Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern societies are patriarchal—they prioritize the male point of view—and that women are treated unjustly in these societies. Efforts to change this include fighting against gender stereotypes and improving educational, professional, and interpersonal opportunities and outcomes for women.
Individualist feminism, also known as ifeminism, is a libertarian feminist movement that emphasizes individualism, personal autonomy, freedom from state-sanctioned discrimination against women, and gender equality.
Liberal feminism, also called mainstream feminism, is a main branch of feminism defined by its focus on achieving gender equality through political and legal reform within the framework of liberal democracy and informed by a human rights perspective. It is often considered culturally progressive and economically center-right to center-left. As the oldest of the "Big Three" schools of feminist thought, liberal feminism has its roots in 19th century first-wave feminism seeking recognition of women as equal citizens, focusing particularly on women's suffrage and access to education, the effort associated with 19th century liberalism and progressivism. Liberal feminism "works within the structure of mainstream society to integrate women into that structure." Liberal feminism places great emphasis on the public world, especially laws, political institutions, education and working life, and considers the denial of equal legal and political rights as the main obstacle to equality. As such liberal feminists have worked to bring women into the political mainstream. Liberal feminism is inclusive and socially progressive, while broadly supporting existing institutions of power in liberal democratic societies, and is associated with centrism and reformism. Liberal feminism tends to be adopted by white middle-class women who do not disagree with the current social structure; Zhang and Rios found that liberal feminism with its focus on equality is viewed as the dominant and "default" form of feminism. Liberal feminism actively supports men's involvement in feminism and both women and men have always been active participants in the movement; progressive men had an important role alongside women in the struggle for equal political rights since the movement was launched in the 19th century.
Feminist sociology is an interdisciplinary exploration of gender and power throughout society. Here, it uses conflict theory and theoretical perspectives to observe gender in its relation to power, both at the level of face-to-face interaction and reflexivity within social structures at large. Focuses include sexual orientation, race, economic status, and nationality.
Susan Moller Okin was a liberal feminist political philosopher and author.
A transnational feminist network (TFN) is a network of women's groups who work together for women's rights at both a national and transnational level. They emerged in the mid-1980s as a response to structural adjustment and neoliberal policies, guided by ideas categorized as global feminism. TNF's are composed of representatives from a variety of NGO's from around the globe. These representatives then come together at conferences, such as the United Nations World Conference on Women and The NGO Forum in China.
Iris Marion Young was an American political theorist and socialist feminist who focused on the nature of justice and social difference. She served as Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago and was affiliated with the Center for Gender Studies and the Human Rights program there. Her research covered contemporary political theory, feminist social theory, and normative analysis of public policy. She believed in the importance of political activism and encouraged her students to involve themselves in their communities.
Carole Pateman FBA FAcSS FLSW is a British feminist and political theorist. She is known as a critic of liberal democracy and has been a member of the British Academy since 2007.
Sheila Jeffreys is a former professor of political science at the University of Melbourne, born in England. A lesbian feminist scholar, she analyses the history and politics of human sexuality.
Anne Phillips, is Emeritus Professor of Political Theory at the London School of Economics (LSE), where she was previously Graham Wallas Professor of Political Science. She was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2003.
Zillah R. Eisenstein is an American political theorist and gender studies scholar and Emerita Professor of the Department of Politics at Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York. Specializing in political and feminist theory; class, sex, and race politics; and construction of gender, Eisenstein is the author of twelve books and editor of the 1978 collection Capitalist Patriarchy and the Case for Socialist Feminism, which published the Combahee River Collective statement.
Victoria Schuck (1909–1999) was an American political scientist who was the president of Mount Vernon College from 1977 to 1983. As an expert on the political participation of women and women as political candidates, she contributed to the development of the study of women and politics as a subfield of political science. She also specialized in the state politics of New England, and the politics of South Vietnam. As one of the first 80 women to earn a PhD in political science, Schuck published extensively on the status of women in the profession. In total she published more than 80 articles or monographs, and co-edited several academic books. Schuck spent most of her career at Mount Holyoke College, where she was a Professor of Political Science from 1940 until 1977, and prior to that she was a professor at Florida State University.
S. Laurel Weldon is a Canadian and American political scientist, currently a Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Simon Fraser University. She is a democratic and feminist theorist, known for studies of the cross-national evolution of women's rights, policies on the prevention of violence against women, and the inclusion of women in political decision-making. Weldon's work has been noted for contributing to both substantive political theory and empirical methods.
The Sexual Contract is a 1988 non-fiction book by British feminist and political theorist Carole Pateman which was published through Polity Press. This book is a seminal work which discusses how contract theory continues to affirm the patriarchy through methods of contractual submission where there is ultimately a power imbalance from systemic sexism. The focus of The Sexual Contract is on rebutting the idea that a post-patriarchal or anti-patriarchal society presently exists as a result of the conception of a civil society. Instead, Pateman argues that civil society continues to aid feminine oppression and that the orthodoxy of contracts such as marriage cannot become equitable to both women and men. Pateman uses a feminist lens when rationalising the argument proposed in The Sexual Contract through the use of works by classic political and liberal philosophers Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and later interpreted by the Founding Fathers whom Pateman has before critiqued as being responsible for the development of modern rights and freedoms derived from archaic standards of contract that are deeply embedded within Western Spheres, particularly America, England and Australia, which are the focus areas for her work.
Christina Wolbrecht is an American political scientist. She is a professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, where she is also Director of the Rooney Center for the Study of American Democracy, and the C. Robert and Margaret Hanley Family Director of the Notre Dame Washington Program. She studies the representation of women in politics, American voting behavior during the 20th century, the effects of women's suffrage, and how women in politics can function as public role models.
Mona Lena Krook is an American political scientist. She is a Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University, where she is also the Chair of the Women and Politics Ph.D. Program. She studies the political representation of women, particularly gender quotas in governments and the phenomenon of violence against women in politics.
Jacqui True is a political scientist and expert in gender studies. She is a professor of international relations at Monash University, where she is also Director of the Centre for Gender, Peace and Security. She studies international relations, gender mainstreaming, violence against women and its connections to political economy, and the methodology of feminist social science.
Lisa Baldez is an American political scientist and scholar of Latin American Studies. She is a professor of government and Latin American, Latino and Caribbean studies at Dartmouth College, where she was also Cheheyl Professor and director of the Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning at Dartmouth College from 2015 until 2018. She studies the relationship between political institutions and gender equality, and has written about the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, women's protests in Chile, gender quota laws, and the Equal Rights Amendment.
Shireen Hassim is a South African political scientist, historian, and scholar of gender studies and African studies. She is a Professor in the Department of Political Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, where she is also affiliated with the Institute for Social and Economic Research. In 2019 she became a Canada 150 Research Chair in Gender and African Politics, beginning a seven-year term in the Institute for African Studies at Carleton University. Hassim was the first woman of colour full professor of political science in South Africa.
Kristin Bumiller is an American political scientist. She is the George Daniel Olds Professor in Economic and Social Institutions at Amherst College. She has published work on the structure of anti-discrimination law and the legal responses to rape and domestic violence.
