More Menu

Feminism and Classical Sociology: Critiquing the ‘masters’

byPosted at

Contents 

  1. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
  2. Emile Durkheim
  3. Max Weber

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

Karl Marx didn't have a lot to say on gender, but feminist theorists have embraced his ideas and used his analyses to advance their own causes. Marx was interested in class, and he distinguished between the proletariat, or workers, and the bourgeoisie, or capitalists, as the two main social classes. Although in theory these classes had no gender, it is evident from his writing that he saw both classes as being exclusively male. Women were invisible because they were absent from the labour force and the domestic work they performed was considered standard.

Marx appears to have believed that while the male was working at the factory, it was the responsibility of the woman to take care of his needs for food, clothing, and other necessities. Additionally, in order to produce a new generation of manufacturing workers, the working class had to procreate. Marx overlooked the fact that caring for children and maintaining a home require labour, typically performed by women. Marx thought that his proposal for society as a whole would also address the issue of gender disparity. He asserted that in order to achieve gender equality, private property must be abolished in favour of a socialist society built on equality. In other words, gender equality would come last and class equality would come first.

Marx's collaborator Friedrich Engels added a little more to the conversation by writing a book titled "The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State" that specifically discussed women and their role in society. Engels published this in 1884 after Marx had passed away, but it was based on Marx's notes, particularly those on American anthropologist Lewis Henry Morgan's work.

Although the division of labour that made men the earning members and women the homemakers had always existed, he thought that at one point in the past, men and women were distinct but equal. Engels believed that the female line, or "mother right," was the path through which descent in human societies could be traced. This implied that fathers had no parental authority over their kids. All of this altered when the concept of private property emerged. The control of women's sexuality now allowed for the inheritance of their father's assets by their offspring. According to Engels, the emergence of private property marked the end of the "mother right" and the beginning of the "father right." Eliminating private property and inheritance rights would put an end to women's oppression because these were determined to be the causes. Engles raised certain issues with gender, but he continued to believe that gender differences were biologically grounded and naturally occurring.

Emile Durkheim

Although the division of labour that made men the earning members and women the homemakers had always existed, he thought that at one point in the past, men and women were distinct but equal.

Engels believed that the female line, or "mother right," was the path through which descent in human cultures could be traced. This implied that fathers had no parental authority over their kids. All of this altered when the concept of private property emerged. The control of women's sexuality now allowed for the inheritance of their father's assets by their offspring. According to Engels, the emergence of private property marked the end of the "mother right" and the beginning of the "father right." Eliminating private property and inheritance rights would put an end to women's oppression because these were determined to be the causes. Engles raised certain issues with gender, but he continued to believe that gender differences were biologically grounded and naturally occurring.

It's possible that Durkheim's study on suicide brought society's subordination of women a little bit closer to acceptance. According to his findings, married women had a higher suicide rate than either married men or unmarried women. He claimed that marriage was better for men than it was for women because it curbed men's sexuality and gave them a sense of security, tranquility, and mental peace. Women did not require the peace that comes with marriage since, like everything else, their sexuality was more biologically based and less intellectual in nature. However, Durkheim was aware that monogamy had a double standard when it came to morality and was oppressive to women more so than it was to men.

Max Weber

The patriarchal concept was developed by Max Weber, who claims it to be the oldest and most socially acceptable type of authority. In traditional, pre-capitalist communities, the oldest male member typically has the most influence, giving him control over all other male and female family members, as well as servants, slaves, and other dependents. According to Weber, all other forms of authority, including the feudal system in which serfs were obedient to a master, were derived from the patriarchal system. In every household, there was a patriarchal structure that was swallowed by larger social structures higher up the social ladder. Women were subject to men in all of these patriarchal organisations.

Weber, in contrast to Engels, did not think that sociological research on the mother-child bond was necessary. According to him, it was the men who made the connection between this mother and child and the larger society, provoking debate about the boundaries between the public and private spheres and the notion that women and children live in a private space that is part of the larger, public sphere that is dominated by men.

When it came to male-female relationships, Weber was quite silent. He believed that they were organic and biological, making sociological study of them inappropriate. He perceived men to be the models of authority and power. Weber's explanation of the patriarchal structure based on the family was incorrect and of little actual use. It did not adequately address the power dynamics that existed in relationships between the sexes or serve as a foundation for the explanation of wider social institutions. According to Weber's definition of patriarchy, it is normal and unavoidable to have patriarchy in both the past and the present. To be useful to feminist analysis, Weber's concepts like Domination, Power, and Authority would need to be applied to contexts other than markets.

References

  1. Abbott, P., Wallace, C., & Tyler, M. (2005). Introduction: feminism and the sociological imagination. In An Introduction to Sociology Feminist Perspectives (3rd ed., pp. 1-15). Oxon, UK: Routledge. 
  2. American Sociological Association: What is Sociology? (n.d.). Retrieved July 14, 2015, from http://www.asanet.org/about/sociology.cfm 
  3. Charlotte Perkins Gilman. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www2.webster.edu/~woolflm/gilman.html 
  4. Charlotte Perkins Gilman. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www2.webster.edu/~woolflm/gilman2.html 
Post a Comment
Tag,

Comments

Thank You