Running head: IS FEMINISM FOR YOU?

Is Feminism For You?

Meghan Funk
Loyola University Chicago

IS FEMINISM FOR YOU?

Introduction
As I find myself further into my graduate education, I have learned about a variety of
theories and have come to determine theories are not universal. As a critical thinker, I can select
specific theory characteristics I believe to be true, as well as those I claim to be false. This holds
true in regards to my views of feminist theories. After much research and reflection, I have come
to define feminism as the idea of working towards ending gender and sexist oppression by
creating equity for all genders while meeting the needs of all intersecting identities. In regards to
the different forms of feminism, I believe my definition most closely relates to liberal feminism.
Liberal Feminism
I resonate most with liberal feminisms characteristic of ending gender-based
discrimination. According to Elizabeth Allan (2011), liberal feminists contend discrimination
against women is fundamentally unfair and not in keeping with a just societys need to foster
human rights and the ability for individuals to exercise autonomy and self-fulfillment (p. 20). I
believe in order for feminism to be successful, society must work towards ending all gender and
sexist oppression and not simply the oppression of women. By focusing on building equity for
everyone, society can work towards ending patriarchal structures and the continuous cycles of
oppression.
Another liberal feminism characteristic my definition shares is the idea of recognizing the
importance of meeting the needs of all individuals in regards to their intersectionalities. Nancy
Tuana and Rosemarie Tong (1995) spoke to liberal feminist perspectives when they stated
liberals advanced a belief in the natural equality and freedom of human beings and advocated
the creation of a social structure that would recognize the uniqueness of individuals and provide

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them with equality of opportunity (p. 5). I appreciate how these authors address how everyone
is different and that society needs to address those differences. Society cannot simply focus on
ending gender and sexist oppression without looking at intersecting identities and how they
impact ones gender identity.
My Definition, My Identities
Gender
Throughout history, women have been considered inferior to men. Aristotle stated (as
cited in Krepts, 1972) the female is a female by virtue of a certain lack of qualities; we should
regard the female nature as afflicted with a natural defectiveness (p. 234). This quote depicts
how men devalue women and I believe this leads to their beliefs of having power over women.
This power can ultimately lead to violence. As a woman, I have experienced firsthand gender
oppression in my own life. My knowledge of gender-based violence against women through
media and shared stories of strangers and acquaintances has caused me to question my safety as a
woman. I am afraid to walk home at night by myself and I feel the need to question men I enter
relationships with in fear they may become violent. The fear I have from acts of male violence is
a direct result of the power structure men have created within society in order to keep themselves
superior to women. As a human being, I should be able to feel safe when walking down a street
and I believe everyone has the right to safety. Therefore, I agree with hooks (2000) when she
said women and men must oppose the use of violence as a means of social control in all its
manifestations (p. 66). I would challenge hooks to look beyond the gender binary in her
statement to include all genders. The oppression I have experienced as a result of my own
gender has allowed me to understand the dangers of power structures. I believe complete equity

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cannot occur while power structures exist, which is why my definition of feminism includes
working towards ending all gender oppression.
In my example above, I express the fears I have of walking home alone at night and
possibly facing gender violence due to my identity as a woman, which society deems as weak
and timid compared to men. While I recognize women face gender oppression, I am also aware
other genders face oppression in similar situations. For example, individuals who identify as
transgender may also fear walking home alone at night but for different reasons. Individuals
who identify as transgender may face the fear of being attacked for identifying outside the
gender binaries and as a result, could face many different forms of brutality. As I further explore
gender violence, I also recognize the reality that men are not the only gender capable of genderbased violence. Hooks (2000) referred to her writings in Feminist theory: From Margin to
Center when she wrote:
by only calling attention to male violence against women we fail to adequately address
the problem of violence and make it difficult to develop viable resistance strategies and
solutions While we need not diminish the severity of the problem of male violence
against women or male violence against nations or the planet, we must acknowledge that
men and women have together made the United States a culture of violence and must
work together to transform and create that culture (pp. 65-66).
My definition of feminism encompasses the idea that all genders play a role in the
patriarchal systems of oppression. Therefore, if my goal for feminism is to create equity for all
genders, this would mean active participation is required by all genders within the feminist
movement. As Olive Banks (1986) wrote perhaps the most striking thing about feminism is the
extent to which it has been a movement of women and not just for women (p. 106). I believe

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this quote speaks to the struggle feminism has in gaining support. If women are fighting to end
oppression for others, they must include others in the movement.
Intersectionality of Gender Expression and Sexuality
Throughout my life, I have always considered my gender expression to be feminine.
However, when I was younger, my experiences taught me that just because I believed I was
expressing myself as feminine, did not necessarily mean others perceived it so. I also learned
how gender expression can be tied to ones sexuality and that sexist oppression can play a role in
both identities. In middle school, I possessed what society may consider masculine traits and
was often referred to as a tomboy. During this period in my life, I experienced different
reactions from a variety of people. Some individuals related the way I expressed myself as
boyish through characteristics of being strong and tough. As a result, I felt my peers who
identified as boys respected me because I had proven myself to be closer to their level of
strength, specifically in regards to athletics. I was often one of the first people picked when it
came to determining teams in gym class, and I was always welcomed into the boys social group.
Unlike myself, my female classmates were picked last in gym class and were unwelcomed in the
boys social circle. As I entered junior high, these dynamics quickly changed. Girls went from
being dismissed by my male peers to being sexually desired. This was not the case for me.
Since I was still not conforming to my female counterparts, the boys did not see me as desirable.
Instead, I remember rumors spreading regarding my gender expression and sexuality, followed
by the assumptions that I was a lesbian.
Since I expressed myself less femininely in societys eyes, my peers saw my actions as
more closely related to that of a boy and therefore, assumed my sexuality aligned with
heteronormative beliefs, which ultimately led them to believe I had to be attracted to females.

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This confused me as a child because I did not understand how the way I dressed, acted, and the
fact I chose to hang around with boys suddenly made others question my sexuality. Since I
identify as heterosexual, I felt an enormous pressure at that time to alter my gender expression to
fit that of my female friends. Looking back on this experience, I recognize some of the
challenges individuals face when feeling the need to give into oppression when it comes to
fitting into gender norms. I specifically experienced how women are forced by society to feel
the need to be desired by men and as a result, must possess what society considers to be feminine
qualities in order to attract the opposite sex. According to hooks (2000), womens flesh [is]
worthy of love and adoration in its natural state; nothing [has] to be added unless a women
[chooses] further adornment (p. 32). Although hooks speaks specifically to women in this
passage, I believe it is vital for society to cease holding gender norms as standards. According to
my definition of feminism, all identities must be considered when ending gender and sexist
oppression and this includes gender expression and sexuality.
Race
One of the prominent characteristics in my definition of feminism is meeting the needs of
all identities, including intersectionality as it relates to gender. Until reading Hooks Feminism is
for Everybody: Passionate Politics, I had been looking at feminism and its relationship to sexist
and gender oppression as it relates to my own identities, specifically my racial and
socioeconomic identities. For example, one of my concerns of sexism includes my frustrations
of entering the workplace as a woman and possibly running into a glass ceiling created by men.
As a white woman, who attended an all-womens predominantly white high school, I took for
granted my access to education. I did not consider possible alternatives for women holding
identities different from my own. A woman of color attending an all-womens predominantly

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black high school, for example, may struggle gaining access to education by being denied
support and resources to pursue college because society has created a patriarchal system in which
women of color are made to seem inferior not only to men but also to white women.
A greater percentage of white women graduate with bachelors degrees compared to
women of color (Allan, 2011). I offer up my own experience as evidence that racism is still
evident in todays feminist movement. The fact white women choose to push their own agenda
and allow privilege to blind them of the oppression faced by women of color, illustrates that
feminism as a collective movement is currently not working towards ending all gender and sexist
oppression. I hope by recognizing my own privilege, I can work towards educating myself in
terms of the different experiences women of color face, as well as the oppression they witness. I
also recognize I will never be able to speak fully to the experiences of women of color or women
who hold other identities that differ from my own. What I can do is further align myself with my
definition of feminism by working towards recognizing the needs of different identities and
working towards justice for those identities. Tuana and Tong (1995) wrote:
feminist theory is at its best when it reflects the lived experience of particular women;
when it bridges the gap between mind and body, reason and emotion, thinking and
feelings; and when women, motivated by friendship, humbly identify what separates
them, even as they discover what draws them together (p. 493).
In order to end sexist and gender oppression, feminism must encompass the
intersectionality of different identifies and account for all experiences. Only then can feminism
begin to break down patriarchal structures and work towards ending sexism and gender
oppression.

IS FEMINISM FOR YOU?

Religious and Spiritual Beliefs

In continuing with the theme of feminism taking into account intersecting identities,
religion and spirituality have for a long time been ostracized by the feminist movement.
According to hooks (2000), masses of people still think feminism is anti-religion (p. 108). I
continue to believe feminism must encompass all identities and that has to include religion. As
someone who identifies as Roman Catholic, I recognize the sexist oppression within my own
religion. I am constantly torn between my religious and feminist beliefs. I struggle with my
religion because I am so passionate in its roots of spreading love and peace, but cannot seem to
wrap my mind around how this same religion is oppressive of so many other identities. As
someone who identifies as a woman and a feminist, I obviously struggle with the oppression
women face within the church. It is difficult to see strictly male leaders of the institution, the
way women are depicted in the religions history, and the domineering standards the church puts
around the sacrament of marriage. However, if the feminist movement excludes Catholicism and
other religious and spiritual organizations in which sexism exists, feminisms goal is no longer to
end all sexist oppression. Instead, feminists would then be choosing to be selective in which
forms of oppression are deemed necessary in addressing. As a Catholic feminist, I recognize
how feminism provides me with a lens in which I can view and ultimately question my religion.
Hooks (2000) stated there can be no feminist transformation of our culture without
transformation in our religious beliefs (p. 106). I believe this transformation hooks mentions
about religion must hold true for all systems of oppression. The feminist movement must
address and infiltrate large systems of oppression in order to wipe out sexism and gender
oppression, otherwise feminism will only continue to scratch the surface of the oppression that
truly exists in the world.

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Why Liberal Feminism

With the many different forms of feminism in existence it can be difficult to narrow down
ones own definition of feminism. When it comes to my definition, I believe the explanation
about my own identities and the role they play in my own feminist definition acts as reasoning to
why I lean towards liberal feminism and away from other forms.
Radical Feminism
As I stated in regards to religious and spiritual identities, I believe it is vital for
intersectionality to exist in feminism. As a result, I am distanced from the ideas of radical
feminism. According to Allan (2011):
Radical feminists argue that reform-oriented approaches like those evolving from liberal
feminism will never be sufficient to eliminate the oppression of women that is, in their
view rooted in patriarchal systems. Because educational institutions as well as legal and
institutional systems in which policies operate are supported by patriarchal systems,
radical feminists argue that these vehicles cannot possibly undo the oppression of women
(p. 22).
If this were true, radical feminists are saying existing institutions such as religion could
not exist. I argue that his cannot be because if institutions like religion were completely
dismantled, radical feminists would be destroying the institutions that make up individuals
salient identities. Just because a system or practice has flaws does not mean it holds no value in
other aspects. Radical feminist views appear to be short-term solutions, with long-term
consequences. I fear that if radical feminism is pursued, individuals will need to begin deciding
between identities they deem as more important to pursue. This will have a bigger impact on
creating more systems of privilege and oppression were individuals leave behind or distance

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themselves from certain identities due to radical feminism indicating they need to make a choice
between identities. I disagree with this being an appropriate approach, which is why I believe
the ideas of liberal feminism infiltrating already existing institutions can prove effective.
Marxist Feminism
Another form of feminism I do not align with is Marxist feminism. As I mentioned
earlier, I identify struggles women can face in the workplace pertaining to oppression. This
thought aligns me with Marxist feminist thinking. Allan (2011) said Marxist, socialist, and
materialist feminists argue that a class-based society is the underlying cause of oppression and
emphasize the dismantling of capitalism as the key pathway to the liberation of women (p. 24).
Although I agree with this statement, I believe feminism needs to address more than just
capitalism. For example, some women who are currently not in the job force are still
experiencing oppression in other ways such as sexual violence and gender norms in the
household. I do think Marxist feminism could have a significant impact on gender oppression
and sexism by bringing women closer to equity within the workplace, but I do not think the
approach will end all oppression against women in society.
In addition, I do not agree with Marxist feminism because it solely focuses on the needs
of women and not all genders. In my opinion, if Marxist feminists were to succeed in ending
oppression against women, there would still be gender discrimination in existence because
genders outside the binary are not included in the Marxist feminist movement. Marxist feminism
also assumes that men are the only ones who can be identified as oppressors. I believe there is
violence within society displayed by all genders including women. This is why I want to
encompass all genders within my definition of feminism and move away from Marxist feminism.
Conclusion

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Continuing to reflect on liberalist feminism has allowed me to gain a greater sense of

efficacy around what I believe to be true in regards to my own views of feminism. Moving
forward, I recognize the differences within the feminist movement and the importance of
continuing to build community around ending sexism and gender oppression. With that being
said, there is also value in putting efforts forward in seeking to understand different identities, as
well as opinions. In order for feminism to prevail, society must ultimately come together in
differences to destroy patriarchal systems in order to end sexism and gender oppression.

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References

Allan, E. J. (2011). Women's status in higher education: Equity matters (Ashe Higher Education
Report, 37(1)). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Banks,O.(1986).Becomingafeministthesocialoriginsof"firstwave"feminism.Athens,
Georgiaf:UniversityofGeorgiaPress.
Hooks, B. (2000). Feminism is for everybody: Passionate politics. Cambridge, MA: South End
Press.
Koedt,A.,Levine,E.,&Rapone,A.(1973).Radicalfeminism.QuadrangleNewYorkTimes
BookCo.
Tuana, N., & Tong, R. (Eds.). (1995). Feminism and philosophy: Essential readings in theory,
reinterpretation, and application. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.