Let's get started - the key belief of Feminist theory is that society is fundamentally patriarchal and that this creates inequality in all aspects of life.

There are different strands of Feminism: liberal, Marxist and radical.

Worth listening and watching here if you've not yet had a chance to read the book 'We Should All Be Feminists'
https://youtu.be/hg3umXU_qWc

Of course...we also need to start perhaps by understanding what we mean by gender...

First of all remember that sex and gender refer to two different things - sex is something biological, whereas gender is sociological.

Gender is a fascinating aspect of our society - we tend in Western society to focus on the idea of two distinct genders which fulfil specific roles within society.

This video has a great summary of the development and impact of these views:
https://youtu.be/CquRz_cceH8
10 minutes

Note that my sub-heading points out that this is where feminism begins for sociological theory - not where feminism BEGINS. Throughout history there have been people speaking up about the inequalities between men and women, or acting outside of their 'designated role' within society. There are many books you can read about these people...

For those of you who like to watch and listen try this:
https://youtu.be/Wg9FWxpZeJ8
9 minutes

Modern Feminism falls into three (some argue four) waves, summary here:
https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/international-womens-day-a...

For sociology we then break apart into different approaches to Feminism...

For liberal feminists there is hope - things are changing, they have, indeed, already changed.

They focus on obtaining equality through existing power structures, ensuring that women have equal access to education, employment and politics.

The Equal Pay Act (1970) is seen as a landmark in the progress of the position of women. There have been other laws since introduced which would indicate to this group that the position of women is changing and that society is becoming more equal.

Radical feminists disagree...patriarchal values are so entrenched in so many areas of life that something more needs to happen to disrupt and permanently change this...

For radical feminists society is biased against women in every facet - the only way to change this is to engage in revolutionary change...

For radical feminists there is a power imbalance in almost all areas of life for women - at home, where they are expected to assume a subordinate role; in education where they are subjected to gendered education from role models to textbook content to role expectation etc...

For this group the focus should be on how capitalism exploits women - the economy benefits from the unpaid labour which women do and also from their absorption of the frustrations of working men which might otherwise disrupt the workplace.

Not only are women exploited for being women they suffer from being at the bottom of the economic 'heap'

For Black or Difference Feminism there is a focus on the intersection between sex and race - the inequalities which for many women in society are not only a product of their sex or race, but by both.

Plenty of these available - there are plenty more referenced on my blog page but just for here:

https://revisesociology.com/2017/02/03/feminist-theory-summary-sociology/

and here:

https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-feminism-4133259