Feminism

• 6 in 10 people consider themself a feminist in the United States

• younger, college-educated, and democratic women are the most likely to consider themselves a feminist

• 64% of Americans say feminism is empowering/inclusive, but 45% say that feminism is outdated

• white adults (49%) say feminism is polarized, as opposed to 34% of black adults and 36% of hispanic adults

What is feminism, and what does it advocate for?

• EQUALITY OF ALL GENDERS

• WOMENS’ RIGHTS

• abolition of the patriarchy

• feminism is NOT women are better than men.

• all genders = not just women and men.

  • feminism includes both cisgender and transgender people.

Why do we need feminism?

• one in three women will get r-ped, harassed, or sexually abused in their lifetime.

• women get paid 9% less than men

• in the UK, 1-10 girls between 14 and 21 can’t afford menstrual products.

• an estimated 137 women are killed by a partner or a family member every day

• women spend 3 times as many hours doing unpaid domestic and care work as men – 4.2 hours in comparison to a men’s 1.7

  • This is higher in Northern Africa and Western Asia

• women are still underrepresented in science/technology/engineering/math fields

– only about 35% of all STEM graduates are women

Four broad types of feminism

Liberal Feminism/Equality Approach

• leading form of feminism in USA/Western Europe

  • Helped guarantee women equal rights, education, pay, opportunity

  • criticized as “assimilationist,” meaning that society/culture doesn’t need to change – women do

Difference Feminism

• • arose in the 1980-1990s

  • revalue traditional “feminine” qualities – caring/nurturing/kind/empathy/etc

  • criticized as “essentialist” – reinforces traditional stereotypes, as well as traditional femininity/masculinity

Co-Constructionism

• • science/technology and gender shape each other

  • avoid seeing technology as the one thing being modern

  • avoid seeing gender as something unchangeable

Sex and Gender Analysis

• • focus on how sex and gender influence all research

  • prioritizes analysis to guide effort to achieve gender equality

  • enhancing the lives of both men and women by stimulating creativity in science/technology