Critical Feminist Theory Essay

The feminist theory aims to understand gender inequality and explores men and women in a variety of fields including education and literature, among others. Origin and development The critical feminist theory is a branch of critical race theory that examines the oppression that people of color experience and views gender inequality as a result of exploitation of women in a male dominated society. In the 19th century, black feminists in the United States confronted the simultaneity ‘a woman question’ and a ‘race problem. ’ Williams Crenshaw, one of the founders of Critical Race Theory introduced and later elaborated the concept of intersecting categories of discrimination (Carastathis, 2014). Intersectionality in feminist theory is a predominant way of conceptualizing the relationship between various systems of oppression in our society.

Feminist perspective on education The contemporary feminist theoretical framework/perspective is classified into three approaches: liberal, socialist, and radical. In terms of orientation, liberal feminism has an economic force, radical feminism has ideological force, while socialist feminism interconnects between economic and ideological forces (Yokozeki, n. d. The three approaches are closely associated with perspectives of social theories such that liberal feminism is associated with functionalism, human capital, and modernization theories; radical feminism is associated with liberation theory; and socialist feminism is associated with Marxist and conflict theories. Liberal feminism Liberal feminism stems from the idea that women must hold equal opportunities and equal rights in the society. Rather, it considers the school as an entity that reproduces the current unfair situation by fostering a sexist culture through a curriculum that incorporates sexist assumptions and sexual divisions of labor.

Besides, schools are seen not as unitary systems but as institutions that reproduce two main social classes: the proletariat ad the bourgeoisie. In a gender context, schools are perceived as perpetuating gender inequalities. Socialist feminism is criticized that it does not necessarily address the issue directly. Besides, it lacks empirical analysis and is more theoretical than implementation oriented. Also, it helps to identify the implications for treatment of other groups in American schools, given that the “universal” human being whose traits and virtues determine societal standard of achievement is a white middle-class male (Maher & Rathbone, 1986). Many students fall short when measured by the standards of this norm. The examination of women experiences powerfully illustrates the flawed nature of the education system in delivering “equal educational opportunity” to all students.

Teacher education programs ought to help education students recognize the potential for the various types of progress by a variety of students (Maher & Rathbone, 1986). Because schools have been constructed a single academic standard of success based on a male model of achievement, students with different talents have been denied an opportunity to experience success both in school and in the word outside. Gender equality is highly politicized and contested in higher education today, given the changes toward neo-liberalism and its impact on women in participation in labor markets (David, 2015). While there is huge participation of women as students in higher education, this is not matched by significant equal participation of women academic labor markets. There is so much that needs to be done to transform the relation between men and women in higher education and beyond because men still wield more powerful positions in higher education and beyond.