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An Introduction:Feminist Perspectives
Developed by:Penny A. Pasque, PhD
Associate Professor, Adult & Higher Education
Educational Leadership & Policy Studies, Jeannine Rainbolt College of EducationEducational Leadership & Policy Studies, Jeannine Rainbolt College of EducationWomen’s & Gender Studies / Center for Social JusticeUniversity of Oklahoma Brenton Wimmer, MEd
PhD Graduate Student
Educational Leadership & Policy StudiesJeannine Rainbolt College of EducationUniversity of Oklahoma
This presentation was grant-funded by the ACPA Commission for ProfessionalPreparation. It focuses on the below two readings and is available fordownload in the hopes that people will utilize this information in graduatepreparation programs and professional development programs. Pasque
, P. A. &
Errington
Nicholson, S. (Eds.) (2011).
Empowering women in higher
Background Information
Pasque
, P. A. &
Errington
Nicholson, S. (Eds.) (2011).
Empowering women in higher
education and student affairs: Theory, research, narratives and practice from feministperspectives.
Sterling, VA: Stylus and the American College Personnel
Association.
Pasque, P. A. (2011). Women of color in higher education: Theoretical perspectives.
In G. Jean-Marie and B. Lloyd-Jones (Eds.)
Women of Color in Higher
Education: Turbulent Past, Promising Future,
Vol. 9. (pp. 21-47). Bingley, UK:
Emerald.
What is feminism? In
Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics
, bell hooks (2000) shares her “simple
definition” of feminism:
“Feminism is a movement to end sexism,sexist exploitation, and oppression”
(p. viii).
Feminism
is a complex notion that has vast differences in meaning and
Feminism
is a complex notion that has vast differences in meaning and
connotation for people spanning generations, ethnic identities, sexualorientations, social classes, nationality, and myriad identities.
Feminism
is not a static notion; rather it evolves with
us throughout our lives and is shaped by the variouslenses we use to view the world at large and,most importantly, ourselves.
Feminism & Theory Feminist theory is founded on three main principles (Ropers-Huilman,
Women have something valuable to contribute to every aspect of
the world.
As an oppressed group, women have been unable to achieve their
potential, receive rewards, or gain full participation in society.
Feminist research should do more than critique, but should work
toward social transformation.
Classroom Exercise
Sex & Gender Visual Representations (30 Minutes) Instructions:
Provide each person with markers and newsprint. Ask everyone to fold the
paper into four quadrants. Instruct each person to draw the answers to each question withineach quadrant. When finished, discuss the answers in small or large groups. Quadrant 1
: Draw
the first time you remember
noticing/becoming
aware of biological sex.
Quadrant 1
: Draw
the first time you remember
noticing/becoming
aware of biological sex.
Quadrant 2: Draw the first time you remember noticing/becoming aware of gender identity, gender roles,and/or gender expression.Quadrant 3: Draw a picture of your own sex and/or gender as you personify it within the field of studentaffairs and higher education.Quadrant 4: Draw a picture of sex and/or gender as you feel students personify it within your functionalarea of student affairs or higher education (this could be the majority of students in your area or not – itis your choice).
Classroom Exercise Sex & Gender Drawings (30 Minutes) Discussion Questions:
Describe the pictures you have drawn within each quadrant.
How is biological sex, gender identity, gender roles, and/or gender expression easy and/or difficult for you in student affairs and higher education?
How is biological sex, gender identity, gender roles, and/or gender expression easy
How is biological sex, gender identity, gender roles, and/or gender expression easy and/or difficult for undergraduates at your institution?
In what ways are the pictures that people in the room drew similar to or different from each other?
In what ways are constructions of gender useful and/or problematic in student affairs and higher education?
What might you do in order to help your colleagues and undergraduates explore more about their own conceptualizations of sex and gender?
The Three Waves of Feminism •
The history of feminism is often described in three temporal waves.
This concept originated with the Irish activist Frances Power Cobbe in 1884 who shared that movements “resemble the tides of the ocean, where each wave obeysshared that movements “resemble the tides of the ocean, where each wave obeysone more uniform impetus, and carries the waters onward and upward along theshore” (as cited in Hewitt, 2010, p. 2). •
When viewing feminism through the metaphor of a wave, it is important to understand that this idea of uniform and monolithic waves is often reductive andignores multiple and often simultaneous movements within and across race,ethnicity, nationality, class, etc. As such, it disregards bravery of women around theglobe prior to the nineteenth century.
The First Wave •
The First Wave occurred during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
It involved some of the foremothers of liberal feminism such as Elizabeth Candy Stanton and Matilda Joslyn Gage who, in advocating for divorce laws to protect theStanton and Matilda Joslyn Gage who, in advocating for divorce laws to protect therights of women, cited Iroquois laws that ensured a man provided for his family onpain of banishment. •
There was a strong influence of Native American women with whom white women shared land. The pioneers of the women’s movement took cues from NativeAmerican ancestors such as the Iroquois system of election, whereby women chosetheir governmental representative from among eligible men.
The Third Wave •
The Third Wave is considered as the timeframe from 1990’s to present day.
It is informed by postcolonial and postmodern thinking.
Third Wavers often mystifies earlier feminists as many have reclaimed lipstick, high heals, and cleavage. In addition, tattoos may adorn current day feminists. •
This wave breaks constraining boundaries of gender, including what it deems essentialist boundaries set by the earlier waves. •
Controversy and disagreement around identity politics between feminists in the third wave have escalated.
Questions for Discussion
What questions do you have for women from each wave? Why
might it be useful to ask these questions? Is there a way to research theanswer to your questions?
Why do you think some people argue that “waves” of feminism are
Why do you think some people argue that “waves” of feminism are
reductive?
Talk about the controversies between feminists today. More
specifically, why do some women who have tattoos, show cleavage,and enjoy high heals consider themselves feminists whereas someargue that this form of gender expression is not reflective of feministideals? In your opinion, is there a right answer – why or why not?
Liberal Feminism •
Liberal feminism is a traditional perspective that was established as a part of the first wave of feminism. It is often the root of comparison when deconstructingcontemporary conceptualizations of feminism. •
It argues that “society has a false belief that women are by nature less intellectually and physically capable than men” (Tong, 2009, p. 2).and physically capable than men” (Tong, 2009, p. 2). •
This perspective seeks to level the playing field that would allow women to seek the same opportunities as men, especially the opportunity to excel in various fields. •
Modern liberal feminists argue that patriarchal society fuses sex and gender together, making only those jobs that are associated with the traditionally feminineappropriate for women to pursue.
Radical Feminism •
Radical feminism is the second most notable form of feminism.
Radical feminists think liberal feminist perspectives are not drastic
enough to address the centuries of individual, institutional, andsystemic oppression that have ensued. •
This can be further deconstructed into two types:
This can be further deconstructed into two types:
Libertarian radical feminism
focuses on personal freedom of expression but
also turns to androgyny as an option. •
Cultural radical feminism
expressly argues that the root cause of the
problem is not femininity, but the low value that patriarchy assigns to femininequalities. If society placed a higher value on feminine qualities, then there wouldbe less gender oppression. In this way, the volume should be ‘turned up’ on allforms of gender expression – androgyny, femininity, masculinity, and multipleforms of gender expression that is – or is not – congruent with biological sex.
Black/Womanist Feminism •
Wheeler (2002) defined a Black feminist as
a person, historically an African American woman academic, who believes that femaledescendants of American slavery share a unique set of life experiences distinct fromthose of black men and white women… the lives of African American women areoppressed by combinations of racism, sexism, classism, and heterosexism. (p. 118)
The term Womanist is often used to describe the experiences of a woman
of color, including the intersections of race and gender. •
The Black Womanist feminism (or Black Feminist Thought) movement
comes out of the feminist movement of the 1970’s and is a direct interfacewith the civil rights movement, as it recognizes that women of Africandescent in the U.S. faced a unique set of issues that were not being addressedby the predominantly white feminist movement.
Chicana Feminism Chicana feminism is in various stages of development... It is recognition that women areoppressed as a group and are exploited as part of
la Raza
people. It is a direction to be responsible
to identify and act upon the issues and needs of Chicana women. Chicana feminists are involved inunderstanding the nature of women’s oppression. (Nieto Gómez, 1971, p. 9) •
The
El Movimiento
drew strong in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Chicana feminism was cast
as a threat to the notion of
la
familia
and the “institution of Machismo”.
as a threat to the notion of
la
familia
and the “institution of Machismo”.
Chicana feminism was often viewed as a divisive force. Men, and some women, construed the feminist perspective as a threat that came from outside, from whitewomen, and not necessarily relevant to the Chicana community. •
With the growth of Chicana feminist awareness and liberation grew a questioning of the “machismo” perspective, discrimination in education, the role of the CatholicChurch, and the ways in which the culture continued to repress women.
