What is Feminism?

Feminism is a diverse,
competing, and often opposing
collection of social theories,
political movements, and moral
philosophies, largely motivated
by or concerning the experiences
of women, especially in terms of
their social, political, and
economic inequalities.
Types of Feminism

 Liberal Feminism
 Emphasis on equality of women & men
 Aims to change current legal structures and
interventions to promote access for women
 Criticized (by other feminists) for trying to be
like men
Types of Feminism

 Cultural Feminism
 Emphasizes differences between men & women
 Values unique female qualities
 Gender interacts with race, social class, and other factors

“We found that one important source of healing emerged when we

got in touch with all the factors in our lives that were causing
particular pain. For black females, and males too, that means
learning about the myriad ways racism, sexism, class exploitation,
homophobia, and various other structures of domination operate in
our daily lives to undermine our capacity to be self-determining.”
-- bell hooks
 Types of Feminism

 Radical & Socialist Feminism

 Oppression based on gender is the most stubborn form of
injustice (Hillary Clinton heckled)
 Capitalism is oppressive
 The whole patriarchal, capitalist system needs to be abolished
 Advocates separatism
 Questions heterosexuality

Left Right
Radical/Social Cultural Liberal
 Herstory
 Karen Horney (1966)
• Psychoanalyst who rejected “penis envy”

• Women envy men’s power and social status

 Phyllis Chesler (1972)

• Criticized patriarchal male therapist-female client relationship
(therapist is expert, woman submits to his wisdom)
• Said that refusal to conform was labeled as mental illness

 NOW (National Organization for Women)

• Betty Friedan, 1966
• Political issues/discrimination laws and hiring processes

 Consciousness raising groups (1970s)

• Bring about social change
• No leaders, open discussion
• Personal is political (gender role stereotypes in workplace, society)
Different meanings in different cultures
History cont.

 Lenore Walker (Contemporary feminist therapist)

Four stages of feminist therapy development

1. Challenged traditional therapies
2. Integrated some positive aspects of traditional therapy
3. Advocated for all other therapies adding gender
sensitive components
4. Feminist therapy can stand on its own
 Therapy from a Feminist Perspective

 Developed out of dissatisfaction with traditional

approaches to psychotherapy

 The practice of therapy informed by feminist

political philosophy and analysis, grounded in the
multicultural feminist scholarship on the
psychology of women and gender.

 Feminist therapy contends that women are in a

disadvantaged position in the world due to sex,
gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, religion, age
and other categories
Therapy from a Feminist Perspective

“A therapy which fails to address power issues in

people’s lives works automatically to reinforce
oppression”
-- McLellan, 1999

“We found that one important source of healing emerged

when we got in touch with all the factors in our lives that were
causing particular pain. For black females, and males too, that
means learning about the myriad ways racism, sexism, class
exploitation, homophobia, and various other structures of
domination operate in our daily lives to undermine our
capacity to be self-determining.”
-- bell hooks on “interlocking oppressions”
 Assumptions about Human Nature

 We exist in a political and social system that is male

dominated: Patriarchy
 In order for women to experience changes in personal
lives, political changes (to social institutions) must occur
 Gender schemas/sex-role stereotypes limit development
• In society, men have more power than women
• Women are taught to rely on men
 Patriarchy
 Masculine behaviors and
thought patterns are the norm
 Hierarchy of value and power
based on gender, race, class,
sexual orientation, etc.
 Men and women are judged
differently for the same
characteristics
Sex
 Biological: Male/Female
 Previously considered
binary
 Now increasingly seen as
fluid
Gender
 Social construct:
Masculine/Feminine
 Occurs on a continuum
 Gender Socialization

 Gender and Children

 First question asked?

 Males preferred in many cultures

 Infant behavior across gender is similar: treatment is different

 Baby’s clothing predicted how “it” was treated (Smith & Lloyd, 1978)
 Media, teachers, peers, etc. often provide and reinforce gender role
expectations (i.e., what is socially appropriate for females & males)

 Over time, a gender role schema develops:

We interpret our world based on our gender expectations
Gender socialization cont.
 Puberty
 Sex differences become more visually apparent
 Conflict for girls because of how society views the female
body and role of female sexuality-conflicting
 Importance of appearance (especially for girls)
 Sexual double-standard
 Negative response to menstruation

 Adulthood
 Working mom/Superwoman
 Role strain/conflict
 Lack of support (at work and home)
 Glass ceiling
 “Empty Nest”
 Menopause
Views on Psychopathology
 Psychological distress is environmentally induced via
gender roles and (patriarchical/sexist) social forces
 Women at higher risk for role strain and conflict
 Women more likely to experience sexual trauma/harassment

 Psychological distress is a logical response to a stressful

environment

 Women are over-represented in certain psychological

disorders due to socialization and social influences (not
because of biological differences)
 Eating disorders
 Depression
 Anxiety
 PTSD
 Views on classification

 Classification systems considered problematic

 DSM criticized for being male-centered (male = norm)

 Dependant and histrionic personality disorders are in the DSM
 Dominating, greedy, macho personality disorders?

 Classification focuses on symptoms, underemphasizes social

context (PTSD an exception)

 Diagnostic labeling criticized for encouraging adjustment to

male-centered social norms
Views on specific psychological problems

 Depression
 Women taught to be helpless, dependent, please men
 Feel unable to control their lives or assert true self
 Appearance = worth

 Generalized Anxiety = conflicting social expectations

 PTSD = fear, anxiety, stress felt after victimization (e.g., rape, abuse)

 Eating disorders
 Socialization and societal messages
 Use gender role analysis to examine external messages
Goals of Feminist Therapy
 Consciousness raising; subordinate group that has
been wronged
 Recognize self in social context
 Choose own path
 Develop sense of self based on own needs
 Restructure schema, insight
 Empowerment
 Political awareness
 Self-esteem, remove lens of others
 What a feminist therapists does…
 Is aware of what he/she brings to the table (own values)
 Forms egalitarian relationship
 Demystifies therapy
 Respects what client brings to therapy
 Is aware of power balance; gives client permission to be understood
 Self-discloses own struggles (if/when therapeutically appropriate)
 Considers social, political, historical, & cultural contexts…then psychological
things
 Supports (interpersonally, women’s groups)
 Educates
 Power analysis
 Gender role analysis
 Bibliotherapy
 Is technically eclectic, but…
 Does assertiveness training
 Reframes schemas
What about the MEN???
 Yes, men can benefit from feminist therapy
 Focus on socialization
 Attaining level of masculinity
 Drugs/alcohol, family role issues

 Men can even be feminist therapists!

 Feminist therapy does not refer to who the
therapist or client is, but rather the framework
they bring to the table.
 Research
 Enns & Hackett (1990)
College women preferred feminist counselors to non-feminist
counselors when career planning, sexual harassment, or assault was
the issue.

 Marecek et al. (1979)

67% of women in feminist therapy and 38% of women in traditional
therapy found therapy to be helpful

 Schneider (1985)
Feminist therapists seen as most helpful for career issues versus
marriage or parental concerns
 Criticisms

 More a political stance than a theory of therapy

 Feminist views too diverse

 Radical feminists reject it entirely because

psychotherapy is a tool of patriarchal,
oppressive society.
An example: “Jane”
Jane is a single parent of two preteen kids. She is
currently unemployed but is (and has always been) very
involved in her kids’ education and social life, volunteering
for various school activities and supplementing the kids’
formal education with a variety of educational activities
such as trips to museums. She is presenting with
depression and expressing significant dissatisfaction with
her inability to stay on top of the housework.

How would different types of therapists respond?

• Psychoanalytic • Behavioral
• Humanistic • Cognitive
• Existential • Feminist
Some Good References

 Brown, Laura (1994). Subversive Dialogues:

Theory in feminist therapy.

 Chesler, Phyllis (1972). Women and madness.

 Davis, Angela (1983). Women Race & Class.

 Enns, Carolyn (2004). Feminist Theories &

Feminist Psychotherapies.