Major Feminist Theories

Why This Matters

When you're studying feminist philosophy, you're not just memorizing a list of "isms"—you're learning to identify different diagnoses of the same problem: why does gender-based oppression exist, and what would it take to end it? Each theory you'll encounter offers a distinct answer to these questions, locating the root cause of oppression in different places: law, economics, psychology, culture, or the very categories we use to think about gender. Your exam will test whether you can distinguish these theoretical frameworks and apply them to real-world scenarios.

The key to mastering this material is understanding that feminist theories aren't just abstract positions—they lead to different strategies for change. A liberal feminist and a radical feminist might both oppose workplace discrimination, but they'd disagree fundamentally about why it exists and what to do about it. Don't just memorize definitions; know what each theory identifies as the source of oppression, what kind of change it demands, and how it relates to (or critiques) other approaches.

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Reform-Oriented Theories

These theories work within existing social, legal, and political structures, arguing that the system itself isn't the problem—unequal access to the system is. They emphasize rights, representation, and incremental change.

Liberal Feminism

• Roots oppression in legal and political inequality—women lack the same rights, opportunities, and protections as men under existing institutions
• Emphasizes individual autonomy and the capacity for rational self-determination; draws heavily on Enlightenment philosophy
• Pursues reform through legislation—education access, employment equity, reproductive rights, and anti-discrimination law are primary battlegrounds

Existentialist Feminism

• Locates oppression in the denial of women's freedom and self-definition—society treats women as immanent (passive, object-like) rather than transcendent (active, self-creating)
• Simone de Beauvoir's "One is not born, but becomes, a woman" captures the core claim that gender is constructed through situation and choice
• Demands authentic self-creation—women must reject "bad faith" acceptance of limiting roles and claim responsibility for defining their own existence

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Structural Critique Theories

These theories argue that oppression is built into the foundation of social systems—whether that's patriarchy, capitalism, or both. Reform isn't enough; the structures themselves must be dismantled or fundamentally transformed.

Radical Feminism

• Identifies patriarchy as the primary system of oppression—gender hierarchy is the oldest and most fundamental form of domination, underlying all others
• Targets sexuality, reproduction, and the family as sites where male power is produced and maintained; challenges the public/private distinction
• Demands revolutionary transformation—not reform of existing institutions but their complete reimagining; consciousness-raising and women-only spaces are key strategies

Marxist/Socialist Feminism

• Links women's oppression to capitalist modes of production—unpaid domestic labor, the gendered division of work, and women's economic dependence serve capitalist accumulation
• Engels's analysis of the family as the origin of private property and women's subordination provides a foundational text
• Requires class struggle alongside gender struggle—liberation is impossible without dismantling capitalism; emphasizes collective action over individual advancement

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Identity and Difference Theories

These theories challenge the assumption that "woman" is a unified category with shared experiences. They emphasize how gender intersects with race, class, sexuality, and culture to produce different forms of oppression.

Intersectional Feminism

• Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term to describe how Black women face discrimination that isn't simply racism plus sexism but a distinct, compounded form of oppression
• Rejects "single-axis" analysis—frameworks that treat gender and race as separate categories miss the experiences of those at the intersection
• Demands coalition-building that centers the most marginalized; critiques mainstream feminism for universalizing white, middle-class women's experiences

Black Feminism

• Centers the specific experiences of Black women within both feminist and anti-racist movements, neither of which historically addressed their concerns
• The Combahee River Collective Statement (1977) articulated the need for an integrated analysis of race, class, gender, and sexuality
• Emphasizes knowledge production from lived experience—Black women's standpoint offers unique insights into interlocking systems of oppression

Postcolonial Feminism

• Critiques Western feminism's universalism as a form of cultural imperialism that imposes Euro-American frameworks on non-Western women
• Gayatri Spivak's "Can the Subaltern Speak?" questions whether marginalized women can be heard within dominant discourse structures
• Foregrounds colonial history—gender oppression in formerly colonized nations cannot be understood apart from the legacies of imperialism and ongoing global inequalities

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Theories of Knowledge and Meaning

These theories focus on epistemology—how we know what we know about gender—and argue that language, culture, and unconscious processes construct our understanding of "woman" and "man."

Postmodern Feminism

• Rejects universal claims about "woman"—there is no essential female nature or experience; the category itself is a product of discourse
• Draws on Foucault and Derrida to analyze how power operates through language, knowledge systems, and the construction of binary categories
• Judith Butler's concept of performativity argues that gender is not something we are but something we do—repeated performances that create the illusion of a stable identity

Psychoanalytic Feminism

• Uses psychoanalytic theory to explain gender formation—the unconscious, desire, and early childhood development shape how we become gendered subjects
• Critiques Freud while using his tools—thinkers like Luce Irigaray and Julia Kristeva argue that psychoanalysis reveals patriarchy's mechanisms even as it reproduces them
• Focuses on sexual difference and the symbolic order—how language and culture position women as "Other" or as lack in relation to a male norm

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Relational and Ecological Theories

These theories expand feminism's scope beyond human social relations, connecting gender oppression to broader patterns of domination—including the exploitation of nature and non-human life.

Ecofeminism

• Links the domination of women to the domination of nature—both are constructed as "Other" to be controlled, exploited, and subordinated to masculine/human interests
• Critiques dualistic thinking—the nature/culture, body/mind, female/male binaries that structure Western thought produce both environmental destruction and gender oppression
• Advocates for sustainability and care ethics—emphasizes interdependence, embodiment, and holistic approaches over domination and extraction

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Quick Reference Table

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Self-Check Questions

1. Both radical feminism and Marxist/socialist feminism call for systemic transformation. What is the key disagreement between them about the source of women's oppression?

2. How would an intersectional feminist critique a liberal feminist campaign focused solely on the gender wage gap? What might be missing from that analysis?

3. Postmodern feminism and existentialist feminism both reject the idea that gender is a fixed, natural essence. How do their explanations of gender construction differ?

4. Compare Black feminism and postcolonial feminism: what do they share in their critique of mainstream feminism, and what distinguishes their primary focus?

5. An FRQ asks you to evaluate the claim that "feminism should focus on changing laws and policies." Which two theories would you use to present opposing perspectives, and what would each argue?