Types of Feminism
Feminism -- a word used since the 1880s in France and 1890s in English -- has meant different things to different people, and different parts of the larger feminist community have had different goals. Thus, "adjectival feminism" -- feminism with a modifier in front of the word -- has included such varieties as socialist feminism, liberal feminism, radical feminism, ecofeminism, etc.
Feminism refers to a diverse variety of beliefs, ideas, movements, and agendas for action.
A definition and description of cultural feminism, in the context of women's history.
Ecofeminism, a term invented in the 1970s, refers to a kind of feminism that is tied to ideas about ecology and the earth.
A definition, description and history of liberal feminism, one of the branches of feminism that is often distinguished from radical, socialist or cultural feminism.
A definition and description of radical feminism from the perspective of women's history.
What is socialist feminism? Socialist feminism was a branch of feminism that gained popularity in the women's movement during the 1960s and 1970s.
How is socialist feminism different from other types of feminism? Socialist feminism was a branch of feminist theory that tried to fight against all types of injustice in society.
· Feminism refers to a diverse variety of beliefs, ideas, movements, and agendas for action. Here is what I find to be the core similarities among those using the term for their own beliefs, ideas, movements and agendas for action:
A. Feminism consists of ideas and beliefs about what culture is like for women just because they are women, compared to what the world is like for men just because they are men. In ethical terms, this form or aspect of feminism is descriptive. The assumption in feminism is that women are not treated equally to men, and that women are disadvantaged in comparison to men.
B. Feminism also includes ideas and beliefs about how culture can be and should be different -- goals, ideals, visions. In ethical terms, this form or aspect of feminism is prescriptive.
C. Feminism includes ideas and beliefs about the importance and value of moving from A to B -- a statement of commitment to behavior and action to produce that change.
D. Feminism also refers to a movement -- a collection of loosely connected groups and individuals committed to organized action, including changes in behavior of members of the movement and persuasion of others outside the movement to make change.
In other words, feminism describes a culture in which women, because they are women, are treated differently than men, and that, in that difference of treatment, women are at a disadvantage; feminism assumes that such treatment is cultural and thus possible to change and not simply "the way the world is and must be"; feminism looks to a different culture as possible, and values moving towards that culture; and feminism consists of activism, individually and in groups, to make personal and social change towards that more desirable culture.
There are many differences within the constellation of ideas and groups and movements called "feminism" on:
· what counts as unfairness, discrimination or oppression
· what in culture produces the disadvantages women experience
· whether the goal is equal treatment of women and men, or whether it is equal respect in different roles
which women's experiences are taken as normative -- do women of different races, classes, age groups, etc. experience inequality in significantly different ways or is the common experience as women more important?Cultural Feminism
Definition: Cultural feminism is a variety of feminism which emphasizes essential* differences between men and women, based on biological differences in reproductive capacity. Cultural feminism attributes to those differences distinctive and superior virtues in women. What women share, in this perspective, provides a basis for "sisterhood," or unity, solidarity and shared identity.
* The phrase "essential differences" refers to the belief that gender differences are part of the essence of females or males, that the differences are not chosen but are part of the nature of woman or man.
Ecofeminism
Definition: A social and political movement that blends environmentalism with feminism. The environmental and Women’s Liberation movements have both sought to radically change and renew society. Ecofeminist philosophy recognizes and analyzes the connections between behavior that oppresses women and behavior that harms the environment. There are different types of ecofeminsm which focus on areas such as economics, spirituality, colonization, class struggle or racism.
Also known as: ecological feminism
Origin: The term “ecofeminism” is thought to have been created by Francoise d’Eaubonne in her 1974 book Le Feminisme ou la mort.
Liberal Feminism
In 1983, Alison Jaggar published Feminist Politics and Human Nature where she defined four theories related to feminism: liberal feminism, Marxism, radical feminism, and socialist feminism. Her analysis was not completely new; the varieties of feminism had begun to differentiate as early as the 1960s. Jaggar's contribution was clarifying, extending and solidifying the various definitions, which are still often used today.
Liberal feminism's primary goal is gender equality in the public sphere -- equal access to education, equal pay, ending job sex segregation, better working conditions -- won primarily through legal changes. Private sphere issues are of concern mainly as they influence or impede equality in the public sphere. Gaining access to and being paid and promoted equally in traditionally male-dominated occupations is an important goal. What do women want? Liberal feminism answers: mostly, what men want: to get an education, to make a decent living, to provide for one's family.
What she described as liberal feminism is theory and work that focuses more on issues like equality in the workplace, in education, in political rights. Where liberal feminism looks at issues in the private sphere, it tends to be in terms of equality: how does that private life impede or enhance public equality. Thus, liberal feminists also tend to support marriage as an equal partnership, and more male involvement in child care. Abortion and other reproductive rights have to do with control of one's life choices and autonomy. Ending domestic violence and sexual harassment have to do with removing obstacles to women achieving on an equal level with men.
Liberal feminism tends to rely on the state and political rights to gain equality -- to see the state as the protector of individual rights. Liberal feminism, for example, supports affirmative action legislation requiring employers and educational institutions to make special attempts to include women in the pool of applicants, on the assumption that past and current discrimination may simply overlook many qualified women applicants.
The Equal Rights Amendment was a key goal for many years of liberal feminists, from the original women's suffrage proponents who moved to advocating a federal equality amendment, to many of the feminists of the 1960s and 1970s in organizations including the National Organization for Women. The text of the Equal Rights Amendment, as passed by Congress and sent to the states in the 1970s, is classical liberal feminism:
"Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex."
While not denying that there may be biologically-based differences between men and women, liberal feminism cannot see that these are adequate justification for inequality, such as the wage gap between men and women.
Critics of liberal feminism point to a lack of critique of basic gender relationships, a focus on state action which links women's interests to those of the powerful, a lack of class or race analysis, and a lack of analysis of ways in which women are different from men. Critics often accuse liberal feminism of judging women and their success by male standards.
In more recent years, liberal feminism has sometimes been conflated with a kind of libertarian feminism, sometimes called equity feminism or individual feminism. Individual feminism often opposes legislative or state action, preferring to emphasize developing the skills and abilities of women to compete better in the world as it is. This feminism opposes laws that give either men or women advantages and privileges.
Bibliography:
A few key resources:
· Alison M. Jaggar. Feminist Politics and Human Nature.
· Drucilla Cornell. At the Heart of Freedom: Feminism, Sex, and Equality.
· Josephine Donovan. Feminist Theory: The Intellectual Traditions of American Feminism.
· Elizabeth Fox-Genovese. Feminism Without Illusions: A Critique of Individualism.
· Catharine MacKinnon. Toward a Feminist Theory of the State.
· John Stuart Mill. The Subjection of Women.
Radical Feminism
Definition:
Radical feminism is a philosophy emphasizing the patriarchal roots of inequality between men and women, or, more specifically, social dominance of women by men. Radical feminism views patriarchy as dividing rights, privileges and power primarily by gender, and as a result oppressing women and privileging men.
Radical feminists tend to be more militant in their approach (radical as "getting to the root"). Radical feminism opposes existing political and social organization in general because it is inherently tied to patriarchy. Thus, radical feminists tend to be skeptical of political action within the current system, and instead support cultural change that undermines patriarchy and associated hierarchical structures.
Radical feminism opposes patriarchy, not men. To equate radical feminism to man-hating is to assume that patriarchy and men are inseparable, philosophically and politically.
Socialist Feminism
Definition: The phrase "socialist feminism" was increasingly used during the 1970s to describe a mixed theoretical and practical approach to achieving women's equality. Socialist feminist theory analyzed the connection between the oppression of women and other oppression in society, such as racism and economic injustice.
Socialists had fought for decades to create a more equal society that did not exploit the poor and powerless in the ways capitalism did. Like Marxism, socialist feminism recognized the oppressive structure of capitalist society. Like radical feminism, socialist feminism recognized the fundamental oppression of women in patriarchal society. However, socialist feminists did not recognize gender and only gender as the exclusive basis of all oppression.
Socialist feminists wanted to integrate the recognition of sex discrimination with their work to achieve justice and equality for women, working classes, the poor and all humanity.
Socialist Feminism vs. Other Types of Feminism
Socialist feminism, which connected the oppression of women to other oppression in society, became increasingly important in the feminist theory that crystallized into academic feminist thought during the 1970s. How was socialist feminism different from other kinds offeminism?
Socialist Feminism vs. Cultural Feminism
Socialist feminism was often contrasted with cultural feminism, which focused on the unique nature of women and highlighted the need for woman-affirming culture. Cultural feminism was seen as essentialist: it recognized an essential nature of women that was unique to the female sex. Cultural feminists were sometimes criticized for being separatist if they tried to keep women's music, women's art andwomen's studies apart from mainstream culture.
The theory of socialist feminism, on the other hand, sought to avoid separating feminism from the rest of society. Socialist feminists in the 1970s preferred to integrate their struggle against women's oppression with the struggle against other injustice based on race, class or economic status. Socialist feminists wanted to work with men to correct the inequities between men and women.
Socialist Feminism vs. Liberal Feminism
However, socialist feminism was also distinct fromliberal feminism, such as that of the National Organization for Women (NOW). The perception of the term "liberal" has changed over the years, but the liberal feminism of the women's liberation movement sought equality for women in all institutions of society, including government, law and education. Socialist feminists critiqued the idea that true equality was possible in a society built on inequality whose structure was fundamentally flawed. This criticism was similar to the feminist theory of radical feminists.
Socialist Feminism vs. Radical Feminism
However, socialist feminism was also distinct from radical feminism because socialist feminists rejected the radical feminist notion that the sex discrimination women faced was the source of all of their oppression. Radical feminists, by definition, sought to get at the root of oppression in society in order to drastically change things. In a male-dominated patriarchal society, they saw that root as oppression of women. Socialist feminists were more likely to describe oppression based on gender as one piece of the struggle.
Further Analysis
Of course, this is just a basic overview of how socialist feminism differed from other kinds of feminism. Feminist writers and theorists have provided in-depth analysis of the underlying beliefs of feminist theory. In her book Tidal Wave: How Women Changed America at Century's End (compare prices), Sara M. Evans explains how socialist feminism and other branches of feminism developed as part of the women's liberation movement.
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