23 Facts About Liberal feminism

Liberal feminism, called mainstream feminism, is a main branch of feminism defined by its focus on achieving gender equality through political and legal reform within the framework of liberal democracy.

Liberal feminism is inclusive and socially progressive, while broadly supporting existing institutions of power in liberal democratic societies, and is associated with centrism and reformism.

Some forms of modern liberal feminism have been described as neoliberal feminism or "boardroom feminism".

In many countries, particularly in the West but in a number of secular states in the developing world, liberal feminism is associated with the concept of state feminism, and liberal feminism emphasizes constructive cooperation with the government and involvement in parliamentary and legislative processes to pursue reforms.

Liberal feminism feminists believe that "female subordination is rooted in a set of customary and legal constraints that blocks women's entrance to and success in the so-called public world", and strive for gender equality via political and legal reform.

Related searches

Liberal feminism feminists argued that women, like men, be regarded as autonomous individuals, and likewise be accorded the rights of such.

Inherently pragmatic, liberal feminists tend to focus on practical reforms of laws and policies in order to achieve equality; liberal feminism has a more individualistic approach to justice than left-wing branches of feminism such as socialist or radical feminism.

Helga Hernes notes that liberal feminism has often been critical of liberalist political positions and that liberal feminism and liberalism in general are not necessarily the same.

Liberal feminism ultimately has historical roots in classical liberalism and was often associated with social liberalism from the late 19th century.

Liberal feminism was largely quiet in the United States for four decades after winning the vote.

Liberal feminism is usually included as one of the two, three or four main traditions in the history of feminism.

State feminism is often linked to liberal feminism, particularly in Western countries.

Individualist or libertarian feminism is sometimes grouped as one of many branches of feminism with historical roots in liberal feminism, but tends to diverge significantly from mainstream liberal feminism on many issues.

Liberal feminism reasoned that if they were confined to the same cages that trap women, men would develop the same flawed characters.

Liberal feminism produced many speeches, resolutions, letters, calls, and petitions that fed the first wave and kept the spirit alive.

Equity feminism is a form of liberal feminism discussed since the 1980s, specifically a kind of classically liberal or libertarian feminism, emphasizing equality under law, equal freedoms, and rights, rather than profound social transformations.

Barry Kuhle asserts that equity Liberal feminism is compatible with evolutionary psychology, in contrast to gender Liberal feminism.

Critics of liberal feminism argue that its individualist assumptions make it difficult to see the ways in which underlying social structures and values disadvantage women.

One of the more prevalent critiques of liberal feminism is that it, as a study, allows too much of its focus to fall on a "metamorphosis" of women into men, and in doing so, it disregards the significance of the traditional role of women.

One of the leading scholars who have critiqued liberal feminism is radical feminist Catherine A MacKinnon, an American lawyer, writer, and social activist.

Bell hooks' main criticism of the philosophies of liberal feminism is that they focus too much on equality with men in their own class.

Liberal feminism maintains that the "cultural basis of group oppression" is the biggest challenge, in that liberal feminists tend to ignore it.

Critics such as Black feminists and postcolonial feminists assert that mainstream liberal feminism reflects only the values of middle-class, heterosexual, white women and fails to appreciate the position of women of different races, cultures, or classes.