Feminism as a social and political movement is the result of women's reactions to their position in society. Supporters of feminism emphasize the discrimination of women in society, and note that the privileges, rights and social hierarchy should not be arranged according to gender.
Feminism as a social and political phenomenon today, and as it was fifty years ago, is perceived ambiguously by the society. Metamorphoses, transforming it from a movement for women's suffrage in the movement for gender equality and the protection of minorities, have split the term into many concepts, often contradicting each other. Nowadays different feminist movement are presented; from my point of view, liberal feminist movement deserves biggest attention and recognition.
Liberal feminism is the “earliest time of occurrence and formation direction of feminism, is currently the most powerful and recognized as an area of theoretical feminism and feminist movement practice” (Kramarae Ch. and Treichler P. 154). Liberal feminism is based on liberal democratic principles of equality, freedom, representative democracy; its goal is to achieve equality and justice for women in the daily practice of social interaction.
Kramarae Ch. and Treichler P. explain: the purpose of the liberal feminist movement is to identify the bases of gender inequality, as well as draw attention to the issues of politics and power. . . .(186). Feminist work focuses on women's rights to control their bodies (pro-choice rights), the protection of women from domestic violence, the right to maternity leave, and others.
The main goal of liberal feminism as a movement is the destruction of male dominance. It is necessary to identify the basis for this rule and eradicate it. You can display the following main areas in which liberal feminist movement focuses: equal access to political power, regardless of gender and social status; gender equality in remuneration of labour; equal access for men and women to all occupations; draw attention to the health problems, fertility problems and mortality; the elimination of violence over women.
Liberal feminist movement has played huge role in the development of feminist discourse, fighting racism in North America and defending the "human rights of women" all over the world. Fundamental statements that reflected the discourse were such documents as the Declaration of Intent of National Organization for women's rights and the Beijing Declaration. These statements were based on the theory of the equality of people, which must be respected on local national and international levels.
One of the issues addressed by the supporters of liberal feminism as the analysis of gender inequality is the problem of equality in marriage. Feminist theorists claim that in our modern life marriage is still built on a gendered division of labour, as it normatively puts most women in the private sphere and most men in the public sphere. . . . (Renate Holub). Supporters of Liberal Feminist Movement see family as an institution as both “cultural attitudes and ideals of the system and the institutional balance of roles and norms, as well as the complex interaction of women and men” (Rich, 21).
As an institution of marriage reinforces the role of the authority and the freedom of man, added to this there is an idea of man’s sexual superiority and male power. Accordingly, the wives has to be compliant, submissive, ready for dedication and focus exclusively on the affairs and needs of a particular household. Thus, liberal feminist movement notes that there are two types of marriages. First is the male marriage in which the husband is of the opinion that he has to carry a heavy burden and a number of limitations and at the same time can enjoy authority, independence and the right to a home, emotional and sexual services from his wife, which is dictated by the established norms. Second type is a female marriage in which the wife confirms the presence in the culture of the thesis of self-realization, while actually her position is characterized by anarchy and dependence, the duty to provide domestic, emotional and sexual services. The results of such a situation cause great stress for women. Married women found high levels of stress in all positions, including a rapid heart rate, dizziness, headache, fainting, nightmares, insomnia and fear of a nervous breakdown.
Another issue of modern feminist movement is the women’s right to abortion. The campaign from the very beginning united the two wings of the movement. This approach to the justification by the means of different ideological and theoretical positions, both formal and informal groups available, organizes a successful pressure on the political representatives. The discussion on reproductive policy of the government began long time ago. But it was feminists who first formulated the problem in the framework of the autonomy of the ideas of self-determination and the rights of the females. The legalization of abortion, or the "pro-choice right", provided, first of all, independence and freedom in sexual relations. For liberals, it meant the expansion of the legal space of equality of natural rights.
Pro-choice supporters believe that the issue of maintaining or terminating the pregnancy is a matter of personal choice inalienable associated with the female body, personal health and future. They believe that the legality of abortion has a positive impact on the lives of parents and children, as women do not have to go to desperate measures to carry out clandestine abortions. Pro-choice supporters inscribe their views in the context of the values of “individual liberty, reproductive freedom and reproductive rights” (Rohlinger 43). The first of these terms are widely used in political movements of XIX and XX centuries (in particular, the abolition of slavery in Europe and the US and for the people's democracy); the last two terms are related to the change in views on sexual freedom and physical integrity.
Liberal feminists who support pro-choice movement almost never call themselves supporters of abortion: abortion issue they equate to the question of the “autonomy of the body, and forced abortion is considered legally and morally unacceptable” (Rohlinger 96). Some supporters of abortion rights oppose some or all abortions on moral grounds. However, they believe that abortion is inevitably will happen in any case, and therefore believe that legal abortion under controlled medical conditions is more preferable than an illegal clandestine abortions conducted without proper medical supervision.
Obviously the fulfilment the ideas of the liberal feminist movement are possible only with further and constant development. The assessment of liberal feminist movement has shown the tremendous progress of women’s rights and social recognition. Gender barriers have finally been broken in different countries, allowing females in most part of the world to vote, drive, make decisions concerning their body, education, etc. Despite numerous accomplishments the main goal of gender and cultural equality is still to be achieved. In my opinion, it can be gained by expanding the feminist’s policy: demanding governmental acceptance of pro-choice issue all over the world, proving the equality between men and women within the limits of the family institution by organizing conferences and attracting media attention and involvement, propagating women’s rights and extension of discrimination against females by the means of social advertisement and publications. In my opinion, the main idea is to show the society that the fight for women’s rights is far from over and it is time to face and deal with these problems together.
Works cited
Hochschild, Arlie Russell. The Second Shift. London: Penguin Books, 2003.
Holub, Renate. Feminist theory. http://learning.berkeley.edu/holub/articles/Femthe2.pdf
Rich, Jennifer. An Introduction to Modern Feminist Theory. Philosophy Insights. Tirril: Humanities-Ebooks, 2007.
Rohlinger Deana, Abortion Politics, Mass Media, and Social Movements in America, Cambridge: Cambridge Unevercity Press, 2014.
