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- FEMINISM IS A DESIRABLE VALUE
PROBLEMS WITH FEMINISMAny systemic philosophy is answerable on the grounds that it is too absolutist. Radical feminism is no exception. Readers of Johnson, Daly, and other radical feminists will notice an undertone of absolutism in their writings. Johnson constantly claims that feminism is "universal" in its comprehension. The claim that all women everywhere have more in common with one another than any woman has with any man seems unreasonable. Daly speaks of male-ness and war as if they were one and the same. What follows is a brief list of potential objections to radical feminism. First, it is unclear that the values put forth by these radical feminists are exclusively "feminine" in nature. The problem is that whenever one argues that "men" can have "feminist" values, one is playing into the binary framework of "masculine" and "feminine" which critics of feminism say is the problem. If, as a man, I think one should seek peace and cooperation, I am not necessarily embracing a "feminine" side. I may simply be embracing an ethic that I believe to be desirable. By claiming that everything desirable is "feminist," radical feminists are simply creating an opposition where no such opposition may be warranted. Second, the fixation on values such as nurturing and care as being exclusively "feminine" can harm both men and women. For example, one offshoot of radical feminism, called "ecological feminism," claims that women are more connected to the earth and that an embrace of feminist values is therefore, naturally, an embrace of ecological values. Critics of the eco-feminist movement claim that by tying women to "life," "birth," blood and soil, radical feminists merely chain women to their "natural" roles as mothers and housekeepers. But women should be empowered to do whatever they feel is right, rather than be kept in roles that are deemed "nurturing" and "peaceful." Peace may be another name for subservience. Third, feminism in this radical nature seems too divisive to really succeed. It alienates both men and those women who do not share in its vision. Readers will notice not only a systemic obsession with blaming all problems on patriarchy, but a tendency to equate all of the evils of patriarchy with "men." The problem is that most men are not responsible for these evils. A small group of powerful people controls the means of production and political influence in the world. Most of those people are men, but some are women, and they appear no less inclined to exploit the weak than do their male colleagues. Moreover, it is difficult to see how women alone can transform the world if they comprise only half of the human race. CONCLUSION This essay has explained the value basis of the radical vision of feminism. Sonia Johnson and Mary Daly theorize that the ignorance of women's voices, as well as the physical, spiritual and political oppression of women, have been responsible for most of the social evils, and a considerable amount of private evils, in world history. Debaters arguing about feminism should not personalize the issues so much that they are perceived as attacking all men. People arguing against feminism should not appear so defensive as to seem they are attacking women's attacks on patriarchy. Instead, an engagement with the fundamental, foundational structures of feminist argumentation will allow a cooperative and peaceful exchange of ideas, something which all debaters, feminists or otherwise, should value. BIBLIOGRAPHYCornell, Drucilla. AT THE HEART OF FREEDOM: FEMINISM, SEX AND EQUALITY, Princton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, 1998. Daly, Mary. GYN/ECOLOGY: THE METAETHICS OF RADICAL FEMINISM, Boston: Beacon Press, 1990. Daly, Mary. PURE LUST: ELEMENTAL FEMINIST PHILOSOPHY, San Francisco: Harper, 1992. Evans, Judith. FEMINIST THEORY TODAY: AN INTRODUCTION TO SECOND-WAVE FEMINISM, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1995. Foss, Karen A., Foss, Sonja K., and Griffin, Cindy L. FEMINIST RHETORICAL THEORIES, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1999. Johnson, Allan G. THE GENDER KNOT: UNRAVELING OUR PATRIARCHAL LEGACY, Philadelphia : Temple University Press, 1997. Johnson, Sonia. FROM HOUSEWIFE TO HERETIC, Garden City, N.Y. : Doubleday, 1981. Johnson, Sonia. GOING OUT OF OUR MINDS: THE METAPHYSICS OF LIBERATION, Freedom, CA: Crossing Press, 1987. Kemp, Sandra and Judith Squires. FEMINISMS, New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. FEMINISM IS A DESIRABLE VALUE1. FEMINISM AS A VALUE ADVANCES COMPASSION, NON-VIOLENCE, AND EQUALITY Sonia Johnson, Feminist, GOING OUT OF OUR MINDS: THE METAPHYSICS OF LIBERATION, 1987, p. 267-268. Feminism is the articulation of the ancient, underground culture and philosophy based on the values that patriarchy has labeled "womanly," but which are necessary for full humanity. Among the principles and values of feminism that are most distinct from those of patriarchy are universal equality, non-violent problem solving, and cooperation with nature, one another, and other species. Feminists place great value on non-hierarchical social, political, economic, and emotional or psychic relationships. Prizing compassion and genuine hearing of others' words and feelings, we put human needs and the quality of life at the top of our list of priorities. 2. FEMINISM IS NOT ELITIST--ITS VALUES STEM FROM THE CONDITION OF ALL WOMEN Sonia Johnson, Feminist, GOING OUT OF OUR MINDS: THE METAPHYSICS OF LIBERATION, 1987, p. 238. Feminism is not an analysis thought up by several brilliant women peering in from the outside and then trying to impose their conclusions upon those enmeshed in the actual situation they describe. Though hundreds of women from as many countries may write about it, may work to form the richness and abundance of it into coherent theory, the raw material is provided by the daily epiphanies of half the human race.
Sonia Johnson, Feminist, GOING OUT OF OUR MINDS: THE METAPHYSICS OF LIBERATION, 1987, p. 236-237. It is discouraging enough that the public views as a "single issue" the concern of half the human race about every aspect of our lives, public and private. It is doubly disheartening that many feminists also equate feminism and "women's rights." While women's rights are an important aspect of feminism, they are only an aspect. Feminism is not about "issues" at all. It is about a totally different human possibility, a non-patriarchal way of being in the world. It is about a new universal habit, a new mind.
Sonia Johnson, Feminist, GOING OUT OF OUR MINDS: THE METAPHYSICS OF LIBERATION, 1987, p. 237. Feminism, I said, far from being a "single issue," is a perspective, a way of looking at all the issues. It provides a framework for evaluating them. It is a world view, a complete and complex value system, the only alternative to patriarchy. Feminism is, in short, the most inclusive and descriptive analysis of the human situation on earth--at this time or any other, as far as we know.
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