Feminism

 According to Mariam Webster, “Feminism is the theory of the political, economic and
social equality of the sexes.”
 Although largely originating in the West, feminism is manifested worldwide and is
represented by various institutions committed to activity on behalf of women’s rights and
interests.
 In genera or broader sense it can be said that the activism in favor of rights of women,
rights of all kind, is called feminism.
 Feminism is not a new or twentieth century phenomenon rather its root can be found in
late eighteenth century.
 In some of works of eighteenth century, the question of inequality of women was raised
and some of the solutions were also given.
 These books include Mary Woll-stonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Women
(1792), which discusses male writers like Milton, Pope, and Rousseau; Olive Schreiner's
Women and Labour (1911); Virginia Woolfs A Room of One's Own (1929), which vividly
portrays the unequal treatment given to women seeking education and alternatives to
marriage and motherhood; and Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex (1949) which has
an important section on the portrayal of women in the novels of D. H. Lawrence. Male
contributions to this tradition of feminist writing include John Stuart Mill's The
Subjection of Woman (1869) and The Origin of the Family (1884) by Friedrich Engels.

 The feminist literary criticism of today is the direct product of the 'women's movement' of
the 1960s.

Types of Feminism: The Four Waves

Feminism is one of the oldest movements in global history. There’s no single definition, but
feminism boils down to ending gender discrimination and bringing about gender equality. Within
this goal, there are many types of feminism. Instead of describing them in isolation from each
other, feminism can be divided into “waves.”

The wave metaphor is the most common explanation for feminism’s movements, though it’s not
without flaws. It can oversimplify a complicated history of values, ideas, and people that are
often in conflict with each other. With this simplification, one might think feminism’s history is
a straightforward arc. The reality is much messier. There are many sub-movements building on
(and fighting with) each other. That being said, the wave metaphor is a useful starting point. It
doesn’t tell the whole story, but it helps outline it. There are four waves:

The first wave

The first wave in the late 19th-century was not the first appearance of feminist ideals, but it was
the first real political movement for the Western world. In 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft published
the revolutionary Vindication of the Rights of Woman. In 1848, about 200 women met in a
church. They came up with 12 resolutions asking for specific rights, such as the right to vote.
Reproductive rights also became an important issue for early feminists. After years of feminist
activism, Congress finally passed the 19th amendment in 1920 and gave women the vote. This
was almost 30 years after New Zealand became the first country where women could vote.

First-wave feminism had a fairly simple goal: have society recognize that women are humans,
not property. While the leaders of 1st-wave feminism were abolitionists, their focus was on white
women’s rights. This exclusion would haunt feminism for years to come.

The second wave

Second-wave feminism took place in the 1960s and ‘70s. It built on first-wave feminism and
challenged what women’s role in society should be. Inspired by the Civil Rights movement and
protests against the Vietnam War, activists focused on the institutions that held women back.
This meant taking a closer look at why women were oppressed. Traditional gender and family
roles were questioned. Queer theory became more established. There were major victories in this
era including the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Roe v. Wade in 1973, and other Supreme Court cases.

Three main types of feminism emerged: mainstream/liberal, radical, and cultural. Mainstream
feminism focused on institutional reforms, which meant reducing gender discrimination, giving
women access to male-dominated spaces, and promoting equality. Radical feminism wanted to
reshape society entirely, saying that the system was inherently patriarchal and only an overhaul
would bring liberation. It resisted the belief that men and women were basically the same.
Cultural feminism had a similar view and taught that there’s a “female essence” that’s distinct
from men.

The third wave

Thanks to the institutional victories of second-wave feminism, women enjoyed more rights and
power going into the 1990s. They were able to think about other aspects of their identity,
welcoming individuality and rebellion. This was an era of reclaiming. Important cultural
touchstones include Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues, the Guerilla Girls, and punk rock riot
girls. Many women more freely expressed their sexuality in how they spoke, dressed, and acted.
This sometimes bewildered 2nd-wave feminists, many of whom had resisted traditional
femininity. While many ideas and mini-movements swirled around in this time, the one “rule”
was that there weren’t rules. A woman should choose how she lived her life.

Third-wave feminism also became more conscious of race. Kimberle Crenshaw, a gender and
critical-race scholar coined the phrase “intersectionality” in 1989. The term refers to how
different kinds of oppression – like those based on gender and race – intersect with each other.
While mainstream first and second-wave feminism had largely ignored or neglected racial
disparities within gender, the Third wave paid more attention. The phrase “third-wave
feminism” was coined in 1992 by Rebecca Walker, a 23-year old Black bisexual woman. When
the internet became more commonplace, it was even easier to hear perspectives and ideas from
feminists around the world. Feminism was expanding.

The fourth wave

 Some people think we’re still in the third wave of feminism since the fourth wave isn’t so much
of a shift as the continued growth of the movement. However, with the MeToo movement and a
resurgence of attacks on women’s rights, many believe we’re living in a new wave. Social media
activism has propelled the movement firmly into the technological age. It builds on the third
wave’s emphasis on inclusivity and asks hard questions about what empowerment, equality, and
freedom really mean.

Fourth-wave feminism continues to reckon with intersectionality. Critics of “white feminism,”

which ignores the unique struggles of women of color, expose how non-white feminists and
ideas have been – and continue to be – suppressed. Trans rights are a big part of the
conversation, too. Feminism has often been an unwelcoming and hostile place for trans women
and others who reject the gender binary. Many fourth-wave feminists are working to combat this
exclusion. As with every wave before it (and any wave that comes after it), the fourth wave is
complex. It encompasses many movements that both complement and clash with each other.
This tension is unavoidable. While some types of feminism can have harmful impacts, having a
variety of voices makes feminism more inclusive and successful.
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This post summarises the key ideas of Radical, Liberal, Marxist and Difference Feminisms and includes criticisms
of each perspective.

Introduction – Feminism: The Basics

 Inequality between men and women is universal and the most significant form of inequality
 Gender norms are socially constructed not determined by biology and can thus be changed.
 Patriarchy is the main cause of gender inequality – women are subordinate because men have more power.
 Feminism is a political movement; it exists to rectify sexual inequalities, although strategies for social change vary
enormously.
 There are four types of Feminism – Radical, Marxist, Liberal, and Difference.
 Radical Feminism
 Blames the exploitation of women on men. It is primarily men who have benefitted from the subordination of
women. Women are ‘an oppressed group.
 Society is patriarchal – it is dominated and ruled by men – men are the ruling class, and women the subject class.
 Rape, violence and pornography are methods through which men have secured and maintained their power over
women. Andrea Dworkin (1981)
 Radical feminists have often been actively involved in setting up and running refuges for women who are the
victims of male violence.
 Rosemarie Tong (1998) distinguishes between two groups of radical feminist:
 Radical-libertarian feminists believe that it is both possible and desirable for gender differences to be eradicated,
or at least greatly reduced, and aim for a state of androgyny in which men and women are not significantly
different.
 Radical-cultural feminists believe in the superiority of the feminine. According to Tong radical cultural feminists
celebrate characteristics associated with femininity such as emotion, and are hostile to those characteristics
associated with masculinity such as hierarchy.
 The various alternatives suggested by Radical Feminists include separatism – women only communes, and
Matrifocal households. Some also practise political Lesbianism and political celibacy as they view heterosexual
relationships as “sleeping with the enemy.”

Criticisms of Radical Feminism

1. The concept of patriarchy has been criticised for ignoring variations in the experience of oppression.
2. Some critics argue that it focuses too much on the negative experiences of women, failing to recognise that some
women can have happy marriages for example.
3. It tends to portray women as universally good and men as universally bad, It has been accused of man hating, not
trusting all men.
 Marxist Feminism
 Capitalism rather than patriarchy is the principal source of women’s oppression, and capitalists as the main
beneficiaries.
 Women’s subordination plays a number of important functions for capitalism:
 Women reproduce the labour force for free (socialisation is done for free)
 Women absorb anger – women keep the husbands going.
 Because the husband has to support his wife and children, he is more dependent on his job and less likely to
demand wage increases.
 The traditional nuclear also performs the function of ‘ideological conditioning’ – it teaches the ideas that the
Capitalist class require for their future workers to be passive.
 The disadvantaged position of women is seen to be a consequence of the emergence of private property and their
lack of ownership of the means of production
 They are more sensitive to differences between women who belong to the ruling class and proletarian families.
Marxist Feminists believe that there is considerable scope for co-operation between working class women and
men and that both can work together
 In Communist society, Marxist feminists believe that gender inequalities will disappear.

Criticisms of Marxist Feminism

1. Radical Feminists – ignores other sources of inequality such as sexual violence.
2. Patriarchal systems existed before capitalism, in tribal societies for example.
3. The experience of women has not been particularly happy under communism.

Liberal Feminism
 Nobody benefits from existing inequalities: both men and women are harmed
 The explanation for gender inequality lies not so much in structures and institutions of society but in its culture
and values.
 Socialisation into gender roles has the consequence of producing rigid, inflexible expectations of men and women
 Discrimination prevents women from having equal opportunities
 Liberal Feminists do not seek revolutionary changes: they want changes to take place within the existing
structure.
 The creation of equal opportunities is the main aim of liberal feminists – e.g. the Sex Discrimination Act and the
Equal Pay Act.
 Liberal feminists try to eradicate sexism from the children’s books and the media.
 Liberal Feminist ideas have probably had the most impact on women’s lives – e.g. mainstreaming has taken place.

Criticisms of Liberal Feminism

1. Based upon male assumptions and norms such as individualism and competition, and encourages women to be
more like men and therefor deny the ‘value of qualities traditionally associated with women such as empathy.
2. Liberalism is accused of emphasising public life at the expense of private life.
3. Radical and Marxist Feminists – it fails to take account of deeper structural inequalities
4. Difference Feminists argue it is an ethnocentric perspective – based mostly on the experiences of middle class,
educated women.

Difference Feminism/ Postmodern Feminism

 Do not see women as a single homogenous group.
 Criticised preceding feminist theory for claiming a ‘false universality’ (white, western heterosexual, middle class)
 Criticised preceding Feminists theory of being essentialist
 Critiqued preceding Feminist theory as being part of the masculinist Enlightenment Project
 Postmodern Feminism – concerned with language (discourses) and the relationship between power and
knowledge rather than ‘politics and opportunities’
 Helene Cixoux – An example of a postmodern/ destabilising theorist

Criticisms of Difference Feminism

1. Walby, women are still oppressed by objective social structures – namely Patriarchy
2. Dividing women sub-groups weakens the movement for change.