5. what is liberal feminism Flashcards
what is feminism
Feminism – an ideology that believes in establishing complete equality between the sexes
What is liberal feminism?
Liberal Feminism – does not wish to overthrow the liberal, democratic, capitalist order, but argues that its opportunities should be as open women as men
when was First wave feminism
19th century - early 20th century
when was Second wave feminism
1960s - 1980s
when was Third wave feminism
1990s - 2008
when was Fourth wave feminism
2008 - present
What was the legal and social status of women in the C18th and C19th?
Men – public sphere
- Business
- Politics
- Education
Women – private sphere
- Family
- Domestic work
- Child-rearing
- Women had far fewer legal rights – all women were unable to vote, and hereditary titles and estates were usually passed on to the eldest son of the family
- After marriage, a husband and wife were legally recognised as being one person – the wife no longer had a legal identity and her husband took control of her property
- Women were expected to obey their husbands who were legally entitled to beat and restrain them – divorce was expensive, limited and required an act of parliament
Why was Mary Wollstonecraft’s call for greater gender equality firmly liberal?
Just as male enlightenment thinkers had used reason to challenge traditional beliefs, so too did Wollstonecraft dismiss women’s inferiority on the grounds that it had always been asserted by men
“the divine right of husbands, like the divine right of kings, may, it is to be hoped, in this enlightened age, be contested without danger”
Wollstonecraft agreed that all national men possess natural rights, but unlike male writers, she argued that women were equally capable of reason, and therefore deserved the same rights
Wollstonecraft argued that if women are found inferior, it is only because society encourages them to develop sensibility over reason
If women are “not prepared by education to become the companion of man, she will stop the progress of knowledge, for truth must be common to all.”
Wollstonecraft argued in favour of a new national school system, In which children aged five to nine “boys and girls, the rich and poor” were all educated together, studying the same curriculum
What was the Revolution Controversy?
The Revolution Controversy – a series of pamphlets written by British writers, debating the French Revolution
How did Wollstonecraft feel about the aristocracy?
Wollstonecraft wrote “A Vindication of the Rights of Men” in response to a pamphlet written by Edmund Burke, who criticised the revolution and defended the aristocracy
She saw, in the drafting a new constitution and creation of a new political order, an opportunity for women to gain real equality
What brought the first wave of feminism to an end
The first wave of feminism is seen to coming as an end in the early 20th century, when women finally gained the vote
The Representation of the People Act (1918) – gave property owning women aged 30 and over the right to vote
The Representation of the People (equal franchise) Act (1928) – gave women electoral equality with men – all women aged over 21 could now vote
what triggered second wave feminism?
Second Wave Feminism: 1960’s – 1980’s
Liberal feminists in the US not only targeted legal inequalities and workplace discrimination, but also non-legal barriers that limited opportunities for women
(influenced by modern liberalism’s focus on positive freedom, developmental individualism, substantive equality of opportunity, and the enabling state)
What did Betty Freidan mean by “the problem with no name” and the “feminine mystique”? How was her criticism of both firmly liberal?
“the problem with no name” – a deep rooted question in the back of each suburban wife’s mind – ‘is this all?’ – is there more to just doing housework and raising children
Just as modern liberals argued that formal equality did not give the poor true freedom, Friedan argued that the middle-class women were not able to realise their potential
“The Feminine Mystique” – a fictional narrative, promoted in the media, schools, churches and mainstream culture, that women were happy and content to be housewives and mothers and unhappy when they chose to forgo family life to have a career.
In what ways did second wave liberal feminists believe that an enabling state could promote the freedom of women?
Friedan was a founding member of the National Organisation of Women (NOW)
NOW – aimed “to bring women into full participation in the mainstream of American society, NOW, assuming all the privileges and responsibilities thereof in truly equal partnership to men
National Organisation of Women – Bill of Rights 1968
Liberal feminists were criticised for being too focussed on middle-class interests – encouraging more affluent women to not abandon their career goals obviously meant less to working class and non-white women who were already juggling family responsibilities with one, or perhaps a number of low paying jobs
