Left Feminism Vs. Right Feminism?

Question

One observation that I've made is that British feminism is more Left-wing, while American feminism is more capitalist: women liberate themselves by climbing the business ladder. (Does a minority of women doing this change life for the majority?).

Marxist Feminists see capitalism as responsible for bad (non-egalitarian) relations between men and women. Women's oppression is seen as class oppresion: oppression that's maintained because it serves the ruling class' interests.

What do you think? Are you a left feminist or a right one?

Answer 1

I think this is a very good observation. It probably is related to the general rejection of Marxism in the US. I have always thought that it was a little strange that the stereotypical goal of feminism in the US was to be successful in business and independent. These are goals that have been imported from the "male" world. I do think, though, that even in the US, the view is split. There are not many Marxists, but some feminists do reject the adoption of "male" values like "rugged independence" and assert the need for interdependence. They argue that the ideal of independence is only an illusion - no person can be truly independent of others, and by following male values, women only devalue their roles even more.

There is another way in which "right" and "left" feminism could be divided - the role of women in society. There are "right" feminists who reject the left feminist's criticisms of family life and motherhood. These "feminists" assert that these insitutions give value to female life. they see the left feminists as attacking the very things that women value. I guess my point is that there are many types of feminism, but yes, in America feminism is generally pro-capitalism.

Answer 2

It's an interesting question -- I would posit that almost nothing in America ISN'T capitalistic, so I'm not surprised that women here see success as the accumulation of wealth: that is how success is defined in the US. The American Dream is about financial security in the context of social Darwinism.

Most of the women I know are some combination of the two...for myself, I am sympathetic to both the needs you describe.

I think it's hysterical that Student thinks womens' goals "have been imported from the 'male' world." We all live in the same world and some women have the same goals as men--some only think of them as male goals because men have had the opportunity to pursue them.

Feminism is about choice--you are a "true woman" when you stay home and guide children into the world, and an equally "true woman" if you have a vocation or gift that brings you satisfaction and personal enrichment in the workplace. Women have as much potential as anyone else and if they choose to make the most of themselves, this isn't a "male" drive but a human one.

Answer 3

I doubt that people objecting to the sexist laws and questionable social and political agendas surrounding feminism has any real link to dv. Of course a family is better off without an abusive father. Why are you so focused on abusive fathers, the profiles of the majority of serial killers/rapists note that the mother was abusive. "DO YOU think (or believe) that at times the behaviors of the fathers can also be contributing factors to juvenile delinquency, high school drop outs, drug/alcohol abuse amongst youth or young men becoming hateful towards all women (or young women becoming hateful towards all men)?" If a parent is abusive it damages the children, everybody knows that. I don't really get this question at all but then, im too lazy to read it properly, it seems needlessly long, sorry. Are you a misandrist?

Answer 4

i have never heard those terms used in such a way before. what you are describing has always been presented to me as liberal feminism, Marxist feminism, and radical feminism, not left or right. thats an interesting way to put it.

the difference comes down to whether you believe in equality of opportunity (liberal feminism) or equality of condition (Marxist feminism). i am inclined to support both, but i am not sure that women can have equal opportunities, so they must be guaranteed equal conditions, so i am definitely a left feminist.

Answer 5

I'm not sure that most people who believe in equality (feminists) really think of themselves in those narrowly defined terms (left or right). Most of us are just people who believe that we should have equal status and opportunity...whether it be in the home OR the business world.

Answer 6

I am a left-libertarian and a feminist.

Answer 7

What about Wrong Feminism?

Answer 8

I agree with TERA'S observation that " most people who believe in equality (feminists) really think of themselves in those narrowly defined terms (left or right).". 'Left' and 'right' are entirely subjective and how these terms are INTERPRETED by individuals is a function of culture. I say this because the USA and Canada are conservative when compared with European countries. Differences exist between the two countries also: in the the USA the term 'liberal' is an insult, in Canada it is one of 3 major federal political parties. Of these 3 major parties, one has never produced a Prime Minister. Anyway, the whole thing really is quite subjective. Interestingly, the academic research investigating gender differences in voting patterns invariably have women voting more towards the 'left' than the political 'right'; this is the case in Canada and has been since the 1970's. I have read that in the USA more women tend to vote for the Democratic Party than the Republican Party. I expect this gender-patterned voting behavior is universal - in western democracies, at least:

"The most important factors in explaining why men are more likely than women to vote for the right-wing party and women are more likely than men to vote for the left-wing party are CLEARLY CULTURAL. Women are more skeptical than men of market-based arguments, less ready to embrace closer ties with the US, and more liberal when it comes to social mores and alternative lifestyles...

Focusing on a single country where the traditional gender gap has reversed would provide a more compelling test of the impact of both structural and cultural variables on gender differences in voting behaviour. Canada presents a particularly useful case for this analysis: data from the 2006 Canadian Election Study enable us to test... cultural explanation[s] for gender gaps more thoroughly...

At the same time, women have been joining the paid workforce in unprecedented numbers. Fewer and fewer women are full time homemakers. Indeed, the proportion of working age women in the work force has doubled since 1965. Women’s role as homemakers supposedly
insulated them from the radicalizing forces that motivate left-wing voting (Lipset 1981, 217). If this is the case, women’s movement into paid employment outside the home could explain the disappearance of the traditional gender gap...

One such explanation focuses on women’s distinctive experiences in the work place (Klein 1984; Togeby 1994; Manza and Brooks 1998). Gendered patterns of employment mean that women often find themselves confined to low-paying jobs in “pink-collar ghettos.” If this
results in a keener awareness of gender inequalities, increasing labour force participation may foster a growing feminist consciousness and a questioning of traditional gender roles. At the same time, the challenge of juggling full-time work and family responsibilities means that
working women have a greater need of state services. Accordingly, women should be readier than men to support the party that favours public provision.

Indeed, women’s greater reliance on the welfare state has been seen as an important source of their support for parties of the left. ... For many other women, it is a question of reliance on the state for basic forms of support. And the growing “feminization of poverty” means that there are more women who need this social safety net. According to the “welfare state dismantlement hypothesis” (Erie and Rein 1988; cf. Piven 1984), cutbacks in government spending in the 1980s and 1990s threatened women in their roles as both welfare service providers and welfare recipients (for Canada, see Bashevkin 2000). One result, it is assumed, has been to encourage more women to vote for the left.

Rising levels of education, the increasing average age of first marriage, a growing divorce rate, and movement into the paid work force have all made for increased economic and psychological independence from men. The key point is that more women now have the autonomy they need in order to express their differences from men. These differences relate to fundamental values and priorities. Freed from the constraints of dependence on men, these values are assumed to find their expression in greater support for parties of the left. In a similar vein, Conover (1988 cf. Brodie 1991) has argued that feminism has served as the catalyst for the expression of women’s “difference” at the ballot box by raising their consciousness of their latent “female” values...

Where the men typically gave primacy to the individual, the women treated relationships as primary. Where
the men focussed on competing rights, the women typically emphasized conflicting responsibilities. Where the men valued autonomy and self-determination, the women were more concerned about inclusiveness. For men, the moral imperative was “to respect the rights of others and thus to protect from interference the rights to life and self-fulfilment.” For women, on the other hand, the moral imperative was “to care, a responsibility to discern and alleviate the ‘real and recognizable trouble’ of this world” (Gilligan 1982, 100). Gilligan’s male and female
“voices” find a ready parallel in the concepts of individualism and collectivism. Her findings suggest that women are less individualistic than men (see also Phelan 1990). Transposed to the realm of politics, this implies that women will be less persuaded of the virtues of free enterprise than men and that they will be more likely than men to favor government intervention over market-driven policies."

Answer 9

Neither. There's a difference?

Answer 10

Feminism is dumb and should be banned altogether.