Introduction
According to Walters, (2005) feminism is defined as an historical and theoretical term that describes cultural, economic, political and social movements. Its core metrics is captured within ideologies designed at establishing the legal and equal rights for women. This feminism seeks to establish sociological, political theories and philosophical aspects for gender differences and also more opportunities for women in context of employment, education and their rights and interest as well.
Simone de Beauvoir claims that ‘the first instance we witness a woman holding up a pen in her hand defending her sex’ and this provide an emotional link to Ms. Christine de Pizan who openly published Epitre au Dieud' Amour(meaning a letter to God of Love) in the 15th century. Modesta di Pozzo di Forzi together with Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa worked in the 16th century. Anne Bradstreet, Francois Poullain de la Barreand Marie Le Jars de Gournay wrote and published several feminist scripts during the 17th century, (Bergoffen 2010).
According to Walters, (2005) the history and theory of feminism is categorized into 3 core waves. The 1st feminist wave ushered in the 19th and early 20th centuries was objectively aimed at defining the women's suffrage movements and interests. The second feminist wave was experienced in the early 1960s and also 1970s and this defined the activities and ideas associated with the women's liberation. In particular, the third wave spread from the early 1990s until the present day. This entails the presentation of the essential actions to the conscious failures of the second wave. Feminist theory came into existence from the feminist ideologies and movements. This is generally founded in a various sectors such as feminist history, feminist geography and the feminist literary work that is related to criticism.
The wave of determination expressed comprehensively in the Second Sex is expressed perhaps in a more intuitive way by Beauvoir and Irigaray. This is projected within a century theory that provides a well illustrated fundamental, significant to the dynamics of women’s exploitations. Thus, the sexual link which is defined within varied projections indicates that mutuality and explosive friendship has an indicative status, reflecting the intensity of women’s inner positions across the philosophical levels. The ideas of subjectivity and pioneered works which Luce Irigaray and Beauvoir define included painstaking details that have been constructed through generations in a wider array of cultural rigidity. The patriarchal discourse that has included meticulous dynamics and myriads of multifarious sources only explain the thinking of the wider society on women as gender. According to Beauvoir, the position of women is clear and this has been illusion by ageless theories which define women as inessential other of the other sex. In the lines of quote examining this circumscribed subjectivity, the attribute that has been explored on the pretext of having women as primitive.
In Beauvoir’s assertion, a woman is a creature within which the society takes as a tool and this does not provide a position to take in specifically aligned perspectives. Such proclamations fuel existing deficiencies regarding women and the relationship that exist with the male body. Thus the subject ‘Woman’ is undertaken radically in the context regarding women and the hormonal variances. The thinking fostered by Beauvoir reflect women in another angle which apprehended the intensity of women’s life and this is weighed upon the critical values of life, featured in qualities only available in men.
The First wave
The first wave of feminism alludes to cover a widespread time of feminist activities during the 19th century and also the early 20thcentury in Europe and United States. Generally, the aspect of feminism focused on greater promotion or activities of property rights and equal agreements for women and the resistance to participate in marriage and the ownership claimed on the married women. This also involved a changing wave of love explored considerably within a century in a wider perspective with a more defined link to a feministic purpose which is linked to the children; through their husbands. But, towards the end of the 19th century, feminists and activism focused mainly on achieving political powers, especially the women gender right of suffrage. However, feminists including Margaret Sanger and Vulturine de Cleyre were still advocating for women's economic rights, sexual, and reproductive health by that time. In particular, in 1854, Nightingale Florence opened up female nurses annex to military, (Walters, 2005).
The Second wave
The Second wave feminism ushered the movement activities in 1960s and lasted up to late 1980s. Walters, (2005) claims that this second wave is just the continuation of an initial wave phase associated with feminism including the suffragettes in Europe and in the United States. In this second wave feminism has sustained since that period of time and it entails with the third wave of feminism. Walters, (2005) compares first as well as the second wave of feminism claiming that a first-wave mainly focused on women’s rights for example, suffrage, while the 2nd wave of feminists was majorly responsible for other aspects of equality, such as abolishing any form of discrimination.
This particular feminist activism and Simon de Beauvoir designed the slogan known as the ‘The Political is Personal’ established within the enclaves of feministic occurrences. The Second-wave of feminists experienced women's political inequalities and it was closely linked, and it culturally aligned perspectives in women’s understanding of features and ideologies of their personal lives. This was thought to directly relate to sexist power arrangements and generally politicized environments.
The Second Sex and Simone de Beauvoir
The French philosopher and author Simone de Beauvoir published a novel, a specialized subject on politics, philosophy and social issues, articles or essays, biographies and an account. She became popular and well-known for her special metaphysical novels, detailing the point of reference that she came to advocate. The Mandarins in her written work, “The Second Sex” illustrated analysis of how the women's suffering and the endless load of contemporary feminism. Wrote in 1949, its translation to English was recognized in 1953. This draws feminist philosophical theory which describes the moral revolution. As a philosopher, she allowed Jean-Paul Sartre's general rule proceeds as the intrinsic nature; hence ‘an individual is not born as a woman, but becomes a woman’. Her general analysis mainly highlights the social restoration of woman, (Bergoffen 2010).
The third wave
According to Bergoffen, (2010) the 3rd wave feminism spread during early 1990s and this emerged as the immediate response to conscious failure of a second-wave feminism as well as the solution against the backlash establishment and movements developed by the second-wave feminism. The 3rd wave of feminism attempt to avoid what was experienced in the second-wave believes in the core definitions of the femininity which means over-emphasizing the knowledge of the white-women of the upper middle class. A period of structuralism meaning of sexuality and gender covered too much of the third-wave's movement and ideology. The third-wave spread-widely during the mid-1980s. The feminist leaders appeared in the second wave such as Bell Hooks, Gloria Anzaldua, Cherrie Moraga, Chela Sandoval, Maxine Hong Kingston, Audre Lorde, and many more black-feminists. They wanted to negotiate the aspects within the feminist thoughts regarding race-related influences.
Third-wave also details internal discussions between numerous feminists for example, psychologist called Carol Gilligan believes there are many significant differences between the sexes and claims that gender responsibilities are caused by social circumstances, (Bergoffen 2010).
Feminist philosophy of Lucy Irigaray and Simone de Beauvoir
In 1977, Irigaray wrote that women can be exchanged between men in the same way as other valued commodities are. Irigaray asserts that the whole community is based on this exchange of women. Her value is decided by society, whereas her use of value represent changing wave of core standards reflected within the world itself. In that perspective, a woman’s self is separated between her exchange values and use and she is only liked for her exchange value, (Walters, 2005).
This ideology provides three kinds of women; the mother, who is the value use; the virgin, who is responsible for exchange value and the prostitute, who express both the exchange value and use. Irigaray continue to explain that “Women on the Market,” are in demand due to their ideal shortage and as an outcome. Males seek to have all of them or struggle to have them like the excess of goods buying power and capital that capitalists pursue constantly. However, Simone de Beauvoir illustrates as necessity to women's oppression. She claims that women have historically been regarded as diverging from usual and abnormal and asserts that even Mary Wollstonecraft see men to be the platform that women should aspire to be. Simone de Beauvoir claims that for feminism to spread widely but this position is challenged comprehensively and in a wider perspective, (Bergoffen 2010).
Criticism
Critically, different opinions ranging from many feminists seek to criticize the conscious philosophical belief of Luce Irigaray. However, there are a number of numerous discussions among scholars as to whether Irigaray's ideology of sexual diversity is or not, surely, a philosophical belief that things have a set of. The idea that Luce Irigaray's effort is a philosophical belief draws around her concerns to sexual difference, regarding this as part of a rehearsal deriving from sexuality, (Walters, 2005).
References
Walters, Margaret. Feminism: A very short introduction. Oxford University. (2005). pp. 1–176.
Bergoffen, Debra. Simone de Beauvoir: Metaphysics Research Lab, CSLI, Stanford University. (2010). Pp. 145-152
