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Examples Of Liberal Feminism

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Liberal Feminism Essay
Is it possible for a group to seek equality, while simultaneously marginalizing another? In my opinion, it would be hypocritical for one to seek equality but not for everyone or to everyone. Liberal feminism seeks to achieve equality within all aspects of society, but specifically in the areas of education, voting and employment. Throughout this essay, I will be referencing literary works from three liberal feminist theorists. These liberal feminist theorists are Mary Wollstonecraft, Susan B. Anthony, and Betty Friedan. Each of the above three women played a prominent role in shaping what we now know today as liberal feminism. However, although these women were strong supporters for women’s equality to men, they did not …show more content…

Unlike the majority of women during this time, Friedan loathed the cult of domesticity and instead, believed that women should be apart of the workforce. Once the cult of domesticity began, it was almost as if women reverted back to the ideals of the time of Wollstonecraft. Marriage was, once again, becoming the focus of every woman’s life and education was no longer needed, nor valued. According to Friedan, “in the fifteen years after World War II, this mystique of feminine fulfillment became the cherished and self-perpetuating core of contemporary American culture” and “women who had once wanted careers were now making careers out of having babies” (Friedan, 2015, Pg. …show more content…

Wollstonecraft proved that marriage doesn’t have to be the center of every woman’s world, and that education can be more beneficial to a woman than marriage. Anthony proved that despite the laws of the time, women are, and have always been, important, contributing citizens of society and therefore should be treated as such. Friedan proves that marriage isn’t everything, and women should place more focus on themselves and their careers. However, despite these valuable lessons we have learned, we have also seen that the realm of liberal feminism also contains a lot of contradictions. As I have stated time and time again, liberal feminism seeks equality, but not for everyone or to everyone. As bell hooks once said, “whether feminist or not, we all need to remember that visionary feminist goal which is not of a woman running the world as is, but a women doing our part to change the world so that freedom and justice, the opportunity to have optimal well-being, can be equally shared by everyone – female and male” (hooks,

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Mary wollstonecraft believes that when it comes to equality, many of the Enlightenment thinkers and philosophers, stay one step behind. One of the ideals of Enlightenment is placed upon reason and how it should aim at developing

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Throughout this text, Wollstonecraft discusses how close-minded society was about women and equality. She describes society as being under the impression that women and men were two different animals. Society also believed that men were free and logical thinkers that could rule and change society while women were seen as pretty objects that could bear children. Wollstonecraft’s feminist view discusses that the problem was not only men inhibiting women, but women themselves were also not pushing against the ideology that men were superior. She continues to explain her new feminist ideology that discusses changes in society that would create equality.

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Mary Wollstonecraft an early feminist philosopher, writes about the ideals of equality and freedom both in her political rebuttal essay “Rights of Men” and her follow-up essay “Vindication of Women” in response to philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Writing the “Vindication of the Rights of Men”, has led her to explore and express her opinions about the inequality of women during the Romantic period. As the opposition to post-revolutionary sentiment, extending rights as a just act to include the upper middle class of men, over maintaining the traditional rights given to men of nobility. Wollstonecraft interjects that women are also a vital importance to society and also deserve allowances of rights.

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Liberal feminists were so obsessed with the ‘equality’ that they oppose the protective legislation for women (based on this position they have been severely criticized, it will be discussed later in the paper). Jagger (cited in Acker, 1987) discussed liberal feminism’s opposition to protective legislation, based on its desire to overcome sex based laws and establish formal equality. Liberal feminists seek the repeal of all laws that ascribe different rights, responsibilities and opportunities to women and men. They oppose protective legislation for women, believing that the same standards of health and safety should apply to everyone. Feminists such as Marry Wollstonecraft, Johnstuart Mill, Jagger and Struhl, Eisentein and Scheman rejects the major component of tradional liberalism, and asserted that the value of women as human being is not instrumental to the welfare of men and children and that it is equal to the value of men, and demanded various forms of public and private recognition of it, including respect for women and privacy.

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