Theories of Feminism

1. Theories of Feminism Just as people hold many different political views, some of which may be contradictory, people may also ascribe to different or multiple forms of feminist thought. http://www.sou.edu/English/IDTC/Issues/Gender/Resources/femtax1.htm Warren Hedges, Southern Oregon Universityhttp://www.sou.edu/English/IDTC/Issues/Gender/Resources/femtax1.htm Warren Hedges, Southern Oregon University

2. Even when reformed, existing political structures may not be adequate to address women's needs. How to achieve equality with men without erasing women's difference, making them in effect, "honorary men." Even when reformed, existing political structures may not be adequate to address women's needs. How to achieve equality with men without erasing women's difference, making them in effect, "honorary men."

3. Cultural Feminism A great variety of female artists, musicians, teachers, activists, etc. A very big tent. Attempts to recover lost or marginalized women's works and traditions and create a culture that nurtures and supports women's experiences and values. Music, literature and other arts form a large part of this endeavor. Argues that existing institutions and the values they represent are male-dominated. How to create a "gynocentric" culture without drawing on a notion of "universal" sisterhood that may exclude some women. How to avoid "policing identity" and setting up some women and their values as more "women-centered' than others. How to create a "gynocentric" culture without drawing on a notion of "universal" sisterhood that may exclude some women. How to avoid "policing identity" and setting up some women and their values as more "women-centered' than others.

4. Separatist Feminism Mary Daly Argues that at this historical moment women's primary responsibility is to care for each other and combat patriarchy, and that this is best achieved by creating female-only spaces and relationships. Especially during the late seventies lesbian separatists were sometimes taken (often by others) to be the most radical or pure form of feminism. How to be a vanguard if you don't have a positive program for males, especially boys. How to account for non-traditional males such as gay men and transvestites. How to be a vanguard if you don't have a positive program for males, especially boys. How to account for non-traditional males such as gay men and transvestites.

5. �French� Feminism H�lene Cixous, Luce Irigaray, Julia Kristeva Draws on recent French intellectual traditions to examine the role that language plays in creating subjectivity and maintaining gender asymmetries. Explicitly critiques many of liberal feminism's presuppositions, although it supports its political advances. How to critique linguistic formations that make change difficult without characterizing their influence as something so powerful and pervasive that any attempts at political change are deluded and hopeless. How to critique linguistic formations that make change difficult without characterizing their influence as something so powerful and pervasive that any attempts at political change are deluded and hopeless.

6. Psychoanalytic Feminism Nancy Chodorow, Julliet Mitchell, Jane Gallop, Kaja Silverman, Toril Moi Argues that the Freudian tradition, especially in its most recent formations, provides the best framework for understanding how language shapes subjectivity and gender definitions. Draws on moments in Freud's work where he analyzes traditional heterosexuality and gender roles as arbitrary rather than "natural." How to draw on Freud's more subversive moments without also perpetuating sexist premises. Question of how plausible a model based on a Oedipal triangle is in a society where dual parent households are becoming less common.

7. Materialist Feminism Susan Willis, Donna Harraway Indebted to Marx and Engels, this feminist thought attempts to relate women's subordination to historical and class factors like the division of labor between men and women. Tends to focus on collaboration rather than identity politics. How to avoid treating gender issues as an offshoot of class issues.

8. Womanist Alice Walker, Barbara Smith, bell hooks Womanism brings a racialized and often class-located experience to the gendered experience suggested by feminism. It also reflects a link with history that includes African cultural heritage, enslavement, women's culture, and a kinship with other women, especially women of color. Alice Walker who said, "Womanist is to feminist what lavender is to purple".� http://www.ou.edu/womensoc/feminismwomanism.htm Others prefer black feminism because retaining the adjective makes racial experience more visible, and because failing to use the more familiar noun might be seen as deserting some of its basic beliefs and/or controversies; for instance, the false notion that feminism is synonymous with lesbianism, as opposed to including all females. Alice Walker who said, "Womanist is to feminist what lavender is to purple".� http://www.ou.edu/womensoc/feminismwomanism.htm Others prefer black feminism because retaining the adjective makes racial experience more visible, and because failing to use the more familiar noun might be seen as deserting some of its basic beliefs and/or controversies; for instance, the false notion that feminism is synonymous with lesbianism, as opposed to including all females.

9. Eco-Feminists Rosemary Reuther, Mary Daly, Susan Griffin Ecofeminism regards the oppression of women and nature as interconnected, and eco-feminist theorists have extended their analyses to consider the interconnections between sexism, the domination of nature (including animals), racism, and social inequalities. Consequently it is now better understood as a movement working against the interconnected oppressions of gender, race, class and nature. http://www.ecofem.org/Consequently it is now better understood as a movement working against the interconnected oppressions of gender, race, class and nature. http://www.ecofem.org/

10. Anti-Pornography Movement Catherine McKinnon, Andrea Dworkin Argues that pornography is the most extreme instance of a culture that objectifies women as a means to oppress them, and uses rape as a form of terrorism. "Pornography is the theory and rape is the practice." How to account for the difference between representations and acts. How to explain things like some women's rape fantasies or lesbian B&D without policing women's desires.

11. Pro-Pornography Artists and Theorists Gayle Rubin, Susie Bright, female performance artists Argue that the anti-porn movement has a naive view of representation and has vitiated women's sense of sexual agency. Does not want to censor porn, but to create better porn that reflects women's desires, body types, and diversity. How to best combat the continuity between some forms of straight male pornography and violence against women.

12. �Queer� Theory Gayle Rubin, Judith Butler, Michael Moon, Eve Sedgwick Examines the ways that marginalized sexualities subvert, parody, and disrupt dominant gender and power relations. Especially interested in how drag, camp, etc., complicate or disrupt perceived oppositions like those between "male" and "female," "gay" and "straight," etc. How to maintain a cohesive oppostional politics that does not depend on a notion of shared identity. How to maintain a cohesive oppostional politics that does not depend on a notion of shared identity.