"Discussion about the limitations of liberal feminism with particular reference to the construction of gender and across class, race, ethnicity and religious belief

Résumé du document

Feminist ideas and feminist politics have emerged because of the fact that in nearly all societies which divide the sexes into differing cultural, economic or political spheres, women are less valued than men (Robert Shoemaker and Mary Vincent 1998, 36-8). The current study will focus not on the historical aspect of feminism but the theoretical one, by discussing Tong's claim that: `One way to react to the limitations of liberal feminism is to dismiss it as a bourgeois white movement. Discuss the limitations of liberal feminism with particular reference to the construction of gender and across class, race, ethnicity and religious belief ' (1989, 37). Of course, it is not possible to discuss all feminist thinkers, movements and organizations, which is why I have decided to concentrate only on particular ones: Mary Wollstonecraft, Harriet Taylor, John Stuart Mill, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Bella Abzug, Betty Friedan, Elizabeth Holtzman, Eleanor Smeal, Alison Jagger, Jane Roland Martin, Zillah Eisenstein and Jean Bethke Elshtain.
1. Introduction, where the issues are defined
2. Main discussion, subdivided thus:
(i) the concept, characteristics and history of liberal feminism (ii) the limitations and criticisms of liberal feminism (iii) forms of feminism other than liberal feminism (which has been attacked for concerning itself too exclusively with white and bourgeois women); these include Marxist, socialist and radical feminism, black feminism, and lesbian feminism. 3. Conclusion, in which I examine the construction of gender in terms of class, race, ethnicity and religious belief.

Extraits

[...] Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.16- 22 - Hobson, Barbara et all Contested concepts in gender and social politics. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar - Ignasse, Gerard and Welzer-Lang, Daniel Genres et sexualités. Paris: L'Harmattan - Jackson, Stevi and Jones, Jackie. ‘Thinking for ourselves: An introduction to feminist theorising' in Jackson, Stevi and Jones, Jackie Contemporary feminist theories. Edimburg: Edimburg University Press, pp.1-11 - Jackson, Stevi. ‘Feminist social theory' in Jackson, Stevi and Jones, Jackie Contemporary feminist theories. Edimburg: Edimburg University Press, pp.12-33 - Juliet, Mitchell. ‘Women: the Longest Revolution' in Humm, Magie Feminisms: A reader. [...]

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[...] The new women's movement: feminism and political power in Europe and the USA. London: Sage Publications - Daly, Mary. ‘Gyn/Ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism' in Humm, Magie Feminisms: A reader. London: Harvester, Wheatesheaf, pp.165-169 - Davis, Angela. ‘Women, race and class' in Humm, Magie Feminisms: A reader. London: Harvester, Wheatesheaf, pp.128-132µ - Delphy, Christine. ‘Rethinking sex and gender” in Jackson, Stevi and Scott, Sue Gender: a sociological reader. London: Routledge, pp.51-59 - Eisenstein, Hester Contemporary feminist thought. Boston: GK Hall§Co.Boston - Fougeyrollas-Schwebel, Dominique Feminismes: recompositions et mutation. [...]

[...] Contents of the theory: Heterosexuality is a construct, a system imposed on women by societies throughout history which makes lesbian experience invisible or treats it as abnormal (Magie Humm 1992, 175). Lesbian feminism offers a trenchant critique of patriarchy and the institutionalization of heterosexuality, and seeks to achieve political impact by means of a resistance to male domination, sexual and otherwise. Lesbian feminism can be called a cultural movement: it perhaps reached its zenith during the 1970s and 1980s, when the position of both women and homosexuals in society was being urgently re-examined (Magie Humm 1992, 165- Stevi Jackson and Jackie Jones 1998, 120-30). [...]