Varieties of Feminism

From Judith Lorber, Gender Inequality, 3^rd ed, 2005.

Type of Feminism	Source of Inequality	Political Goals
Liberal Feminism	Gendered socialization of kids HH division of labor Glass ceiling Restriction of women in powerful positions	Gender-neutral childrearing Affirmative action More women in politics More legal rights for women Shared parenting
Marxist Feminism	Women workers as reserve army of low waged workers Unwaged domestic work Low pay scale for women’s work	Permanent wage work for women Unionization Gov’t subsidized parental leave and childcare
Radical Feminism	Patriarchy Men’s culture of violence Sexual exploitation Sexual harassment	Protection of women from sexual exploitation—sex trafficking, sexual harassment, rape Antiwar activism
Lesbian Feminism	Oppressive heterosexuality Men’s domination of women’s social spaces	Fight for women’s rights and homosexual rights
Social Construction Feminism	Reproducing gender by division of labor in family Gendering practices in everyday life (door-opening, eg)	Questioning gender boundaries in everyday life Make process visible

“Waves” of Feminist Theory
Courtesy of Dr. Diane Levy

First Wave—1840’s to 1920

Focus on women’s suffrage

Took its inspiration from the anti-slavery movement

Second Wave—1960’s and 1970’s

Took inspiration from civil rights and student movements

Betty Friedan’s Feminine Mystique in 1963; founding of NOW in 1966

Focus on legal and civil rights and raising consciousness.

Third Wave of Feminism— 1990’s to Present

Harder to pin down. It became OK to wear make-up and dress like Madonna and still be a feminist

Features a growing recognition of common differences among sub-groups of women—based on race, different ethnicities, social class, physical ability, and sexual orientation

Borrowed the statistical term intersectionality to understand the multiple effects of various levels of oppression in women’s lives—not just as women per se

Sexism interacts with other forms of discrimination in complex ways

bell hooks: feminism should be involved in eradicating all forms of domination—that patriarchal domination shares the same ideological basis as racism and other forms of oppression

She introduced the term “gender justice”

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