Feminism Psychology is an ideology that explains sexualities, sex categories, and gender. It is also referred to as the psychology of gender and psychology of women. It signifies a political and ethical commitment to social justice and social change, which goes beyond the contribution of psychology's knowledge base. Feminist psychology can be traced back to14th century, when the first female philosopher in France criticized the discrimination towards women and boldly asked for women to be educated (Feminism | Definition, History, & Examples. (2020). Several publications were then made by different feminists advocating for equal treatment of women, and in 1975, Mary Parlee pushed for the inclusion of a topic on women psychology in the formation of the new American Psychological Association (APA) and Annual Review of Psychology). Parlee wrote an article explaining the impact of feminism on psychology. Then, in 1976, Reesa Vaughter reviewed how feminist researchers contributed to empirical research in several areas. In 1973, Andrienne Smith empowered women to stand up to what they believed in, regardless of what the society could think of them. For instance, she openly claimed to be a lesbian, which encouraged several other people to support feminism. Arnie Kahn is amongst the few men who supported feminism then, and he even became a mentor for several women psychologists. Rhoda Kessler was doing power and gender analysis, concluding that power was not inherently assigned to males at birth (Ramsey & Anderson, 2020). Then, there was Jacqueline Macaulay, who was contributing to reports on sexism, affects the wellbeing of women also helped in the advancement of feminism psychology. Various events were conducted during that time to sensitize women on why they should associate themselves with psychology. The Association of women in psychology contributed massively in sustaining and nurturing feminism. The feminist psychologists studied the topics which were previously believed to be best for men. Currently, women are getting almost equal rights of men in most sectors of the economy.
Analyze the historical influences that led to the development of this school of thought.
Female intellectuals who were advocating for women to be equally enlightened could quickly note the limitation in reformist rhetoric. In 1971, a playwright by Olympe de Gouges argued that women should not only be treated equally as men, but they should also be their equal partners (feminism | Definition, History, & Examples, 2020). Then, female philosophers started arguing that society only perceived women as a source of pleasure for men. The philosophers began advocating for equal opportunities in politics, work, and education. The enlightened era turned into a period of political uproar marked by revolutions in Italy, Germany, and France, and an increase in abolitionism. In the U.S.A, the activism of feminism was aimed at applying concepts of equality and freedom to women's political and social situations. By the mid-1800s, the issues of feminism were included in the social change, especially in North America and Europe. When the American civil war ended, feminists wanted women's rights to be added in the 15th amendment of the country's constitution. However, this was declined, and by 1900, the U.S.no longer prioritized equality (feminism | Definition, History, & Examples, 2020). However, from the 1970s, women's movements advocating for feminism were on the rise, and the world started appreciating women. Nonetheless, some women still felt that they did not have equal rights to men. By the 1990s, some women advocates felt that the legal rights and protections were not enough, and they critiqued how the society perceived women up to date. There are instances when women feel they are not treated equally, which results in more movements advocating for human rights.
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Analyze the societal influences that led to the development of this school of thought.
Most of the people who were supporting feminism psychology felt that the society was not taking the experiences which women were going through seriously. Women would be sexually objectified, abused, and their issues in the society could not be put into consideration. The treatments could result in depression, post-traumatic stress disorders, and in some instances, suicidal thoughts. When women joined university, they could stop feeling as much positivity and enthusiasm to learn as they used to in high school. That is because the men always tried to bring them down, and they could not get support from other women. Thus, women's discrimination was more for aged people in society. This could lead to social anxiety, where a woman could be afraid of talking or even being seen in public due to fear of getting mocked.
Analyze how this school of thought guides social thinking.
In the last decade, there have been numerous empirical research and theoretical debates within gender studies where females feel more and more need to be treated equally to men. There are various forms of oppression that women face in society today because of their gender. Notably, although sexism refers to discrimination against a person because of their gender, which can be male or female, the latter face more oppression than the former in society. Notably, the men seem to have an inherent thing that they are the superior gender and women members. There are the ones mainly oppressed because of their gender (Feminist Philosophy, 2020). For instance, when an obese man and woman are walking, the chances are that society will mock the woman's body.
Additionally, when there is a boss of the opposite gender recruiting, there are more chances for a female employee to be asked for sexual favors than the female. Then, society can easily claim that the success of a female is associated with getting favours from men. All these are bad misconceptions because both the man and the woman are equal.
Feminism psychology school of thought always sees individuals as embodied. Feminists are always strongly against the privilege of epistemological concerns over political and moral concerns, which are common to philosophy. Similarly, the school of thought explains that all people must have good relations with each other, our societies, and the authorities.
References
Brown, L. (2019). Celebrating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Association for Women in Psychology: A Life in Feminist Psychology: A Long and Interesting Journey from Ft. Wayne to Newport (Herstory). Sex Roles , 80 (11-12), 647-655. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-019-01044-w
Feminism | Definition, History, & Examples. (2020). Retrieved 18 May 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/feminism
Feminist Philosophy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). (2020). Retrieved 18 May 2020, from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminist-philosophy/
Ramsey, M., & Anderrson, R. (2020). Research that Matters: Feminist Psychology and the Big Screen . Alphachihonor.org. Retrieved 18 May 2020, from https://alphachihonor.org/research-that-matters-feminist-psychology-and-the-big-screen/ .
