Liberals Are Not Radicals
....that is, if we're talking about feminists. Just as there are many denominations within Christianity, there are different strains of thought within feminism. And sometimes they vehemently disagree with each other. The four major schools break down as follows:
• Liberal – Focus is individual solutions rather than collective. Seek reform, not revolution. Liberal feminists work within a capitalistic system laboring to change laws to provide equal opportunities for males and females. A liberal feminist measures progress in the numbers of women and men occupying positions previously considered male-only or female-only. Liberal feminism is the most “mainstream” form of the many feminisms. While socialist feminists focus on collective change and empowerment, liberal feminists focus on individual change and empowerment. Liberal feminists tend to minimize gender differences.
• Radical – Focus is collective solutions rather than individual. Seek revolution, not reform. Radical feminists believe the only way to achieve gender equality is to overhaul society. Forget passing laws here and there to make things equal. Go for revolution. Radical feminists see male domination of women as the most fundamental form of oppression, and they focus on understanding how men obtain and use power. Because radical feminism shares with socialist feminism the commitment to dramatic social change, radical feminism is often grouped with socialist feminism. Radical feminists view society as patriarchal and believe patriarchy must be transformed on all levels.
A subset of radical feminism is cultural feminism. Cultural feminists maximize gender differences. They tend to stress attributes associated with women's culture (e.g., caring, relationships, interdependence, community), insisting they must be more valued. They reject unisex thinking in favor of affirming women’s essential femaleness. They tend to de-value virtues typically attributed to men such as domination, autonomy, authority, and independence.
• Socialist feminism – Focus is collective solution rather than individual. Seek revolution, not reform. Whereas liberal feminists focus on empowering the individual, socialist feminists seek collective change and empowerment. Socialist feminists believe that capitalist societies have fundamental, built-in hierarchies, which result in inequalities. Thus, it's not enough for women individually to rise to powerful positions; instead power must be redistributed. True equality, they believe, will not be achieved without overhauls—especially economic overhauls.
• Marxist or materialist feminism – Focus is collective solution rather than individual. Seek revolution, not reform. While generally opposed to Socialism, Marxist feminists have much in common with socialist feminists. Marxist feminism is based on Marxist views of labor reform. Like socialist feminists they believe capitalism is the root of the problem, and power must be redistributed.
Additionally, the mid-seventies saw the rise of black or womanist feminism. A distinctively African-American version, this "less liberal" pool of feminism sees race, class, and gender oppression as interconnected. Womanist feminists believe that those who seek to overturn sex and class discrimination without addressing racism are themselves operating out of racism. A key text for them is the 1792 work by Mary Woolstonecraft, Vindication of the Rights of Woman.
Next time you talk to someone who calls herself a feminist, ask some questions. "Do you think that beyond physiology, men and women are essentially the same, or do you think there's something fundamentally different in maleness and femaleness?" "Do you think the solution is changing laws or full-on revolution?" You might have a fascinating discussion.