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Core Ideas and Principles of Feminism Liberal and Radical Feminism: Tensions Within the Tradition

Method

Attribute precisely: Millett's contribution is the 1970 argument that patriarchy is a political system reproduced through the family and through culture (including literature); Walby's contribution is the 1990 six-structures framework and the private-to-public patriarchy shift.
For Millett, use the family and socialisation as the concrete mechanism: children learn gender roles as 'natural' from within the family from birth, which is how patriarchal power is renewed in each generation without needing to be imposed by force each time.
For Walby, list and be able to name the six structures of patriarchy (paid employment, household production, culture, sexuality, male violence, the state) and be ready to explain at least two of them with a concrete example (e.g. occupational segregation within paid employment; unequal division of housework within household production).
Use Walby's private/public distinction to show sophistication: private patriarchy is control by individual men within the household (e.g. a Victorian-era housewife with no independent income); public patriarchy is collective subordination once women enter public life (e.g. a woman in paid work who still faces a gender pay gap and glass ceiling), which explains why formal access to public life has not ended patriarchy.
Compare the two thinkers directly rather than describing them in isolation: Millett's account is more cultural and psychological (focused on the family and representation), while Walby's is more structural and sociological (focused on institutions across the whole of society), which is itself a tension within radical feminism about where to locate patriarchy's main cause.
For an evaluate question, weigh Millett's cultural analysis (strong on explaining how patriarchy is reproduced day to day) against Walby's structural analysis (strong on explaining how patriarchy has changed shape historically without disappearing).

Worked example

Plan an answer to: 'Compare Millett's and Walby's explanations of how patriarchy is reproduced.' Focus on the family versus structural analysis.

State Millett's mechanism: the family reproduces patriarchy by socialising children into fixed gender roles from birth, making male authority feel natural rather than political.
Add supporting detail: Millett extended this to culture, arguing that literature by authors such as D. H. Lawrence and Henry Miller reflected and normalised patriarchal attitudes towards women's sexuality.
State Walby's mechanism: patriarchy is reproduced across six interlocking structures, not the family alone, including paid employment (occupational segregation), male violence, and the state, so no single institution being reformed can end it on its own.
Add supporting detail: Walby argues patriarchy changed form over the twentieth century, from private patriarchy (control within the household) to public patriarchy (collective subordination within public institutions once women gained formal access to them).
Draw the comparative judgement: Millett's account explains patriarchy's psychological reproduction within the family, while Walby's explains its structural persistence across society even as individual institutions such as the family become less controlling, making the two accounts complementary rather than contradictory.

Practice questions

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Q1In what year was Millett's Sexual Politics published?Show answer

Answer: 1970.

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Q2According to Millett, how does the family reproduce patriarchal power?Show answer

Answer: By socialising children into fixed gender roles from birth, so male authority comes to feel natural rather than a political arrangement.

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Q3Name the six structures of patriarchy identified by Walby.Show answer

Answer: Paid employment, household production, culture, sexuality, male violence, and the state.

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Q4What is the difference between 'private patriarchy' and 'public patriarchy' in Walby's theory?Show answer

Answer: Private patriarchy is control exercised by individual men over individual women within the household; public patriarchy is collective subordination of women once they enter public institutions such as paid work, even though they have formal access to them.

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Q5In what book did Walby set out her theory of patriarchy?Show answer

Answer: Theorizing Patriarchy (1990).

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Q6Give one way Millett's approach to analysing patriarchy differs from Walby's.Show answer

Answer: Millett focuses mainly on the family and culture (including literature) as the site where patriarchy is reproduced psychologically, while Walby analyses patriarchy as operating across six interlocking social structures throughout society.

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Exam-style questions

Written in the style of a A Level Politics exam paper, with a full mark scheme.

Q1[9 marks]

Explain and analyse two ways Walby's theory of patriarchy develops on Millett's.

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Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.

identifies development one, e.g. Walby broadens the analysis beyond the family to multiple social structures.1 mark
develops it, e.g. Walby names six structures (paid employment, household production, culture, sexuality, male violence, the state) compared with Millett's central focus on the family and culture.1 mark
analyses the significance, e.g. this lets Walby explain forms of patriarchy that persist even where the family becomes less directly controlling, such as within paid employment.1 mark
identifies development two, e.g. Walby introduces historical change through the private/public patriarchy distinction.1 mark
develops it, e.g. Walby argues patriarchy shifted from private control within the household to public, collective subordination as women entered paid work and public life.1 mark
analyses the significance, e.g. this explains why formal gains such as women entering the workforce have not ended patriarchy, only changed its form.1 mark
links both developments as evidence of a more structural, historically grounded account than Millett's.1 mark
accurate, specific reference to both named texts (Sexual Politics; Theorizing Patriarchy).1 mark
supported concluding point on the value of Walby's development.1 mark

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Q2[24 marks]

'Walby's structural account of patriarchy is more useful than Millett's for explaining women's oppression today.' Analyse and evaluate this statement.

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Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.

General description of one or both thinkers with little direct comparison and no clear evaluation of the statement.3 marks
Some accurate comparison of Millett and Walby but points are asserted rather than developed, with limited specific evidence.3 marks
Sustained, balanced analysis of the strengths of both accounts, supported by accurate, specific detail from both thinkers.3 marks
As Level 3, but with a well-supported overall judgement that directly answers whether Walby's account is more useful, rather than simply listing points for each thinker.3 marks
Credit in favour of Walby: her six-structures framework and private/public patriarchy distinction can explain persistent inequalities within institutions women now formally belong to, such as the gender pay gap and occupational segregation within paid employment, and male violence as a structure in its own right, giving a fuller map of where patriarchy operates today.3 marks
Credit in favour of Millett: her focus on the family as the site where gender roles are first learned remains relevant to explaining why patriarchal attitudes persist psychologically even where formal structures change, and her analysis of culture (including literature) anticipates later feminist attention to media and representation as sites of patriarchal power.3 marks
Credit for a middle position: the two accounts are complementary rather than competing, since Millett explains the reproduction of patriarchal attitudes at the level of the individual and family while Walby explains their persistence at the level of social structures, so 'more useful' may depend on whether the question is about attitudes or about institutions.3 marks
No credit for asserting one thinker is simply 'more modern therefore better' without engaging with what each account specifically explains.3 marks

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Feminist Thinkers: Kate Millett and Sylvia Walby

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