ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the debate and explores the contributions that feminist theories can provide to enhance social work practice. Feminism is both a political movement and a mode of analysis of social issues. Since the 1970s, numerous feminist models have been developed that articulate ways of seeing and "understanding women's lives and experiences, the nature of inequality between the sexes, and the structuring of gender". The emergence of the feminist theories over the last three to four decades is in part a response to the male-oriented theories on human behavior during the first part of the twentieth century. Feminist theory has three main historical branches: liberal, radical, and socialist. Liberal feminist theory is the best known feminist perspective and often is what people mean when they refer to feminist theory. Radical feminists view male supremacy as the oldest form of oppression. Socialist feminists focus on women as a class who are not recognized in the capitalist system of production.
