FEMINISM

&
THE ETHICS OF CARE
(Written Report)

Submitted by:
Cainglet, Jomer S.
De Guzman, Princes Joy M.
Galorport, Brix Andre P.
Ramirez, Alliah Aubrey B.

Submitted to:
Mr. Jeric G. Laurio
 FEMINISM & THE ETHICS OF CARE

“Feminism is an entire world view or gestalt, not just a laundry list of women’s issues”
̶ Charlotte Bunch
Feminism is the theory of political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. It is the
core of all feminism theories. Sometimes, this definition is also referred to as core feminism or
core feminist theory. Feminism may also pertain to an organized activity on behalf of women’s
rights and interests.

FEMINISM THEORIES
Feminism comes in lots of varieties: liberal, radical, socialist, psychoanalytic, postmodern,
cultural, ecofeminism, individualist, material, moderate, gender, amazon, and separatist.
Liberal Feminism has its roots in some very traditional American notions: freedom of
choice and equality of opportunity. Liberal feminists insist that women can do everything men do
if only they are given a fair chance. Liberal feminists do not generally ask whether the things
men are doing are really worth doing. Nor do they challenge those women who are living out
traditional roles. Their focus is on making sure there is freedom and opportunity for those who
do not want to live out traditional roles. Liberal feminists tend to focus on changing restrictive
laws and eliminating formal barriers to women’s advancement.
Radical Feminism thinks the problems run very deep and that the solutions must cut
deep too. They argue that entrenched social attitudes do as much or more harm than restrictive
laws. To change social attitudes so that women are taken seriously, they think drastic steps must
be taken. In particular, they believe that reducing women to their sexuality is the worst thing the
culture does; it fosters rape, violence, and general contempt for women. Thus, they target cultural
phenomena such as pornography, advertising, and music videos that present women as nothing
but sexual toys. Liberal feminists object that protesting these phenomena is too much like
censorship and, hence, contrary to freedom. Radical feminists reply that until women are safe
from violence in the street and their own homes, they will never truly be free.
Socialist Feminism did not recognize gender and only gender as the exclusive basis of
all oppression. Rather, they held and continue to hold that class and gender are symbiotic, at least
to some degree, and one cannot be addressed without taking the other into consideration.
Socialist feminists wanted to integrate their struggle against women’s oppression with the
struggle against other injustice based on race, class, or economic status. The goal of socialist
feminism is to work with men to achieve a level playing field for both genders.
Psychoanalytic Feminism is a theory of oppression, which asserts that men have an
inherent psychological need to subjugate women. The root of men’s compulsion to dominate
women and women’s minimal resistance to subjugation lies deep within human psyche. This
branch of feminism seeks to gain insight into how our psychic lives develop in order to better
understand and change women’s oppression. The pattern of oppression is also integrated into
society, thus creating and sustaining patriarchy. Through the application of psychoanalytic
techniques to studying differences between women and men as well as the ways in which gender
is constructed, it is possible to reorganize socialization patterns at the early stages of human life.
Societal change, or a ‘cure” can be developed through discovering the source of domination in
men’s psyche and subordination in women’s, which largely resides unrecognized in individuals
unconscious.
Postmodern Feminism accepts the female/male binary as a main categorizing force in
our society. Following the Simone de Beauvoir, it sees female as having being cast into the role
of the Other. They criticize the structure of society and the dominant order, especially in its
patriarchal aspects. Many postmodern feminists, however, reject the feminist label, because
anything that ends with an “ism” reflects an essentialist conception. Postmodern Feminism is the
ultimate acceptor of diversity. Multiple truths, multiple roles, multiple realities are part of its
focus. There is a rejection of an essential nature of women, of one-way to be a woman.
Cultural Feminism believes that there are fundamental personality differences between
men and women, and those women’s differences are special and should be celebrated. It
supports the notion that there are biological differences between men and women. For example,
“women are kinder and gentler than men”, leading to the mentality that if women ruled the world
there would be no wars. It is a theory that wants to overcome sexism by celebrating women’s
special qualities, women’s ways, and women’s experiences, often believing that the women’s
way is the better way.

Ecofeminism rests on the basic principal that patriarchal philosophies are harmful to
women, children, and other living things. In resisting patriarchal culture, eco-feminists believe
they are also resisting plundering ad destroying the Earth. They feel that the patriarchal
philosophy emphasizes the need to dominate and control unruly females and the unruly
wilderness.
Individualists or Libertarian Feminism is based upon individualism or libertarian
(minimum government or anarchocapitalist) philosophies. The primary focus is individual
autonomy, rights, liberty, independence and diversity. It tends to widely encompass men and
focuses on barriers that both men and women face due to their gender.
Material Feminism is a movement that began in the late 19th century focused on
liberating by improving their material condition. This movement revolved around taking the
burden off women in regards to housework, cooking, and other traditional female domestic jobs.
Moderate Feminism tends to be populated mostly by younger women or women who
perceive that they have not directly experienced discrimination. They often believe that the
ideals of feminism movement are no longer viable, and therefore, question the need for further
efforts. They often view feminism as overbearing and too avert.
National Organization for Women (NOW) or Gender Feminism is based on the
notion that in order for men and women to be equal, women must be granted some special
privileges, and men should not be the central issue or barrier in feminism.
Amazon Feminism focuses on physical equality and is opposed to gender role
stereotypes and discrimination against women based on assumptions that women are supposed to
be, look, or behave as if they are passive, weak and physically helpless. It rejects the idea that
certain characteristics or interests are inherently masculine (or feminine), and upholds and
explores a vision of heroic womanhood. It tends to view that all women are as physically capable
as all men.
Separatist Feminism advocates separation from men; sometimes total, sometimes
partial. The core idea is that separating (by various means) from men enables women to see
themselves in a different context. Separatists are wrongly depicted as lesbians. Many feminists,
whether or not separatist, think this is a necessary first step for personal growth.

THE FEMINIST THOUGHT

Feminist thought is divided into three waves. The first wave, from the late 18th century
through the early part of the 20th century, tended to focus on legal issues, especially women’s
enfranchisement, and included as a notable accomplishment in the United States the vote for
women in 1922. The second wave has focused more on personal issues, specially the personal
relation between men and women, including sexuality, family, work place and reproduction
rights. And the third wave critiques the second wave feminism for its focus on the struggles of
white middle- class women, ignoring the plight of women of color, poor women, women in the
developing world, disabled women, etc.

SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR’S FEMINIST PHILOSOPHY

Simone de Beauvoir is best known as a novelist, feminist thinker, and writer, but she
was also an existentialist philosopher in her own right. Her hugely influential book, The Second
Sex which was published in 1949, laid the groundwork for second wave feminism.
What is a woman? De Beauvoir wondered. It cannot be a simple biological category, for
there are people who have the relevant biological equipment who are nevertheless excluded from
womanhood. In one of her most famous passages, de Beauvoir argues that “one is not born, but
rather becomes, a woman.” The category of womanhood is imposed by civilization. And the
fundamental social meaning of woman is Other. De Beauvoir held, “No group ever sets itself up
as the One without at once setting up the Other over against itself.” She argued that people in
small towns do this to strangers; natives of one country will view natives of another country as
Others, and members of one race will invariably set up the members of another race as Others.
Others are mysterious and almost by definition need not to be treated with the same
consideration and respect that the members of one’s own group must be accorded. Men set up
women as Others, de Beauvoir observed, and since men have the political and social power,
women come to see themselves as Others. They become alienated from themselves.
As she articulated what it was like to be the Other, de Beauvoir ridiculed certain popular
myths, including that of “feminine mystery,” Very handy concept, she pointed out. To
paraphrase her, if you do not understand what another person is complaining about, well, you
need not bother to listen sympathetically or place yourself imaginatively in that person’s
position. Just say, “Oh well, members of that group are just so mysterious!” and you are off the
hook. If they want something different from what you want, you do not give equal weight to
their preferences because everyone knows that their preferences are mysterious. De Beauvoir
pointed out that men had conveniently argued not that women were mysterious to men— that
might imply men were stupid—but, rather that they were mysterious objectively, absolutely.
One final consequence of de Beauvoir’s existentialist perspective is that she does not
emphasize freedom of choice to the same extent that the English writers do. Not all choices are
okay. From de Beauvoir’s perspective, if all you do is stay home and have babies, then you
might as well be a brood mare. After all, all animals reproduce; there is nothing distinctively
human about simple reproduction. Distinctively human activity is the activity of the mind, of
culture, and of self-transcendence.
If we are going to talk about “radical freedom” at all, then it should be in the context of
the real-life choices we are presented with in our lived experiences. It cannot be an abstract
choice to be free. This was one of de Beauvoir’s biggest insights.
References:

Maguire, L. (2016). Simone de Beauvoir. Retrieved from

https://www.philosophytalk.org/blog/simone-de-beauvoir
Bergoffen, D. (2018). Simone de Beauvoir. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
(Fall 2018 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.). Retrieved from
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/beauvoir
Feminism. Retrived from http://www.amazoncastle.com/feminism/ecocult.shtml