FEMINISM & ITS TYPES

Feminism is a Belief
Definition of Feminism-- It is an awareness of
women’s:
 Oppression
 Subordination
 Marginalization
 Discrimination.
 Exploitation in society e.g. family, work…
 Conscious action by women & men to change
women’s situation.
Feminism may be
understood as:
 Feminism is a belief that women universally
face some form of oppression or exploitation.
 Feminism is a social movement to change the
position of women.
 Feminism is a commitment to uncover &
understand the causes of oppression & it
also commits to work individually &
collectively to end authoritarianism.
Continued---------------
 Feminism is a politics- directed at changing existing
power relations & subject positions between women
& men in society. Power relations include e.g. family,
education, welfare, employment, politics,
legislation, culture, religion etc.
 Feminism is a theory- system of concepts, analysis &
proposals that describe & explain women’s
situations & experiences & support
recommendations about how to improve them.
Feminist is a person who:-
 Holds that women suffer discrimination.
 Advance women’s interests.
 Advocacy of the claims of women.
 Support that women have specific needs
which remain neglected.
 Support need of radical change in the
social, economic, political & legal orders.
Continued---------------
 So a feminist is any one
who recognizes the
existence of
discrimination on the
basis of gender (sexes) ,
male dominance &
patriarchy & who takes
some action against it.
Continued---------------
 Feminists are those who dare to break
the conspiracy of silence about the
oppressive, unequal relationship
between men and women, and who want
to change it ( Encyclopedia of Feminism
1987).
 Whether eastern or western, basically
all feminist pursuits are aimed at
acquiring rights for women from the
 Contours of Feminism
 No specific abstract definition.
 No single theoretical
framework/conceptualization.
 Is flexible.
 Is Fluid.
 It changes with history, cultural realities
& levels of consciousness.
 It varies from country to country & within
a country there can be various concepts
based on class, education, ethnicity etc
 Feminism of 1970’s is different from that
of 1980’s and 2011….
 Agenda Of Feminism

It has many dimensions including:

 Analysis of gender roles.

 Patriarchy.

 Class struggle.

 National liberation.

 Poverty & Development.

 Dowry killing.

 Violence against women.

 Religious exploitation.

 ………………………………………
 KINDS OF FEMINISM

GENDER REFORM FEMINISMS

The feminisms of the 1960s and 1970s were
the beginning of the second wave of feminism.
They are liberal feminism, Marxist and socialist
feminisms, and development feminism.
Their roots were, respectively, 18th and 19th
century liberal political philosophy that
developed the idea of individual rights,
Marx's 19th century critique of capitalism and
his concept of class consciousness,
and 20th century anti-colonial politics and
ideas of national development.
 Liberal Feminism
 Lens of gender and gender equality
 Emphasis on traditional understanding of human nature
and personhood: rationality, individual autonomy, self-
fulfillment (characteristics possessed by all).
 Sex and gender neutral; all human beings possess a
common nature.
 A just society is a society that allows individuals to
exercise their freedom and fulfill themselves.
 Emphasis on equality of opportunity: all persons
deserve an equal chance to develop their rational and
moral capacities so that they can achieve personhood.
Liberal Feminism
Continued------
 Because society has the false belief that
women are by nature less intellectually and
physically capable than men it excludes
women from many opportunities and the true
potential of women goes unfulfilled.
 Liberal feminists argue that women share the
same rational human nature men do and so
should be given the same educational
opportunities and civil rights as men are given.
Liberal Feminism
Continued------
 The goal of women’s liberation is freeing women
from oppressive gender roles: sexual and gender
equality.
 Liberal feminism led to advances in the economic
sphere, in equality of opportunity and in civil
rights.
 The main problem of liberal feminism is its
tendency to accept male values as universal
values. All women should want to become like
men, to aspire to masculine values. Liberal
feminism often did not include an analysis of
class or sexuality (the sex/gender system).
 Radical feminism
 It is an offshoot of moderate feminism. The
radical feminist believes that the women’s
subjection is due to sexual aggression by men.
 Male supremacy is the oldest, the most basic
form of domination, all other forms of exploitation
and oppression. (Racism, Capitalism, Imperialism,
etc) are extension of male supremacy.
 Radical feminist also argued that the History of
the world was not the struggle of the classes but
it was a struggle between men and women.
Radical feminism Continues----

 For radical feminist – The roots of

subordination lies in the biological family.
 Radical feminist main plea is not only the
removal of sex distinctions but the removal of
men in their life – sexual preferences, control
over one’s body, free sex experience and
collective child care are some of the action
programs outlined by the radical feminist.
Radical feminism Continues----
 The radical feminist argue that women have
always been economically exploited for them
marriage turns to be a contract where by sex
and service (house work) are provided by
women to men in return for support.
 The same thing happened in the feudal
society where the lord provided security to
the slaves in return for their services. Women
and slaves are equivalent due to sexual
politics.
Radical feminism Continues----
 Similarly virginity is held important and essential
for the female only.
 When a woman marries the custom requires her
to change the title from “miss” to “mrs’. All this
she has to do in order to proclaim her belonging
to a man – which implies that she has no
independent existence of her own.
 Her income is regarded as part of husband’s
income. Moreover when both partners earn it is a
wife who is expected to take care of the domestic
work such as cooking and housekeeping.
Radical feminism Continues----

 In the west the radical feminism adopted novel

protest methods to draw the attention of the
male oppressors.
 In the 1970 an army of women marched through
the New York streets and placed what they
thought “freedom trash cans” at important
points. In this they threw their cosmetics and
false eyelashes.
 Through this they wanted to show that women
cannot be considered as sex objects. They also
shouted slogans “marriage if legalized rape”.
Radical feminism
Continues----
 Among the radical feminist the very aggressive group formed
societies whose chief aim was not only liberation of women
but also the annihilation of men.
 Valarie Solanas (April 9, 1936 – April 25, 1988)  was given 3 years
imprisonment for shooting men. She also started a society
called SCUM (Society for Cutting Up Men).
 Another such society was called WITCH (Women’s
International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell). In UK the
feminist picketed the Miss World contest and carried banners
displaying – “miss used, “miss conception” and “miss
guided”.
 Man being the enemy of the radical feminist, they stood to
put an end to the subordination and they seem to be no
place for men in their life.
 Socialist or Marxist
Feminism
 Root cause of the lower status of women
lies in the family.
 The family is the result of the private
property in the means of production
therefore complete equality of women is
possible when private property in the
means of production is abolished.
 The concept of private property brought
a basic change in the family.
Socialist or Marxist Feminism
Continues---
 In a capitalist society, family relations are reduced to
more money relations. Karl Marx observed that by
abolishing private means of production the family
system will be abolished this is the only way in which
the status of women can be raised.
 Feminist within the socialist fold have been struggling to
come to grips with the reality of gender oppression in
society.
 According to socialist view power is derived from sex
and class and this is manifested materially and
ideologically in patriarchy and class relations. The major
task is to discover the interdependence of class and
patriarchy.
Socialist or Marxist Feminism
Continues---
 It would be necessary to organize struggle
simultaneously against capitalism and patriarchy.
 Patriarchal system cannot vanish by nearly
abolishing private property.
 A struggle against patriarchal is a struggle against
the present structure of the family system
dominated by men.
 The liberation of women would not be complete
without a change in the patriarchal social system
and all the social values that go with them.
Socialist or Marxist Feminism
Continues---
 The socialist feminist have also raised the whole
debate of domestic work. They argue that women’s
oppression is based on unpaid house work.
 Child bearing, child care and house work are material
activities resulting in products.
 Like radical feminist the socialist feminist are not anti-
man. But they believe in collaborating with men if the
latter support their cause.

“Feminism has never been about getting a job for one

woman. It's about making life more fair for women
everywhere. It's not about a piece of the existing pie;
there are too many of us for that. It's about baking a
new pie.”
― Gloria Steinem
 Development Feminism

 Emphasis on universal human rights

 Pressure for the education of girls,
 Maternity and child health care,
 Economic resources for women who contribute
heavily to the support of their families.
 marital rights and sexual autonomy,
 Confronts traditional cultural values and practices
that give men power over their daughters and
wives.