Socialist & Radical Feminism

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Socialist Feminism

Socialist feminism argues that gender inequality stems from economics and that capitalism creates patriarchy.

Early literature on socialist feminism

Engels was an early socialist feminist.
- Working with Karl Marx, they wrote: "The Origins of the Family, Private Property and the State" in 1884.
- He said the position of women in society had fundamentally changed with the development of capitalism.

Engel's view

He wrote how private property was now owned by men, instead of female inheritance and “mother rights” in pre-capitalist societies.
This led to ‘the world historical defeat of the female sex’.
Abolishing capitalism and the class system must be the key goal in achieving emancipation, through the “class struggle”.

Different socialist feminist views

Some early socialist feminists argued the traditional family should be changed to communal living and ‘free love’ as advocated by utopian socialists, such as Fourier and Owen.
Modern socialist feminists do not accept the primacy of class politics over sexual politics but argue that sexual oppression is just as important as class exploitation e.g. as argued by Sheila Rowbotham.
- They argue that women must remove the social and cultural roots of patriarchy; liberation requires emancipation in all areas, not just economic.

Perspective

Supporters of modern capitalism argue it is now equally possible for women to own property and run their own business.
But, women in half the world are still denied equal land or property rights, according to The World Bank and where these exist, most wealth is still in male hands.

Radical Feminism

Radical feminism believes the biggest problem facing society is gender inequality and emerged in the 1960s/70s as part of the women's liberation movement.

Key ideas of radical feminism

Patriarchal dominance was evident in all areas of personal life and wider society, according to radical thinkers like Simone de Beauvoir and Germaine Greer.
They believe social conditioning of men and women takes place everywhere in our society and culture from childhood, so patriarchal values are accepted as the norm.

Radical feminist responses

Some radical feminists argue that liberation requires ‘consciousness-raising’ of women, inspired by Marx’s theory of class consciousness.
The emphasis is on developing women’s pride, self-worth and self-assertion, to combat male power.
It is revolutionary, as once women are aware of the daily oppression they face, they can challenge it and remove it.

Separatist views in radical feminism

Radical feminism has many strands:
- Some embrace a more ‘pro-woman’ position, emphasising positive differences between women and men, and sometimes the superiority of women in a sisterhood.
- Cultural feminism seeks to retreat altogether from what they see as a corrupting male world of aggression and violence, saying “men are the enemy” - Susan Brownmiller.
- Some advocate political lesbianism, like Ti-Grace Atkinson, with heterosexual behaviour being “male identified” - men keep women in a ”constant state of fear of rape”.

Separatism issues in feminism

Debates over reformist and revolutionary divisions in feminism is significant.
This is present in other ideologies e.g socialism, ecologism and nationalism and simply reflects a deeper political debate about how best to achieve change.