Criticisms of Feminism Flashcards
Under-representation is not universal in politics
> Iceland for example has a gender balanced cabinet, as does Canada.
Women hold key power positions across the world too; in fact across the UK 3 out of 4 executives are led by women.
Theresa May is the Prime Minister, Nicola Sturgeon the Scottish FM, Arlene Foster and Michelle O’Neill the (technically) FM and dFM of Northern Ireland.
Women have equal access to power; they voluntarily make the decision to keep out of politics.
Patriarchy is not universal
> Exists several societies across the world where the inverse is true, such as:
-The Mosuo ethnicity in China of around 40,000 people -The Bribri, a group of 13,000 people living on a reserve in Costa Rica.
Third Wave Feminism
> Feminism has now moved to its 3rd Wave, however it is not exactly clear exactly what this wave is trying to achieve.
In Feminist terms, Third Wave engages in “intersectionality”, whereby it allies itself with other movements such as LGBTQ+, Fat Acceptance, disability etc. claiming that they cannot be examined without each other.
However without a lack of defining aims or goals within 3rd Wave Feminism except for the ambiguous “Smash the Patriarchy” this alliance can be seen more as co-opting of their aims; a quiet admission that sexism is no longer as rampant a division within society.
Wrong focus (generally)
> It is undeniable that Patriarchy exists, but only regionally.
The Western World has pretty much achieved gender equality while the developing world is nowhere near. >Why is the focus of Feminism largely in the West where it is not needed? This could be considered part of the “victim narrative” that some 3rd Wave Feminists attributed to Feminism.
Women achieved equal legal rights
> Once women organised into pressure groups and pressed for equal franchise, the state reacted as an “honest broker” and legalised it.
For example the Suffragists and Suffragettes in the UK during the early 20th Century pushed for equal franchise and achieved it fully by 1928.
In the USA the NWP and NAWSA fought for equal franchise, achieving it by 1920.
Power is concentrated, but not in Patriarchy
> Everyone who is not a member of the elite is exploited for the elite’s own position regardless of gender.
This being said women do exist within the elite, holding extremely powerful positions. Christine Lagarde is Managing Director of the IMF, Angela Merkel the Chancellor of Germany (a position with considerable influence in the EU), Theresa May the British PM.
> All of the above share traits with the elite identifiable in their respective countries; May and Lagarde an elite educational background, and Merkel a member of the EU bureaucrat elite that some believes exists.
Wrong Focus (according to Marxists)
> Women are oppressed, but by the Capitalist system.
Gramsci’s Cultural Hegemony includes the family unit which is a tool used to suppress women by granting them the division of labour under “family care”.
> By removing the system women can join the workforce equally and help establish the Marxist utopia.
> Engels discusses this at length in his book “The Origin” published in 1884.
> However Feminism has the wrong focus on the Patriarchy; this only helps perpetuate false consciousness.
