SWRK 1000H Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Radical Feminism, Free Trade, Reductionism
28 Jun 2018
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Swrk1000H Week 11 Lecture: November 29, 2016
Why is a feminist approach to practice important in social work?
Allows for an analysis of gender, specifically how gender shapes and impacts the experiences of men
and women in society.
Allows for an understanding and analysis of why the majority of our clients are women.
oWomen are maybe allowed to seek help more than men
oWomen have been oppressed
oDo not have the means of living on their own when coming out of an abusive relationship, etc.
and need help to get back on their feet
Allows for a better understanding of how social and agency policies are gendered.
oAbortion being criminalized
oPhysical labour – limitations on women’s physical capabilities
oInternships – unpaid positions for women
oImmigration policy – the more able you are to contribute to society, the more welcome you are –
only allowed into the country as dependents of the male immigrants
A gender lens can more effectively respond to the needs of women, especially in terms of interventions.
The central tenets of feminist social work are validation and empowerment – where the client is heard
and respected, where the client’s feelings are validated, and where power is shared.
oGives them power and makes them feel like they can do something about their situation
oSometimes told their problems aren’t real
oGive women hope
oSeen as emotional, bad drivers, weak, complaining a lot, delicate, irrational
Women Can Oppress Other Women…?
In what ways can this happen?
- Calling women slutty, saying she wears too much makeup, etc.
How can we, as social workers, begin to address this?
Intersectionality
An Intersectional lens helps us to identify how women are positioned differently in society, and experience
marginalization and oppression in different ways, depending on their social locations.
Feminist Practice, Implications for Social Work
13 components of feminist social work practice.
(1) Validating the social context – effect social context of structures have on women, worker and client
work jointly to assess them.
(2) Re-valuing positions enacted by women – activities and stances assumed by women are valuable and
important in society.
(3) Recognizing differences in experiences and how they might be shaped by/conform to gender ideologies
– mainstream theories are gender-blind.
(4) Re-balancing perceptions of normality and deviance – what is considered abnormal or dysfunctional is
often the normal behaviour of less-privileged groups.
(5) Taking an inclusive stance – include all experiences.
(6) Paying attention to power dynamics in the therapeutic relationship – egalitarian relationship between
worker and client, and empowering the client. – no way to fully erase it
(7) Recognizing how “the personal is political”.
(8) Taking a deconstructive stance – how social relations of patriarchy support and perpetuate a male-
dominated world – question what is “normal” and “right” in society.
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