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Social Work Theories

Guide to locating information on social work theories

Key Concepts/Overview

Feminist Theory

  • Key areas of focus within feminist theory include discrimination and exclusion on the basis of sex and gender, objectification, structural and economic inequality, power and oppression, and gender roles and stereotypes, among others.
  • Some feminist theory provides an analytic framework for understanding how women's location in, and experience of, social situations differ from men's.
  • For example, cultural feminists look to the different values associated with womanhood and femininity as a reason why men and women experience the social world differently. 
  • Feminist theories that focus on gender inequality recognize that women's location in, and experience of, social situations are not only different but also unequal to men's.
  • Liberal feminists argue that women have the same capacity as men for moral reasoning and agency, but that patriarchy, particularly the sexist division of labor, has historically denied women the opportunity to express and practice this reasoning. 
  • Theories of gender oppression go further than theories of gender difference and gender inequality by arguing that not only are women different from or unequal to men, but that they are actively oppressed, subordinated, and even abused by men.
  • Power is the key variable in the two main theories of gender oppression: psychoanalytic feminism and radical feminism.

Feminist Theory (Jan. 2018)

Feminist Theory (Jan 2018)

Adkins, L. (2015). What can money do? Feminist theory in austere times. Feminist Review, 109(1), 31-48. doi:10.1057/fr.2014.37

Alexander-Floyd, N. (2012). Disappearing acts: Reclaiming intersectionality in the social sciences in a post-black feminist era. Feminist Formations, 24(1), 1-25. Retrieved from http://0-search.ebscohost.com.bravecat.uncp.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=76599650&site=ehost-live

Allen, A. (2016). Emancipation without utopia: Subjection, modernity, and the normative claims of feminist critical theory. Signos Filosóficos, 18(35), 170-196. Retrieved from http://0-search.ebscohost.com.bravecat.uncp.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=118935904&site=ehost-live

Allen, K. R. (2016). Feminist theory in family studies: History, reflection, and critique. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 8(2), 207-224. doi:10.1111/jftr.12133

Allen, K., & Jaramillo-Sierra, A. (2015). Feminist theory and research on family relationships: Pluralism and complexity. Sex Roles, 73(3-4), 93-99. doi:10.1007/s11199-015-0527-4

Allen, S., Flaherty, C., & Ely, G. (2010). Throwaway moms: Maternal incarceration and the criminalization of female poverty. Affilia: Journal of Women & Social Work, 25(2), 160-172. doi:10.1177/0886109910364345

Beasley, C. (2015). Caution! hazards ahead: Considering the potential gap between feminist thinking and men/masculinities theory and practice. Journal of Sociology, 51(3), 566-581. doi:10.1177/1440783314553317

Bezanson, K., Doucet, A., & Albanese, P. (2015). Introduction: Critical feminist sociologies of families, work, and care. Canadian Review of Sociology, 52(2), 201-203. doi:10.1111/cars.12071

Blow, A. J., Timm, T. M., & Cox, R. (2008). The role of the therapist in therapeutic change: Does therapist gender matter? Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 20(1), 66-86. Retrieved from http://0-search.ebscohost.com.bravecat.uncp.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=33321084&site=ehost-live

Bright, C. L., Ward, S. K., & Negi, N. J. (2011). “The chain has to be broken”: A qualitative investigation of the experiences of young women following juvenile court involvement. Feminist Criminology, 6(1), 32-53. doi:10.1177/1557085110393237

Brozowski, K., & Hall, D. R. (2010). Aging and risk: Physical and sexual abuse of elders in canada. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 25(7), 1183-1199. doi:10.1177/0886260509340546

Carpenter, S. (2012). Centering Marxist-feminist theory in adult learning. Adult Education Quarterly, 62(1), 19-35. doi:10.1177/0741713610392767

Doucet, A. (2016). Is the stay-at-home dad (SAHD) a feminist concept? A genealogical, relational, and feminist critique. Sex Roles, 75(1-2), 4-14. doi:10.1007/s11199-016-0582-5

Drolet, J. (2010). Feminist perspectives in development: Implications for women and microcredit. Affilia: Journal of Women & Social Work, 25(3), 212-223. doi:10.1177/0886109910375218

Duntley-Matos, R. (2014). Transformative complicity and cultural humility: De- and re-constructing higher education mentorship for under-represented groups. Qualitative Sociology, 37(4), 443-466. doi:10.1007/s11133-014-9289-5

Eyal-Lubling, R., & Krumer-Nevo, M. (2016). Feminist social work: Practice and theory of practice. Social Work, 61(3), 245-254. Retrieved from http://0-search.ebscohost.com.bravecat.uncp.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=swh&AN=89235&site=ehost-live

Ferguson, K. E. (2017). Feminist theory today. Annual Review of Political Science, 20(1), 269-286. doi:10.1146/annurev-polisci-052715-111648

Franks, M. A. (2014). I Am/I am not: On Angela Harris's race and essentialism in feminist legal theory. California Law Review, 102(4), 1053-1067. Retrieved from http://0-search.ebscohost.com.bravecat.uncp.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=97277871&site=ehost-live

Gentlewarrior, S., Martin-Jearld, A., Skok, A., & Sweetser, K. (2008). Culturally competent feminist social work. Affilia: Journal of Women & Social Work, 23(3), 210-222. Retrieved from http://0-search.ebscohost.com.bravecat.uncp.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=33212372&site=ehost-live

GOLD, A. (2016). Not our regularly scheduled programming: Integrating feminist theory, popular culture, and writing pedagogy. Feminist Teacher, 26(2), 156-178. Retrieved from http://0-search.ebscohost.com.bravecat.uncp.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=127159863&site=ehost-live

Goodkind, S. (2009). "You can be anything you want, but you have to believe it": Commercialized feminism in gender-specific programs for girls. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture & Society, 34(2), 397-422. Retrieved from http://0-search.ebscohost.com.bravecat.uncp.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=36291837&site=ehost-live

Gray, M. (2010). Moral sources and emergent ethical theories in social work. British Journal of Social Work, 40(6), 1794-1811. doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcp104

Heidemann, G., & Ferguson, K. M. (2009). The girl child: A review of the empirical literature. Affilia: Journal of Women & Social Work, 24(2), 165-185. Retrieved from http://0-search.ebscohost.com.bravecat.uncp.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=37595008&site=ehost-live

Johnson, C. M. E. (2015). "Just because I dance like a ho I'm not a ho": Cheerleading at the intersection of race, class, and gender. Sociology of Sport Journal, 32(4), 377-394. doi:10.1123/ssj.2014-0091

Kulkarni, S. I., Kennedy, A. C., & Lewis, C. M. (2010). Using a risk and resilience framework and feminist theory to guide social work interventions with adolescent mothers. Families in Society, 91(3), 217-224. doi:10.1606/1044-3894.3998

Lee, R. (2018). Breastfeeding bodies: Intimacies at work. Gender, Work & Organization, 25(1), 77-90. doi:10.1111/gwao.12170

Loftsdóttir, K. (2011). Feminist theory and that critical edge. NORA: Nordic Journal of Women's Studies, 19(3), 198-204. doi:10.1080/08038740.2011.593556

Lomax, H. (2012). Contested voices? Methodological tensions in creative visual research with children. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 15(2), 105-117. doi:10.1080/13645579.2012.649408

Matambanadzo, S. M. (2012). Embodying vulnerability: A feminist theory of the person. Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy, 20(1), 45-83. Retrieved from http://0-search.ebscohost.com.bravecat.uncp.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=90307621&site=ehost-live

McLean, L. L., Guardia, A. C. L., Nelson, J. A., & Watts, R. E. (2016). Incorporating Adlerian and feminist theory to address self-objectification in couples therapy. Family Journal, 24(4), 420-427. doi:10.1177/1066480716663500

Newman, J. (2013). Spaces of power: Feminism, neoliberalism and gendered labor. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, 20(2), 200-221. Retrieved from http://0-search.ebscohost.com.bravecat.uncp.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=88148242&site=ehost-live

Sandford, S. (2015). Contradiction of terms: Feminist theory, philosophy and transdisciplinarity. Theory, Culture & Society, 32(5), 159-182. doi:10.1177/0263276415594238

Saugeres, L. (2009). “We do get stereotyped”: Gender, housing, work and social disadvantage. Housing, Theory & Society, 26(3), 193-209. doi:10.1080/14036090802476606

Skoog, T., & Bayram Özdemir, S. (2016). Physical appearance and sexual activity mediate the link between early puberty and sexual harassment victimization in male adolescents. Sex Roles, 75(7), 339-348. doi:10.1007/s11199-016-0619-9

Sodhi, M. K., & Cohen, H. L. (2012). The manifestation and integration of embodied knowing into social work practice. Adult Education Quarterly, 62(2), 120-137. doi:10.1177/0741713611400302

Toner, J. (2009). Small is not too small. Qualitative Social Work, 8(2), 179-192. doi:10.1177/1473325009103374

Travis, T. (2017). The intersectional origins of Women’s “Substance abuse” treatment. Contemporary Drug Problems, 44(4), 265-285. doi:10.1177/0091450917738074

Turner, S. G., & Maschi, T. M. (2015). Feminist and empowerment theory and social work practice. Journal of Social Work Practice, 29(2), 151-162. doi:10.1080/02650533.2014.941282

Waltman, M. (2017). Appraising the impact of toward a feminist theory of the state: Consciousness-raising, hierarchy theory, and substantive equality laws. Law & Inequality, 35(2), 353-391. Retrieved from http://0-search.ebscohost.com.bravecat.uncp.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=124112763&site=ehost-live

Weeks, K. (2009). "Hours for what we will": Work, family, and the movement for shorter hours. Feminist Studies, 35(1), 101-127. Retrieved from http://0-search.ebscohost.com.bravecat.uncp.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=42010491&site=ehost-live