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Liberal feminism asserts that equality for women can be achieved through legal means and social reform within current social systems, rather than an overhaul of the systems themselves. It focuses on individual rights, legal equality, and ending sex-based discrimination.
Key TakeawaysLiberal feminism believes that equality should be brought about through education and policy changes. They try to change the system from within.Liberal feminism has been criticized for being too optimistic about the amount of progress that has been made. It has been accused of dealing with the effects ofpatriarchyand not the causes.Marxist and Radical feminists also argue that liberal feminists fail to challenge the underlying causes of women’s oppression and changing the law is not enough to bring about equality, there needs to be a fundamental change in social structures.
Key Takeaways
Liberal feminism believes that equality should be brought about through education and policy changes. They try to change the system from within.Liberal feminism has been criticized for being too optimistic about the amount of progress that has been made. It has been accused of dealing with the effects ofpatriarchyand not the causes.Marxist and Radical feminists also argue that liberal feminists fail to challenge the underlying causes of women’s oppression and changing the law is not enough to bring about equality, there needs to be a fundamental change in social structures.
A stamp displaying women holding votes for women placards circa 1907
What Is Liberal Feminism?
Liberal feminism is a prominentbranch of feminismthat aims to advocate for women’s legal and political rights. It was born in western countries and emphasizes the value of freedom which can be achieved through political and legal reform.
The ideas of liberal feminism are rooted in liberalism, a political philosophy that encourages the development of freedom, particularly in the political and economic spheres. These key ideas of liberalism include individual freedom, democracy, equal opportunities, and equal rights.
Liberal feminists apply liberalism to gender equality and claim that the oppression of women lies in their lack of political and civil rights. Liberal feminism emphasizes the rights of the individual woman and aims to grant access to equal rights and representation through legislation.
Many liberal feminists think that their fight for these rights is largely won, but others believe that there are still issues to work on such as the gender pay gap, representation in politics, and in the media.
Gender equality
While they may not deny there may be biological differences between men and women, liberal feminists do not see these differences as justification for inequalities between the sexes.
Thus, their main principle is for women to be treated as equals to men.
This can include having the same social and political rights, having equal pay for doing the same job as men, and being equals in marriage and partnership.
Equality in women’s representation
Liberal feminists believe that women have the right to be as active in society as men, and thus be equally represented in the workplace, politics, and in the media.
This may mean that they would want to be equally represented in higher career positions such as CEOs and directors. They would also want to be equally represented in political roles such as having more women world leaders.
Reforming the system
Liberal feminists do not necessarily question the system of society as a whole, but instead, believe in its capacity to reform.
For instance, liberal feminists would generally be supportive of employers and educational institutions which make special attempts to include women as serious applicants.
Individualistic
Liberal feminism is individualistic rather than group based. This means that the rights are granted to individual women who are assumed to be equal and thus equally deserving, rather than granting rights to a whole group.
The concept of sexism
Liberal feminists are thought to have popularized the concept of ‘sexism’ to refer to ideas and social practices that keep women in a subordinate role.
They believe that sexism is rooted in the idea of biological determinism, which is the idea that certain behaviors or abilities are inherent to women or men and are derived from biological characteristics.
Sexism, liberal feminists believe, is the fundamental cause of discrimination against women.
Equality in the public sphereThe primary goal of liberal feminism is gender equality in the public sphere. This includes equal access to education, equal pay, ending job sex segregation, and better working conditions for women. All of these are believed to be achieved through legal change.While early liberal feminists sought to gain the right to vote and access to education for women, modern liberal feminists aim to secure equal social, political, and economic opportunities, equal civil liberties, and sexual freedoms. If there is gender inequality in existing institutions, then liberal feminists seek to eradicate this to create a fair and just society.Equality in the private sphereLiberal feminists also suggest that gender equality should be present in the home as well as in public life. The family can be seen as a social institution and thus should be an equal structure according to liberal feminists.They tend to support marriage as long as it is an equal partnership. In an equal partnership, men and women share the household chores, cooking, house management, and childcare as equally as possible.Liberal feminists also generally support abortion and other reproductive rights that are related to the control of one’s life and autonomy. They also believe that ending domestic violence and sexual harassment removes obstacles to women achieving on an equal level with men.
Equality in the public sphere
The primary goal of liberal feminism is gender equality in the public sphere. This includes equal access to education, equal pay, ending job sex segregation, and better working conditions for women. All of these are believed to be achieved through legal change.
While early liberal feminists sought to gain the right to vote and access to education for women, modern liberal feminists aim to secure equal social, political, and economic opportunities, equal civil liberties, and sexual freedoms. If there is gender inequality in existing institutions, then liberal feminists seek to eradicate this to create a fair and just society.
Equality in the private sphere
Liberal feminists also suggest that gender equality should be present in the home as well as in public life. The family can be seen as a social institution and thus should be an equal structure according to liberal feminists.
They tend to support marriage as long as it is an equal partnership. In an equal partnership, men and women share the household chores, cooking, house management, and childcare as equally as possible.
Liberal feminists also generally support abortion and other reproductive rights that are related to the control of one’s life and autonomy. They also believe that ending domestic violence and sexual harassment removes obstacles to women achieving on an equal level with men.
Examples of Liberal Feminism Today
Since liberal feminism was traditionally focused on legal equality, it could be considered almost fully achieved in some Western countries.
In practice, however, gender equality in law and legislation does not necessarily mean that there is real and productive equality, which is why liberal feminism still exists.
In the family
Feminists are critical of the family as a social institutions. They believe that the family is a tool of female oppression and in particular thenuclear familyserves the needs of men rather than women. This is through issues such as unequal division of domestic labor and domestic violence.
Liberal feminists argue that families are slowly becoming more equal through changes in law and social attitudes. They do not believe that full equality has been achieved but the process is well underway.
In the workplace
While there may be more equality in the number of women in the workplace, liberal feminists argue that there are inequalities within.
Typically, women are over-represented in positions which are traditionally ‘feminine’ roles such as nursing, teaching, and social care. These are positions which are often underpaid compared to jobs which are typically male-dominated such as in science, law, and medicine.
Likewise, there is often still a gender wage gap in many countries where women still earn less on average than a man for the same job.
While there are more women represented in sectors that were once considered ‘male’, they are often confined to lower positions in the hierarchy and there are disproportionately less women CEOs, vice-presidents, and directors. Liberal feminists would like to see more women in these higher positions.
In politics
While there may now be more women involved in politics, there is still an under-representation in the number of women in political roles.
Particularly, men still dominate political leadership such as in the United States where there has never been a female president, or in the United Kingdom where there have only been two female prime ministers.
Men still make a lot of the decisions and laws in society meaning that less women’s voices are heard. Liberal feminists would suggest that having more women in positions of power would trigger positive changes to make their views understood.
In the media
In film and television, female characters are under-represented, with women less likely to play the protagonist character. Women in film and television often play the love interest to the main male character or play a smaller role with fewer speaking parts.
There is a test known as the Bechdel test which aims to examine the presence of women in film and highlights the sexism that persists.
To pass the Bechdel test, the film must contain two named, speaking female characters who have a conversation with each other where the topic of conversation is not related to a man. There are still many films released today that do not pass the Bechdel test.
There are also fewer female directors in films. Liberal feminists suggest that having more female directors would allow for more female actors and less female stereotyped characters.
The History Of Liberal Feminism
Liberal feminism is thought to have emerged in the 18th and 19th century with the rise of the political philosophy known as classical liberalism. This was a period of great social change in western countries alongside therise of capitalism.
Early feminist scholars drew inspiration from Mary Wollstonecraft, especially from her notable writing ofA Vindication of the Rights of Women, published in 1792.Wollstonecraft was a passionate advocate of educational and social equality for women.In her writings, she makes the case that women need to be educated just as well as men so that they can grow up to be moral and autonomous human beings. She called for the improvement of women’s status through such political change as the reform of national educational systems.
Early feminist scholars drew inspiration from Mary Wollstonecraft, especially from her notable writing ofA Vindication of the Rights of Women, published in 1792.Wollstonecraft was a passionate advocate of educational and social equality for women.
In her writings, she makes the case that women need to be educated just as well as men so that they can grow up to be moral and autonomous human beings. She called for the improvement of women’s status through such political change as the reform of national educational systems.
A century after Wollstonecraft, John Stuart Mill defended the civic and legal equality of women and their right to vote in his essay titled> On the Subjection of Women, published in 1869. He argued that women’s social and political equality was rooted in liberal principles.
He claimed that the capacities of women cannot be known until they enjoy equal access to education and the vote.
There was a gradual rise of the liberal feminist movement over time, but the first major advancements in gender equality did not happen until thefirst wave of feminismhit the 20th century in the west.
The women’s suffrage movement fought for the right for women to vote.
Liberal feminists now demanded the right to equal pay. Women of this time also faced employment discrimination, unequal pay, legal inequalities, and poor support services for working women.
Through this wave of feminism, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 was introduced. Moreover, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was amended to prevent employers from discriminating on the basis of sex.
Strengths And Criticisms Of Liberal Feminism
Strengths
A strength of liberal feminism is that it is a relatively popular branch of feminism, and the goals are ones that support a lot of public opinion.
For instance, it is easy for most people to support equal rights for both men and women to vote and work – it would be difficult to justify otherwise. Likewise, the major victories of liberal feminists are rarely questioned. For example, not many would suggest that the vote should be taken away from women.
Liberal feminists have helped to bring forward legislature which helps to protect more women. They cannot be discriminated against on the basis of their sex in the workplace, they have more rights, and they can own property. Also, liberal feminism extends its principles into the private sphere so as to protect more women from the forms of oppression specific to this sphere
Criticisms
Since liberal feminism is the oldest version of the feminist movement, it faces a lot of criticism, especially from other feminists.
It is argued that liberal feminists overlook how differences of race, class, and sexual orientation, among others, can intersect to create different levels of women’s oppression. Liberal feminists are accused of being ‘white feminists’ which means that they assume that the issues facing white, mostly western women are issues that all women face.
They may question the number of women in politics, for instance, but may not argue for more women of color, or working-class women in this field. The suffrage movement saw the vote granted to women in the early 20th century as a win, despite many women of color not being granted the vote until decades later.
Many liberal feminists would celebrate a woman being promoted to a position of power without considering the values of the person.
They may overlook the fact that the woman in power has goals that are oppressive and immoral, because as long as she is in power, it is a win for the liberal feminists.
Liberal feminism does not really consider the root cause of gender inequality. Marxist feminists would argue that liberal feminists ignore the systemic discrimination – that women’s oppression coming from the patriarchy and capitalism. Instead, liberal feminists do not see the need to overthrow the system, and in fact, may even promote capitalism.
Liberal feminism often faces additional criticism for the notion of trying to make women ‘superheroes’, capable of successfully combining marriage, motherhood, and career.
While many women may desire this, it can be considered as more oppressive towards women as they are now expected to succeed in a male-dominated workplace while simultaneously managing their roles as housewife and mother.
References
Cottais, C. (2020). Liberal feminism. Gender in Geopolitics Institute. Retrieved 2022, August 16 from:https://igg-geo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/IGG_CCottais_Liberal_feminism2020.pdf
Donner, W. (1993). John Stuart Mill”s liberal feminism. Philosophical Studies: An International Journal for Philosophy in the Analytic Tradition, 69(2/3), 155-166.
Friedan, B. (1963). The feminine mystique. WW Norton & Company.
Gerson, G. (2002). Liberal feminism: Individuality and oppositions in Wollstonecraft and Mill. Political Studies, 50(4), 794-810.
Mill, J. S. (2006). The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill.
Oxley, J. C. (2011). Liberal feminism. Just the Arguments, 100, 258262.
Saul McLeod, PhD
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester
Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.
Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education
Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.
