Feminism and Political Theory

Abstract

Feminism is committed to the equality of women. This is first of all a normative commitment to the equal worth of women and women's experiences. It is also a political commitment to strive to change the practices and beliefs that have subordinated women and treated them as less than equal.Feminists deplore that in virtually all societies throughout history women have been considered inferior to men. Feminists deny that the subordination of women is inevitable. Social and cultural arrangements modify and shape biological or evolutionary tendencies that can be found in human beings, and could counter male inclinations to be aggressive or to dominate, if these exist.The task for feminist political theory is to understand how equality for women might be achieved. This is usually seen as much more than a merely political matter, since it involves culture and society and economic and personal life at many levels and not just the political system or the realms of law and politics. It also involves uncovering the deep biases that exist in political theory as previously developed, reconceptualizing its leading concepts and contesting which concepts should be central to it, inventing new theory for societies and institutions that might achieve the equality of women, and recommending political and social action to overcome women's oppression (Clarke and LangeSome feminist political theorists have adopted a traditional liberal political framework and applied it to issues of interest to women and neglected by nonfeminists. They show, for instance, how justice requires a more equitable division

Caring and Conflicted: Mothers’ Ethical Judgments about Consumption

“…Care ethicists recognise this pluralism (e.g. Held, 2007). A moral theory is pluralistic if it contains several moral principles that cannot be reduced to any more basic principle (Timmons, 2002; see also Ross, 1930).…”

“…Indeed, care ethicists pay considerable attention to why the demands of care have fallen so disproportionately on women (Held, 2006) and reject essentialist language in favour of terms like "one-caring" (Noddings, 1984), "mothering person" (Held, 2007) and "maternal thinking" (Ruddick, 1980) that can be applied regardless of gender and to non-parents. Held (2006) also notes that Gilligan's (1982) original finding that a "care perspective" on morality is particular to women and girls has been challenged on empirical grounds and that it is more common in men than previously thought (p. 27).…”

Achieving Care and Social Justice for People With Dementia

“…[28][29][30] Our approach draws from the way in which political philosophers Tronto 31 and Sevenhuijsen 32 have developed this perspective. Both these authors promote care as a political value as well as one that concerns interdependencies between people in their private lives.…”

Feminist Research Ethics

“…Feminist ethicists (e.g., Held, 1987) and feminist epistemologists (e.g., Moody-Adams, 1997) are rejecting the view of ethical frameworks as either inevitably universal, absolute, objective, and real or alternatively particular, relative, subjective, and ideal. The ethics of relationship that Gilligan and Noddings have pioneered are grounded in the subjective, the particular, and the relative, but neither scholar denies the relevance of a universal principle like justice.…”