OG Passage 42

tyghbn

My question is rather a methodology one. Look at the passage below and question No.126. The answer is resided in the first sentence of the 3^rd paragraph. In reality, how can you nail to the exact place in a short period of time to find  the answer for a question this general??

Two modes of argumentation have been used on

behalf of women’s emancipation in Western societies.

Arguments in what could be called the “relational”

feminist tradition maintain the doctrine of “equality in

(5) difference,” or equity as distinct for equality. They

posit that biological distinctions between the sexes

result in a necessary sexual division of labor in the

family and throughout society and that women’s pro-

creative labor is currently undervalued by society, to

(10) the disadvantage of women. By contrast, the individual-

ist feminist tradition emphasizes individual human rights

and celebrates women’s quest for personal autonomy,

while downplaying the importance of gender roles and

minimizing discussion of childbearing and its attendant

(15) responsibilities.

Before the late nineteenth century, these views

coexisted within the feminist movement, often within

the writings of the same individual. Between 1890 nd

1920, however, relational feminism, which had been the

(20) dominant strain in feminist thought, and which still pre-

dominates among European and non-Western feminists,

lost ground in England and the United States. Because

the concept of individual rights was already well estab-

lished in the Anglo-Saxon legal and political tradition,

(25) individualist feminism came to predominate in English-

speaking countries. At the same time, the goals of the

two approaches began to seem increasingly irreconcil-

able. Individualist feminists began to advocate a totally

gender-blind system with equal rights for all. Relational

(30) feminists, while agreeing that equal educational and

economic opportunities outside the home should be avail-

able for all women, continued to emphasize women’s

special contributions to society as homemakers and

mothers; they demanded special treatment

(35) including protective legislation for women workers,

state-sponsored maternity benefits, and paid compensa-

tion for housework.

Relational arguments have a major pitfall: because

they underline women’s physiological and psychological

(40) distinctiveness, they are often appropriated by political

adversaries and used to endorse male privilege. But the

individualist approach, by attacking gender roles, deny-

ing the significance of physiological difference, and

condemning existing familial institutions as hopelessly

(45) patriarchal, has often simply treated as irrelevant the

family roles important to many women. If the individu-

alist framework, with its claim for women’s autonomy,

could be harmonized with the family-oriented concerns

of relational feminists, a more fruitful model for con-

(50) temporary feminist politics could emerge.

126. The passage suggests that the author of the passage

believes which of the following?

(A) The predominance of individualist feminism in

English-speaking countries is a historical

phenomenon, the causes of which have not yet

been investigated.

(B) The individualist and relational feminist views are

irreconcilable, given their theoretical differences

concerning the foundations of society.

(C) A consensus concerning the direction of future

feminist politics will probably soon emerge, given

the awareness among feminists of the need for

cooperation among women.

(D) Political adversaries of feminism often misuse

arguments predicated on differences between the

sexes to argue that the existing social system

should be maintained.

(E) Relational feminism provides the best theoretical

framework for contemporary feminist politics, but

individualist feminism could contribute much

toward refining and strengthening modern feminist

thought.

tyghbn

thanks, girl!