Approaches to the study of Political Theory-3 | PSIR Optional for UPSC (Notes) PDF Download

Feminism

Political theory is enriched by various approaches and traditions that analyze and comprehend politics in diverse and often contradictory ways. This paper provides a broad overview of feminist approaches and traditions within political theory. Jane Mansbridge and Susan Moller Okin (2007: 333) describe feminism as a political stance rather than a systematic theory, intricately linked to political change. They highlight the experiential plurality of feminist theory, which challenges the public/private dichotomy by politicizing the personal and incorporating the standpoints of women from different cultures, sexualities, and backgrounds. 

Despite this diversity, Mansbridge and Okin identify a common overarching goal for feminist theory: to understand, explain, and challenge men's systematic domination of women. Feminist theory aims to end this domination and reflects a multiplicity of viewpoints, standpoints, and epistemologies. In light of this diversity, it may be more appropriate to refer to 'feminisms' rather than a singular feminism.

Feminism in Political Theory

Alison Jaggar(1983) categorizes feminism into four main types:

• Liberal Feminism: Advocates for women's rights and liberation through principles of equality, rights, and a neutral state.
• Marxist Feminism: Draws from Marxist theory, particularly Engels’ critique of private property, to explain women’s subordination.
• Socialist Feminism: Addresses both capitalism and patriarchy as central to women’s oppression, focusing on production and reproduction.
• Radical Feminism: Emphasizes patriarchy as a fundamental structure undermining women’s agency, often critiquing traditional views of consent and agency.

Over time, feminism has evolved into various strands, including psychoanalytic feminism, cultural feminism, ecofeminism, lesbian feminism, Islamic feminism, Third World feminism, relational feminism, and others. These strands reflect the diverse ways in which feminism addresses issues of gender and oppression.

Variants of Feminism

• Sameness Feminism: Articulates women's rights based on common humanity with men, potentially downplaying sexual differences.
• Difference Feminism: Affirms the biological and social differences of women, as seen in connection/care feminism.
• Dominance Feminism: Critiques the non-equivalence of differences attributed to men and women, viewing sexual difference as a product of dominance.

Judith Squires(2000) offers a classification based on equality, difference, and displacement of differences. This approach emphasizes redefining male and female roles rather than merely advocating for equality of opportunity.

Elizabeth Gross(1986) argues that feminist theory prioritizes autonomy over equality, suggesting that feminist politics are more concerned with individual agency and self-determination than with achieving equal status with men.

Feminism by Timeline

• First Wave Feminism: Advocated for equality of rights between women and men.
• Second Wave Feminism: Represented a radical feminist movement that emphasized a universal category of women and highlighted women's victimhood.
• Third Wave Feminism: Continued to explore issues of gender, often focusing on intersectionality and the diverse experiences of women.
• Postfeminism: Critiques or moves beyond earlier feminist frameworks, often questioning the universality of feminist claims.

Feminist thought engages with and reinterprets the foundations of theoretical frameworks, often attacking male dominance and the 'maleness' of mainstream theories. Feminism critiques various political traditions, including liberalism and Marxism, for their gender bias, particularly in their treatment of the public/private dichotomy.

• Feminist critiques reveal how mainstream political theories, such as Rawls' theory of justice, often overlook power dynamics in the private sphere and the sexual contract within families. Pateman and Okin argue that Rawls' social contract is primarily a contract between men or male-headed families, excluding the unequal sexual contract within families. Rawls' 'veil of ignorance' is criticized for being 'genderless,' as the rules of justice do not apply to the private realm. Eva Kittay (1999) points out that Rawls ignores the care functions performed by women in the family. Early liberals like Mill denied the application of justice to the sexual division of labor in the family, while contemporary liberals like Rawls assumed the naturalness of this division. Feminism emphasizes the importance of the private/public binary and critiques the neglect of family and private spheres in mainstream political theory.
• Feminist theory, including postmodern feminism and representatives of the 'third wave' like black feminism, challenges linguistic patriarchy and problematizes male closure in language. Luce Irigaray's concept of 'la parler femme'(women's speech) and Cixous' 'ecriture feminine' (women's writing) exemplify feminist subversion. The diversity within feminism makes it challenging to systematize into a single approach or epistemology. Kymlicka (2001: 377) notes that feminism encompasses various theories, and the issue of diversity is amplified within feminism.

Feminism interacts with different historical traditions and ideologies, lacking definitional consensus ranging from improving women's positions to sexual justice, systemic discrimination removal, and postmodern critiques of definitions. Despite the diversities and contradictions within feminism, feminist political theory raises central questions about the emergence, acceptance, and consequences of male domination. Feminist political theory destabilizes established categories in political theory, such as rationality, agency, and human subjectivity, from early feminists distinguishing biological sex from socially constructed gender to feminist postmodernists complicating the sex/gender distinction. Feminism's subversive nature is evident in its critique of accepted categories and its exploration of interlocking and multiple oppressions.