‘STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS The structural-functional paradigm views society as a complex system of many separate but integrated parts. From this point of view, gender functions to organize social life. ‘Members of hunting and gathering societies had little power over the forces of biology. Lacking effective birth control, women were frequently pregnant, and the responsibilities of child kept them close tohome. At the same time, men's greater strength made them more suited for warfare and hunting game. Over the centuries, this sexual division of labor became institutionalized Industrial technology, however, opens up a vastly greater range of cultural possibilities. since human muscle power is no longer the main energy source, so the physical strength of men becomes less significant. And the ability to control reproduction gives women greater choice in shaping their lives, Modem societies have come to see that traditional gender roles waste an enormous amount of human talent; yet change comes slowly, because gender is deeply embedded in social mores. SOCIAL-CONFLICT ANALYSIS The social-conflict point of view, look at gender not just differences in behaviour but disparities in power. Historically, ideas about gender have benefited men and limited the lives of women, in a striking parallel to the ways whites have benefited from oppressing racial and ethnic minorities (Lengermann >. & Wallace,1985). Thus, the conflict theorists claim, conventional ideas about gender promote not cohesion but division and tension, with men seeking to protect their privileges while women challenge the status quo. Friedrich Engels, developed a theory of gender stratification. He noted that in hunting and gathering societies the activities of women and men, although different, had comparable importance. A successful hunt brought men great prestige, but the vegetation gathered by women provided most of @ ‘group's food supply. As technological advances led to a productive surplus, however, social equality and ‘communal sharing gave way to private property and, ultimately, a class hierarchy. Men gain pronounced bower over women. With surplus wealth on their hands, upper-class men wanted to be sure of paternity, so they would be able to pass on property to their heirs; they could do this only by controlling women’s sexuality. The desire to control property, the, led to monogamous marriage and the family. Women were ‘taught to remain virgins until marriage, to stay faithful to their husbands thereafter, and to build their lives around bearing and raising children. According to Engles, capitalism intensifies this male domination. First, capitalism creates more wealth, which confers greater power on men as owners of property and as primary wage earners. Second, an expanding capitalist economy depends on tuning people-especially women ~ into consumers and ‘encouraging them to seek personal fulfilment through buying and using products. Third, to support men in the factories, society assigns women the task of maintaining the home. The double exploitation of capitalism lies in paying low wages for male labor and no wages at all for female work.FEMINISM Feminism is the advocacy of social equality for men and women, in opposition to patriarchy and sexism. The “first wave” of the feminist movement in the United States began in the 1840s as women who ‘opposed slavery, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, drew parallels between the ‘oppression of African Americans and the oppression of women. Their primary objective was to secure the right to vote, which was finally achieved in 1920. But other disadvantages persisted and a “second wave” of feminism arose in the 1960s and continues today. BASC FEMINIST IDEAS Feminism views the personal experiences of women and men through the lens of gender. 1. The importance of change. Feminist thinking is decidedly political, linking ideas to action, 2. Expanding human choice. Feminist maintain that cultural conceptions of gender divide the full range ‘of human qualities into two opposing and limited spheres: the female world of emotions and cooperation and the male world of rationality and competition. As an alternative, feminist propose a "reintegration of humanity” by which each human can develop all human traits (French, 1985). 3. Eliminating gender stratification. Feminism opposes laws and cultural norms that limit the education, income and job opportunities of women. 4, Ending sexual violence, Today's women’s movement seeks to eliminate sexual violence, Feminist argue that patriarchy distorts the relationships between women and men, encouraging violence against women in the form of rape, domestic abuse, sexual harassment and pornography (Dworkin, 1987) 5, Promoting sexual autonomy. Finally, feminism advocates women’s control of their sexuality and reproduction, Feminists support the free availability of birth control information. Also, most feminists also support a woman's right to choose whether to bear children or terminate a pregnancy, rather allowing men- as husbands, physicians and legislators - to control women’s sexuality. ‘TVPES OF FEMINISM UBERAL FEMINISM, Liberal Feminism is based on classic liberal thinking that individuals should be free to develop their own talents and pursue their own interests, It accepts the basic organization of our society but seeks to expand ‘the rights and opportunities of women. It also supports the Equal Rights Amendment asa means of ending many limitations on women’s aspiration. Liberal feminists also endorse reproductive freedom, for all women. They respect the family as a social institution, but seek changes including widely available maternity leave and child care for women who wish to work. With their strong belief in the rights of individuals, liberal feminists do not think that all women need to move collectively toward any one political goal. Both women and men, through their individual achievement, are capable of improving their lives if society simply ends legal and cultural barriers rooted in gender.SOCIALIST FEMINISM Socialist feminism evolved from the ideas of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, partly as a response to Marx's inattention to gender. From this point of view, capitalism increases patriarchy by concentrating wealth and power in the hands of a small number of men. Socialist feminist rejects the reforms sought b liberal feminism as inadequate. The bourgeois family fostered by capitalism must change, they argue to replace “domestic slavery” with some collective means of carrying out housework and child care. This goal can only be realized through socialist revolution that, created @ state- centered economy to meet the needs of all, Such a basic transformation of society ‘requires women and men to pursue their personal liberation together, rather than individually, as liberal feminists maintain. RADICAL FEMINISM. Radical feminism too, finds the reforms of liberal feminism inadequate. Moreover, radical feminist claim that even a socialist revolution would not end patriarchy. Instead, this type of feminism holds that gender equality can be realized only be eliminating the cultural notion of gender itself. The foundation of gender, say radical feminists, is the biological fact that only women bear children. Radical feminists, therefore, look toward new reproductive technology to separate women’s bodies from the process of childbearing, With the demise of motherhood, radical feminist’s reason, the entire family system could be left behind, liberating women, men and children from the tyranny of family, gender and sex itself. Thus, radical feminism envisions a revolution much more far-reaching than that sought by Marx. It seeks an egalitarian and gender-free society.