Feminism

Feminism has often been criticized as Eurocentric by black women and women in the developing world. For example, the Indian critic Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak has accused Anglo-American feminist theorists of making women of the developing world “the Other” by imposing Western perspectives on them. However, women from non-Western cultures have taken up feminist ideas and accommodated them to their own situations. For example, some black feminists have developed a perspective which takes account of the fact that they are doubly marginalized, by race and by sex.

By contrast, some Asian, Afro-Caribbean, and African-American feminists have developed politics which draw on their ethnic origins as a source of strength. Feminism in Latin America has looked at oppression across gender, class, and racial lines, although it has recently begun to focus more closely on women’s issues. In Islamic countries a secular, liberal feminism has developed that seeks to eliminate discrimination against women, and to outlaw practices such as polygyny, seclusion in the home (purdah), and the husband’s privileged right of divorce. In India, feminists have organized opposition to the dowry system and subsequent “dowry deaths”, where continuing demands of the groom’s family not having been met have resulted in many brides being murdered.

Lesbian writers have argued that feminism has not paid attention to their specific needs. Adrienne Rich has been influential in developing lesbian feminist theory by arguing that heterosexuality is a construct imposed upon women, through which men control women’s role in reproduction and render lesbians invisible. Like some black feminists, she has argued for the political importance of asserting one’s own identity.

Another variety of feminist thought, particularly strong in the United Kingdom, is Marxist-feminist theory. This extends the theories of production expounded by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels to examine the economic and material exploitation of women, the sexual division of labour, especially in domestic work and childcare, and women’s inequality within the workplace. In the United States a similar position is taken up by materialist feminists, who argue that women as a class are oppressed by material conditions and social relations.

In recent years, feminist thinking has had to react against the concept of post-feminism, which argues that women have achieved full equality and that there is no need for further activism. It has also had to tackle the phenomenon of backlash, as identified by feminist writers such as Susan Faludi. In this, men (and women) in political and other arenas in the United States and the United Kingdom are seen to be attempting to reverse the achievements of feminism, for example by launching renewed moral crusades against abortion and the single-parent family.

Feminist thinking has succeeded in drawing public attention to inequality between women and men, and to the structures within society which belittle and mitigate against women. It has led to a reconsideration of women’s role in the workplace, resulting in moves towards equal pay and equal opportunities policies; and it has identified and tackled the problem of sexual harassment at work. Feminism has also succeeded in challenging perceptions of women’s skills, with the result that some women are entering non-traditional areas of employment such as the construction industry.

Feminism has influenced culture, resulting in greater coverage of women’s interests and concerns, particularly by the mass media. Feminist thinking has adapted and diversified to tackle new issues, including AIDS, homophobia (prejudice against homosexuals), technology, and warfare. Some feminists have combined feminist ideas with pacifist and environmentalist ideologies to condemn nuclear weapons and criticize new technologies. These include reproductive technologies and surrogate motherhood, which are regarded as a means by which men exert control over the Earth’s resources and over women’s bodies.

Feminist thinking has had a powerful influence upon many academic disciplines, including anthropology, sociology, psychology, literary criticism, history, theology, and the sciences. Feminist scholars are undertaking research that draws attention to neglected female concerns and they are exposing the patriarchal assumptions which underlie traditional approaches to scholarship.