Feminism is a word with many layers. While it’s most commonly known as a movement that has made itself known throughout the country, it also has a deep history, and has split into many different factions. The most common goal of feminism is to justly grant equal rights for both genders, which has both positive and negative repercussions on society as a whole. ||
There are many types of feminism including liberal, social, radical, cultural, and eco. Nearly all of them have a varied sense of what each hopes to accomplish. For example, liberal feminism seeks to integrate itself into mainstream society while radical feminism focuses on the fundamental oppression of women. Researching the different types can help shine a light on the ||
Liberal feminism is firmly rooted in the belief that people should be able to live their lives in whatever way they choose, both politically and socially. Political autonomy is a term commonly associated with liberal feminism, and means, “living a life of one's own choosing—and political autonomy—being co-author of the conditions under which one lives.” (Baehr, A. R. (2013, September 30). Liberal Feminism. Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-liberal/). Liberal feminism also believes that the government, and more specifically the individual state government ought to come along side their movement, standing up for their ideals.
This particular group is not without its critics, however. One of the main critiques of liberal feminism is that despite women truly being granted equal rights in all places, they could still end up choosing a limiting life style. The issue is essentially saying that women could unintentionally restrict themselves with the choices they make and would make all the effort put into getting that freedom pointless. Critics point out the common issue known as “deformed preferences.” ((This phenomenon makes changing preferences through increased freedom problematic, and leads some feminists to reject theories that prioritize free choice.)) Some critics take aim at the consequentialist argument offered in support of classical-liberal or libertarian feminism. The consequentialist argument says that the political arrangements recommended by classical-liberalism or libertarianism, as compared with the alternatives, will provide women with more of what is good for them. You can distinguish the claim that particular liberty-restricting policies are bad for women (and that some liberty-enhancing policies are good for women) from the claim that all liberty-restricting policies harm women, or that a minimal state (or no state) would be better for women overall.
Contemporary radical feminism mostly began to take shape in the back half of the 1960's. It was particularly associated with the consciousness-raising groups of this period. Many of the "classic" radical feminist articles such as "The Politics of Housework" grew out of such groups and were in turn discussed by hundreds of other groups. Many of the participants in these groups were women who believed that they had suffered oppression within the other progressive movements of the 50's and 60's (civil rights movement, anti-war movement, new left, etc.). The important conclusion that grew out of the groups was the insight that "the personal is political.” Many radical feminists prioritized the struggle against violence against women since they saw that violence as upholding patriarchy. Radical feminists often were the driving force behind rape crisis hotlines and shelters for women subjected to domestic violence. In speaking out and organizing against violence against women, radical feminists transformed the discussion within our society. Their efforts successfully ended the silence about rape and domestic violence and helped to begin changing our criminal justice system. Many radical feminists took a stand against pornography, because they viewed it as propaganda for patriarchy and violence against women. This was more controversial and was rejected by many other feminists.
Whereas liberal feminists applied the core liberal values of freedom and equality to address women’s concerns, the socialist feminists Alison Jaggar and Iris Marion Young appropriated Marxist categories, which were based on labour and economic structures. Criticizing traditional Marxism for exaggerating the importance of waged labour outside the home, socialist feminists insisted that the unpaid caregiving and homemaking that women are expected to perform are equally indispensable forms of labour and that the sexual division of labour that assigns most domestic work to women is exploitative. They also objected to the double day of work that burdens most women who have children and who work outside the home. Likewise, they condemned the economic dependency and insecurity of stay-at-home mothers and the low salaries of child-care workers.
Cultural feminism developed from radical feminism, although they hold many opposing views. It is an ideology of a "female nature" or "female essence" that attempts to revalidate what cultural feminists consider undervalued female attributes.[1] It is also a theory that commends the difference of women from men.
Its critics assert that because it is based on an essentialist view of the differences between women and men and advocates independence and institution building, it has led feminists to retreat from practicing public politics to a focus upon individual "life-style". Alice Echols, a feminist historian and cultural theorist, credits Redstockings member Brooke Williams with applying the term "cultural feminism" in 1975 to describe the depoliticization of radical feminism.