Feminist theory extends feminism into theoretical, fictional and philosophical discourse, analyzing gender inequality by examining social roles, lived experience and the political dimensions of gender across anthropology, sociology, literature and philosophy. It treats discrimination, objectification, oppression and patriarchal structures as systematically subordinating women, and analyzes gender as both a social construct and a system of power shaping individual psychology and institutional practice. Major strands include socialist feminism, which ties patriarchy to capitalism, French feminism's psychoanalytic approach to sexual difference, and intersectional feminism, which examines the overlapping systems of power built on race, class and sexuality alongside gender; key figures include Simone de Beauvoir, Betty Friedan, Patricia Hill Collins, Julia Kristeva, Luce Irigaray, bell hooks and Audre Lorde.
Facts
Core ClaimSourced to the subject's own accountGender inequality is produced and sustained by systems of power, patriarchy foremost among them, that intersect with race, class and sexuality to shape the simultaneous, multiple, overlapping and contradictory systems of power that shape people's lives; women are systematically subordinated within these systems rather than naturally or inevitably subordinate. 1 Origin YearSourced to the subject's own account1949 marks Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex, widely credited with providing feminist theory its existentialist philosophical foundation; Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) is an earlier root, and the field's academic institutionalization as a distinct discourse dates mainly to the 1960s and 1970s second-wave feminist movement. Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Feminist theory treats patriarchal structures as a central object of analysis and critique.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Feminist Theory
WikipediaIntroduction sectionQuote, Introduction section
Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, fictional, or philosophical discourse.
1. Wikipedia: Feminist Theory
WikipediaIntersectionality sectionQuote, Intersectionality section
describes the simultaneous, multiple, overlapping, and contradictory systems of power that shape our lives
1. Wikipedia: Feminist Theory
WikipediaHistory section, BeauvoirQuote, History section, Beauvoir
Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex (1949) provided an existentialist dimension to feminism.
1. Wikipedia: Feminist Theory
1. Wikipedia: Feminist Theory
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