Feminism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Your continued donations keep Wikipedia running!
Feminism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Statue of Emmeline
Pankhurst, a famous
suffragette, in Victoria Tower
Gardens next to the Houses of
Parliament, Westminster.
Feminism is a diverse collection of social theories, political movements, and moral philosophies, largely
motivated by or concerning the experiences of women. Most feminists are especially concerned with
social, political, and economic inequality between men and women; some have argued that gendered and
sexed identities, such as "man" and "woman," are socially constructed. Feminists differ over the sources
of inequality, how to attain equality, and the extent to which gender and sexual identities should be
questioned and critiqued.
Feminist political activists commonly campaign on issues such as reproductive rights (including the
right to safe, legal abortion, access to contraception, and the availability of quality prenatal care),
violence within a domestic partnership, maternity leave, equal pay, sexual harassment, street harassment,
discrimination, and rape. Many feminists today argue that feminism is a grass-roots movement that
seeks to cross boundaries based on social class, race, culture, and religion; is culturally specific and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism (1 of 19)7/22/2006 8:11:02 AM
Feminism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
addresses issues relevant to the women of that society (for example female genital cutting in Africa or
the glass ceiling in developed economies); and debate the extent to which certain issues, such as rape,
incest, and mothering, are universal. Themes explored in feminism include patriarchy, stereotyping,
objectification, sexual objectification, and oppression.
Contents
[hide]
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
1 Origins
2 Feminism in many forms
❍ 2.1 Subtypes of feminism
3 Relationship to other movements
4 Modern feminism
5 Effects of feminism in the West
❍ 5.1 Effects on civil rights
❍ 5.2 Effect on language
❍ 5.3 Effect on heterosexual relationships
❍ 5.4 Effect on religion
❍ 5.5 Effect on moral education
6 Worldwide statistics
7 Contemporary criticisms of feminism
8 Academic research about feminist issues
9 Famous feminists
10 References
11 See also
12 Books
13 External links
❍ 13.1 Feminist organizations
❍ 13.2 Supportive of feminism
❍ 13.3 Critical of feminism, or specific types of feminism
❍ 13.4 Feminism and religion
Origins
Main article: History of feminism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism (2 of 19)7/22/2006 8:11:02 AM
[edit]
Feminism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
First International Convention of
Women in Washington D.C. Susan B.
Anthony is third from the left, front row.
Advocates of equality of the sexes and the rights of women can be found throughout history. For
example, Empress Theodora of Byzantium was a proponent of legislation that would afford greater
protections and freedoms to her female subjects, and Christine de Pizan, the first professional female
writer, advanced many feminist ideas as early as the 1300s, in the face of attempts to restrict female
inheritance and guild membership. However, feminism as a widespread philosophy and social
movement would not solidify for several more centuries.
Feminism as a philosophy and movement in the modern sense is often dated to The Enlightenment with
such thinkers as Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and the Marquis de Condorcet championing women's
education. The first scientific society for women was founded in Middelburg, a city in the south of the
Dutch republic, in 1785. Journals for women which focused on issues like science became popular
during this period as well. Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) is one of
the first works that can unambiguously be called feminist.
Feminism became an organized movement in the 19th century as people increasingly came to believe
that women were being treated unfairly. The feminist movement was rooted in the progressive
movement and especially in the reform movement of the 19th century. The utopian socialist Charles
Fourier coined the word féminisme in 1837; as early as 1808, he had argued that the extension of
women's rights was the general principle of all social progress. The organized movement was dated from
the first women's rights convention at Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848. In 1869, John Stuart Mill
published The Subjection of Women to demonstrate that "the legal subordination of one sex to the other
is wrong...and...one of the chief hindrances to human improvement."
Many countries began to grant women the vote in the late 1800s and early years of the 20th century
(New Zealand being first in 1893, with the help of suffragist Kate Sheppard), especially in the final
years of the First World War onwards. The reasons varied, but they included a desire to recognize the
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism (3 of 19)7/22/2006 8:11:02 AM
Feminism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
contributions of women during the war, and were also influenced by rhetoric used by both sides at the
time to justify their war efforts. For example, since Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points recognized self
determination as vital to society, the hypocrisy of denying half the population of modern nations the vote
became difficult to ignore.
[edit]
Feminism in many forms
Some forms of feminist theory question basic assumptions about gender, gender Ideologies and parties
difference, and sexuality, including the category of "woman" itself as a holistic
Part of the Politics series
v·d·e
concept, further some are interested in questioning the male/female dichotomy
completely (offering instead a multiplicity of genders). Other forms of feminist
Anarchism
theory take for granted the concept of "woman" and provide specific analyses
Christian Democracy
and critiques of gender inequality, and most feminist social movements promote
Communism
women's rights, interests, and issues. Over-time several sub-types of feminist
Communitarianism
ideology have developed. Early feminists and primary feminist movements are
often called the first-wave feminists, and feminists after about 1960 the secondConservatism
wave feminists. More recently, some members of younger generations of
Fascism
feminists have identified themselves with a "third wave" of feminism while the
Feminism
second-wave continues to be active.
Green politics
In her book A Fearful Freedom: Women's Flight from Equality, Wendy Kaminer
identifies another conflict between forms of feminism, the conflict between what
she calls "egalitarian" and "protectionist" feminism. In her characterization,
egalitarian feminists focus on promoting equality between women and men, and
giving women and men equal rights. Protectionist feminists prefer to focus on
legal protections for women, such as employment laws that specially protect
female workers and divorce laws that seem to favor women, sometimes
advocating restricting rights for men, such as free speech (specifically, the right
to produce and consume pornography). Though the book predates third-wave
feminism, Kaminer identifies both protectionist and egalitarian currents within
first-wave feminism and second-wave feminism.
Islamism
Liberalism
Libertarianism
Nationalism
Nazism
Progressivism
Social democracy
Socialism
Zionism
Ideologies of parties
Parties by ideology
Politics portal
Some radical feminists, such as Mary Daly, Charlotte Bunch, and Marilyn Frye,
have advocated separatism—a complete separation of male and female in
society and culture—while others question not only the relationship between
men and women, but the very meaning of "man" and "woman" as well (see Queer theory). Some argue
that gender roles, gender identity, and sexuality are themselves social constructs (see also
heteronormativity). For these feminists, feminism is a primary means to human liberation (i.e., the
liberation of men as well as women.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism (4 of 19)7/22/2006 8:11:02 AM
Feminism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
While many leaders of feminism have been women, not all feminists are women. There are a number of
exclusively male groups which are sympathetic to feminist understandings of society and believe the
dominant model of manhood or masculinity is oppressive to women, as well as limiting for men
themselves.
[1]
There is debate about feminism concerning which types should exclusively be labeled, or considered.
There are also overlapping beliefs such as in oppression by patriarchy and/or capitalism, or the belief
they are one in the same.
[edit]
Subtypes of feminism
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
Amazon feminism
Anarcha-Feminism
Anti-racist feminism
Black Feminism
Chicana Feminism
cultural feminism
Difference feminism
ecofeminism
equity feminism
existentialist feminism
feminism in Japan
French feminism
individualist feminism (also known as
libertarian feminism)
lesbian feminism
liberal feminism
male feminism or Pro-feminist men
Marxist feminism (related to socialist
feminism)
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
material feminism
New feminism
pop feminism
post-colonial feminism
postmodern feminism which includes queer
theory
pro-sex feminism (also known as sexually
liberal feminism, sex-positive feminism, do
me feminism)
psychoanalytic feminism
radical feminism
separatist feminism
socialist feminism
spiritual feminism
standpoint feminism
third-world feminism
transnational feminism
transfeminism
womanism
Certain actions, approaches and people can
also be described as proto-feminist or postfeminist.
[edit]
Relationship to other movements
Some feminists take a holistic approach to politics, believing the saying of Martin Luther King Jr., "A
threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere". In that belief, some self-identified feminists
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism (5 of 19)7/22/2006 8:11:02 AM
Feminism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
support other movements such as the civil rights movement and the gay rights movement. At the same
time, many black feminists such as bell hooks criticize the movement for being dominated by white
women. Feminist claims about the alleged disadvantages women face in Western society are often less
relevant to the lives of black women. This idea is the key in postcolonial feminism. Many black feminist
women prefer the term womanism for their views.
Some feminists are wary of the transgender movement because they view it as challenging the
distinction between men and women. Transgender and transsexual individuals who identify as female
are excluded from some "women-only" gatherings and events and are rejected by some feminists, who
say that no one who was assigned as male at birth can fully understand the oppression that women face.
This exclusion is criticized as "transphobic" by transgender people, who assert that their political and
social struggles are linked to those of feminists, and that discrimination against gender-variant people is
a facet of the patriarchy. (See transfeminism and gender studies.)
Modern feminism
[edit]
Most feminists believe discrimination against women still exists in North American and European
nations, as well as worldwide. But there are many ideas within the movement regarding the severity of
current problems, what the problems are, and how best to confront them.
Extremes on the one hand include some radical feminists such as Gloria Allred and also Mary Daly who
argues that human society would be better off with dramatically fewer men. There are also dissidents,
such as Christina Hoff Sommers or Camille Paglia, who identify themselves as feminist but who accuse
the movement of anti-male prejudice.
Many feminists question the use of the term feminist to groups or people who fail to recognize a
fundamental equality between the sexes. Some feminists, like Katha Pollitt (see her book Reasonable
Creatures) or Nadine Strossen (President of the ACLU and author of Defending Pornography [a treatise
on freedom of speech]), consider feminism to be, solely, the view that "women are people." Views that
separate the sexes rather than unite them are considered by these people to be sexist rather than feminist.
There are also debates between difference feminists such as Carol Gilligan on the one hand, who believe
that there are important differences between the sexes (which may or may not be inherent, but which
cannot be ignored), and those who believe that there are no essential differences between the sexes, and
that the roles observed in society are due to conditioning.
In Marilyn French's seminal works analyzing patriarchy and its effects on the world at large--including
women, men and children--she defines patriarchy as a system that values power over life, control over
pleasure, and dominance over happiness. According to French, "it is not enough either to devise a
morality that will allow the human race simply to survive. Survival is an evil when it entails existing in a
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism (6 of 19)7/22/2006 8:11:02 AM
Feminism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
state of wretchedness. Intrinsic to survival and continuation is felicity, pleasure. Pleasure has been much
maligned, diminished by philosophers and conquerors as a value for the timid, the small-minded, the
self-indulgent. "Virtue" involves the renunciation of pleasure in the name of some higher purpose, a
purpose that involves power (for men) or sacrifice (for women). Pleasure is described as shallow and
frivolous in a world of high-minded, serious purpose. But pleasure does not exclude serious pursuits or
[2]
intentions, indeed, it is found in them, and it is the only real reason for staying alive" . This philosophy
is what Marilyn French offers as a replacement to the current structure where power has the highest
value.
Carol Tavris, author of Anger: the Misunderstood Emotion and The Mismeasure of Woman: Why
Women Are Not the Better Sex, the Inferior Sex, or the Opposite Sex, maintains that as long as men's
experiences are considered to be the default human experiences, women will always face discrimination
in North America or elsewhere. She holds that too much emphasis is placed on innate differences
between men and woman, and that it has been used to justify the restriction of women's rights.
Effects of feminism in the West
[edit]
Some feminists argue that there is still much to be done on these fronts, while others disagree and claim
that the battle has basically been won.
Effects on civil rights
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism (7 of 19)7/22/2006 8:11:02 AM
[edit]
Feminism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Securing women's suffrage has been a
defining issue for the feminist movement.
Feminism has effected many changes in Western society, including women's suffrage; broad
employment for women at more equitable wages; the right to initiate divorce proceedings and the
introduction of "no fault" divorce; the right to obtain contraception and safe abortions; and the right to
university education.
Effect on language
[edit]
Many English-speaking feminists are often proponents of what they consider to be non-sexist language,
using "Ms." to refer to both married and unmarried women or "he or she" (or other gender-neutral
pronouns) in place of "he" where the gender is unknown. Feminists are also often proponents of using
gender-inclusive language, such as "humanity" instead of "mankind". Feminists in most cases advance
their desired use of language either to promote what they claim is an equal and respectful treatment of
women or to affect the tone of political discourse. This can be seen as a move to change language which
has been viewed by some feminists as imbued with sexism, providing for example the case in the
English language in which the word for the general pronoun is "he" or "his" (The child should have his
paper and pencils), which is the same as the masculine pronoun (The boy and his truck). These feminists
argue that language then directly affects perception of reality (compare Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis).
In postcolonial feminism the issue of language is often less emphasized as many non-Indo-European
languages do not have grammatical gender.
A different tendency can be seen in feminism inspired changes to the French language. Gender, as a
grammatical concept, is much more pervasive in French than in English, and as a result, it has been
virtually impossible to create inclusive language. Instead, nouns that originally had only a masculine
form have had feminine counterparts created for them. "Professeur" ("teacher"), once always masculine
regardless of the teacher's sex, now has a parallel feminine form "Professeuse". In cases where separate
masculine and feminine forms have always existed, it was once standard practice for a group containing
both men and women to be referred to using the masculine plural. Nowadays, forms such as "Tous les
Canadiens et Canadiennes" ("all Canadians", or literally "all the male Canadians and female
Canadians") are becoming more common. Such phrasing is common in Canada, and in France, where
President Jacques Chirac routinely uses "Françaises et Français" (French women and French men) in
political speeches, but practically unknown in other French-speaking countries.
Effect on heterosexual relationships
The feminist movements have altered the nature of heterosexual relationships in Western and other
societies affected by feminism. In some of these relationships, there has been a change in the power
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism (8 of 19)7/22/2006 8:11:02 AM
[edit]
Feminism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
relationship between men and women. In these circumstances, men and women have had to adapt to
relatively new situations, sometimes causing confusions about role and identity. Women can now avail
themselves more to new opportunities, but some have suffered with the demands of trying to live up to
the so-called "superwomen" identity, and have struggled to 'have it all', i.e. manage to happily balance a
career and family. In response to the family issue, many socialist feminists blame this on the lack of
state-provided child-care facilities. Others have advocated instead that full responsibility for child care
must not rest solely on women, but rather that men should also be responsible for managing family
matters.
Some men counter that this expectation is unrealistic, claiming that a de-emphasis on breadwinning
would be injurious to their ability to attract mates; while many women have the choice to try to "have it
all", they claim that societal expectations placed on men preclude them from devoting themselves
further to domestic chores and childrearing. Several studies support the view that, although men are
derided for not devoting enough time to childrearing and domestic tasks, few women seem attracted to
[3][4]
men who engage in these activities to the detriment of their careers.
Some argue that the fact men
devote less time to household chores is due to the fact that they devote more time to work outside the
home. (finding, "According to the International Labor Organization, the average American father works
51 hours a week, whereas those mothers of young children who do work full time (themselves in the
[5]
minority) work a 41-hour week." . In addition, they have argued that women hold the power of the
relationship because they direct the majority of purchases (and men direct the few large purchases) made
by a household
[6]
.
As a counter to these arguments, sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild's books The Second Shift and The
Time Bind present evidence that married men contribute much less time towards child care and
housework than their wives do. However, Hochschild presented statistical evidence that this was not the
case for two-career couples: according to the studies she cites, in two-career couples, men and women
on the average spend about equal amounts of time working, but women still spend more time on
housework. Hochschild's work mainly centers on two-career couples, but most disputes about the role of
men in child care and domestic work center around two-career couples: feminist critiques of men's
contribution to child care and domestic labor are typically centered around the idea that it is unfair for
the woman to be expected to perform more than half of a household's domestic work and child care
when both members of a couple also work outside the home. In general, in couples where one or both
partners do not work outside the home, gender-based division of labor is less of a point of contention for
feminists. (For more discussion of this point, see Joyce Jacobson's The Economics of Gender). In
addition, a number of studies provide statistical evidence for the claim that married men do not
[7] [8]
contribute an equal share of housework, regardless of they or their wives' paid work loads
. These
studies suggest that married men may actually create more domestic work for women, by virtue of their
presence in the house, than the amount of work they perform themselves.
The preceding arguments mainly apply to middle-class women. In her 1996 book Dubious Conceptions,
Kristin Luker discusses the effect of feminism on teenage women's choices to bear a child, both within
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism (9 of 19)7/22/2006 8:11:02 AM
Feminism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
and outside of marriage. She argues that as bearing a child without being married has become more
socially acceptable for women, young women -- while not bearing children at a higher rate than in the
1950s -- have come to see less of a reason to get married before having a child, especially poor young
women. As reasons for this, she argues that the economic prospects for poor men are slim, meaning that
poor women have a low chance of finding a husband who will provide reliable financial support, and
that husbands tend to create more domestic work than they contribute. Though the feminist movement
has had minimal impact on those two factors, it may have contributed to the increasing social
acceptability of bearing children outside of marriage.
There have been changes also in attitudes towards sexual morality and behavior with the onset of second
wave feminism and "the Pill": women are then more in control of their bodies, and are able to
experience sex with more freedom than was previously socially accepted for them. This sexual
revolution that women were then able to experience was seen as positive (especially by sex-positive
feminists) as it enabled women and men to experience sex in a free and equal manner. However, some
feminists felt that the results of the sexual revolution were beneficial only to men. Feminists have
debated whether marriage is an institution that oppresses women and men. Those who do view it as
oppressive sometimes opt for cohabitation, open marriage or more recently to live independently
reverting to casual sex to fulfill their sexual needs.
Evangelical (Christian) feminists sometimes argue that life-long monogamy ideally promotes
egalitarianism in sex, especially when viewed in light of other common alternatives to monogamy (i.e.
polygamy, swinging, open marriage, prostitution, or infidelity). On the other hand, Friedrich Engels's
essay Origins of the Family, Private Property, and the State -- sometimes considered an early feminist
work -- argues that monogamy was originally conceived of as a way for men to control women. In
addition, some modern feminists endorse polyamory , open marriage and swinging as egalitarian
lifestyles (see sex-positive feminism).
[edit]
Effect on religion
Feminism has had a great effect on many aspects of religion. In liberal branches of Protestant
[9]
Christianity (and also in some theologically conservative dominations, such as Assemblies of God )
citation needed
women are ordained as clergy[
],
and in Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist
citation needed
]. Within these Christian and Jewish
Judaism, women are ordained as rabbis and cantors[
groups, women have gradually become more equal to men by obtaining positions of power; their
citation needed
].
perspectives are now sought out in developing new statements of belief[
The leadership of women in religious matters has also been resisted within Roman Catholicism. Roman
Catholicism has historically excluded women from entering priesthood and other positions in clergy,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism (10 of 19)7/22/2006 8:11:02 AM
Feminism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
allowing women to hold positions as nuns or as laypeople.
Feminism also has had an important role in embracing new forms of religion. Neopagan religions
especially tend to emphasize the importance of Goddess spirituality, and question what they regard as
traditional religion's hostility to women and the sacred feminine. In particular Dianic Wicca is a religion
whose origins lie within radical feminism. Among traditional religions, feminism has led to self
examination, with reclaimed positive Christian and Islamic views and ideals of Mary, Islamic views of
Fatima Zahra, and especially to the Catholic belief in the Coredemptrix, as counterexamples. However,
criticism of these efforts as unable to salvage corrupt church structures and philosophies continues.
Some argue that Mary, with her status as mother and virgin, and as traditionally the main role model for
women, sets women up to aspire to an impossible ideal and also thus has negative consequences on
human sense of identity and sexuality.
There is a separate article on God and gender; it discusses how monotheistic religions reconcile their
theologies with contemporary gender issues, and how modern feminism has influenced the theology of
many religions.
[edit]
Effect on moral education
Opponents of feminism claim that women's quest for external power, as opposed to the internal power to
affect other people's ethics and values, has left a vacuum in the area of moral training, where women
formerly held sway. Some feminists reply that the education, including the moral education, of children
has never been, and should not be, seen as the exclusive responsibility of women. Paradoxically, it is
also held by others that the moral education of children at home in the form of homeschooling is itself a
women's movement. Such arguments are entangled within the larger disagreements of the Culture Wars,
as well as within feminist (and anti-feminist) ideas regarding custodianship of societal morals and
compassion.
[edit]
Worldwide statistics
The following is a sampling of statistics related to the relative status of
women worldwide.
●
[11]
According to the
United Nations women work on average more
than men, when both paid employment and unpaid household tasks
are accounted for. In rural areas of the developing countries
surveyed, women perform an average of 20% more work than men,
or an additional 98 minutes per day. In the OECD countries
surveyed, on average women performed 5% more work than men, or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism (11 of 19)7/22/2006 8:11:02 AM
Female share of seats in
elected national
chambers in November
2004 (percent)
Rwanda
49.0
Sweden
45.3
South Africa
42.0
Feminism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
●
18 minutes per day.
By population, women are underrepresented in all of the world's
[12]
major legislative bodies
. In 1985, Finland had the largest
percentage of women in national legislature at approximately 32
percent (P. Norris, Women's Legislative Participation in Western
Europe, West European Politics). Currently, Rwanda has the highest
number of women at 49 percent. The United States has 14 percent.
The world average is 9 percent. In contrast, half of the members of
the recently established Welsh Assembly Government are women.
[
Namibia
42.0
Denmark
38.0
Finland
37.5
Norway
36.4
Spain
36.0
Netherlands
35.0
Germany
32.8
citation needed
]
[edit] Iceland
Contemporary criticisms of feminism
Criticism of feminism as a whole ideology, criticism of specific types of
feminism and/or criticism of specific feminist ideas have come from
feminists themselves, from non-feminists, from masculists, from social
conservatives and social progressives.
30.2
New Zealand
28.3
Austria
27.5
Pakistan
21.3
Canada
21.1
[10]
Some feminists, such as Canadian journalist Kate Fillion, Carol Tavris and
China
20.2
Camille Paglia, emphasize the importance of women's responsibility as
moral, sexual, and social actors who sometimes do bad things for which
UK(Commons) 17.8
they are accountable. These thinkers are critical of beliefs held by certain
followers of cultural feminism which assert that women are superior to men, Mauritius
17.0
citation needed
]
morally or otherwise.[
United States
15.0
Postcolonial feminists criticize certain ideas of Western forms of feminism, Japan
7.1
notably radical feminism and its most basic assumption, universalization of
the female experience. They argue that this assumption cannot so easily be applied to women for whom
citation needed
]
gender oppression comes second to, for example, racial or class oppression.[
Feminist and non-feminist critics suggest that the continual emphasis on women's issues throughout the
citation needed
] It is claimed by these
evolution of the movement has resulted in gynocentric ideology.[
critics that some feminists are biased by the lens that filters their world views and they would like to see
a gender-neutral term such as "gender egalitarianism" replace "feminism" when used in reference to the
citation needed
] From the perspective of some
belief in basic equal rights and opportunities for both sexes.[
strands of feminism, as well as the men's movement and queer theory, inequalities and stereotypes based
on gender are detrimental to both men and women and both sexes suffer from the expectations of
traditional gender roles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism (12 of 19)7/22/2006 8:11:02 AM
Feminism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Many who support masculism argue that because of both traditional gender roles and sexism infused
into society by feminists, males are and have been oppressed. One complaint is that feminists promote
citation needed
misandry, even male inferiority.[
]
Ann Widdecombe, one of the most successful female politicians in Britain, claimed that feminism
slowly evolved into its antithesis[1]. She argues that the 1970s rhetoric was all about equal rights and
about how women could look after themselves, but the 1990s rhetoric demanded special assistance for
women and implied that women could not look after themselves. She identifies with the former variant,
and describes the latter as "absolute tosh".
Academic research about feminist issues
[edit]
Some natural and social scientists have used science in order to question theories of innate social or
cognitive differences between men and women; some examples follow:
●
●
●
●
Anne Fausto-Sterling's book Myths of Gender explores the assumptions embodied in scientific
research that purports to support a biologically essentialist view of gender.
Carol Tavris in The Mismeasure of Woman uses psychology and sociology to voice the failure, to
both identify innate differences between males and females in many instances and then further to
pin down how identified innate differences in males and females dictate, and account for,
perceived differences between men and women. She argues there is a reliance on ever-changing
hypothesizes (and the hysteria they create instead of evidence) to justify inequality. She further
argues a tendency to punish women for not conducting themselves on traditional male terms,
which provides a counter-argument for Warren Farrell's wage-gap ideas.
Evelyn Fox Keller has argued that the rhetoric of science reflects a masculine perspective and in
favor of questioning the idea of scientific objectivity. Many anthropologists (Haviland, Prins,
Walrather, McBride) noted that a non-masculine perspective is relatively new in studies of
human evolution and culture. Primatologist Sarah Blaffer Hrdy (Infanticide: Comparative and
Evolutionary Perspectives, Mother Nature: A History of Mothers, Infants and Natural Selection)
notes the prevalence of masculine-coined stereotypes and theories, such as the non-sexual female,
despite "the accumulation of abundant openly available evidence contradicting it" (Hrdy, 1988,
p.120).
Other researchers who have exposed flaws in social and scientific theories cited by some antifeminist authors include Barbara Ehrenreich, Kristin Luker, and Stephanie Coontz.
Famous feminists
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism (13 of 19)7/22/2006 8:11:02 AM
[edit]
Feminism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
See list of feminists.
References
[edit]
1. ^ Feminist/Pro-Feminist links, The National Men's Resource Center
2. ^ French, Marilyn (1985). Beyond Power.
3. ^ "The Perception of Sexual Attractiveness: Sex Differences in Variability" by Townsend J.M.;
Wasserman T., Archives of Sexual Behavior, Volume 26, Number 3, June 1997, pp. 243-268(26)
McGraw, Kevin J. (2002)
4. ^ "Environmental Predictors of Geographic Variation in Human Mating Preferences." Ethology
108 (4), 303-317. In Defense of Working Fathers Sacks, Glenn.
5. ^ Sacks, Glenn (2006-05-17). Is Pay a Function of Gender Bias?.
6. ^ ReparateMe.com, "Stop Polarizing the Sexes"
7. ^ Scott J. South and Glenna Spitze, "Housework in Marital and Nonmarital Households,"
American Sociological Review 59, no. 3 (1994):327-348 (which noted that divorced and widowed
men spend significantly more time doing housework than married men do
8. ^ Sarah Fenstermaker Berk and Anthony Shih, "Contributions to Household Labor: Comparing
Wives' and Husbands' Reports,", in Berk, ed., Women and Household Labor
9. ^ The Role of Women in Ministry. (PDF) pp. 7 The General Council of the Assemblies of God
(1990-08-14).
10. ^ Rizvi, Muddassir (2002-10-15). Women Win Record Seats, But Not Activists' Hearts. Inter
Press Service. Retrieved on 2006-05-16.
11. ^ Section 28, Gender, Work Burden, and Time Allocation. (PDF) United Nations Human
Development Report 2004: Section 28. United Nations (2004).
12. ^ Women in National Parliaments, November 2004
13. Sweeney, Brian (ed.) 2000, 'OPTIMISTS: Kate Sheppard - Suffragist'. Accessed May 23rd, 2006,
from http://www.nzedge.com/heroes/sheppard.html.
See also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism (14 of 19)7/22/2006 8:11:02 AM
[edit]
Feminism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
Suffragettes
Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
Anarcha-feminism
Domestic violence
Equal pay for women
Feminist history in the United States
Feminist history in the United Kingdom
Feminist history in Latin America
Feminist theology
Gender studies
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
Gender-neutral language
History of feminism
Islamic feminism
Lesbian feminism
List of feminism topics
List of notable feminists
Radical feminism
Role of women in Judaism
Women's cinema
Women's music
[edit]
Books
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
Antrobus, Peggy. The global women's movement - Origins, issues and strategies, London, Zed
Books 2004
Berk, Sarah Fenstermaker, ed. Women and Household Labor, Sage 1980.
Butler, Judith (1994). "Feminism in Any Other Name", differences 6:2-3: 44-45.
Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. 1899.
Code, Lorraine, ed., Encyclopedia of feminist theories, Routledge 2000
Patricia Hill Collins, Black Feminist Thought. Knowledge, Consciousness and the Politics of
Empowerment, Second Edition, Routledge 2000
Echols, Alice. Daring to Be Bad: Radical Feminism in America, 1967-1975, University of
Minnesota Press 1990
Faludi, Susan. "Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women". 1992 (ISBN
0385425074)
French, Marilyn. Beyond Power; War Against Women; From Eve to Dawn, a 3-volume history of
women
Hochschild, Arlie Russell. The Second Shift 1990 (ISBN 0380711575)
Hochschild, Arlie Russell. The Time Bind: When Work Becomes Home and Home Becomes Work
1997 (ISBN 0805044701)
hooks, bell. (1984). Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center. ISBN 0896086143
Jacobson, Joyce P. The Economics of Gender 1998. (ISBN 0631207260)
Kaminer, Wendy. A Fearful Freedom: Women's Flight from Equality, Addison Wesley 1990
(ISBN 0201092344)
Lerner, Gerda. The Creation of Feminist Consciousness: From the Middle Ages to EighteenSeventy, Oxford University Press 1994
Luker, Kristin. Dubious Conceptions: The Politics of the Teenage Pregnancy Crisis. (Harvard
University Press, 1996) (ISBN 0674217039)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism (15 of 19)7/22/2006 8:11:02 AM
Feminism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
●
●
●
●
Schneir, Miriam. Feminism : The Essential Historical Writings , New York: Vintage 1994
Sommers, Christina Hoff. Who Stole Feminism? - How women have betrayed women (1996)
Tavris, Carol. The Mismeasure of Woman: Why Women Are Not the Better Sex, the Opposite Sex,
or the Inferior Sex. Simon and Schuster, 1992. ISBN 0671662740
Wertheim, Margaret. Pythagoras' Trousers - God, Physics, and the Gender Wars, W.W. Norton
& Co. (1995, 1997)
External links
[edit]
Feminist organizations
[edit]
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
Ansar Burney Trust
Association for Women in Psychology
The Association of Libertarian Feminists
Committee for Asian Women
FemINist INitiative of BC
Feminist Majority
NOW - National Organization for Women in the United States
Women living under muslim laws
Feminists for Free Expression
Feminists for Life
ifeminists: the home for individualist feminism on the net
Supportive of feminism
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
[edit]
Feminism & Nonviolence Studies
Susan Brownmiller.com: Where Feminism Lives
Judith Butler - Bibliography
Naomi Wolf - Resources
FemBio - Notable Women International
Susan Faludi - Resources
EServer Feminism and Women's Studies
The Seneca Falls Convention: Teaching about the Rights of Women and the Heritage of the
Declaration of Independence
Women's Freedom Network
Critical of feminism, or specific types of feminism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism (16 of 19)7/22/2006 8:11:02 AM
[edit]
Feminism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
MensNewsDaily
RADAR
Men's Activism News Network
Ladies Against Feminism
SaveTheMales by Henry Makow Ph.D.
Equity feminism
Eagle Forum
The Masculist Perspective: Response to Feminist Claims
Concerned Women for America
Why Congress Should Ignore Radical Feminist Opposition To Marriage – article from the
Heritage Foundation.
Chapter 129 — Neofeminism: Religion Of Despair – article from the American Life League.
Feminism and religion
●
●
●
Riffat Hasan on Religious conservatism: Feminist theology as a means of combating injustice
towards women in muslim communities/culture
Jewish Women and the Feminist Revolution from the Jewish Women's Archive
Islam from Patriarch
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism"
Category: Feminism
Views
●
●
●
●
Article
Discussion
Edit this page
History
Personal tools
●
Sign in / create account
Navigation
●
●
[edit]
Main Page
Community Portal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism (17 of 19)7/22/2006 8:11:02 AM
Feminism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
Featured articles
Current events
Recent changes
Random article
Help
Contact Wikipedia
Donations
Search
Go
Search
Toolbox
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Printable version
Permanent link
Cite this article
In other languages
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
•••••••
Български
Català
•esky
Dansk
Deutsch
Eesti
Ελληνικ•
Español
Esperanto
•••••
Français
Gàidhlig
Galego
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism (18 of 19)7/22/2006 8:11:02 AM
Feminism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
한국어
••••••
Hrvatski
Interlingua
Italiano
•••••
Lietuvi•
Македонски
Nederlands
日本語
Norsk (bokmål)
Norsk (nynorsk)
Polski
Português
Român•
Русский
Sicilianu
Simple English
Sloven•ina
Slovenš•ina
Srpskohrvatski / Српскохрватски
Suomi
Svenska
Türkçe
Укра•нська
中文
This page was last modified 04:33, 21 July 2006.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights
for details.)
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism (19 of 19)7/22/2006 8:11:02 AM