facts do not speak for themselves but imply evaluation, and therefore it is naive to
imagine that a purely scientific (rather than explicitly ideological) presentation of
feminism will be more persuasive.
As for standpoint feminism, socialists argue that an emphasis upon women’s
experience needs to take more specific account of the impact of class and capitalism,
while postmodern feminism leads to a kind of academic conservatism that makes
emancipatory politics impossible.
Radical feminists feel that the emphasis upon science is male-oriented and that
feminist empiricists underestimate the extent to which male mores have penetrated
the academy. Radicals are more sympathetic to standpoint feminism, particularly
where the difference and even superiority of women is emphasised, while
postmodernist feminism is seen as a betrayal of women’s interests and a rejection
of the need for feminism at all.
To black feminists, feminist empiricism seems elitist and very ‘white’ since most
black women find it difficult to obtain academic positions. As for standpointChapter 14 Feminism 331Feminism and diversity
It could be argued that the emphasis upon different strands of feminism is itself
counterproductive. If feminism is defined broadly as the emancipation of women, then it
becomes possible to see each of the different feminisms making a positive contribution to the
development of feminism overall, while betraying a certain one-sidedness which needs to be
discarded. A recent work has spoken of the need to recover ‘feminisms from the intolerance
of other feminisms’ (Zalewski, 2000: 142) and it seems to us that we do not need to choose
between one feminism and many feminisms. Feminism can only be constructed as a viable and
dynamic theory through multiple feminisms.
Thus liberal feminism stresses the importance of people as free and equal individuals but,
as Steans argues, ‘liberal feminism is not merely feminism added onto liberalism’ (1998: 17),
while socialist feminists rightly emphasise the importance of class and capitalism as social
institutions that negatively impact upon women. Despite its weaknesses, radical feminism
argues for a notion of patriarchy that extends into all areas of life and it invites attention to
relationships as the location of conflict.
Black feminists warn us eloquently against the dangers of ethno-centrism. Women can be
black as well as white, and analyses, say, of the family and sexuality that might apply to white
women will not necessarily apply to black women. As for the philosophical feminisms, feminist
empiricists stress the importance of a sophisticated presentation of the facts, while standpoint
feminists are concerned with the way in which women’s experience impacts upon their
behaviour and outlook. Postmodernist feminism helpfully warns against static and ahistorical
views of women that ignore the differences between them.
There is no need to juxtapose separate feminisms from the development of a feminism which
is sensitive to difference, sees the need for alliances with men, acknowledges the problems from
which all women suffer (albeit in different ways) and seeks to make feminism as convincing
and well researched as possible.
Focus