The Case Against Liberal Feminism
Coming of age as the first female nominee of a major political party began her campaign for president in 2016 defined my young politics—at the time, I was fifteen years old, surrounded by peers with conservative minds indoctrinated by their parents. Simply showing a disliking for female nominee Hillary Clinton’s opponent Donald Trump or attending a women’s march was seen as radical, far-left feminist behavior in my hometown. As my classmates loudly proclaimed their ignorance about feminism, even going as far as to identify as anti-feminist, I began to do more research concerning my rights as a woman.
I’ve always identified as feminist. In what world would someone oppose a movement meant to uplift them and bring them closer to equality? It seemed bizarre to see fellow women protest the feminist cause. They would spat the word liberal as if it were an obscenity, scoffing at any woman who dared to go against Bernardsville conservatism. I knew I didn’t agree with any conservative ideal, so I assumed I fell into the category of liberal.
What I didn’t know at age fifteen is that there were subcategories of feminism—Rosemarie Putnam Tong brings light to this, saying that “feminism is not a monolithic ideology and all feminists do not think alike” (Tong, 1998). My identity as a liberal feminist was a result of having very little class consciousness and economic understanding, as well as an ignorance to subcultures. I didn’t fully grasp the intersections between gender identity, class, and race due to being sheltered, privileged, and having little worldly experience. At fifteen years old, all I knew is that I believed in equality for a functional democracy and capitalist system. I believed that equality between all genders could only occur through reform within a liberal democracy. Without having the knowledge of intersectionality, I believed “female subordination [was] rooted in a set of customary and legal constraints that blocks women’s entrance to and success in the so-called public world” (Tong, 1998). If women were seen as equals by their male counterparts, then women would receive equal opportunities, equal leadership positions, and equal representation. All we had to do was press our politicians to pass legislation to ensure these justices!
If only it were that easy. As I began my study of political science during my first year of university, I began to grasp the harsh realities of society—the realities we didn’t learn in history classes. I began to understand the different economic systems, the positives and negatives of each one and how they subsequently affect cultures. I began to question the system we have in place in the United States, finally seeing the rotten roots of our capitalist system, which could never ensure political, social, and economic freedom for women. I guess leaving the Bernardsville bubble turned me into the socialist, marxist, far-left radical they warned me I’d become after all.
Tong’s reflections on the beliefs of marxist and socialist feminists resonate strongly with me: “If all women—rather than just the “exceptional” ones—are ever to be liberated, the capitalist system must be replaced by a socialist system in which the means of production belong to everyone. No longer economically dependent on men, women will be just as free as men” (Tong, 1998). In order to end the oppression of women, patriarchal capitalism must die.
As I acquire more knowledge and broaden my worldview, I recognize that liberal feminism is simply not enough. It refuses to recognize the manifold forms of oppression that women face. Liberal feminism turns a blind eye to economic systems that need to be abolished and instead calls for reform. How can you reform a system built by the patriarchy? Built without regard to egalitarianism? Built to disadvantage women from the start?
The answer is simple: you can’t. The roots are rotten and the only way to rectify the damage done by our patriarchal, capitalist, facade of a democracy is to abolish it. As Juliet Mitchell put it, “women’s status and function in [the structures of production, reproduction, sexuality, and the socialization of children] must change if women are to achieve full liberation” (Tong, 1998).
References
Tong, R., & Botts, T. F. (1998). Feminist thought: A More Comprehensive Introduction (Second Edition, pp. 1-9). Westview Press.
Cover Photo by Laker.