Important Resource to stop misnaming (libfem) and understand feminism and its co-optation now
Submitted June 28, 2020, 1:20 p.m. by fightmisogynynowPlease read this: https://digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1813&context=sjsj
Although I condemn its misreading of Butler (which is pretty egregious), the history and argument made here is important. To be clear, it is not "libfem vs. radfem"; these are not accurate terms. Liberal feminism and radical feminism were competing, mostly coterminous branches of the second wave with differing, if overlapping concerns and interests (basically Betty Friedan vs. Marilyn Frye, Bella Abzug vs. Mary Daly; legal rights in the public sphere vs separatism).
The feminism of today IS NOT LIBFEM. 'Woke' 'liberals' is very different than Liberal Feminism, so can we please stop calling it that (I'd be happy with "woke liberals" if neoliberalism feels to jargon-y). If you want to truly understand what is happening and the history, read this article on the neoliberal cooptation of feminism. the TRA movement is pure, unadulterated NEOliberalism. There is much written on this topic, but here is a leading feminist academic on the topic who authored a book on the subject: https://stateofnatureblog.com/catherine-rottenberg-neoliberal-feminism/
She explains it all pretty clearly. I am posting this bc the language means something and liberal feminists like Bella Abzug and Shirley Chisolm are important to me and I don't want to see them dragged through the mud by mislabeling what they did and their contributions to the movement and making our lives better for it. Yes, today's 'liberal's' (really NEOliberals) suck; but liberal feminists gave us Title IX, anti-discrimination laws, and sexual harassment as a recognized legal category. They ran for office and represented women in electoral politics.
It is frustrating to see this reddit posit lib vs rad as a resource (that video sucks, btw; she gets it wrong in many places). I've posted elsewhere lots of resources on this history. Most of us don't like being labeled "cis" (sic); how do you think our foremothers think of being conflated with TRA-spewing liberals who are in no way feminists and would never lift a finger for feminist rights? I post this in honor of the work they did and what they made possible for us today.
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You are right. Most second wave feminists were "liberal feminists"
or you could say "reformist" compared to radical feminist who were not mainstream.
Related, resurrecting a great post by u/girl_undone:
Read the rest here.
Thank you for sharing! It's really good, I even took screenshots of it
Yes, the liberal feminism I learned about in university courses in the 1990s looked nothing like today’s liberal feminism. Among other things, it was very much opposed to the construct of gender.
The good old days, when only "conservative feminists" defended gender. Now we get called conservative for being against it...
I don’t really remember there being conservative feminists from a feminist theory perspective. ? I do remember that there were some feminists claiming that women’s inherent power as the people who create life was something to be celebrated, and presents an alternative to a patriarchal “masculine” society.
I don't know that anyone would consider them legitimate, hence the quotes.