Gendered Ads & Global Consumer Identities Spring 2011 Feminisms Handout

2nd Wave Feminism History and Political Ideologies

The second wave of the feminist movement is often broken down into 2 factions: Women’s rights
and women’s liberation. There are multiple practices within each category of feminism (some are
listed below), which is why I prefer to use the term “feminisms.”

Women’s Rights movement:

The women’s rights movement, which was almost exclusively associated with liberal feminism,
emerged in the early 1960s and was largely composed of professional women who began putting
pressure on federal and state institutions to end discrimination against women in education and
the paid labor force. This movement also drew on the dissatisfaction felt by many suburban
middle-class housewives after World War II.

Liberal Feminism:
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array
of views depending on their understanding of these principles. Both Democrats and Republicans
can be described as adhering to a liberal conception of politics, meaning they share a belief in
individual rights, representative democracy, and the rule of law. Liberalism in the United States
takes several distinct forms.

Classical liberalism in the United States (also called laissez-faire liberalism) is the belief that a
free market economy is the most productive. Classical liberalism is a philosophy of individualism
and self responsibility. Classical liberals in the United States believe that if the economy is left to
the natural forces of supply and demand, free of government intervention, the result is the most
abundant satisfaction of human wants. Modern classical liberals oppose the concept of a welfare
state and government restriction on individual liberty.

Social welfare liberalism (sometimes referred to as modern liberalism b/c it was largely adopted in
the West after WWII) posits that liberalism should include social justice. This differs from classical
liberalism by arguing that a liberal state should provide jobs, health care, and education while
simultaneously expanding civil rights. Under social liberalism, the good of the community is
viewed as important to realizing the freedom of the individual. in the United States focuses on
voting rights for all adult citizens, equal rights, separation of church and state, protection of the
environment, and the provision by the government of social services, such as education, health
care, and highways, and also food for the hungry and housing for the homeless.

Neo-liberalism is a return to classic liberalism and is based on economic theories that minimize
the role of the state and maximize the private business sector. The term 'neoliberalism' is also
used to describe social, cultural, and political policies that use the language of markets, efficiency,
consumer choice, and personal responsibility to shift risk from governments and corporations onto
individuals

Liberal feminists argue that men and women were not essentially different and thus aberrations in
the political, legal, and educational systems that discriminated against women must be eliminated
so that everyone, man and women, can participate in public on an equal playing field. According
to liberal feminists, all women are capable of asserting their ability to achieve equality; therefore it
is possible for change to happen without altering the structure society. Issues important to liberal
feminists include reproductive and abortion rights, sexual harassment, voting, education, "equal
pay for equal work", affordable childcare, affordable health care, and bringing to light the

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Gendered Ads & Global Consumer Identities Spring 2011 Feminisms Handout

frequency of sexual and domestic violence against women. Liberal feminism asserts the equality
of men and women through political and legal reform. It is an individualistic form of feminism
which focuses on women’s ability to show and maintain their equality through their own actions,
choices, and reason.

The women’s liberation movement:

The women’s liberation movement, and radical, socialist, and cultural feminism, emerged out of
the New Left in the latter part of the 1960s- and groups were often formed as a direct experience
Women’s rights was a politically more widespread movement with an ideology much closer to the
mainstream of America. However, much of the important theoretical work of the second wave
comes from radical, socialist, and cultural feminists. Women’s lib attempted to convince men as
well as women not only that women’s oppression was real, but that it was historically and
culturally pervasive and socially foundational. Given their context within leftist politics and/or the
academy women’s lib also had to contend with Marxist political claims that class based
oppression was more fundamental and/or important. The women’s liberation movement coined
the slogan the personal is political and saw consciousness raising groups as an important
political strategy. The aim was to appreciate the similarities between women and thus achieve an
understanding of their oppression within patriarchal society which would foster collective political
action. They were also able to construct new stories about the political significance of these
experiences.

Radical feminism:
For radical and (radical socialist feminists) women are not simply the same as men, nor were they
inherently or naturally different. They see the problem as the sex/gender system- hierarchical
gender differences are produced via the patriarchal power relations of society. Patriarchal society
uses certain facts about male and female physiology, which are different but not inherently
hierarchical, as the basis for constructing masculine and feminine identities and identities and
behaviors that serve to empower men and disempower women. The oppression is not an
aberration in the system, but the basis of the world. Radical feminists examine both the private
and public spheres, and often focus on sexuality and reproduction as the core of women’s
oppression.

Radical feminism considers patriarchy and hierarchical gender systems as the defining feature of
women's oppression. Radical feminists believe that women can free themselves only when they
have done away with what they consider an inherently oppressive and dominating patriarchal
system. Radical feminists feel that there is a male-based authority and power structure and that it
is responsible for oppression and inequality, and that as long as the system and its values are in
place, society will not be able to be reformed in any significant way. Some radical feminists see no
alternatives other than the total uprooting and reconstruction of society in order to achieve their
goals. Over time a number of sub-types of Radical feminism have emerged.

Socialist Feminism:
Socialist feminists focus on both patriarchal and capitalist hierarchies that exploit women- both the
sex/gender system and capitalist relations, who are dominated by men, work to oppress women.
Thus, they focus on both the public and private spheres of a woman's life and argue that liberation
can only be achieved by working to end both the economic and cultural sources of women's
oppression. Socialist feminists see prostitution, domestic work, childcare and marriage as ways in
which women are exploited by a capitalist patriarchal system that devalues women and the
substantial work they do. Socialist feminists focus their energy on broad change that affects
society as a whole, rather than on an in individual basis and are concerned with more equitable

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distribution of society’s resources. They see the need to work alongside not just men, but all other
groups, as they see the oppression of women as a part of a larger pattern that affects everyone
involved in the capitalist system.

Cultural Feminism:
Cultural feminism is the ideology of a "female nature" or "female essence" that attempts to
revalidate what they consider undervalued female attributes. It emphasizes the difference
between women and men but considers that difference to be psychological, and to be culturally
constructed rather than biologically innate. Cultural feminism is a variety of feminism which
emphasizes either essential or socialized differences between men and women. ("Essential
differences" refers to the belief that gender differences are part of the essence of females or
males, that the differences are not chosen but are part of the nature of woman or man.) Cultural
feminism attributes to those differences distinctive and superior virtues in women. What women
share, in this perspective, provides a basis for "sisterhood," or unity, solidarity and shared identity.
It stresses the emotional, intuitive side of knowledge and expresses an organic world view that is
quite different from the mechanistic view of Enlightenment rationalists.

Lesbian feminism/ lesbian separatism:

Lesbian separatism is the feminist political act of choosing to be around only lesbians or only
women. In the early years of the Feminist Movement, some lesbians chose to avoid interacting
with men as a way to remove themselves from male-dominated society. Their belief was that even
well-meaning men were sexist and influenced by the patriarchy. They chose to be around only
women in order to understand what womanhood and sisterhood is really all about. Some women
moved to the country, bought land and created women-only societies. Avoiding all men was
impossible, but they chose to have all of their significant relationships with women. The idea was
that women could never truly understand themselves as powerful beings if they were immersed in
the dominant, sexist culture. From lesbian separatism the idea of women-only space came into
being at concerts, conferences and festivals.

Political lesbianism is a phenomenon within feminism, primarily Second wave feminism; it

includes, but is not limited to, lesbian separatism. Political lesbianism embraces the theory that
sexual orientation is a choice, and advocates lesbianism as a positive alternative to
heterosexuality for women. In a broad sense, political lesbianism entails the political identification
of women with women; it encompasses a role beyond sexuality but supports eschewing forming
relationship with men. It is partly based on the idea that women sharing and promoting a common
interest creates a positive and needed energy which is necessary to enhance and elevate the role
of women in the society, a development which will be curtailed by the institutions of
heterosexuality and sexism if women chose the traditional norms.

Black feminism, women of color feminism, multicultural feminism, or U.S. Third World
feminism:
Black feminism, women of color feminism, multicultural feminism, or U.S. Third World feminism
argues that sexism, class oppression, and racism are inextricably bound together. In other words,
oppression and identity are intersectional. Forms of feminism that strive to overcome sexism and
class oppression but ignore race can discriminate against many people, including women, through
racial bias. The Black Feminist Movement grew out of, and in response to, the Black Liberation
Movement and the Women's Movement. In an effort to meet the needs of black women who felt
they were being racially oppressed in the Women's Movement and sexually oppressed in the
Black Liberation Movement, the Black Feminist Movement was formed. All too often, "black" was
equated with black men and "woman" was equated with white women. As a result, black women

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were an invisible group whose existence and needs were ignored. The purpose of the movement
was to develop theory which could adequately address the way race, gender, and class were
interconnected in their lives and to take action to stop racist, sexist, and c1assist discrimination.

*Note- Keep in mind that while these political categories are useful tools for thinking about
feminism, using these categories is not necessarily an exact science. For example, these
categories are not mutually exclusive. A single author, document, or protest maybe combine a
number of different ideologies or while we may read a particular author or text as representing a
particular ideology, they might not see themselves this way or embrace that category. Further,
these are very general and brief descriptions of political ideologies that have a number of nuances
and have been enacted and written about in a number of ways. These paragraphs represent
merely the most general description of a particular ideology.