children who share a loving and caring bond.  This ideal family also assumes that members of a particular gender should perform specific duties or roles for example; males are the providers and protectors of the family, while women are the homemakers.  Feminism has had an impact on the family structure, according to Fox (2015), there has been a decline in marriage, since feminists believe that it is an institution of oppression. They believe that marriage makes women to adhere to socially constructed gender roles which means that women will be less independent, most of the housework will be done by them and that they are likely to experience domestic violence due to their submissive roles.

Same-sex marriages or families have been seen as a threatening factor to the ideal family institution.  Lesbian Feminism is another branch of feminism which originated in the United States and Western Europe due to their dissatisfaction with the Second Wave feminists. Lesbian feminists encouraged women to focus their energies away from men and towards women, and the view lesbianism as a result of feminism. Studies done by Cheshire Calhoun  (1997) as cited by Fox (2015), revealed that heterosexual, patriarchal marriages are to blame for the exploitation of women in such marriages. Lesbian Feminists believe that lesbian marriages are less exploitative in that they provide room for the partners involved to develop a more domestic and egalitarian household. According to Fox (2015), lesbian and gay families are seen to be a threatening factor to the family because they are viewed as individuals whose marriage is improper and that their families are not in any way genuine. This simply means that since two men or two women cannot have sexual relations and produce a child in the natural way and hence have to use other methods for example surrogacy and the use of sperm donors.

Feminism as a movement as also brought about the increase in divorce rates thus causing the instability of the family.  In the year 1920 in the United States, a law was passed by congress which gave women the right to vote. Shortly after, women also fought for their rights to own property and also get divorces. Studies done in Britain reveal that feminism has greatly increased the numbers of divorce cases. Studies show that up to three quarters of divorce cases are filed by women and the reason being the oppression that they face in their marriages (Andersen, 1991). There are claims that such this action by   women has brought about instability in the family and decline of family values since the children are left under the care of one parent. Feminists argue that a stable family is one which is built on the suffering and abuse of women.

According to Andersen (1991), feminism is also believed to have caused the disruption of gender roles. Anti- feminists believe that feminists have led to the disruption of gender roles since girls are now being encouraged not to accept the traditional gender roles that society has placed. Studies done in the United Kingdom, show that before the 1970s, girls were socialized by their parents to be dependent on men, to obey male authority and to conform to their domestic roles as caregivers and homemakers (Andersen, 1991). Boys on the other hand were taught that they should be self reliant, competitive and that they were the dominant sex and thus had some sort of authority over women. Feminists are believed to have encouraged young girls and women to adopt these ‘male’ as having forgotten their place in society as the submissive sex.

Abortion is another problem facing the family, and is due to the Feminist movement which advocated for women’s right to do so. According to Fox (2015), before the year 1973, women did not have the right to have abortions until the United States Supreme Court made this possible. For several years, the reproductive rights of women had been controlled by men. Women did not have the option of terminating unwanted pregnancies until the law was amended. 85% of counties in America by the 1990s had no clinics where abortions could be conducted, and its legalization spurred a lot of controversy (Fox, 2015). In Spain, statistics show that about 57 million unborn babies were killed through abortion, and it is therefore estimated that 155 children are aborted every hour. Since one of the functions of the family includes procreation, abortion therefore does not allow the birth and bringing up of children by married couples.

It is clearly evident from the above arguments that feminism as a movement has hurt the family in various ways and there are steps which can be taken to solve some of the issues. When it comes to the gender socialization of children, I think that children should be treated equally regardless of whether they are male or female so as to avoid gender stereotypes. Families should also be egalitarian meaning that household responsibilities are shared among each member and not designated to a particular individual or individuals, because of their sex. I also think that when it comes to marriage, men should not treat women like slaves and appreciated and they should not be belittled.

The Feminist theory is one which offers a new perspective when it comes to understanding how human beings behave in their social environment, by mainly focusing on women and the issues that they face in society for example oppression and discrimination based on their gender. There are various types of feminism and they include Lesbian, Radical, Liberal and Marxist Feminism. Feminism as a movement has brought about many problems in the family and they include the rising cases of divorce, abortion, the shunning of marriage by some women and also the disruption of gender roles. To curb some of the problems brought about by feminism when it comes to the family setting, women should be given the same opportunities as men and acts of misogyny should be avoided.

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