Materialist Feminism is basically a theoretical framework for studying feminist knowledge (class, divisions of labor, state/government power, economic power, gender identity, racial identity, sexual identity and national identity. The idea is to systematically approach topics on multiple levels. In other words materialist feminist theory looks at the global oppression of women, people of color, and political minorities in terms of their concrete economic and social conditions. Do they have access to free education? Can they pursue careers? Do they have access or opportunity to become wealthy? If not, what economic or social constraints are preventing those women from doing such things and how can that be changed?
The immergence of the internet was originally optimistically viewed as a potential ground leveler where people from all social and economic status can merge together on a virtual plane that fostered interactive communication and dialogue and can create a diverse community of thinkers. It does in many ways hold true to this idealized view but the emergence of conglomerates and corporations brining their marketing methods to the internet, with levels of capital unattainable for most, created a great divide. The media producers were no longer anonymous users posting alternatives to mass media; instead mass media covered the internet spectrum. The internets flexible nature and the original intent to offer an alternative to mainstream media falls short according to cyberfeminists, because of the extreme commercial nature of the media. Its intent is no longer to bridge gaps but to promote consumerism.
Worthington uses the concepts of materialist feminism to highlight how the website ivillage.com promotes a prototypical view on female lifestyle. She “draws on hegemony theory to envision commercial websites and portals as important ideological institutions that normalize dominant prescriptions for gendered behaviors.” She asserts that the site in fact promotes a postfeminist ideology claiming that the problems women face in their daily lives can be easily mended through consumer-based solutions— overlooking the and ignoring the sexual divisions of labor, cultural expectations, and historical oppression.
Worthington’s examination of the ivillage site allows for one to note the particular notions of gender that the site itself promotes. The postfeminist perspective the site takes draws very clear lines in gendered tasks promoting that “domestic tasks were the province of women.” The content generated from ivillage narrowly describes solutions to problems faced by well-off, economically secure women with families. The site ignores all other types of female societal situations and idealizes the female experience. In doing this, the site creates a hegemonic stance on female behavior that is proliferated through the web at an easier and quicker pace because of the internets ability to promote discussion. Worthington addresses the issue of website content. What is being promoted as an overarching solution to problems women face in their daily lives at ivillage is hardly representative of all female experience as a whole. When big business has the ability to market a website widely throughout the internet, one must be wary of the types of messages they are distributing through the web and who then it is reaching.
Materialist Feminism views gender as a social construct. Women are not required to be child bearers and fulfill childbearing duties. Society forces that upon women. Thus, in a materialist feminist utopia women would be treated socially the same as men and childbearing and its related activities would be more happenstance and less expected as a "womanly duty". This utopian ideal however is dependent upon having an economic and social situation which allows women to pursue careers and activities that are unaffected by their sex. Worthington states that the type of information, advice, topics discussed and ideologies of ivillage.com reinforces gender norms. Because the site is so popular to a wide variety of women, this type of information does not address all women nor does it help women in the struggle of equality with men in society. It constructs the ideal that the responsibilities typified as “female” and “male” are natural and innate and not a product of social constructions.It is motivations for profit that drive the discourse that maintains gender inequity.
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