#difference feminism

[antinymphs]

intro 🪻💐

Hello, im antinymph. I'm 20, vegan, and a difference feminist.

I've been wanting to make a blog about feminist issues for a bit. For clarification I am NOT a radfem and I disagree with radfems on a lot, but I also agree with them on much, and trans inclusive women won't have me (usually) so I tend to interact with radfems.

I really like evopsych and blanchardism. I think evopsych is not necessarily anti feminist, and its actually really important in order to protect women. Blanchardism is misused by many radfems imo.

I'll try to seriously take into consideration all ideas. I also will follow and reblog from people that I don't necessarily agree with on everything. I like disscussing opinions that are very different from mine.

I also have a twitter (khhvfem) and substack (antinymph)

that is all. follow me if you want!

[emunahinparis]

"I don’t know if I would claim the label "radfem" (more of a difference feminist if I had to pick)"

Hello! :) Hope you're having a nice day. I was wondering if you'd explain what you mean by "difference feminism"? I've never heard that term before.

Hi, thanks for asking!

Disclaimer: I am an opinionated broad but I’m not a feminist scholar!

As I understand it, difference feminism argues that on a group level, men and women have fundamentally different ways of viewing, interacting with, and experiencing the world. While some critics call this argument essentialist, difference feminists don’t argue that these differences are biologically or spiritually innate. Rather, they can be framed as cultural differences (cultural feminism is another name for this way of thinking).

Equality within a difference feminist framework is not the elimination of these cultural differences, but the equal (or preferential!) valuation of women’s perspectives and experiences.

From this perspective, liberal feminism can be criticized as assimilationist. Women’s status is contingent on our conformity to male-calibrated norms, a conformity which we are free to pursue. Difference feminists might be seen as more pluralistic, arguing that it takes all kinds to make a healthy society.

One concrete example would be the relationship to care work. I live in France, and Beauvoir’s "woman-as-slave" view has a lot of pull here; domestic and care work are seen as particularly degrading. I recently sat in an education sociology lecture where a professor told us: "It’s too bad. There are so many girls who are good at math and science, but they don’t want to be engineers like boys do. They only want to be doctors and nurses." (Yes, even doctors are getting the pink-collar treatment here…)

A difference feminist looks at the problem differently: "It’s too bad. We have a shortage of healthcare professionals in this country, and yet we devalue the caring professions because they’re seen as feminine." Of course we need engineers, but we need doctors and nurses too — and working on machines is not inherently more valuable than working on people.

Obviously, not all girls and women are nurturing; not all boys and men are more interested in machines than people. However, on a macro level it’s clear that women have historically held communities together through social ties, taken the lead on care work (from domestic labor to volunteerism to paid work in caring professions), and generally functioned differently in society than men.

While a full-on radical feminist might see these differences as inherently oppressive and imposed by a misogynistic society, difference feminists tend to view the differences as morally neutral and necessary for a functional society.

I’ll grant that difference feminism tends to focus on women who fit the pattern rather than those who don’t; I don’t imagine highly gender nonconforming women would find that it addresses their needs. For me, however — a woman in a pink-collar profession, who’s spent solid chunks of her life caring for children and elders, who wants to be an active parent in a social milieu where caring for your own child means taking a status hit — it’s a way of thinking about gender that resonates with me.

[werewolfpunani]

k, since we all rightly hate cuties, can we boost a different coming of age drama about sisterhood?

presenting: Rocks (2020)

(summary from film4)

"A joyous new drama from director Sarah Gavron

"Rocks is a popular teenager with big dreams for the future, brilliant friends and an adoring little brother Emmanuel. But her world is turned upside down when her mother suddenly leaves. Determined to stick with her brother and avoid being taken into care against all odds, Rocks leaves her home and hides around London with the help of her loyal - or maybe not so loyal - friends. As each day becomes tougher, Rocks pushes away those who love her and her friendship squad begins to fracture. When the authorities finally catch up with her, there is only one solution: her friends. Rocks and her girls embark on a courageous, joyous and at times precarious journey, bouncing between moments of wisdom and crippling innocence. A film about the resilience and spirit of girlhood."

https://youtu.be/CqXhMYjasHM

CAN WE PLEASE NOT LET THIS FLOP!!

[revisingsociology]

Feminism

Feminist key concepts:

AO1:

Liberal Feminism:

Aim for political and social reform.

Oakley - Sexist attitudes towards gender are culturally constructed and transmitted through socialisation. Therefore gender socialisation must be changed and so should media representations of gender.

Challenge instrumental and expressive roles.

Radical Feminism:

Firestone - Patriarchy is universal; women are dependent on men because of biological factors.

All men oppress women and benefit from the patriarchy.

Can be solved by:

Separatsim - Matrilocal households.

Baby strikes - Purdy.

Political lesbianism - Greer.

Consciousness-raising - Women should share their experiences, e.g. slutwalks.

Marxist Feminism:

Women are exploited by capitalism and the patriarchy, both of which men benefit from.

Benston - Women raise children as labourers for capitalism for free.

Dual systems Feminism:

Walby - Combines the 2 main features of Radical and Marxist Feminism:

The economic system - Capitalism.

The sex-gender system - Patriarchy.

Examples:

Women are in work (capitalism) but are in lower paid jobs (patriarchy).

Women’s availability for paid work is limited by time-consuming domestic work (patriarchy) making them financially dependent on men (capitalism).

Difference Feminism:

Feminism is only based on the experiences of white, western, heterosexual, middle-class women; it doesn't reflect the issues that other women face.

Example: For black women, the family may actually be a positive structure as it can provide support and resistance from racism.

Essentialism - The idea that all women share the same fundamental ‘essence’ (i.e. that all women are the same).

Liberal, Marxist and Radical Feminists are all essentialists.

Post structural Feminism: 

Similar to Difference Feminism.

The Enlightenment Project - The idea that through science we can understand and discover ‘true knowledge’.

Butler - The Enlightenment Project claims to apply to all women but only applies to white, western, heterosexual, middle-class women. We should reject essentialism and stress the diversity of discourses (ideas, thoughts, views) to legitimate the diversity of women’s lives rather than prioritising some and excluding others.

AO3:

Liberal Feminism:

It has had a large (and positive) impact on society, e.g. the Equal Pay Act.

Marxists - Believe they ignore capitalism and that we do need a revolution (Liberal Feminists believe that we do not need a revolution as we can become equal through small reforms).

Walby - They don’t explain the overall structure of gender inequality.

Radical Feminism:

Pollert - The patriarchy is maintaining itself (e.g. male violence is seen as patriarchy but patriarchy is maintained by male violence).

Ignores women’s violence towards men and violence in lesbian relationships.

Ignores the impact of capitalism (Marxists).

Marxist Feminism:

Recognises economic factors.

Cannot explain why women are oppressed in non-capitalist societies.

Dual systems Feminism:

Shows how capitalism and patriarchy interact, unlike other theories.

Difference Feminism and Post structural Feminism:

Acknowledge the differences in women’s experiences.

All of the theories can be used to evaluate each other.

[underhermantle]

Does anyone know of any nonfiction books similar to The Feminine Universe, that align with cultural feminist/difference feminist views, or traditionalism from a truly Matriarchal perspective? I’d really appreciate it.

[blautitlewave]

Shitty Feminism

Difference feminism

Radical feminism

Trans exclusionary radical feminism

Cultural feminism

Anti-pornography feminism

Good Feminism

Equality feminism

Lipstick feminism

Sex-positive feminism

Postfeminism

I don’t make the rules, I just report them.

[antinymphs]

I've made a community for cultural feminists of any strain, you dont need to be particularly radfem adjacent.

Cultural Feminists • Community on Tumblr

A community for cultural feminists to come together and talk. Be good faith and willing to encounter different ideas.

Here it is if you are interested

[revisesociology]

Bell Hooks, Intersectionality, and Second-Wave Feminism: Challenging White Patriarchy and Capitalism

The “second-wave” feminists of the 1960s to 1980s presented a far more formidable and thoroughgoing challenge to male domination than earlier feminists. Their broadening agenda included issues such as social inequalities, sexuality, rape, the family, and the workplace. But the US feminist Bell Hooks criticized second wave feminism as representing the privileged view of white women. In Feminist…

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