Marxist Feminism vs Liberal Feminism
• Liberal feminism is the most soft and lenient approach to feminism while Marxist feminism has leanings towards left.
• Liberal feminism traces its roots in American Revolution while Marxist feminism finds its inspiration in the writings of Karl Marx.
Feminism refers to all movements and efforts that are aimed at gender equality and equal rights for women in the society. These rights are not just economic but also social and political to let women have equal powers like men in the society and have equal say in deciding upon policies and rights for all people. There have been many different approaches to feminism, and the ideologies or philosophies talking about feminism are broadly divided into liberal, radical, and social or Marxist feminism. People remain confused between liberal and Marxist feminism because of their overlap and similarities. However, despite similarities, there is difference between Liberal and Marxist feminism that will be highlighted in this article.
Liberal Feminism
This is the most lenient approach to feminism among all philosophies that work for or demand equal rights for women. These feminists are ready to work from within which means they seek reform in the patriarchal form of the societies and demand equal social, economic, and political rights for women. This theory of feminism can be traced back to the days of the American Revolution, and liberal feminists have always believed that the only way to correct gender imbalances is to try and work for a level playing field for women. This form of feminism proposes that there should be no inequality between men and women and merit alone should be the criteria to treat individuals differentially. Liberal feminists work by fighting the system from within to remove all obstacles removed from the path of the women so as to ensure a level playing field for them.
Liberal feminism is one kind of feminism that does not meet with much criticism, and this is why it has achieved a lot of success in getting removed gender inequalities by way of new acts passed such as the Equal Pay Act of 1975.
Marxist Feminism
Also known as socialist feminism, Marxist feminism believes that it is not just gender discrimination that is responsible for the plight of women in the society. There are many more social causes such as discrimination on the basis of sex, race, culture education etc. that compound the miseries for women around the world. This means that a black, uneducated and poor African girl is at a far more disadvantageous position than an educated, white and rich European woman. Thus, Marxist feminism suggests communism as the perfect solution to remove social ills to pave the way for gender equality.
Marxist Feminism vs Liberal Feminism
• Liberal feminism is the most soft and lenient approach to feminism while Marxist feminism has leanings towards left.
• Liberal feminism traces its roots in American Revolution while Marxist feminism finds its inspiration in the writings of Karl Marx.
• Liberal feminists suggest fighting the system from within and eradicating the ills of the society to usher an era of gender equality.
• Marxists suggest paving the way for communism as one way to achieve equal rights for women.
• Marxist feminism believes that capitalism makes use of women as a reserve army of labor.