By Anoushka Rawat

Abstract

Feminism is a multifaceted area of study that has been dotted with the voices of Mary Wollstonecraft and Judith Butler and has spanned centuries and continents. Despite encompassing multiple waves and forms it essentially narrows down to a social and political movement that calls for gender equality and women’s rights. As the roots of feminist movements trace back to the 18th century, a parallel movement started during the 19th century whose idea was labelled ‘anti-feminism’. This article, firstly, describes feminism- its waves and types; and then delves into the idea of anti-feminism. In between it entails some “bizarre” ideas that famous feminists and anti-feminists advocated for over the years that might leave you, nothing, but appalled.

Introduction 

The earlier roots of feminist ideology of advocating for women’s rights go back to the Seneca Falls Convention. Held in New York in July 1848 by five women scholars and activists- Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Mary M’Clintock, Martha Coffin Wright and Jane Hunt, it launched one of the earliest women’s suffrage movements. The opening speech of the Convention which was to lay out its goals and purpose famously declares their right to be free as man is free. Herein, a draft of the Declaration of Sentiments (a book by Elizabeth Cady Stanton) was adopted. It outlined the rights of American women that should be entitled to them as citizens. Its main focus was on female enfranchisement, which American women finally achieved, years later, in 1920. In England, similar movements were largely led by Mary Wollstonecraft, Emily Davison, and Emmeline Pankhurst. Advocating for the right to vote and pursuing equality in politics and legal rights marked the first wave of feminism.

The second wave came in quite late into the 20th century when it dawned upon women that getting political and legal rights was not enough as they were still considered as ‘The Second Sex’ as theorised by Simon De Beauvoir. They realised that oppression comes from multiple fronts i.e. the social, psychological and personal lives of women. This wave is characterised by the phrase, “Personal is Political” which first came to be through Carol Hanisch’s essay written in 1969. This phrase, at large, challenges the idea of a binary divide between ‘personal’ and ‘political’ and instead highlights how power structures impact the private lives of women. 

Later, in the 1990s came the third wave which circled the topic of sexual division of labour and addressed the issue of harassment of women in workplaces and the shortage of women in positions of power. It is also marked by the rise of intersectional feminism, popularised by the works of Kimberlé Crenshaw. The purpose of the third wave is often described as to complete the unfinished work of second-wave feminists. Thus, the third-wave feminists are labelled as ‘daughters of second-wave feminists’, influenced by the theories of queer and sexuality.

The fourth wave forwarded the business to a new platform- the internet. It has led to a contemporary form of activism driven by social media. One of the most significant examples from this wave is the # MeToo movement, started by Tarana Burke in 2007. Initially, it started with alleging Harvey Weinstein (film producer) sexual harassment of several women, Later, it snowballed into a bigger issue addressing sexual misconduct and harassment that takes place against women in places of work and how it inhibits the growth of a woman both personally and professionally. 

Gradually, with time, various types of feminism have emerged in this wide-ranging movement. The big three or the major ones include liberal feminism, Marxist feminism and radical feminism. Firstly, liberal feminism strives for equality between men and women through mechanisms within the current political and social realm. It opens up opportunities for women and policies for equal pay, reproductive rights et cetera. Secondly, Marxist feminism understands the oppression of women through the lens of the woes of capitalist societies and class struggle. Marxist feminism is primarily based on the works of Lewis Henry Morgan (Ancient Society; published in 1877) and Clara Zetkin (Emancipation of the Female Sex). Thirdly, radical feminists argue that the primary source of inequality is rooted in the patriarchal structure of society and thus advocate for a complete overhaul of the current societal order. Lastly, as feminism is an ever-growing ideology it has managed to branch out to a plethora of categories which includes conservative feminists, ecofeminists, postcolonial feminists, and queer feminists among many others. 

Radical Feminism

As mentioned earlier, radical feminists emphasise patriarchy as the main cause of inequality that exists today. This leads to them often opposing existing social and political structures as they believe that the current system is inherently patriarchal and thus would never be able to consider women as equal. Even though it is true that patriarchy is tied to the major causes of oppression of women, this philosophy might overlook the other aspects. Not being able to achieve equality between men and women is also rooted in the fact that in a society exists structural inequality, domination through intersectionality (includes race, caste, class) and cultural norms and stereotypes which need to be addressed. Moreover, this category of feminists adopts a militant approach that believes in ‘dismantling’ the societal structure rather than ‘slightly accommodating within it’. The central issues revolve around providing women with the freedom to give birth, have an abortion, use birth control or get sterilised and break the shackles of traditional gender roles. What might seem bizarre is the fact that they criticise the notion of motherhood, the institution of marriage and a nuclear family. 

Shulamith Firestone, once remarked that pregnancy is barbaric and suggested that the main motive of feminists should be to eliminate the genital difference between the two sexes and thus, women could finally be free from the “tyranny of reproduction’’. But, doesn’t a family support and encourage its members to accomplish their goals in life? If not always, a family could still act as a basic structure of society wherein ideas of gender equality can be easily transfused. Another example of radical feminism is Valerie Solanas’s ‘Society for Cutting up Men (SCUM)’ whose primary objective was to “overthrow” the government, eliminate the money system, institute complete automation, and destroy the male sex”. Now, this is where the idea of attaining equality goes way too far as per the other kinds of feminists (and anti-feminists too). Along the same lines, is another instance of Roxcy Bolton wherein she claims that the word ‘Hurricane’ exists as it sounds almost like ‘her-cane’ thus, in her opinion, symbolising that women cause disasters and destruction to lives and communities. She wanted to, instead, name them as ‘him-icanes’! If not absolute, her stance did have a limited impact on the weather authorities and they started to name hurricanes after men too. But the term change did not happen. 

Anti-Feminism

Essentially, anti-feminism is a movement that typically challenges the main goals of the feminist movement which includes critique of patriarchy and traditional gender roles, and advocacy for women’s rights and empowerment. They, at large, believe that men and women inherently have different gender roles to follow which are based on biological differences. They label feminists as divisive who ignore issues that revolve around men and promote a sense of victimhood amongst women. All the policies that are central to feminist movements are seen as measures that unfairly favour women over men. An outlandish remark made by an anti-feminist in one of the investigative interviews conducted by The Guardian claims that rape culture in colleges is just inflated numbers, women should not be astronauts and pay gaps, do not exist. Prominent names include Katie Roiphe, Chistina Hoff and Charlotte Hays. 

Conclusion

To conclude, this gives a sense of the fact that both, radical feminism and anti-feminism have their pros. They have a lot of misconceptions infused within them which ultimately leads to treating either of the sexes as not equal and fairly. It illuminates the complexities of gender politics and struggles for social justice. But, it does open up a diverse platform for people to participate and incorporate themselves with a philosophy that aligns well with theirs. As a result of which, a more inclusive society can be shaped. Anyways, the dichotomy in the society regarding the two extremes which might often boggle the minds of the general public, would remain. 

Author’s Bio

Anoushka Rawat is a second-year Bachelors in Global Affairs student at the Jindal School of International Affairs. She is deeply interested in gender studies and varied perspectives on feminism.

Image Source: https://medium.com/@lucyy97/creating-a-personal-definition-of-feminism-5471f29c0ce4