Feminist Theory

Feminist Social Theory

As Rosemarie Putnam Tong (1998: 280) asserts in her review of feminist theory, the greatest strength of the feminist perspective is its recognition of the complexity of human behavior and its ability to offer a “kalei-doscopic” view of the world, rather than assert a single, all-encompassing view of society. Feminist theories draw upon many different disciplines, including liberalism, Marxism, socialism, psychoanalytic theory, existentialism, postmodernism, and multiculturalism. Although united in their commitment to understanding and fighting the oppression of women in society, feminist thinkers posit different causes to the problem of female subordination, depending on their theoretical feminist perspective. For example, Marxist feminists purport that capitalism is responsible for women's inequality, for they believe that women, like the proletariat (the working class), are exploited by a class system controlled by male bourgeois capitalists. However, radical feminists assert that overthrowing capitalism will not end women's oppression, because sexist injustice is rooted in “patriarchy,” the system created by men to control women that influences all political, cultural, and social institutions.

Despite these varied perspectives, there are several underlying principles that unite feminist theorists. Above all, feminists challenge commonly accepted views about the world, and how these views have been constructed. Feminists emphasize that understanding of the social and biological world has been developed and disseminated mainly by men, often using exclusively male samples, and as a result, it often excludes, misrepresents, and further oppresses women.

An important contribution of more recent feminist thought has been the recognition that gender issues are interrelated to other forms of oppression, such as that based on class, race and/or ethnicity, sexuality, age, ability, and so on. As multicultural feminists point out, women do not exist only as “women” in society. Rather, their experiences are shaped by other important characteristics, and they may face oppression on many different levels (e.g., racism, classism, and heterosexism). As a result, feminists stress that systems of domination are interlocking and change must occur in multiple realms if one wants a truly equitable society.

Feminist Criminology

Just as feminist social theorists expose the limitations of traditional ways of understanding the social world, feminist criminologists assert that criminology has been too long concerned with explaining males offending against males, and has not considered women's involvement in crime as both victims and perpetrators. Most traditional criminological studies used exclusively [Page 686]male samples, focused primarily on offending (relative to victimization), and then, simply generalized to women and girls, if addressing them at all. In those rare cases where girls and women were specifically addressed beyond generalizing from the all-male studies, it was to reinforce sexist stereotypes. For example, Cesare Lombroso's theory on the “atavistic” female offender, published in the late 1800s, distorted and demonized the female criminal by highlighting the “unnatural” aspects of her biology. Likewise, “strain theory” purported that males' delinquency was typically a result of lower-class status and restricted access to legitimate options of achieving the “American dream.” Girls were overlooked by this theory, presumably based on the assumption that their only strain was in finding boyfriends and husbands.

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