Comparing 19th-century women and modern women, which one can be considered luckier? In the past, women had no right to own property, pursue a degree, or have a paid job. Their opportunities were limited to taking care of children and doing the housework. We can gladly say that times have changed, and women have more rights than before. Therefore, modern feminism is significantly different from its past versions. In this speech, I will research three major directions of modern feminism, liberal, intersectional, and radical, and provide information about their perspectives on social problems and how they handle those issues.
Liberal feminism believes that oppression of women is rooted in the refusal to grant them equal rights with men and sets ensuring these rights as its primary goal. According to liberal feminism, women are economically and socially dependent on men (Omwami, 2021). Therefore, liberal feminists fight for shrinking the gender wage gap, protecting women’s rights in the workplace, and providing women with the opportunity to participate in politics actively, get a better education and have reproductive freedom (Omwami, 2021). Nevertheless, liberal feminism often gets criticized as many believe it relies on the government and laws, which may exist on paper and be disregarded in reality. Liberal feminism also ignores biological differences between men and women and the resulting difference in their needs. For instance, women of reproductive age have greater demand for hygiene products, hence more expenses. Authorities should consider these expenses while allocating funds and resources to promote equity. Liberal feminism pursues ensuring equal rights for men and women but has flaws concerning the government and differences between genders.
Liberal reforms do not address discrimination based on physical appearance or social class and thus do not ensure equal rights for all women. Intersectional feminism, in contrast, states that all women have a unique experience based on their background (Ruth & Santacruz, 2017). For instance, a white heterosexual woman is likely to face different discrimination than a black bisexual woman. They may both be oppressed, but their experiences with discrimination and needs are entirely different. According to intersectional feminism, oppression based on gender intersects with oppression based on some other features, forming a new type of oppression (Ruth & Santacruz, 2017). Intersectional feminism fights for different social groups, considering their skin color, physical appearance, religion, and sexual orientation. Intersectional feminism aims at providing equal rights for women from different backgrounds.
Meanwhile, for radical feminists, patriarchy is the root of all the problems. They are concerned not only about economic and social discrimination against women but also about gender theory, sex worker-related problems, sexual harassment, and body shaming (Duriesmith & Meger, 2020). Radical feminists consider problems about gender stereotypes, for instance, stereotypes that women are worse in spatial orientation or logical problems than men. Radical feminists often use media to promote their ideas, introducing terms regarding feminism and raising social awareness. Unlike liberal feminists, radical feminists believe that current social organization is a problem, and the patriarchal system needs reconstruction. In contrast to intersectional feminists, radical ones assume that feminism should concentrate on women only, leaving other problems with equality to other activists like LGBTQ or Black Lives Matter. Radical feminism views patriarchy as the reason men have more rights than women and attempts to fight against it.
Liberal, intersectional, and radical feminism differ in many ways as they have various perspectives on women’s social, political, economic, and other problems. They consider different points and sometimes may have conflicting views. However, all the ideas of those directions can be justified, and people may choose to follow movements closer to their beliefs. Therefore, society should respect representatives of every type as they address significant problems women face nowadays.
References
Duriesmith, D., & Meger, S. (2020). Returning to the root: Radical feminist thought and feminist theories of International Relations. Review of International Studies, 46(3), 357-375.
Omwami, E. M. (2021). Liberal feminism in comparative education and the implications for women’s empowerment.International Perspectives on Education and Society, 171–196.
Ruth, R., & Santacruz, E. (2017). Lgbt psychology and Mental Health: Emerging Research and advances. ABC-CLIO.