14 Feminism

Feminists argue that men have oppressed women throughout history and this must
stop. As a set of political ideas there have been four waves since 1790:
l First-wave feminism (1790s to 1950s): liberal feminism
l Second-wave feminism (1960s to 1980s): liberal feminism; radical feminism;
socialist feminism
l Third-wave feminism (1990s to early 2000s): emergence of postmodern feminism
and transfeminism
l Fourth-wave feminism (early 2000s to date): further development to postmodern
feminism; liberal feminism; radical feminism; transfeminism; intersectional
feminism

Core ideas and principles

Sex and gender
Feminism differentiates between sex and gender.

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 Sex
Key terms Sex refers to biological differences between men and women. Humans are assigned
Difference feminism their sex at birth: male or female. Biological differences have observable physical
Perceives women as attributes such as external and internal anatomy, chromosomes and hormone
biologically and culturally prevalence. Within feminism there are two main debates concerning sex:
different from men.
l difference feminism vs equality feminism
Difference feminists argue
l transfeminism vs transfeminist sceptics.
that these differences
need to be recognised and
Difference feminism vs equality feminism
celebrated and that women
Difference feminists argue that the biological differences between women and
need to value their distinct
men are important and they believe in essentialism. Carol Gilligan, a prominent
gender characteristics.
difference feminist, argued that biological differences affect the way men and
Equality feminism Argues women think: there are specific male and female characteristics and each sex has
for an elimination of a specific ‘nature’. However, most feminists are equality feminists, arguing that
cultural differences in women’s ‘nature’ is socially constructed — determined by society, not biology.
the pursuit of absolute
equality. Liberal, radical, Transfeminism vs sceptics
socialist and postmodern ‘Transgender’ refers to people whose gender identity differs from the biological
feminists all have different sex that they were classified with at birth. Until the 1990s there was very little
visions of how this will be academic debate within feminism (or anywhere else) about sex, as biological
achieved in practice. differences seemed to be scientifically undeniable. However, since the turn of the
Essentialism The belief century, this has changed with the rise of transgenderism and the development of
that biological differences transfeminism. Transfeminism argues that sex is socially constructed. However, this
between men and women is a minority viewpoint within global society, and trans people face demonisation
lead to distinct differences and discrimination, with significantly adverse effects on their mental health.
in their fundamental Prominent, radical second-wave feminist Germaine Greer has explicitly stated
natures. The fundamental that transgender women are ‘not women’, while feminist writer Sheila Jeffreys
natures of men and women has asserted that feminism should only be for ‘womyn-born-womyn’. In 2021,
are therefore ‘natural’ rather Professor Kathleen Stock of the University of Sussex resigned after protest when
than socially constructed. she published a book questioning transfeminism’s argument that sex is socially
constructed.
Transgender weightlifter
Laurel Hubbard celebrates at
the Tokyo Olympics

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 In focus
Save Women’s Sports Act
In May 2022, South Carolina’s Governor Henry McMaster signed the Save Women’s Sports Act Key terms
banning transgendered students from girls’ or women’s sport in South Carolina’s public schools Gender stereotype The
and colleges. The law requires school sports teams to be designated based on athletes’ sex argument that men’s
assigned at birth. and women’s roles are
McMaster commented, ‘I think the girls ought to play girls and the boys ought to play boys. predetermined by society
That’s the way we’ve always done it.’ Asked if he meant biological boys, he responded, ‘Are so that they are socialised
there any other kind?’ to behave in a certain way.
Otherness Women are
Supporters of the ban have argued that transgender females have an unfair biological
treated as an inferior
advantage by being biologically born male. They argue that transgender athletes would
minority who are
dominate female school sport. Opponents argue that the Act is an example of how trans
subordinate to men in a
people are demonised, and singles out transgender students who are not elite athletes and
patriarchal society.
just want to enjoy friendly competition.
Androgyny The possession
South Carolina joins other conservative states requiring transgender students to compete with of male and female
the gender listed on their birth certificate. Governors in Oklahoma and Arizona signed similar characteristics to imply
laws at the end of March 2022. Idaho was the first state to pass such legislation, in 2020. that humans are sexless
‘persons’ and the
differences between men
Knowledge check and women are so minimal
1 Define equality feminism. that they should have no
2 Define difference feminism. impact on their role in
3 Define essentialism. society or economy.

Gender
Gender is used to explain the ‘gender roles’ of men
and women. The majority of feminists argue that
gender roles are socially constructed and form gender
stereotypes. Simone de Beauvoir (1908–86) argued
that the biological differences between men and women
had been used by a male-dominated state and society
as a justification for predetermining the gender roles of
women. Men, de Beauvoir asserted, had successfully
characterised themselves as the norm whereas women
were the other, and this ‘otherness’ left women
subordinate to men in society. ‘Otherness’ is imposed
on women by men. De Beauvoir made this distinction
clear when she argued that men’s domination meant
that they were the ‘first sex’ while women were the
‘second sex’. De Beauvoir famously claimed, ‘One is
not born, but rather becomes a women’ as gender is
socially constructed by society. Equality feminists argue
that human nature is androgenous and that feminism
should aspire to genderless personhood.
Equality feminists argue that human nature is androgenous
and that feminism should aspire to genderless personhood

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 Key thinker

Simone de Beauvoir (1908–86)

Drawing on her unhappy childhood experiences,
de Beauvoir offered a powerful critique of sex and
gender in The Second Sex (1949). De Beauvoir
used existentialism to pose the question, ‘What
is a woman?’ Existentialism argues that humans
have no natural essence and de Beauvoir argued
that men thus have created a feminine myth
through which to oppress women. De Beauvoir
viewed oppression through a synthesis of
biological, psychological and socialist analysis.
Her main ideas were as follows.

Sex and gender

l De Beauvoir argued that femininity was an artificial societal construct.
l De Beauvoir was in some ways as much a humanist as she was a feminist. ‘The fact that
we are human beings is infinitely more important than all the peculiarities that distinguish
human beings from one another.’

Otherness
l ‘Otherness’ is imposed on women by men. Male domination meant that men were the ‘first
sex’, while women were the ‘second sex’.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860–1935) argued that gender roles are socially
constructed from a young age, subordinating women to the will of men. Women
are socialised into thinking themselves naturally frail and weaker than men. Kate
Millett (1934–2017) and bell hooks (1952–2021) both perceived social construction
as beginning in childhood within the family unit, meaning gender roles are neither
natural nor inevitable (Table 14.1).

First-wave feminism
First-wave feminism extended classical liberalism’s ideas about human nature and
freedom of the individual to explicitly include women. The two key texts at the
heart of first-wave liberal feminism are Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the
Rights of Woman (1792) and Harriet Taylor Mill’s Enfranchisement of Women (1851).
Wollstonecraft argued that women were just as rational as men and should receive
the same educational opportunities. Taylor Mill argued that women should have the
same voting rights as men and participate in the making of law.
Table 14.1 Examples of traditional gender stereotypes
Feminine Masculine
Passive Aggressive
Gentle Tough
Sensitive Insensitive
Emotional Logical
Tactful Blunt
Submissive Dominant

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 Charlotte Perkins Gilman argued that women should have equal opportunities in
the workplace and introduced the idea of economic independence for women.

Knowledge check
4 What are gender stereotypes?
5 What did Simone de Beauvoir define ‘otherness’ as being?
6 Define androgyny.

Second-wave feminism
The key texts of second-wave feminism are Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique
(1963), Kate Millett’s Sexual Politics (1970), Germaine Greer’s The Female Eunuch
(1970) and Sheila Rowbotham’s Woman’s Consciousness, Man’s World (1973).
Second-wave feminism was united by one idea: that women were being oppressed
by men, a concept that became known as patriarchy. However, second-wave
feminists had divergent solutions for this problem:
l Liberal feminists, inf luenced by Friedan and first-wave feminism, argued for the
state to reform society and economy, allowing women equality within the public
sphere.
l Radical feminists, inf luenced by Millett and Greer, saw the state as part of the
problem and wanted radical changes to the public and private spheres of society.
l Socialist feminists, influenced in part by the ideas of Marx/Engels and Rowbotham,
argued that only under a socialist feminist revolution could the inequalities of
capitalism and female oppression be solved.

Patriarchy
Patriarchy is derived from the Greek patriarches, meaning ‘head
Private sphere: patriarchal family
of the tribe’. Feminism uses the term to describe a social system
supporting male domination and female subordination. Most The father/husband dominates wife and children. This
feminists engage with the concept of patriarchy, but Kate is the socialisation process for men/boys and women
and girls that socially constructs gender roles
Millett is credited with the first analysis of the concept and
with popularising it within radical feminism. She argued that it
means the ‘rule of men’ in both the private and public spheres
of society (Figure 14.1).
Public sphere: society and economy
l Liberal feminists argue that discrimination (rather than
patriarchy) within society and economy can be reformed Male dominance over women is reinforced in all aspects
by the state, and in Western society there are numerous of society: education, literature, culture, politics,
workplace and public life
examples: female emancipation, access to education,
workplace equality, legalisation of abortion, changes in Figure 14.1 Private and public spheres of society
marriage and divorce laws.
l Radical feminists focus on patriarchy in both the public and private spheres
and believe that patriarchy is too pervasive to be reformed. Instead, there must
be a revolutionary change, but revolutionary feminists have different suggestions
for what that change might be. (For a further discussion of radical feminism’s
analysis of patriarchy, see pages 404–05.)
l Socialist feminists believe that female consciousness is created by men as part of
the capitalist machine. Sheila Rowbotham concluded that women have always
been oppressed and that a revolution was needed to destroy both capitalism and
patriarchy.

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 Women are often underpaid
when they are in the same
role as men

Third-wave feminism
Third-wave feminism expanded on the work of Millett. Sylvia Walby identified six
Key term overlapping patriarchal structures that promote discrimination (Table 14.2).
Discrimination Treating a
group or an individual less Postmodern feminism/fourth-wave feminism
favourably than another bell hooks argued that feminist discussions have primarily been from a white
group or individual. middle-class perspective and that women of different ethnicities and socioeconomic
Feminists argue that classes were neglected by mainstream feminism.
women are treated less
favourably than men. Table 14.2 Walby’s overlapping patriarchal structures
The state Under-represents women in power
Household Society conditions women to believe that their natural role is as mothers/
homemakers
Violence One in four women in the UK will suffer domestic violence from men
Paid work Women are often underpaid when they are in the same roles as men.
Women-centric careers also tend to be linked to gender stereotypes of
nurturing, such as nursing or teaching
Sexuality Women are made to feel that their sexual feelings are abnormal, wrong or
deviant
Culture Society reinforces roles of women, from woman being the primary carer to
objectifying how women should look

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 Debate

To what extent do feminists agree over the concept of

patriarchy?
Evaluation: Which group of feminists have the most complicated view of patriarchy?

Agree Disagree

• Most feminists agree that women • Liberal feminists tend to discuss

are discriminated against in the discrimination rather than patriarchy and
public sphere of society focus on the public sphere of society.
• Gilman and de Beauvoir were Radical feminism conceptualised patriarchy
among the first to identify gender and argues that it must be challenged in
stereotyping, and feminists such both the public and private spheres of
as Friedan and Millett explicitly society
defined discrimination as a cultural • Liberal feminists believe state, society
and not a biological phenomenon and economy can be reformed of
• There is agreement among equality discriminatory tendencies, while radical
feminists that patriarchy is not a feminists often argue that there must be
static concept a revolutionary change in both the public Key terms
• The majority of equality feminists and private spheres of society (although
there is no consensus on what this Public sphere The visible
agree that patriarchy must be
change should be) area of society where
opposed in the public sphere of
society • Post-feminists (see page 406) argued relationships are public,
that most feminist goals have been such as the workplace and
achieved, that discrimination does not within civic life.
exist and that patriarchy is an inaccurate
conceptualisation of male and female Private sphere The area of
relations society where relationships
• Postmodern feminists (see page 406) argue are seen as private. These
that patriarchy is far more complicated than relationships are less
radical or socialist feminists have imagined visible and centred on the
because of intersectionality
home and domestic life.

The personal is political

Liberal feminists focus on the public sphere of society
(such as equal pay and conditions in the workplace),
arguing that the private life of women is outside the remit
of political analysis. Radical feminists refute this, arguing
that ‘the personal is political’ as patriarchy is prevalent in
the private sphere of family life.
Gilman berated the misery of women’s private lives
and the exploitative nature of domestic roles. Societal
pressure forced young girls to conform to motherhood,
with gender-specific clothes and toys; Gilman argued
for gender-neutral garments and playthings.
Rowbotham argued that marriage was like feudalism,
with women akin to serfs paying feudal dues to their Equality feminists argue that gender stereotyping starts in
husband. De Beauvoir championed contraception infancy
as it allowed women control of their bodies and the
chance to avoid endless childbearing. Millett believed

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 ‘family’ was a social construct and not a natural arrangement. Millett’s main points
were as follows:
l Patriarchy granted men ownership over their wife and children, entrenching
sexism with the idea of male superiority.
l The family socialised the young into recognising masculine authority and female
marginalisation within society.
l Marriage saw women lose their identity by taking their husband’s surname.
l Radical feminists opened private life to public scrutiny.

Knowledge check
7 What is meant by ‘the personal is political’?
8 According to Sylvia Walby, what are the six patriarchal structures that promote
discrimination?
9 Give three examples of gender stereotypes.

Key thinker

Kate Millett (1934–2017)

l Kate Millett was an American academic and her most famous work, Sexual Politics (1970),
is regarded as the first systematic analysis of patriarchy. Perhaps the most influential
radical feminist, she challenged liberal feminism by arguing that ‘the personal is political’.
Her main ideas were as follows.

Family
l Millett saw the family unit as the foundation of patriarchal thought, as children were
socialised into gender roles that they grew up perceiving as normal. Marriage also saw
women lose their identity by taking their husband’s surname. Underpinning Millett’s
proposed solutions to patriarchy was the dismantling of the family unit for communal living
and childrearing.
l Patriarchy reinforced heterosexualism as superior to bisexual or same-sex relationships.

The portrayal of women in art and literature

Key term l Women’s gender roles were stereotyped in art and literature. Millett’s analysis included a
Misogyny A dislike of and feminist deconstruction of the work of influential male writers D.H. Lawrence, Henry Miller
contempt for women. and Norman Mailer, whom she branded sexist, misogynistic and phallocentric.

Equality feminism and difference feminism

Feminism is a splintered ideology, with its different branches disagreeing on the
exact nature of patriarchy and how women should best achieve equality with men
in the state, society and economy. However, most aspects of feminism can be housed
in either equality feminism or difference feminism.

Equality feminism
The majority of feminists, be they liberal, radical, social or postmodern, are equality
feminists, who believe that biological differences are inconsequential and that
gender differences are socially constructed, thus holding that there are no specific
feminine traits. De Beauvoir dismissed the idea of innate female characteristics and

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 argued that women had been dominated in part because of their bodies, ‘her ovaries
condemn her to live for ever on her knees’. De Beauvoir argued that contraceptives,
abortion, rejection of the family and monogamy would allow women to compete
with men in society.

Difference feminism
A minority of feminists, difference feminists, believe in essentialism, whereby
biological differences are consequential and do determine gender differences.
l Difference feminism can be traced back to first-wave feminists who, while believing
that women were men’s intellectual equals, also believed in gender-specific
characteristics. Gilman is the only one of the key thinkers who thought that there
were innate female qualities, while also believing in the societal conditioning of
women of gender roles.
l In the 1980s, difference feminism emerged as a rebuttal to equality feminism.
Carol Gilligan, a prominent difference feminist, stated that sex was one of the
most important determinants of human behaviour, positing that women are
naturally more nurturing, caring and communal than men. Gilligan argued that
equality feminism misunderstands these differences, leading to women attempting
to replicate male behaviour while neglecting their own feminine nature.
l Gilligan argues that there has been an assumption that there is ‘a single mode of
social experience and interpretation’, when in fact men and women experience
and interpret the world in different ways and speak with distinct voices.

In focus Key term

Cultural feminism is a more extreme version of Cultural feminism
difference feminism and challenges the dominance A radical version of
of men in society, asserting that women’s values are difference feminism,
superior and should be promoted. Cultural feminists seeking to challenge the
believe in a distinct ‘female essence’, which is caring dominance of male culture
and nurturing as opposed to the aggressiveness and by promoting female
competitiveness of masculinity. A small number of values.
cultural feminists, particularly eco-feminists, have
advocated replacing patriarchy with matriarchy on the
grounds that societies run on feminine values would
function better. For example, eco-feminist Vandana
Shiva has argued that women have a greater connection
to nature than men do and are better qualified to
protect the environment. Critics argue that this is
inverted sexism and if patriarchy cannot be defended,
neither can matriarchy. Eco-feminist Vandana Shiva

Knowledge check
10 What is meant by equality feminism?
11 What is meant by difference feminism?
12 What is meant by cultural feminism?

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 Intersectionality
bell hooks criticised second-wave feminists for conceptualising feminism from a
white middle-class perspective and college-educated background, arguing that
both liberal and radical feminists largely excluded the concerns of minority
groups such as women of colour. hooks demonstrated the hitherto unexamined
complexity of patriarchy facing black women. Black American men wanted
racial equality but also to assume their ‘proper place as patriarch in the home’.
hooks argued:
‘individual black feminists despaired as we witnessed the appropriation of feminist
ideology by elitist, racist, white women … organised and controlled by white women
… black feminists found that sisterhood for most white women did not mean
surrendering allegiance to race, class and sexual preference.’
hooks’ ideas inspired Kimberlé Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality, which
Key term
challenged the notion that gender is the most important factor in understanding
Intersectionality Women women’s lives.
have multiple, overlapping
identities as well as
gender, including race,
In focus
class, age, sexuality and Crenshaw cites the DeGraffenreid v General Motors case as a figurative example. In 1976, five
religion. Generalising about black employees sued General Motors for wrongful dismissal based on discrimination. The
the female experiences district court viewed discrimination through the distinct lens of race and gender and dismissed
of patriarchy is pointless the case because General Motors continued to employ black men and white women. It failed
when middle-class women to recognise the overlapping identities that had resulted in black women being discriminated
will have a very different against.
experience from black
working-class women and Individuals can be oppressed on multiple overlapping areas, such as their gender,
other ‘types’ of women. class, race, sexuality, disability or transsexuality (Figure 14.2). Multiple identities of
women meant that the singular notion of ‘sisterhood’ gives way to a more communal
concept of ‘solidarity’ according to hooks.
Figure 14.2 Intersectionality:
women have multiple, mental
health
overlapping identities as well ability sexual location
education
as gender orientation
marital status
gender
expression
race personality
language political affiliation
class
physical health culture

age
occupation nationality
hobbies
gender
identity
religion appearance ethnicity fertility

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 bell hooks argued that
liberal and radical feminists
largely excluded the
concerns of minority groups

Key thinker

bell hooks (1952–2021)

hooks believed that society is full of complex relationships between different minorities. Her
key work is Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism (1981).

hooks’ main ideas

l Women of colour: hooks broadened the feminist debate as she felt it was too focused on
middle- and upper-class, college-educated white women. She focused on women of colour
and all social classes.
l Intersectionality: hooks’ ideas greatly influenced the idea of intersectionality — a term
coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw — which challenged the feminist assumption that gender was
the most important factor in determining a woman’s life experiences.

Stretch and challenge

The ideas of bell hooks and Kimberlé Crenshaw have highlighted the great diversity of women
across cultures and the idea of intersectionality.
‘Once you do away with the idea of people as fixed static entities, then you see that
people can change and there is hope.’
bell hooks

‘No other group in America has so had their identity socialised out of existence as have
black women … when black people are talked about, the focus tends to be on black men;
and when women are talked about, the focus tends to be on white women.’
bell hooks

‘Sexism isn’t a one-size-fits-all phenomenon. It doesn’t happen to black and white

women in the same way.’
Kimberlé Crenshaw

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 ‘Cultural patterns of oppression are not only interrelated but are bound together and
influenced by intersectional systems of society. Examples of this include race, gender,
class, ability and ethnicity.’
Kimberlé Crenshaw

‘Some of the worst racist tragedies in history have been perfectly legal.’
Kimberlé Crenshaw

With reference to these quotes, explain how the idea of intersectionality has expanded the
feminist debate.

Different types of feminism

Liberal feminism
Liberal feminism is reformist and argues that, via democratic pressure, gender
Key terms stereotypes can be eliminated. Unlike radical feminists and socialist feminists,
Reformist Believing liberal feminists do not believe that there needs to be a revolutionary change in the
that society can be way state, society and economy are organised. Liberal feminists focus on the public
reformed. In a feminist sphere (society) rather than on the private sphere (family).
context this means that
Liberal feminists are inf luenced by the liberal values of individualism, foundational
negative consequences
equality and equality of opportunity (see Chapter 9). First-wave feminists like
of oppression can, by
Mary Wollstonecraft, in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, argued for political
legislation, gradually alter
equality and that women should have the vote. The assumption was that political
until equality is achieved.
emancipation would lead to gender equality and legal equality, particularly in
Equality of opportunity relation to the economic sphere of property ownership.
Everyone, regardless of
their gender, should have Betty Friedan’s ground-breaking book The Feminine Mystique (1963) kick-started
the same life chances second-wave feminism. It highlighted the dissatisfaction experienced by many
within society. women living domestic lives as wives and mothers: ‘Is this all?’
Political equality Women Like De Beauvoir, Friedan emphasised the concept of otherness and that women
should have the same should be free to choose the roles they took, be it the working world dominated
rights as men to vote and by men, traditional domestic roles or a combination of the two. Liberal feminists
to hold political office. campaigned for:
Gender equality Men and l an end to discrimination and inequality in the workplace and a belief in gender
women should be treated equality
the same within society. l an end to outdated cultural attitudes via education and an opposition to sexist
It refers to full cultural language
equality, which outlaws the l changes in the law to facilitate legal equality in all public spheres of society.
idea that men are superior
to women. Knowledge check
Legal equality Everyone 13 Define intersectionality.
should be treated the 14 What are some of the overlapping identities women have?
same in the eyes of the 15 What did liberal feminists want to achieve?
law. For feminists this
means women should have
exactly the same lawful Socialist feminism
rights as men. Socialist feminists argue that economics leads to gender inequality and that capitalism
causes patriarchy. However, socialist feminism cannot be described as coherent

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 as there are different branches, revolutionary and reform, and each has differing
solutions and disagreements.

Reformist socialist feminism

Gilman thought of herself as a humanist and was not a socialist feminist; however,
some of her ideas, such as collectivism and cooperation being female qualities, were
later co-opted by socialist feminism. Gilman believed that capitalism’s exploitative
qualities reinforced patriarchy and that socialism would gradually succeed, allowing
women and men to coexist in egalitarian society and economy.

Key thinker

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

(1860–1935)
Gilman’s ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ (a short story) was
influenced by her postnatal depression and unhappy
marriage. Gilman thought of herself as a humanist,
but her ideas were influential to the radical and
socialist feminism of the twentieth century and she
anticipated ‘the personal is political’ decades before
it was formally conceptualised.

Gilman’s main ideas

l Sex and domestic politics: For Gilman, sex
and the capitalist economy were interlinked.
Women were reliant on their sexual assets to
gratify their husbands, who in turn would support
them financially. Gilman viewed marriage as
comparable with prostitution, ‘the transient trade
we think evil. The bargain for life we think good’.
l Societal pressures: Gender roles are socially constructed from a young age, and Gilman
argued that children should play with gender-neutral toys. She wished to reverse this false
consciousness so women would no longer see themselves as naturally frailer and weaker
than men.
l Proposed solutions: Gilman sought economic independence for women and advocated
centralised nurseries and co-operative kitchens to give women freedom and autonomy.

Revolutionary socialist feminism

Friedrich Engels was the first to argue that economics caused gender inequality
and capitalism created patriarchy. Engels argued that capitalism altered pre-existing
societal structures, which meant that women were needed as unpaid helpers to
enable male workers to be employed in the workplace. He claimed that women
were complicit both in reproducing the workforce and in socialising their children Key term
in the continuing cycle of capitalistic oppression. Women were also a reserve army Reserve army of labour
of labour, to be cast off when they were no longer needed. The idea that women
Rowbotham’s book Hidden from History (1973) expands on Engels’ theories: constitute a spare
workforce that can be
l Working-class women found employment in factories where they were paid less called on as and when
than men, had no childcare provision and were worked ‘like cattle’ both at home needed.
and in the workplace.

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 l Rowbotham argued that men do not fully understand the nature of oppression
of women: ‘Men will often admit other women are oppressed but not you.’
l Rowbotham adapted Marxist historical materialism, arguing that women had
always been oppressed and that their alienation from capitalism and patriarchy
meant that there needed to be a ‘revolution within a revolution’ to destroy
capitalism and patriarchy.
De Beauvoir argued that the consumptive materialism (the idea that society has
become addicted to purchasing consumer goods) inherent within capitalism had
weakened women’s position within society. Juliet Mitchell has argued that even the
destruction of capitalism may not be enough to end patriarchy. She argues that there
are four social functions that women must liberate themselves from and reframe:
1 Their role in the workforce and production
2 Their childbearing role
3 Their socialisation of children
4 Their societal position as sex objects
Mitchell therefore adds a cultural dynamic to complement the economics arguments
of socialist feminism.

Key thinker

Sheila Rowbotham (1943–)

Rowbotham is an academic feminist who wrote the
influential book Woman’s Consciousness, Man’s World
(1973).

Rowbotham’s main ideas

l Capitalism: Rowbotham was influenced by Marx
and Engels, who inform her socialist feminism.
Capitalism worsened the oppression of women,
forcing them to sell their labour to survive in the
workplace and to cede their labour in the family
home.
l Family: Rowbotham stresses that the family
performs a duel function: to subject and discipline
women to the demands of capitalism and to offer
a place of refuge for men from the alienation of
capitalism.

Radical feminism
Liberal feminism began the second wave of feminism and was quickly joined
by radical feminism, the ideas of which rebutted liberal thinking. While liberal
feminists’ focus was on the public sphere, radical feminists argue that both public
and private spheres must be addressed, as ‘the personal is the political’, which was
first conceptualised by Carol Hinsch.
Kate Millett’s Sexual Politics (1970) took a psychoanalytical approach to feminism.
Millett was critical of romantic love and monogamous marriage (as aspects of
patriarchy) and argued that children were socialised via the family unit and that

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 Public man
Private woman
Dominates in politics,
In charge of domestic matters: the
education, arts,
family, child-rearing, caring and
literature and the
supporting
workplace
Figure 14.3 The public man/
private woman paradigm

these norms of behaviour were reinforced by religion, education, myths, art and
literature. Millett’s solution to ending this false consciousness was to abolish the
nuclear family and replace it with communal living and childrearing.
Radical feminism argues that patriarchy’s social construction creates a society where
men dominate the public sphere of society whereas women play a supportive role in
the home, creating the public man/private woman paradigm (Figure 14.3).
Radical feminists have all focused on different aspects of patriarchy and sexism,
advocating different solutions that would be revolutionary in how they would
change society (Figure 14.4).
Figure 14.4 Radical feminists
have a variety of focuses and
solutions for patriarchy
Kate Millett
Shulamith Firestone Focuses on patriarchy in
Had a revolutionary culture, specifically on family
vision of an androgenous art and literature. Millett argued
society that would minimise for a change in social consciousness,
physical gender distinctions. Also a revolution in the head, whereby
regarded childbirth as barbaric and patriarchy would be eliminated
advocated artificial insemination, from people’s minds so
arguing that when technology that there was gender equality
advanced, men be implanted in the home, the workplace
with wombs and and within culture.
bear children.

Germaine Greer
Advocated the Charlotte Bunch
abandonment of traditional Advocated lesbian separatism,
marriage because of the male arguing that women
domination this entails, favouring should reject heterosexuality to
communal living and childbearing effect a complete separation
to negate the effects of patriarchy. from patriarchal society
and its institutions.
Andrea Dworkin
Focused on the patriarchal
nature of pornography and was
very negative on heterosexual
relationships because of the
exploitative nature of patriarchy.
‘Under patriarchy, every woman’s
son is her potential betrayer and
also the inevitable rapist or
exploiter of another
woman.’

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 Knowledge check
16 How did Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s ideas influence socialist feminism?
17 How did Sheila Rowbotham expand upon Engel’s socialist theories?
18 Does radical feminism have a single solution to patriarchy (give examples to illustrate your
answer)?

Post-feminism
Post-feminists writing in the late 1980s and early 1990s argued that most feminist
goals have been achieved and that women should move on. Writers such as Camille
Paglia criticised feminism for portraying women as ‘victims’ and argued that women
needed to take responsibility for their own life and sexual conduct.
Post-feminism has been roundly criticised for examining feminism solely through
a white, middle-class framework that ignores the complexity of female experience
that postmodern feminism explores.

Postmodern feminism
Postmodern feminism (sometimes called fourth-wave feminism) rejects as simplistic
the broad generalisations of earlier feminist traditions. There are numerous interacting
factors in addition to gender. Kira Cochrane argues that intersectionality ‘seems
to be emerging as the defining framework’ of fourth-wave feminism. Patriarchy
continues to adapt and find new ways to oppress women. Jennifer Baumgardner and
Amy Richards argued in their Manifesta (2000) that successive generations will need
to establish what feminism means to them. Figure 14.5 gives just some of the themes
of postmodern feminism.

Rape and sexual

Black feminism Cyber-patriarchy Gender mutilation Honour killings Transfeminism
assault
Influenced by bell Kira Cochrane argues Nimko Ali set up Honour killings are One Billion Rising This argues that
hooks, it argues that that technology the Daughters of Eve intersectional in at is a campaign against individuals should be
intersectionality reinforces patriarchy. in 2012 to prevent least three aspects: violence against allowed to legally
means women of Natasha Walker gender mutilation. gender, race and women. Soma Sara, change their sexual
colour face distinct argues that modern Gender mutilation culture founder of Everyone’s gender
discrimination women and teenage
because of their is intersectional in Invited, has argued
gender, race and girls now face at least four aspects: that rape culture is
social background. hyper-sexualisation gender, race, prevalent in
Work in this sphere from the internet religion and culture UK schools and has
of feminism has been and social media campaigned for
diverse, ranging from students to be
criticising the explicitly re-educated
misogyny of rap
music to oppression on issues such as
of women in the consent
recent Black Lives
Matter movement

Figure 14.5 Some themes of postmodern feminism

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 Debate

To what extent do feminists agree and disagree on human nature?

Evaluation: Why do equality and difference feminists have such different views on human nature?

Agree Disagree
All equality feminists would agree Difference feminists disagree
that the understanding of sex with equality feminists in their
and gender is crucial if one is to understanding of human nature, as
understand human nature they believe in essentialism. Women
should embrace and not reject their
natural femininity
Equality feminists argue that Difference and cultural feminism is a
human nature is androgynous, and more extreme version that challenges
that gender is a cultural and not a the dominance of male values in
biological construct. ‘Masculinity’ and society and argues that ‘women’s
‘femininity’ should not be considered values’ should be promoted as they are
as natural but are artificially created superior
Liberal, radical, socialist and Transfeminism argues that sex (and not
postmodern feminists are all equality just gender) is socially constructed. Liberal
feminists, believing that biological feminists, radical feminists, socialist
differences are inconsequential and feminists and difference feminists argue
women are just as rational as men that sex is a biological fact
Most feminists agree with de Postmodern feminists are influenced Kimberlé Crenshaw is famous for
Beauvoir and Millett that these by the ideas of bell hooks, Kimberlé conceptualising intersectionality
gender roles are imposed upon Crenshaw and intersectionality.
women, socialising them to believe Postmodern feminism’s analysis of
that gender roles are natural human nature is therefore far more
complex and varied than the more
generalised analysis of the other
branches of feminism

Debate

To what extent do feminists agree and disagree about the role of the state?
Evaluation: Which strand of feminism argues for the most proactive role for the state in society?

Agree Disagree
Feminism lacks a distinctive theory of the state but there Radical feminists are more critical of the state than liberal
is general agreement that historically the state has been feminists and many see the state as promoting and
complicit in making women subordinate to men sustaining patriarchy. Liberal feminists argue that the state
should only intervene in the public sphere of society while
radical feminists argue that the state must also intervene in
the private sphere of society
Feminists can broadly agree that the state can be There is no consensus within feminism about the role
restructured to enhance the position of women within of the state intervening in personal issues. Different
society and economy branches of radical and socialist feminism focus on
different aspects of women’s personal lives in which the
state should intervene

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 Agree Disagree
The majority of feminists agree with liberal feminists that Socialist feminists like Sheila Rowbotham argue that the
the state should be a conduit for reform and tackling state must be abolished so that women can be free from
patriarchy in the public area of society and economy. In the both capitalist and patriarchal oppression
UK and the USA, for example, the state has intervened in
a number of ways over the last 150 years to grant formal
equality to women and improve their position in society and
the economy
Postmodern feminists argue that there is a complexity
to state oppression that other branches of feminism
miss because of their tendency to view gender as
the only variable for female identity. Generalising
about the female experience of patriarchy is therefore
pointless. Postmodern feminists tend to focus on state
involvement in specific areas of patriarchy within both
the public and private spheres of society

Debate

To what extent do feminists agree and disagree on society?

Evaluation: Why do feminists not have one unified vision for society?

Agree Disagree
All feminists agree that women face Liberal feminists argue that there is discrimination within the
discrimination in society and that this is an public sphere of society. However, radical feminists go further,
historical problem arguing that patriarchy is pervasive and is present in every facet
of society: politics, religion, culture, education and media and the
private sphere of women’s lives
While other branches of feminists might not Feminists have different views on patriarchy within society:
always agree on the exact definition of patriarchy, • Liberal feminists prefer the term discrimination rather than
they would broadly agree with bell hooks’ patriarchy and argue that society can be reformed via the state
assessment that eliminating patriarchy would
remove ‘the single most life-threatening social
• Radical feminists agree on Millett’s definition but have numerous
solutions for how a patriarchal society can be eliminated
disease’ that blights society
• Socialist feminists, such as Rowbotham, argue that society
is economically determined by male capitalism and that a
revolution is needed in order to change the status of workers
and women
Societal attitudes have seen women play a Postmodern feminists argue that it is simplistic to view the
subordinate and supporting role to men in society problems women face in society by looking only at gender.
to the extent that women see these gender roles Intersectionality argues that gender interacts with multiple other
as natural, as de Beauvoir has argued factors such as race, class and age to disadvantage women in
myriad different ways
Equality and advancement within society have Post-feminists such as Camille Paglia argued that most feminist
been difficult for women because of the innate, goals have been achieved and patriarchy has largely been
institutionalised cultural disadvantages defeated within society. This viewpoint is rebutted by postmodern
feminists who argue that post-feminism is white, middle-class
centric and ignores the struggles of women of colour and/or
women of a lower social class

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 Debate

To what extent do feminists agree and disagree about the economy?

Evaluation: How are feminists in agreement in understanding what women’s role in the economy should be?

Agree Disagree
Feminists are united in their belief that the economic Equality feminists argue that biological differences are
world discriminates against women in the workplace. of no consequence in the workplace, while difference
Wollstonecraft and Gilman both argued that economic feminists argue that biological differences do matter.
independence was a fundamental part of female Difference feminists argue that women are biologically far
emancipation and that there must be equality of more likely to favour certain professions that align with
opportunity within the workplace femininity
The labour market is divided because of gender roles, Liberal feminists argue that the workplace can be
with women being employed in professions that are seen reformed by the state, but socialist feminists such as
as feminine and men in roles that are seen as masculine. Rowbotham argue that women’s place in the economy
Male-dominated professions tend to be better paid than and sexual equality can only be achieved via a
female-dominated professions Marxist-style revolution
Senior roles in business are dominated by men because Radical feminists argue that patriarchy is essentially
stereotypically men are perceived as being more logical cultural and psychological and that socialist feminists are
and better at decision making. Women are hindered by unduly fixated on economic concerns
a glass ceiling where the cultural ethos of the workplace
means that they can only reach a certain level in a
business organisation
Feminists all agree that with the breakdown of gender Postmodern feminists argue that liberal feminists,
stereotypes, women can achieve equality in the radical feminists and socialist feminists fail to appreciate
workplace and be no longer economically dependent intersectionality and that race when intersected with
on men gender delivers a different kind of economic oppression

Table 14.3 highlights some of the differences within feminism.

Table 14.3 Differences within feminism

Liberal feminists Radical feminists Socialist feminists Postmodern feminists

Sex and gender Sex is a biological Sex is a biological fact, Sex is a biological fact, Some postmodern
fact; however, gender but gender roles are but gender roles are feminists think sex is
roles are artificially artificially constructed. artificially constructed. a fact, trans-feminists
constructed. Women Gender roles are a Gender roles are a think it is socially
are as rational and product of patriarchy to requirement of capitalism constructed. Gender
capable as men and subjugate women. Women as it requires women to roles are also
should be granted are as rational as men accept domestic work socially constructed
equality of opportunity and should be granted and their supportive and extremely
equality of opportunity status to men if it is to varied because of
function intersectionality
(race, class, age, etc.)
Personal is Traditionally rejected Conceptualised by radical Agree that the personal Support the concept
political the personal is feminist Carol Hinsch, is political. Rowbotham that the personal is
political argument the ‘personal is political’ argues that capitalism political but argue that
as they are focused is adopted by all radical forces women into the private sphere of
solely on the public feminists. It focuses on domesticity to help society is far more
sphere of society and female oppression by men reproduce the labour complicated than
the economy in both the public and force and provide comfort radical feminists
private spheres of society for men believe because of
and economy intersectionality

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 Table 14.3 continued
Liberal feminists Radical feminists Socialist feminists Postmodern feminists
Reformist vs Reformist Revolutionary Revolutionary Reformist/
revolutionary Society can be A societal revolution is Only a Marxist/feminist- Revolutionary
changed gradually as needed to rid society of style revolution will rid Postmodern feminists
the state enforces entrenched patriarchal society and economy of argue that oppression
equality of opportunity values. However, radical capitalism and patriarchy is a multifaceted
for men and women feminists are divided concept because of
in both society and over what format this intersectionality and
economy revolution will take consequently have
multiple solutions,
some revolutionary
and some evolutionary

Summary
Key themes and key thinkers
Human nature The state Society The economy
Charlotte Women are equal to Gilman expresses no Women have Men dominate the
Perkins Gilman men and biological explicit views on the historically been economy because
differences are largely role of the state assigned inferior roles societal norms obligate
irrelevant in society women to a domestic
role
Simone de Gender differences are The state reinforces a Societal norms restrain Men dominate
Beauvoir not natural but are the male-dominated culture both men and women economic life, which
creation of men that limits women’s from achieving limits the life choices
autonomy and freedom self-realisation and true open to women
freedom of expression
Kate Millett Women are oppressed The state facilitates Society is patriarchal in Millett’s ideas on the
by men (patriarchy) and patriarchy both the public and the economy resemble
should free themselves private spheres socialism but are
by engaging in lesbian peripheral to her
relationships feminism
Sheila Female consciousness The state facilitates Capitalist society Women’s main role
Rowbotham is socially constructed capitalism, which in reinforces the in the economy is to
by men turn oppresses women dominance of provide a reserve army
establishment males to of labour
the detriment of women
(and the average male
worker)
bell hooks Women have multiple White men dominate Society is a Women face different
identities and therefore the state at the multifaceted levels of oppression.
experience multiple expense of women arrangement between For example, white
forms of oppression different minority middle-class,
groups. Women who college-educated
are of lower class and women face oppression
of a racial minority are but are more liberated
oppressed on several than black working-class
levels, e.g. black women
working-class women

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 Practice questions
1 To what extent do feminists agree on sex and gender? You must use
appropriate thinkers you have studied to support your answer and
consider any differing views in a balanced way.(24)
2 To what extent does feminism disagree on how women are oppressed
in society and economy? You must use appropriate thinkers you have
studied to support your answer and consider any differing views in a
balanced way.(24)
3 To what extent do feminists agree over the conception of patriarchy?
You must use appropriate thinkers you have studied to support your
answer and consider any differing views in a balanced way.(24)
4 To what extent do feminists agree over the best ways to achieve social
change? You must use appropriate thinkers you have studied to support
your answer and consider any differing views in a balanced way.(24)

Further reading
Egan, M. (2020) ‘Feminism and patriarchy’, Politics Review, Vol. 30, No. 2.
Egan, M. (2021) ‘Kate Millett on the portrayal of women in literature’, Politics Review,
Vol. 31, No. 3.
Egan, M. (2021) ‘Liberal thinkers and feminist thought’, Politics Review, Vol. 31, No. 2.
Gallop, N. and Tuck, D. (2021) ‘Feminism’, Politics Review, Vol. 31, No. 2.
Grant, M. (2020) ‘Feminism: the personal is political’, Politics Review, Vol. 29, No. 3.

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