Practising Feminism For Social Welfare

There has been an explosion of interest in feminism in recent years. This book argues it is still necessary and has a vital role. Feminism’s core objectives – to address the persistent issue of women’s inequality and ongoing sexism, and to fight against women’s oppression and improve women’s lives – remain of central value across the world. As a result, how feminism contributes to and improves social welfare is overdue for re-examination. This text explores what feminism means in theory, policy and practice as it is conceptualised and engaged within different social welfare contexts today. Beginning with an overview of feminist scholarship in the 21st century, it mainly comprises six substantive chapters that examine feminism from within a specific policy or practice setting. The topics discussed include globalisation and social justice, motherhood and reproductive rights, domestic violence, women’s experiences in criminal justice settings and working with older people. Practising Feminism for Social Welfare concludes with a framework for feminist policy and practice in the era of the fourth wave, whilst acknowledging that there can be no single or hegemonic feminism across all sites of social and political processes and in all social welfare settings. Designed as an introduction to feminist practice for social policy and social work audiences, this volume will also speak to a range of academic disciplines, including sociology, criminology, politics, women’s studies, and gender and feminist studies.

In Practising Feminisms contributors drawn from a range of backgrounds in anthropology, sociology and social psychology, explore different ways of practising feminism and their effect on gendered identities. The contributors examine feminism and gender differences between different countries, various feminist practices, the call for the recognition of heterosexuality as a politicised identity and the practical role of feminism in nationalist struggles and finally methodological implications of feminist practices. They show women to be different, and that different structural influences come into play to make them different. But women are not so different that a feminist politics or understanding is invalid. Practising Feminisms is an important contribution to the neglected middle ground between post-modern deconstructions of difference and identity, and continued feminist concern with grounded power relations and the validity of experience.

Feminist theories of social work have been criticised in recent years for treating women as a uniform category and displaying insufficient sensitivity to the complex ways in which other social divisions (those of race, age, disability, etc.) impact on gender relations. This major text by a leading writer in the field seeks to develop a new framework for feminist social work that takes on board postmodernist arguments to do with difference and power yet retains a commitment to collective solidarity and social change. As such, it will be essential reading for students, educators and practitioners alike in social work.

One of feminism's key contributions to improving social work practice has been to expose the gender-blindness which has characterized social work policy and literature. Working with Men extends and diversifies this contribution by presenting a controversial collection of essays written by feminists about men. In what has been a previously unexplored area of social work, the contributors to Working with Men, feminist academics, researchers and practitioners, explore the issue of feminist practice with men highlighting the dilemmas which they have encountered in undertaking this work. They contend that for too long feminists have ignored the issue of direct work with men. The argument that men must take responsibility for their own reconstruction they assert is no longer sustainable: feminists must generate their own discourse about the nature of men and masculinity derived from their own experience of critically engaging with and challenging men. The contributors conclude that direct work with men is a legitimate feminist activity; that it is one important strand of a broader strategy whose ultimate goal is the empowerment of women. This book will be valuable reading for all students of social work and applied social science as well as social work practitioners and managers.

"This book takes a contemporary look at the issues that affect women most from a feminist perspective. Going beyond the equal pay for equal work issue, we write about mental health, substance abuse, disabilities, parenting, relationships, criminal justice, and aging all from a holistic and intersectional perspective"--

The social welfare state has come under increasing pressure, raising serious doubts about its survival. This book represents an interdisciplinary, multimethodological and multicultural feminist approach ...

Contemporary Feminisms in Social Work Practice explores feminism as core to social work knowledge, practice and ethics. It demonstrates how gender-neutral perspectives and practices obscure gender discourses and power relations. It also shows feminist social work practice can transform areas of social work not specifically concerned with gender, through its emphasis on relationships and power. Within and outside feminism, there is a growing assumption that equality has been won and is readily available to all women. However, women continue to dominate the ranks of the poor in developed and developing countries around the world; male perpetrated violence against women and children has not reduced; women outnumber men by up to three to one in the diagnosis of common mental health problems; and women continue to be severely underrepresented in every realm of power, decision-making and wealth. This worrying context draws attention to the ways gender relations structure most of the problems faced by the women, men and children in the day-to-day worlds in which social work operates. Drawing together key contemporary thinking about feminism and its place in social work, this international collection looks at both core curriculum areas taught in social work programs and a wide range of practice fields that involve key challenges and opportunities for future feminist social work. This book is suitable for all social work students and academics. It examines the nuanced nature of power relationships in the everyday and areas such as working with cross-cultural communities, mental health, interpersonal violence and abuse, homelessness, child protection, ageing, disability and sexuality.

This invaluable guidebook accomplishes what many others on feminist theory do not. It reviews both the theories and the applications of the field. Too frequently, books and articles tend to focus on one or two ways for practicing feminism, when, in reality, different problems, different groups of women, and different goals may require a different theory for guiding objectiveness, strategies, and work style. Using the wrong theory for a particular group or problem may backfire, causing unexpected outcomes. This book circumvents such unforeseen results. Feminist Theories and Social Work reviews the most important theories of today, evaluates the contributions and limitations of each branch, and for each theory, provides application examples at several levels of intervention.