Title: Feminist Theory: Definition and Discussion
Headings: Feminist Theory in Sociology
Feminist Theory in Sociology
An Overview of Key Ideas and Issues
Key Takeaways
Overview
Gender Differences
Gender Inequality
Gender Oppression
Structural Oppression

Content: By shifting the focus of social theory away from the perspectives and experiences of men, feminist theorists have created social theories that are more inclusive and creative than those that assume the social actor to always be a man. Part of what makes feminist theory creative and inclusive is that it often considers how systems of power and oppression interact, which is to say it does not just focus on gendered power and oppression, but on how this might intersect with systemic racism, a hierarchical class system, sexuality, nationality, and (dis)ability, among other things. Gender Differences
Some feminist theory provides an analytic framework for understanding how women's location in and experience of social situations differ from men's. For example, cultural feminists look at the different values associated with womanhood and femininity as a reason for why men and women experience the social world differently. 1 ﻿ Other feminist theorists believe that the different roles assigned to women and men within institutions better explain gender differences, including the sexual division of labor in the household. 2 ﻿
Existential and phenomenological feminists focus on how women have been marginalized and defined as “other” in patriarchal societies. Some feminist theorists focus specifically on how masculinity is developed through socialization, and how its development interacts with the process of developing femininity in girls. Gender Inequality
Feminist theories that focus on gender inequality recognize that women's location in and experience of social situations are not only different but also unequal to men's. Liberal feminists argue that women have the same capacity as men for moral reasoning and agency, but that patriarchy, particularly the sexist division of labor, has historically denied women the opportunity to express and practice this reasoning. 3 ﻿
These dynamics serve to shove women into the private sphere of the household and to exclude them from full participation in public life.