Difference, Egalitarian & Intersectionality
Political Studies: Edexcel A Level, topic 18.1.4
Difference and Egalitarian Feminism
Equality or egalitarian feminists seek equality for men and women in society whereas difference feminists argue that men and women have a fundamentally different nature from one another.
Egalitarian feminism
- The main goal of egalitarian feminism is to achieve full equality with men.
- Liberal feminists have emphasised the goal of equal legal and political rights in the public realm.
- Radical feminists extend demands to full equality in the domestic sphere, including sexual equality.
- Socialist feminists believe equal rights have no meaning without full social and economic equality.
Difference feminists
- Difference feminists disagree with these egalitarian goals and argue that women should not desire to be "like men".
- They argue that men are often associated with aggression, competitiveness and dominance, whilst women are often associated with empathy, cooperation and creativity.
- They should adopt a pro-woman position instead and celebrate these differences separately e.g in a “sisterhood".
Intersectionality
Intersectionality, a newer strand of feminism, argues that black and working-class women’s experiences of patriarchy are different from white, middle-class women.
Post-modern thinking
- Recent post-modern thinking criticises earlier feminists for giving too little attention to the plight of the most vulnerable groups of women e.g. Black, LGBTQ+ and poor women.
- This led to the notion of “intersectionality”, a term developed by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989, which focuses on multiple identities and complex social experiences.
bell hooks
- bell hooks (intentionally uses lowercase) is a prominent writer on intersectionality.
- She argued that issues of racism and sexism are inextricably linked.
- This has influenced other strands of feminism e.g. Black feminism, LGBTQ+ feminism, and class-based analysis, though some argue this risks further fragmentation of feminism.
Identity
- Intersectionality has been argued to shift focus away from a single unified women's identity.
- Rather, it seeks to modernise thinking to better represent the diverse experiences and identities of women in contemporary society.
Test yourself on Difference, Egalitarian & Intersectionality
Which of the following are ideas relating to difference feminism?
Which of the following is true of difference feminists?
What sort of issues does intersectionality not typically deal with?
Which of the following is true of intersectionality?