Pol 222

1
Pol 222

• Introduction

2
Key terms and concepts

• Politics
• Policy
• Gender
• Feminism
• Oppression
• Key Question Are women oppressed?

3
Gender

• A form of social organization
• Set of social norms that define masculine and
  feminine and the relationship between them

4
Politics and Policy

• Decisions about how we organize ourselves, about
  collective life (Pitkin)
• Power relationships Empowerment
• Public policy a course of action or inaction
  pursued under the authority of government
  (Heclo)
• Can include policy silences

5
Feminism

• Beliefs or actions that promote the interests and
  rights of women.
• Writing guided by belief that women are equal to
  men and their experiences are as important as
  mens.
• Feminist includes anyone who identifies
  themselves as feminists and those who are in
  organizations that advocate womens rights but
  not those who are expressly anti-feminist (Is
  anybody who says they are acting in the interests
  of women a feminist?)

6
Feminism cntd

• Feminism is
• a commitment to understanding womens own
  perceptions of their situations.
• Awareness of womens oppression (patriarchy)
• Explanations of patriarchys origins and
  continuation
• Commitment to Social change
• The Anti-Oppression Principle/Anti-Domination

7
Feminisms

• Differences among feminists- enduring disputes
• sameness vs. difference
• relation of gender to other forms of oppression
• is gender solidarity possible
• role of men

8
Types of Feminism

• Liberal Feminism-legal reform gender neutrality
  reason Sameness-feminism
• Marxist Feminism- Third World feminisms- Locates
  gender inequality in capitalism (Engels)
• Socialist Feminism- benefits and support
  structures- Class and work-
• Radical Feminism- Takes Gender as a (the?)
  primary category Focuses more on valuing the
  feminine. Not about women becoming like men

9
Oppression

• What does it mean to be oppressed?
• Group phenomenon
• Structure creates double binds, catch 22s,
• Bird cage
• Constellation of social practices create an
  oppressive social structure
• Do you agree with Frye that women are oppressed?