We’ll consider this my preliminary Skeptical Feminist FAQ:
• What is feminism? Is it a philosophy, an ideology, or just another ism?
At it’s most basic, feminism is the idea that women are people, too; that men and women are more similar than different, and therefore women’s lives should not be so constricted by their biological sex as they have been historically. Since feminism is, after all, an idea, it is also simultaneously a philosophy, an ideology, and an ism, depending on who you ask.
• What does feminism have to do with humanism, women’s studies, and gender issues?
Feminism is intimately intertwined in all of the above!
• What is the difference between the so-called Waves of Feminism (1st, 2nd, and 3rd)?
The so-called waves of feminism are helpful categories for referring to a specific “generation” of American feminist tactics and goals. To briefly surmise each ~
1st The first wave of feminist thought emerged concurrently with the height of abolitionism, around the middle of the 19th century. As a matter of fact, before the schism over the 14th Amendment, abolitionists and feminist were allies. While the first wave of feminist activism didn’t immediately meet its stated purpose – to grant women a legal voice through political enfranchisement, which wouldn’t happen until 1920 – it did serve to make significant gains in women’s personal liberty (i.e., the right to independently own property and earn wages), and thereby paved the way for the following waves.
2nd The second wave of feminism, which was recognizable by the 1960s, again blossomed simultaneously with heyday of the Black Civil Rights movement. This wave of feminism was in no small way precipitated by the advent of the birth control; this wave saw women seeking not only sexual liberty, but also pay equity and unrestricted access to occupations. The second wave lacked a specific, cohesive goal and crashed in 1982, when the Equal Rights Amendment – a proposed Constitutional Amendment seeking to give women and men equal rights – fell three states short of ratification.
3rd The third wave supposedly encompasses all iterations of modern feminism. It is purported to have ‘begun’ in the 1990s, and like its immediate predecessor, lacks a distinct purpose or common motivation, instead being characterized by a distinct lack of cohesiveness.
So, kind readers, please give me feedback. What other questions could/should I address in this FAQ? What clarifications need to be made? I know I need to clarify my second point, and I hope that with your comments you will help me to elucidate the distinctions between feminism humanism, women’s studies, and gender issues.
I participate in a weekly discussion group at my college's Women's Center and one week we talked about what feminism meant to us. My friend and I both agreed that feminism to us meant legal equality for women (like equal wages), but also defeating sexist laws (like illegalizing abortion or birth control). But the best definition I heard, from the director of the center, was that to her, feminism is work to end sexist oppression.
Her definition of "working to end sexist oppression" really spoke to me because it actually encompasses what feminism means to me and so much more. I think sexist oppression is linked to male privilege, but I think its also linked to systematic violence against women like domestic abuse and sexual assault.
Common sense is as rare as genius. ~Emerson
Colorado November Ballot Measure to Legally Define a Fertilized Egg as a Person
You have been using 'humanism' incorrectly for a while now. Humanism was the Renaissance-era movement that proposed the (heretical) idea that people (not God) were determiners of their own destiny.
Your definitions of the various waves of feminism are very skeptical. I find it amusing. It's difficult to define feminism, since it covers almost the entire range of the political spectrum. There are simultaneously feminists who support wide availability of birth control, abortions, etc. as a means of women being able to achieve peak sexual freedom and feminists who oppose those claiming that it makes rape easier and/or feeds into our culture of female sexual objectification (as if the male form of objectification didn't exist or that it were inherently a bad thing). There are feminists who believe that women having detached sexual relationships (the zipless fuck, as Erica Jong called it in "Fear of Flying"), while others maintain that every act of sex is violence towards women because penetrating the body is inherently violent.
Also, you failed to discuss how over the years (through the various waves) feminism has become more and more theoretical.
--Mike
RE: Humanism
Allow me to clarify. When I speak of humanism, I'm referring to the so-called "life stance" as espoused by organizations such as the American Humanist Association, as opposed to the Renaissance-era philosophical movement. I suppose it was silly for me to assume that this would be understood by others.
RE: Feminism
I, too, find it difficult to define feminism, precisely because of the divergent attitudes and ideologies of various self-described adherents. At this point I'm not sure if I ought to consider myself to be a feminist; I used to think it was important to distance myself from the label, but sometimes I think it carries an important connotation that shouldn't be so readily discarded. Then again, the divisions within "the movement" cause me to question what it is I would be identifying with if I were to embrace the label.
So it goes that I'll continue to consider -- and blog about -- such things. Thanks for commenting and sharing your thoughts.
/jkh
Are these waves just american waves?
For the most part, they describe American society. However, these waves (besides the first wave, as far as I'm aware) came in tandem with feminist movements in Europe.
--Mike
thanks !!!
Excellent post! I wonder if you shouldn't include a brief explanation of the criticism of the wave model--namely that the different "waves" are not necessarily distinct and even seem to imply that there were lulls within the movement. There weren't, just lulls in the public recognition of feminist agitation.
Additionally, I would be careful with the following statement: [that men and women are more similar than different, and therefore women’s lives should not be so constricted by their biological sex as they have been historically]. There are many feminists that would not necessarily agree with the first statement, or more importantly, would challenge its inclusion in a basic definition. While feminists argue for equality, it is more based on the idea the we as humans are all equal and deserve to be treated as such, than that men and women are so similar it just isn't fair that we are treated differently.
RE: FEMINISM (JKH) I see your point in worrying about the connotations of being labeled a feminist (or choosing the label of feminist), but I wonder if it isn't a little prohibitive to refuse to label one's self based on the idea that there might be others within the movement with whose ideals you do not perfectly agree. For example, I would have called myself an abolitionist in the 1830s and 1840s (at least I hope I would have had the courage), yet I would not agree with self-proclaimed abolitionist John Brown that hacking slave owners to death with a broadsword is the correct course of action. If I were to distance myself from the abolition movement merely because of him, wouldn't I be doing myself and society a great disservice?
In modern Western countries the feminist label seems like a misnomer, cus it has very little to do with femininity at all. Feminism typically means 'pro-equality', same as masculinism but with a different focus. I can't think of any issues where feminism comes into play anymore - if anything masculinism is more relevant in the modern USA. Think about gender discrimination in registering for selective service (the draft): the government specifically demands that men play the 'die for your country' lottery. Feminists advocate... more maternity leave? I could be missing something but I see no reason to call oneself a feminist with regards to domestic affairs when you basically want to maintain the status quo of gender equality under the law.
Feminism becomes meaningful when you consider places like Afghanistan, where wife-rape is legal and women are treated as sub-human. And of course the history of feminism in the USA is important but I believe the movement ended when it achieved its goals.
I think you pretty much pegged it. They won the issue so thoroughly that there is not a lot of relevance to the movement anymore. They worked themselves out of a job.
Most feminist leaders now are just liberals operating in camoflage behind the feminist lable. And they are mostly also a joke. "One free grope" comes to mind.
for myself, I stay away from labels, and don't like the word "feminism" any more than I like the word "racism." I feel like the word loses meaning by focusing solely on one gender.
I do care very much about women's issues, but I also care about childrens' issues and family issues, and men's issues. I am a humanist, when it comes down to it. Nevertheless there are some great feminist thinkers out there, and I don't mind learning what they have to say.
Ultimately, I think that anything that seeks to exclude others in terminology hurts all people. Feminism, as a word, isolates issues related to men and boys. I think this hurtful. I think that gender equality is important, but we fail to recognize all the ways that our social constructs hurt males, and that is something that hurts people, and daughters. Ultimately, all women, and all people, are served when we are honest, and think critically about our environment. We have the ability to manipulate our environment to better serve our needs as a society.
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