Feminism can be defined as the belief that women and men are, and have been, treated differently by our society, and that women have frequently and systematically been unable to participate fully in all social arenas an institutions
Feminism can be defined as the belief that women and men are, and have been, treated differently by our society, and that women have frequently and systematically been unable to participate fully in all social arenas an institutions. Feminist thoughts are diverse as the theories behind feminism are brought up by different people who have different views about the issue and have had differing lives. These theories are Radical, Black, Marxist and Liberal feminist theories and they were brought up by various individuals who thought about ways of improving the lives of women who were suppressed by the societies that they lived in. This paper will try to critically look at three feminist theories and how they are linked and the criticism around them and how they have faired in the global context. Most of the oppression that is directed towards women is based on patriarchy and how society has believed in such a status quo. Also another area where the rise of feminism was cultivated was the idea of how capitalism had oppressed women in particular as owners of the businesses/capital in general were living a different lifestyle altogether from the labourers who had to sell their labour for wages and the group that was targeted the most was women.
Radical feminism has its roots in the belief that men are the real problem for women and it seeks to change that course. Haralambos & Holborn (2004:103), state that the exploitation of women is done by men. To a radical feminist, it is primarily men who have benefited from the subordination of women. Wilma van der Veen, E. (Ph.D). (2006), states some of the issues that pertain to radical feminism as, women's oppression is the fundamental oppression at the root of other "isms", sexism is at the core of patriarchy especially in the family, violence against women (rape, sexual harassment, incest, pornography and domestic violence) are focus issues and male domination as some of the problems. She goes on to add remedies for the problem such as, create institutions for women only, extreme view would call for severing relationships with men, i.e. end heterosexual relationships, total restructuring of society. This view is held by a majority of radical feminist who seek to overhaul the whole society so as to satisfy their needs. Radical feminism is split into four sub-categories namely; separatist feminist who argue for the independent organisation of women independently outside make dominated societies. Female supremacists who advocate the women are morally superior to men and that patriarchy should be replaced by matriarchy. The radical-libertarian feminist believe that it is both possible and desirable for gender differences to be eradicated or at least greatly reduced. Finally there are the radical-cultural feminists who believe in the superiority of the feminine, (Haralambos & Holborn, 2004).
Black feminism came by as an effort to meet the needs of black women who felt they were being racially oppressed; as a result black women were an invisible group whose existence and needs were ignored. The purpose of the movement was to develop theory which could adequately address the way race, gender, and class were interconnected in their lives and to take action to stop racist, sexist, and class discrimination. Collins, P. H (1990: 221), defines black feminism as the thought demonstrates Black women's emerging power as agents of knowledge. By portraying African-American women as self-defined, self-reliant ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
Black feminism came by as an effort to meet the needs of black women who felt they were being racially oppressed; as a result black women were an invisible group whose existence and needs were ignored. The purpose of the movement was to develop theory which could adequately address the way race, gender, and class were interconnected in their lives and to take action to stop racist, sexist, and class discrimination. Collins, P. H (1990: 221), defines black feminism as the thought demonstrates Black women's emerging power as agents of knowledge. By portraying African-American women as self-defined, self-reliant individuals confronting race, gender, and class oppression, Afro-centric feminist thought speaks to the importance that oppression, Afro-centric feminist thought speaks to the importance that knowledge plays in empowering oppressed people. New knowledge is important for both dimensions of change. The article about the History of Black Feminism in the United States, states that the Black feminist movement started 1973 as a way of trying to stop the discrimination of black women in the Black Liberation Movement and the Women's Movement where they were openly discriminated upon, racially and sexually. Although neither all the black men nor all the white women in their respective movements were sexist and racist, enough of those with powerful influence were able to make the lives of the black women in these groups almost unbearable. Icons like the late Rosa Parks and Sojourner Truth are leaders of black women who fought for equal recognition. One distinguishing feature of Black feminist thought is its insistence that both the changed consciousness of individuals and the social transformation of political and economic institutions constitute essential ingredients for social change.
Bromberg (1997), states that the Marxist feminism arises out of the doctrines of Karl Marx, whose theory is, centred less on the material aspects of life than on the more broadly defined social ones. Central to Marxism is the idea of the divisions of labour, which are familiarly evident in the capitalist system. Marxist feminists base their arguments of moral right and wrong in reference to the corruption of wage labour that itself is an expression of class distinctions. Marxist and socialist feminist do not attribute women's exploitation entirely on men. They see capitalism rather than patriarchy as being the principal source of women's oppression and capitalists as the main beneficiaries, Haralambos & Holborn (2004:104). Marxist and socialist feminist relate women's oppression to the production of wealth, as they are the ones who work in order to feed their families. Abolition of gender and class are goals where socialism will only occur with the liberation of women and women's liberation will only occur under socialism and sexuality is to feminism what work is to Marxism, (Wilma van der Veen, E. (Ph.D), 2006)
The three theories all fighting for the women's emancipation in the society differed on how to go about it as they came from different schools of thought. To some degree Radical and Marxist feminist agreed on some aspects such as that women are exploited, particularly in the advent of capitalism, they are more sensitive to the differences between women who belong to the ruling class and proletarian families, Haralambos & Holborn (2004:105). What appears to have gone unnoticed in Marxism, Marxist feminism, and radical feminism is that there is the perception that in the capitalist system there is a stripping away of the spiritual qualities of life as a person is reduced to being a mere cog in a machine. There is a tendency in some feminist writings to discuss the relationship between feminism and prostitution in much the same terms, thus stripping away the transcendent and spiritual qualities of prostitutes and leaving only a mechanistic view of prostitutes within prostitution (Bromberg, 1997).
Radical feminism moves away from the Marxist feminist views in the sense that it advocates that for a total shift in the balance of power in the sense that it seeks to apportion all the blame for women's woes on their male counterparts. Men are seen as 'bad' yet women are seen as 'good' and this leads to a situation whereby men are seen as the enemy. Another aspect of radical feminism that is lacking in the other two feminist theories is the negative focus by women on experiences of relationships with men and ignores happy experiences that they gain in their companionship with men, (Haralambos & Holborn, 2004:104). This creates problems for society as the radical feminists seek to overturn the nature of social relationships within each society and levels of experience of oppression by women of different classes.
Black feminism is solely focused on the improvement of the lives of black women who have been oppressed and been equated with their white counterparts even though they have contrasting lifestyles. White women have been in the forefront in their fight for equal rights with men and they forgot about their black counterparts and this led to black women coming up with their own feminist views that sought to elevate them to the equal status with their white counterparts. Criticism that is against this kind of feminist approach is that is solely based and focused on blacks alone and fails to address issues of oppression that are experienced by white women, (Haralambos & Holborn, 2004:106). Another criticism is that it is concerned only about race/ethnicity at the expense of other issues such as class and sexuality that affects all women in the society. This feminist view is different from the other two as it is solely concentrating on the race issue as there was a feeling that black women were not only represented adequately but also marginalised by other feminist bodies/school of thoughts at that time.
The feminist perspectives all had the conviction that men were to blame for the positions that women found themselves in the society and as a result they felt that they had a duty to do by removing the shackles that were tying them. Also the main beneficiaries were men in the society. Although the Black feminist movement agreed with the other two it also sought to highlight the plight of black women that they found themselves in. Black Women who participated in the feminist movement during the 1960s often met with racism. It generally took the form of exclusion: black women were not invited to participate on conference panels which were not specifically about black or Third World women. They were not equal, or even proportionately, represented on the faculty of Women's Studies Departments, nor were there classes devoted specifically to the study of black women's history, (A History of Black Feminism in the United States). This problem was one of the reasons that led to the creation of a movement that catered for black women.
There have been groups that see feminism as a problem in the society and Wilma van der Veen, E. (Ph.D). (2006), gives a list of some of the issues that have been raised by anti-feminists such as, see feminism as attack on traditional function of women, family and church, feminism degrades homemakers, and blame family breakdown on women's movement. This is the problem that feminist groups face as they advocate for the equal status of women in the society even though there are some within the movement who hold extremist views as to how to tackle this whole issue. This creates confusion as people who are not supportive of the whole feminist ideology are given ammunition to attack these groups due to the fractures that exist within the whole feminist body. As the three have one thing in common, that is, fighting for women's rights they differ on the approach to take and another branch within the feminist movement, liberal feminists advocate for a lesser confrontational approach as compared the other perspectives.
Reference List
Collins, P.H. (1990) Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. Boston: Unwin Hyman.
Haralambos, M. and Holborn, M. (2004) Sociology: Themes and Perspectives. 6th Edition. London: Collins
Bromberg, S. (1997). Feminist Issues in Prostitution. International Conference on Prostitution at Cal State University, Northridge
http://www.feministissues.com/radical_feminism.html
Download date: 30/08/2007.
Wilma van der Veen, E. (Ph.D). (2006). Feminist theories. Gender Relations.
http://husky1.smu.ca/~evanderveen/wvdv/Gender_relations/Feminist_theories.html
Download date: 30/08/2007.
Thistle Issue 9.01. But Some of Us Are Brave: A History of Black Feminism in the United States.
http://www.mit.edu/activities/thistle/v9/9.01/6blackf.html
Download date: 30/08/2007
