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Topic area: Feminist Theory
Paper Type: Deep dive
Introduction
Briefly mention details of the theory- Feminist theory is a theoretical approach that deviates its topical focus, analytic lenses, and assumptions from male experiences and viewpoints towards that of women.
Mentions the general fields and influences of the theory- The theory applies to a broad range of fields including literature, psychology, economics, politics, film, art, and history. Some of its influences include women rights, international law, gender-neutral language, and religion.
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Thesis statement: With its main themes revolving around promoting gender equality, the critical components of the theory include gender inequality, differences, and oppression.
Overview of the theory
Introduce the main goal of the theory - The theory is fundamentally about shining light on forces that create and support injustices, oppression and inequality towards women.
Highlight the basic ideas i.e. By doing so, the theory seeks to accomplish justice and gender equality for women. Therefore, its central ideas include (Bartkowski & Kolmar, 2010):
Promoting gender equality
Ending gender-based violence
Advocating for sexual freedom
Eliminating gender stratification
Summarize the goals and ideas into its critical components i.e. The main components of the theory include gender inequality, gender differences, and gender oppression.
Gender Differences
Discuss the first component i.e. The feminist theory offers a comprehensive analytic framework for understanding how and to what extent the experiences and location of women in social conditions vary from those of men.
Give an example i.e. For instance, as a cultural feminist would argue, the set of values and norms society has on the entire construct of femininity or womanhood influences how a woman perceives and experiences the social world. (Coe, 2019)
Give another example i.e. Others have argued the case of the role of women in the patriarchal society limiting their contribution to the world as men.
Gender Inequality
Discuss the second component i.e. The theory suggests that the experiences and location of women in social situations are not only different from that of men but also unequal.
Give an example i.e. Some feminists assert that women are generally equal to men in terms of reasoning and agency. However, because of patriarchy, history has denied women the opportunity of exercising their reasoning and agency capacities to full potential. (Lay, & Daley, 2007)
Give another example i.e. The sexist division of labour continues to define what a woman should or should not do thus affecting the achievement of equality.
Gender Oppression
Discuss the third component i.e. The theory further argues that in addition to being different and unequal to men, women are increasingly being subordinated, oppressed and often abused by their male counterparts.
Give examples i.e. The source of abuse, mistreatments, oppression and subordination is the variation of power between men and women.
Give more examples i.e. As radical feminists claim, in some communities, physical violence against women is viewed as the base of patriarchy ( Grant, 2013) . They also believe patriarchy can be eliminated when women realise their strength and value.
Conclusion
Describe the general application of the theory. The feminist theory is a branch of sociology which implies that its application in criminology is limited. However, its success has seen the development of terminologies, such as feminist criminology in practice.
Discuss further potential of the theory- The potential value of the theory in criminology includes solving gender-based crime and domestic violence that can best be understood from the perspective of women.
References
Bartkowski, F., & Kolmar, W. K. (2010). Feminist theory: A reader. McGraw-Hill.
Coe, I. (2019). Feminism is for everybody. The Lancet, 393(10171), 493. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30239-9
Grant, J. (2013). Fundamental Feminism: Contesting the core concepts of feminist theory. Routledge.
Lay, K., & Daley, J. G. (2007). A critique of feminist theory. Advances in social work, 8(1), 49-61.
