Integrating Bourdieu's Theories into Feminist Ideologies Essay

This essay examines the intersection of Pierre Bourdieu's sociological theories—specifically, the concepts of social capital, cultural capital, and habitus—with feminist ideologies. It begins by outlining Bourdieu's critique of solely economic-based analyses, emphasizing the significance of cultural and social capital in determining an individual's social standing. The essay then introduces feminist ideology, highlighting its various forms and its core aim of achieving women's emancipation and equality. By juxtaposing Bourdieu's concepts with feminist principles, the essay explores how social and cultural capital can be instrumental in advancing feminist goals. It analyzes how women can leverage their knowledge, skills, and social networks to challenge existing power structures and promote gender equality. Furthermore, the essay discusses the potential of Bourdieu's habitus theory to provide deeper insights into the lived experiences of women within different social settings, enabling a more nuanced understanding of gender dynamics and informing more effective feminist strategies. The essay concludes by asserting that integrating Bourdieu's theoretical framework into feminist discourse can enrich feminist research and activism, offering new perspectives and approaches to further the feminist movement.

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NAME OF THE STUDENT
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Pierre Bourdieu considered as one of the pioneering figures in Sociology has given the
theory of Habitus and forwarded the concepts of Cultural Capital and Social Capital. He stated
that along with the economic capital, there also exists some other type of capital, which is the
Social capital, and the Cultural capital and both play decisive role in determining the social status
and role of the individual. While Karl Marx was only interested in analyzing the economic aspect
of a person’s possession, Bourdieu was of the view that a person may possess a number of
capitals apart from monetary determinants. He stated that the knowledge and skills, which are
important attributes in deciding the future of an individual, might enable the person to acquire
more wealth. Similarly, the networks and contacts, which a person possesses, might enable the
person to rise higher in the society. These are examples of cultural capital and social capital. The
feminist ideology concerns itself with determining the emancipation of women from the poor
economic and social setting where they are forced to live. There are many variants of feminist
ideologies and each ideology is distinct from each other based on the causes and approach.
Although Bourdieu has not written any of his theories based on a gender specific approach, still
some of his concepts can be very easily incorporated into the feminist ideologies. The
incorporation of his theories into the feminist ideologies would not just be beneficial for the
feminist research scholars but also from a sociological perspective, as the new theory, which will
emerge, will present altogether new insights and approaches as well as a new narrative to further
facilitate the feminist movement. The feminist movement can be developed further by
incorporating the concepts of social capital, cultural capital and the habitus. The dynamics of the
feminist movement can be further consolidated by the analysis of the concepts of capital as well
as the habitus concepts. The concepts to further consolidate the position of the feminist
movement and to give further impetus to the feminist movement. The essay analyses the

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concepts espoused by Pierre Bourdieu such as the Social capital, the cultural capital and the
theory of Habitus. These theories are then analyzed as to how significant they are to the feminist
ideologies. The juxtaposition of these theories and concepts has been done by elaborating the
entire concepts and theories of Bourdieu as well as understanding the Feminist ideology and the
different forms of feminism. The analysis is done by contrasting the theories of Bourdieu and the
feminist ideology and finding the common meeting grounds amongst the two theories.
Pierre Bourdieu propounded the concept of cultural capital. In this concept, he stated that
along with the concept of economic capital, there exist other types of capital such as cultural
capital and social capital. Cultural capital is the assets, which provides the person a form of
social mobility. The social mobility allows the person to move forward in the social hierarchy
(Bourdieu, 2018). The cultural capital are the pre-existing knowledge and intellectual capabilities
which are present in a person and which enable the person to exercise his or her mental abilities
for the benefit of the self as well the society of which the individual is a part (Decoteau, 2016).
The cultural capital is considered as an asset for the society because it is to the society’s benefit
that the members of the society are knowledgeable and have deep and profound knowledge about
the important aspects of the society. Pierre Bourdieu stated that culture could be of three types.
These are – 1. Institutionalized cultural capital- these are the educational or the specialized
knowledge, which are present in the intellect and inherent knowledge base of a person.These,
cannot be seen from an external perspective but can be observed by engaging the person in
dialogue and discussion. The person who possesses a profound Institutionalized cultural capital
is considered as an asset for the organization of which they are a part, 2. The embodied cultural
capital is the skills and talents, which the person possesses. It can be seen and felt by the other
people through the work of arts, music compositions, and sport activities. These talents are

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highly respected and held highly in the society 3. The objectified cultural capital- these are the
possessions of the person which help the person to achieve the desired outcome within a
stipulated time period. These are not counted as material objects or capital goods rather they are
the investments, which help the person rise higher in the societal hierarchy (Mahar & Bourdieu,
2016). The Cultural Capital can turn out to be an important factor in the feminist theory as these
sources of capital can be used to figure the number of women who possess the wealth of
knowledge as well as the technical skills. By utilizing these knowledge and skills, the women
can open avenues of growth and development.
According to Bordieu, the Social Capital is the relationship networks prevalent among
the people and the networks enable the person to stay connected with the other people in the
society. The Social Capital concept was given by Pierre Bourdieu and was further elaborated by
Robert Putnam. Putnam stated that the Social Capital has three components, which are the moral
obligations and norms, social values that include the trust and the social networks. The social
networks are generally of the type of voluntary associations and the people voluntarily agree
upon joining the institutions as per their choice and preference (Shusterman, 2015). The trust
factor in the organizational terminology is not the usual definition of trust but refers to the
generalized concept of trust, which emphasizes the fact that trust is based on consensus. The
voluntary associations, trade unions, political parties and the communities, which are based on a
common preference such as fan clubs and sports club fan base, are the examples of social capital.
The voluntary associations play an important role in the highlighting of the main issues which
need to be put forward to garner the attention of the politicians (Wacquant & Akçaoğlum 2017).
The Social Capital can be utilized by the women to accentuate their position in the society and to
boost their possession of Cultural capital. The Social Capital remains one of the most

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underutilized aspects of the women’s possession as the large social contacts which they possess
goes wasted. The feminist movement can incorporate the social capital possessed by women by
spreading awareness amongst the women to help each other and utilize the Social Capital.
Bourdieu stated that the Habitus refers to the arrangement of a person in a social setting.
This setting was based upon the experience as well as the perception of the person about the
social environment wherein he or she resides at. The Habitus analyses the tendencies, which
shape the perceptions of the people regarding the society and how the people use these
perceptions to react to the social duties. The people generally associate with the other people
who have some similar skill set or background such as similar social class, religion, nationality,
ethnicity and other similar social setting. The Habitus theory of Bourdieu was based on the
concept of structuralism in literary theory. Bourdieu argues that the society can include a number
of spaces and institutions. The individual has the choice to enter the organization or an institution
because of the ability to practice voluntary association. The ability to exercise voluntary
association enables the person to freely choose the requisite group or association, which the
person wishes to join. The habitus is the perceived experience of the person, which is
experienced once the person is at a social setting. The person is valued by the organization or the
society on the basis of his or her possession of cultural capital, social capital or economic capital,
all of which makes up his/her symbolic capital (Nowicka, 2015). More the symbolic capital of a
person, more respect and value, the person gets in a society. A person can acquire or earn the
cultural, social or economic capital. The habitus enables the person to increase the networks with
the other people around him. The habitus can also be observed from a feminist perspective by
analyzing the experience of the women in the social setting. The interactions, which they
perform with the other members of the society, enable the researcher to analyze the habitus of

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the women. The women are given preference by the other members of the society based on their
possession of the cultural capital, the social capital or the emotional capital. The more capital the
person has in a society, the more is the person able to exert symbolic capital in the society. The
habitus therefore enables the researcher to understand and comprehend the situations or
experiences, which determine how the person is going to be perceived and treated in the society.
Bourdieu accepted that the economic capital plays the most important part in the society but he
also stated that the cultural capital and the social capital are no less in quality (Susen, 2106).
They are also respected and treated with veneration (Levinson, 2015). The person who possesses
great knowledge or skill about a certain discipline is able to gather economic capital based on the
possession of the cultural capital. Similarly, the person who has great social capital, which is the
person has contact with the majority ofthe members of the society, is able to prosper and
progress faster compared to the person lacking social capital. Therefore, the three capital
sources- social capital, cultural capital and economic capital play important role in determining
the habitus of an individual (Shammas & Sandberg, 2016). The habitus can be utilized for the
feminist theories by incorporating the experiences of the women in the society and utilizing these
experiences to come to an analysis regarding the condition of women in the society. Therefore
habitus can help the researcher to figure the experiences of the women from the perspectives of
the women. This will also enable the feminist theory to be more accurate and streamlined in its
approach and usage.
The feminist ideologies
range from supporting the causes of women emancipation and the rights and privileges of the
women to fighting for equal pay and gender rights across the world. The feminist movements are
involved in a number of political and social environmental settings and all have a common

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objective that is to define, comprehend and incorporate the equality of the women in all the
different social, economic and political settings. The feminist activists aim to establish equal
opportunities and avenues for the women and to establish the fact that women are equal to men.
The Feminist movements have fought for the rights of the women all over the world . The
feminists demand a number of rights for women which includes the right to freedom, the right to
education, the right to vote, the right to be given equal salary as compared to the men, the right to
enter contracts, the right to marriage and enter into a relationship with the partner of their choice,
the right to take maternity leave and the right to privacy. The feminists also have in their policy
framework the need to safeguard women from rape, domestic violence, protection against genital
mutilation and domestic violence. The right to choose a dress is also a pressing topic in their
agenda (Connell, 2015). The women’s movements have become extremely important to
highlight the societal changes, which are going on for a long period. The advent of
industrialization meant that the people who were employed in the rural setup move out of the
feudal lands and move into the cities and towns in order to get employment in the newly
established industries and companies. The new employment opportunities resulted in the
breaking up of the traditional joint family system and with the advent of time, the nuclear
families became more common. The patriarchal family pattern was questioned and women
became more active in demanding their rights and privileges. The women’s rights were
increasingly being demanded in the last decade of the twentieth century. The efforts of the
previous feminists have yielded results and it is due to their efforts due to which the women have
been given certain rights and advantages which were not given to them earlier (Nayak, 2017).
The feminist ideologies have developed because of the numerous feminist movements, which
have occurred over the years, and the feminists seek to establish parity among the different

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segments of the society such that women are not discriminated against in any social institution.
The main criticisms of the feminist have been that the feminist ideologies have been created on
the basis of supporting a particular ethnicity and that the feminist ideologies do not include the
multicultural aspects of feminism such as those relating to black feminism and cross-cultural
feminism.
The initial feminist
movement occurred in the 19thcenture when the women activists, particularly in Europe and
North America raised their voices against the injustices meted out to them such as denial of the
basic right to education and employment opportunities. The early phase feminist movement
emphasized on getting the equal pay and securing the property rights for women as well as
getting the right to education and employment opportunities (Gold, 2016). The achievements of
the early phase of the feminists have been the passing of the UK Custody of Infants Act of 1839,
which established the right for women to take access of their child. Subsequently, the Married
Women’s Property Act was passed in 1870 in the United Kingdom, which gave the married
women right to possess property. The pressing topic of getting right to vote for the women also
gathered momentum during this period. The feminists achieved women suffrage for the first time
in 1884 when the British Government passed the legislation to legalize the women suffrage. The
other rights such as demanding the sexual, economic and reproductive rights were also
demanded by the feminists during the time (De Lauretis, 2018).
There are numerous feminist theories, which define the feminist ideologies from an
altogether different perspective. These theories take into account different perspective, which are
essential in understanding the feminist issues. The Mainstream Feminists involve the issues,
which deal with the feminist issues from a very clear feminist perspective and do not include the

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socialist or radical ideologies. The Mainstream Feminists follow the traditional school of
feminist thought and attempt to introduce political and social reforms to uplift the conditions of
the women. The Mainstream Feminist are also referred to as Bourgeois Feminism by Angela
Davis (Cohen, & Jackson, 2016). The Anarchist Feminist Movement juxtaposes the anarchism
ideology with that of feminism and it holds the ideology that patriarchy has been imposed on the
women by the male hegemonic dominance. The Anarchist are of the opinion that struggle against
patriarchy is an important part of their movement. The Black Feminism hold the view that the
evil attributes of sexism, racism and discrimination based on class are inter-connected with each
other. The Cultural Feminists hold the ideology the difference between men and women are
socially construed and imposed upon the women (Dekel, 2014). They agree that the biological
differences among the sexes are existing but the imbalance among the sexes is not due to the
biological differences, rather it is due to the psychological imposition on the mentality of the
people that male and female are different from each other. The Cultural Feminists are of the
opinion that the female qualities are undervalued in the society and the male qualities are
highlighted and appreciated in an unjust manner. The Ecofeminist ideology links the topic of
ecology with Feminism. The Ecofeminists are of the opinion that the subjugation of the women
is related with the environmental degradation and impact of global warming. They hold the view
that due to patriarchy and the allocation of the factors of production to the men resulted in the
deterioration of the environment. They argue that the men are directly responsible for the current
turmoil afflicting the world. The French Feminists emphasize more on the philosophical and
literary resources rather than on the support for ideologies, which lack a base. The Liberal
Feminists hold the opinion that the equality of the sexes can be brought about by reformation of
the existing social conditions (Fischer & Dolezal, 2018). It is observed that liberal feminism

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overlaps with mainstream feminism and there exists minimal differences between the two
schools of thought. Libertarian Feminism fights for the freedom of women from the interference
in their affairs by the men. The women are to the custodian of their own affairs and the men
regarding the everyday decisions of their lives must not influence them. The Multiracial
Feminists focus more on the issues, which affects the women belonging from the colored
background such as the Blacks and the Asians. They take into consideration all the aspects of the
society wherein the colored women live in and how each factor affects the women. The Post-
Structural Feminists analyses the Feminist issues by juxtaposing the concepts of psychoanalysis,
linguistics and the political ideology of Marx and later Marxists. The Postcolonial feminists’
focus on the issues, which have arisen after the end of the colonial period such as migration,
slavery and oppression. The Postmodern feminists conjoin the postmodern and the post-
structural theories in their analysis and hold the view that the concept of sex has been infused
and constructed through language. The Radical Feminists hold the radical viewpoint that they
have been victimized due to the oppressive dominant patriarchal setting of the society. They are
of the view that the major issues afflicting the women is due all due to the subjugation of women
by the men. They hold the opinion that the only way to solve the issues of women is for the
women to take up the issues themselves and solve them by their own efforts (Exum, 2015).
According to the radical feminists, it is no point depending on the males and their agenda is to
uproot the patriarchal set up completely. The Separatist Feminist Theory holds the view that
women should not enter into any type of heterosexual relationships. It is closely related to the
Lesbian Feminist ideology, which states that the women should enter into relationships with only
women. The feminist ideologies even though have different perspectives, all have the similar
agreed upon point that women have been deprived of some of the most basic of human rights and

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that the women are exploited (Uteng & Cresswell, 2016). Almost all the feminist ideologies are
of the opinion that the women are exploited against due to the patriarchal set up of the society
and it is important to provide a more egalitarian setup, which enables the women to rise up in the
society. The administrative as well as the judicial authorities must ensure that the women are
given the rights so that a more egalitarian society is established which gives equal rights and
privileges to the women. The feminist movement is fighting for the justification of providing
rights and freedom to the women and has representations in various international bodies such as
the United Nations as well as the International Monetary Fund (Smith, 2017).
Feminist theories have incorporated the theories of many thinkers and intellects. When it
comes to the French Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, his theories have somewhat escaped the
attention of the feminist intellectuals. Bourdieu’s main concepts of cultural and social capital as
well as his concept of habitus can prove important for the feminists to present their demands and
ideas in a more innovative and theoretical manner. In his academic career, Bourdieu questioned
the process of theory and empirical work. He stated that research, which does not include theory,
is useless and similar is the case when theory is done without any research. The main concept
propounded by Bourdieu is capital and according to him, the social structure is created by the
distribution of capital and its different types. Capital does not necessarily mean monetary capital
or finances but can also be in the form of cultural and social capital. Bourdieu considered many
different types of capital such as economic, which meant the financial resources, the social
capital, which was the social connections, the cultural capital, which was the taste and
preferences of the person, the symbolic capital which meant the status and position of the person
(Wagner & McLaughlin, 2015). According to Bourdieu, women do not possess capital rather
they are a form of symbolic capital as the possession of women can increase the status of the

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person as well as the family. Feminist scholars can incorporate the concepts of capital such as
cultural capital, symbolic capital and social capital to define the position and achievements of the
women in respect to Bourdieu’s principles (King, 2016). The academic achievements of women,
which enable them to achieve higher grades and better employment opportunities, can be
regarded as cultural capital. The concepts of class and gender as has been given by Bourdieu can
be important criteria for determining the issues raised by feminist movement, they can relate to
the discrimination against the class of women in particular, and how to protest against the
injustices committed against them. The women can be described as belonging to a special class
and possessing the emotional capital which is a special type of cultural capital present in them.
This capital enables them to become aware about the plight of the other peer groups and
therefore, raise the issue in a way, which best suits them. The issue can be presented by
identifying the aspects of capital, which the women are possessing and how despite the fact that
possessing the cultural capital of knowledge and excelling in the academics, they are not given
the opportunities to progress further in their career, and as a result are not able to secure
employment opportunities. It has also been observed that the working women face the dilemma
of whether to devote maximum effort to their job or to dedicate majority of their time and energy
to the family (Hirschmann, 2016). The women as such are not able to fully realize the value of
their cultural capital and as a result are not able to succeed in their careers. The men who have
the luxury of networks and associations with groups secure the right to be promoted in the higher
positions of the organization. The women despite having superior cultural capital lag behind and
are not able to reach the higher echelons of the organizational setup (Giraldo, 2016). As such, the
women get victimized by the vicious circle and the generalized trust is lost in the organizational
running of the society. The women can realize their class-consciousness and raise their voices