1.2 Feminist branches

As I mentioned, feminism is not monolithic at all. The brief analysis of western feminism history makes it clear that feminist movement became more and more diverse through history. In this paragraph I am going to figure out and analyze major feminist groups in the world – mostly, western.

Liberal feminism is the most influential and massive feminist movement in the current world. It stems from the first branch of the second wave feminism, NOW. Currently they fight for rejection of the traditional gender roles, against pressing women in getting “traditional” female jobs (child-cares, nurses etc.), while some women wish to get involved in science, technology and other spheres, traditionally occupied by men. De jure, gender discrimination in workplace is removed, de facto there is much work to do. In fact, many employers, facing choice between male and female candidate, would rather choose the male one.¹⁵

Liberal feminist have sympathies for men, who support their activity. There are 2 major branches in current western liberal feminism: classical and welfare, Classical liberal feminists fight for free market and limited governmental activity. They also claim importance of legal political rights, freedom of religion, expression. In contrast with classical liberal feminists, welfare feminists consider government should provide education, housing for the poor classes, fight for raising axes and limited market freedom. ¹⁶

Both groups of liberal feminists are criticized by non-liberal feminists for a narrow approach to the women`s policy. According to them, liberal approach is quite utopic: even the satisfaction of fundamental human rights cannot necessarily advance all the interests and needs of women. Also, critics claim that liberal feminists are aimed at achieving goals for privileged, or at least middle-class women, but not those who are oppressed by society, traditions.¹⁷

Radical feminism, as the liberal one, stems from the second branch of the second-wave feminism. During the second wave, there were formed groups “Redstockings”, “The Feminists”, “The New York Radical Feminists”. Those groups positioned themselves as revolutionaries, not as reformers. These feminists are not interested in working for governmental agencies or joining any professional educating groups. They participated rather in demonstrations, radical movements, for instance, anti-Vietnam War movement.

One of the radical-libertarian feminists, Kate Millett claimed in her book “Sexual Politics” (1979) that women`s oppression has roots in the system of patriarchy with the sex/gender roles.¹⁸ Radical feminists also criticize liberal ones for fighting for interests of different genders. Actually, they reject variety of genders at all, claiming that both sex and gender are determined by nature, not by society.¹⁹

The big role of nature in determination of gender role is also provided by other radical feminist, Shulamith Firestone. She claimed that families are created because of mostly reproductive function of women – thus, men mostly have a wider choice of partner, than women. According to Firestone, natural reproduction (in utero) should be replaced by the artificial one (ex utero). Only in this case oppression of women in family can be removed and people will make a choice depending on personality only. Moreover, Firestone believes that the biological ability to reproduce created dichotomy between “masculinity and “feminity”.²⁰

Even more radical positioned is occupied by Marylin French, who claimed that sexism is a root for other massive forms of discrimination - racism, for instance. She was sure that men (not women) were trying to take control over nature – that how patriarchy raised as a system. French supported integration of the feminine values in the masculine, patriarchal society.²¹

Radical feminists are also critical about religion as a patriarchal institution. Mary Daly in her magnum opus “Beyond God the Father” focused on a God as a symbol of patriarchy. Abrahamic-religions` God is remote, aloof and tyrannical creature, this God is a symbol of all-Father, who has the absolute power. Using the image of the transcendent God, patriarchy provided separation of one group from another, supporting women`s oppression. As a result, traditional feminine traits can become a weapon of patriarchy: love and condolence can lead to destroying self-sacrifice. The term of sex is also in the center of debate not only between different sects of feminism, but also between the different branches of radical feminists. For instance, radical-libertarian feminists ideal sexual relationship is between equal partners, that leads to pleasure and satisfactory – and heterosexual relation does not fit in this characteristics as being repressive act. However, radical-libertarian feminists challenged theories of sexuality that separated supposedly good, normal, legitimate, healthy sexual practices from supposedly bad, abnormal, illegitimate, unhealthy sexual practices. Moreover, this branch fights against stigmatizing of the sexual minorities, as it causes separation of the privileged majority. According to radical-cultural feminists, female sexuality should be controlled in order to escape from masculine traits of the heterosexual act. In other words, radical-cultural feminists agitated for becoming lesbians.²²

One major point of radical feminism agenda is pornography. Inspired by the porno fighter Andrea Dworkin, radical-cultural feminists claim that pornography depicts masculinity, men`s power over women, objectification of women. Moreover, with the help of Dworkin and McKinnon, the FACT was created. Radical-libertarian feminists, ironically, defend pornography as an opportunity for new sexual practices – for females, of course.²³ Such a position was criticized by the radical-libertarians in general and Dworkin in particular: “Woman is not born; she is made. In the making, her humanity is destroyed. She becomes symbol of this, symbol of that: mother of the earth, slut of the universe; but she never becomes herself because it is forbidden for her to do so. No act of hers can overturn the way in which she is consistently perceived: as some sort of thing. No sense of her own purpose can supercede, finally, the male’s sense of her purpose: to be that thing that enables him to experience raw phallic power. In pornography, his sense of purpose is fully realized. She is the pinup, the centerfold, the poster, the postcard, the dirty picture, naked, half-dressed, laid out, legs spread, breasts or ass protruding. She is the thing she is supposed to be: the thing that makes him erect. In literary and cinematic pornography, she is taught to be that thing: raped, beaten, bound, used, until she recognizes her true nature and purpose and complies—happily, greedily, begging for more. She is used until she knows only that she is a thing to be used”²⁴

It is obvious that radical feminists are very skeptical about the family institution. They claim that biological motherhood as one of the patriarchal institutions should be removed. For instance, according to Ann Oakley, biological motherhood is nothing but myth and there is no such a thing as maternal instinct. She defeated her position with cohort-perspective study survey of 150 first-time mothers. She also noted that abusive mothers were abused and neglected children in the past. Motherhood is a social construction.²⁵

Radical feminists, both libertarian and cultural, criticize each other more than representatives of other feminist sects. Nevertheless, liberal feminists criticize the radical ones for excessive polarization of gender problems, for rejection of “choice” among women and skeptical approach towards the cooperation with officials.

Marxist and socialist feminism stems from ideas of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Vladimir Lenin. Radical and Liberal feminists operate with terms of the capitalist society – and this fact makes them fundamentally different from Marxist feminists, who operate with terms and realities of the socialist society.

Friedrich Engels published his The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State in 1886, in which he described his position of the place of family in general and women in particular.. Engels stated that women`s oppression stems from the development of the society, based on class system.<sup>26</sup> Engels was sure that the women`s oppression is caused by class struggles and the oppressive position of the working class.

The most interesting about socialist and Marxist feminism is, it has roots in criticism of Marxism and socialism in general. Marxist and socialist feminists claim that these concepts reduce female inequality, detracts its meaning by paying attention on the class system and economic development, without taking into a consideration psychological aspects. However, they are sure that women`s liberation will come only through the economic development and with providing socialism as economic system.

Post-colonial feminism is based on the idea on the world`s division, as it was in the time of the Cold War. Therefore, problems which are faced by the First-world women cannot be compared with the problems of the Third-world women. In the First world, mostly in the West, the main issues of the feminist agenda mostly concentrate on gender and sexuality issues.²⁷

Historically, post-colonial feminism emerged as criticism of the western feminism, both radical and liberal branches. Post-colonial feminism never operated as something separated – it is closely connected with the post-colonialism itself. Comparing with the western forms of feminism which operated against political circles, fighting with them for particular women`s rights, including creation of special commissions in order to cooperate with the governmental representatives. Postcolonial feminism can be called the force and inspiration of the post-colonial politics. In this frame feminism focuses on an ordinary woman in a particular place at the same time working on this situation in relation to the extended context in order to give women more power in the collectivity. The thing is, post-colonial feminism works in two-layered direction – liberation of women from colonial relics and liberation of women from legal and institutional discrimination.²⁸

Place of the non-western women in the academic science, in the academic feminist discourse, was investigated by one of the major post-colonial feminist scholars, Gayatri Spivak. In her article “Can subaltern speak?” analyzes the problem of post-colonial societies, calling the people of former colonies “subaltern”. She also raises question of orientalism, including the position of women in post-colonial world. Spivak investigates the opportunities for recovering of long-silenced voices of those subaltern women. According to Spivak, post-colonial feminists should take this role and represent these women, instead of the western ones. She condemns western feminists for speaking for all the women, for not taking post-colonial women into a consideration.²⁹

However, attitude of the post-colonial feminism towards white women faces criticism. Sara Suleri, professor of Yale University notices obsession of the post-colonial feminists with the white academy, with a race “as a professional attribute that can only reconfigure itself around an originary concept of whiteness”.³⁰

Black feminism as a term is often used in connection with the selected Afro - American females who share feminist ideas. For instance, Beverly Guy-Shefall claimed that both men and women can be called black feminists, giving examples of Frederick Douglass and William E. Du Bois. The scholar also figures out some main features of a black feminist. For instance, black women experienced both racial and gender oppression, their problems are far from the main issues of white feminists.³¹

Ecofeminism starts its history with the book of Rachel Carson “Silent Spring”, where she raised the question about careless attitude of the American society towards the environment. Ecofeminism is concentrated on the consumer attitude of humans towards nature, that actually produced them. Ecofeminists compare this with the male attitude towards women. As humanity is ready to sacrifice environment in order to serve its desires and demands – men behave towards women completely the same way. The difference is that women can fight – nature not. Ecofeminists with radical-libertarian background fight for strengthening of connections between women and nature, rather than weakening. For instance. Mary Daly believed that there is no problem in deep connection of women with nature – but in underestimating of this fact by men. Inferiority of women and nature supports superiority of men and humanity. Ecofeminists also claim that female virtues are less violent than male one – and thus female virtues can make social relations less aggressive and more sustainable. ³²

Intersectional feminism can be called a part of intersectional theory in general. It is connected with overriding all forms of discrimination, including gender, racist, class and sexuality. Intersectional scholars claim that any problem connected with feminism should not be investigated with only one single axis, especially in the identification. Intersectional feminism is strongly connected with black feminism.