Individualist feminism
Encyclopedia
Individualist feminism (sometimes also grouped with libertarian feminism or ifeminism) is a term for feminist
ideas which seek to celebrate or protect the individual
woman
.
Individualist feminists attempt to change legal systems in order to eliminate class privileges and gender privileges and to ensure that individuals have equal rights, including an equal claim under the law to their own persons and property. Individualist feminism encourages women to take full responsibility for their own lives. It also opposes any government interference into the choices adults make with their own bodies because, it contends, such interference creates a coercive hierarchy (such as patriarchy
).
The Association of Libertarian Feminists, founded in 1973 by Tonie Nathan, former vice-presidential candidate of the Libertarian Party, is one of a number of different kinds of individualist feminist organizations. It takes a strong anti-government and pro-choice stand. Other libertarian
feminist organizations include Mothers for Liberty, the Mother's Institute, and the Ladies of Liberty Alliance
.
Wendy McElroy
and Christina Hoff Sommers
define individualist feminism in opposition to what they call political or gender feminism. Some scholars and critics have commented that the label "feminist" is often used cynically in this context, as a way to co-opt general feminism rather than actually be part of feminism. Other scholars note that individualist feminism has a long history that is somewhat different in tone that currently advocated by McElroy and Sommers.
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
ideas which seek to celebrate or protect the individual
Individualism
Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that stresses "the moral worth of the individual". Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and so value independence and self-reliance while opposing most external interference upon one's own...
woman
Woman
A woman , pl: women is a female human. The term woman is usually reserved for an adult, with the term girl being the usual term for a female child or adolescent...
.
Individualist feminists attempt to change legal systems in order to eliminate class privileges and gender privileges and to ensure that individuals have equal rights, including an equal claim under the law to their own persons and property. Individualist feminism encourages women to take full responsibility for their own lives. It also opposes any government interference into the choices adults make with their own bodies because, it contends, such interference creates a coercive hierarchy (such as patriarchy
Patriarchy
Patriarchy is a social system in which the role of the male as the primary authority figure is central to social organization, and where fathers hold authority over women, children, and property. It implies the institutions of male rule and privilege, and entails female subordination...
).
The Association of Libertarian Feminists, founded in 1973 by Tonie Nathan, former vice-presidential candidate of the Libertarian Party, is one of a number of different kinds of individualist feminist organizations. It takes a strong anti-government and pro-choice stand. Other libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
feminist organizations include Mothers for Liberty, the Mother's Institute, and the Ladies of Liberty Alliance
Ladies of Liberty Alliance
The Ladies of Liberty Alliance was created in 2009, "to educate and empower female leaders within the liberty movement". This US-based group seeks to train women to effectively promote the ideals of liberty....
.
Wendy McElroy
Wendy McElroy
Wendy McElroy is a Canadian individualist anarchist and individualist feminist. She was a co-founder along with Carl Watner and George H. Smith of The Voluntaryist in 1982.-Sex-positive:...
and Christina Hoff Sommers
Christina Hoff Sommers
Christina Hoff Sommers is an American author and former philosophy professor who is known for her critique of late 20th century feminism, and her writings about feminism in contemporary American culture...
define individualist feminism in opposition to what they call political or gender feminism. Some scholars and critics have commented that the label "feminist" is often used cynically in this context, as a way to co-opt general feminism rather than actually be part of feminism. Other scholars note that individualist feminism has a long history that is somewhat different in tone that currently advocated by McElroy and Sommers.
People
- Ezra HeywoodEzra HeywoodEzra Heywood was a 19th century North American individualist anarchist, slavery abolitionist, and feminist.-Philosophy:Heywood saw what he believed to be a disproportionate concentration of capital in the hands of a few as the result of a selective extension of government-backed privileges to...
– (1829–1893) - Voltairine de CleyreVoltairine de CleyreVoltairine de Cleyre was an American anarchist writer and feminist. She was a prolific writer and speaker, opposing the state, marriage, and the domination of religion in sexuality and women's lives. She began her activist career in the freethought movement...
– (November 17, 1866 – June 20, 1912) - Dora MarsdenDora MarsdenDora Marsden was an English feminist editor of avant-garde literary journals, and an author of philosophical writings.-Early life:...
– (March 5, 1882 – December 13, 1960) - Suzanne La FolletteSuzanne La FolletteSuzanne Clara La Follette was an American journalist and author who advocated for libertarian feminism in the first half of the 20th century. As an editor she helped found several magazines. She was an early and ardent feminist and a vocal anti communist.-Family:She was born in Washington state...
– (June 24, 1893 – April 23, 1983) - Tonie Nathan – (February 9, 1923–present)
- Joan Kennedy TaylorJoan Kennedy TaylorJoan Kennedy Taylor was an American journalist, author, editor, public intellectual, and political activist. She is best known for her advocacy of individualist feminism and for her role in the development of the modern American libertarian movement.-Early life:Taylor was born in Manhattan to...
– (December 21, 1926 – October 29, 2005) - Sharon PresleySharon PresleySharon Presley is an American libertarian and individualist anarchist feminist, writer, activist, and retired professor of psychology. She was also co-founder and former co-proprietor of Laissez Faire Books, which was once regarded as the largest libertarian bookstore.- Academic career :Presley...
– (1943–present) - Christina Hoff SommersChristina Hoff SommersChristina Hoff Sommers is an American author and former philosophy professor who is known for her critique of late 20th century feminism, and her writings about feminism in contemporary American culture...
- (1950-present) - Wendy McElroyWendy McElroyWendy McElroy is a Canadian individualist anarchist and individualist feminist. She was a co-founder along with Carl Watner and George H. Smith of The Voluntaryist in 1982.-Sex-positive:...
– (1951–present) - Cathy YoungCathy YoungCathy Young is a Russian American journalist and writer whose books and articles, as well as columns which appear in the libertarian monthly Reason, and also weekly in The Boston Globe, primarily espouse equality feminism and libertarianism.-Life and Career:Born in Moscow, the capital of what was...
– (1963–present) - Tiffany MillionTiffany MillionTiffany Million , also known as Tyffany Million, is a former professional wrestler and American pornographic performer who appeared in both heterosexual and lesbian videos. She retired from the adult industry in 1994 and, according to her website, refuses to answer questions about her former career...
– (April 6, 1966–present) - Virginia PostrelVirginia PostrelVirginia I. Postrel is an American political and cultural writer of broadly libertarian, or classical liberal, views. She is best known for her two non-fiction books, The Future and Its Enemies and The Substance of Style...
- (January 14, 1960-present)
Topics
- Anarcha-feminismAnarcha-feminismAnarcha-feminism combines anarchism with feminism. It generally views patriarchy as a manifestation of involuntary hierarchy. Anarcha-feminists believe that the struggle against patriarchy is an essential part of class struggle, and the anarchist struggle against the state...
- Anarcho-capitalismAnarcho-capitalismAnarcho-capitalism is a libertarian and individualist anarchist political philosophy that advocates the elimination of the state in favour of individual sovereignty in a free market...
- LibertarianismLibertarianismLibertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
- Libertarian perspectives on abortion
Further reading
- Uncivil Liberty: An Essay to Show the Injustice and Impolicy of Ruling Woman Without Her Consent (1873) by Ezra Heywood one of first individualist feminist essays, by Ezra HeywoodEzra HeywoodEzra Heywood was a 19th century North American individualist anarchist, slavery abolitionist, and feminist.-Philosophy:Heywood saw what he believed to be a disproportionate concentration of capital in the hands of a few as the result of a selective extension of government-backed privileges to...
- Voltairine de Cleyre: The Exquisite Rebel
- Libertarian Feminism: Can This Marriage Be Saved?
- "Feminism in Liberty" by Sharon Presley.
- Liberal Feminism, essay including discussion of libertarian feminism
- Reclaiming the Mainstream: Individualist Feminism Rediscovered by Joan Kennedy TaylorJoan Kennedy TaylorJoan Kennedy Taylor was an American journalist, author, editor, public intellectual, and political activist. She is best known for her advocacy of individualist feminism and for her role in the development of the modern American libertarian movement.-Early life:Taylor was born in Manhattan to...
. Prometheus Books, 1992. - Davies, S. (1987). Libertarian Feminism in Britain, 1860-1910. Libertarian Alliance Pamphlet, no. 7.