Reawakened Feminism
A while back when I wrote about the three waves of feminism, I was confused about my own relationship to feminism. I want individual rights and equality for everyone, but, unfortunately, my own beliefs clash with those feminists who want special protections for women, such as affirmative action and mandatory maternity leave. I never believed the hype that many women are purposely paid less than men because of discrimination, that all pornography is harmful and degrading to women, or even the idea that capitalism oppresses women. Therefore, it was a pleasant surprise when I came across individualist feminism, which squares with my ideals of individual rights and personal freedom.
In her book Liberty for Women: Freedom and Feminism in the Twenty-First Century, Canadian Wendy McElroy coined the term “ifeminism,” which is “based upon the belief that all human beings have a right to the protection of their persons and property.” It is about self-ownership and the ability to make the best decisions for ourselves without interference. The kind of feminism McElroy brings to the table is the kind that respects choices across the board, as long as they are neither coercive nor infringing upon the rights of others.
Originally, individualism and self-ownership were central to feminism, says McElroy, but recently, that focus has morphed into gender feminism that puts women into a special class. Many past individualist feminists (both male and female) are rarely heard of or discussed in the context of women’s history these days, and ifeminism has become passe.
One of the most interesting feminist personalities I learned about while uncovering individualist feminism’s past through McElroy’s books and others, is about Moses Harman (1830-1910). His words reveal his passion for freedom and equality:
Yes I believe in Freedom—equal freedom. I want no freedom for myself that all others may not equally enjoy…The Spencerian formula: ‘each has a right to do as he pleases, so long as he does not invade the rights of others’, tells what freedom means. It is equivalent to saying that liberty, wedded to responsibility for one’s own acts, is the true and only basis of good character, or of morality.
This, it seems, is one of the core principles underlying individualist feminism. John Stuart Mill also called it the harm principle, meaning that a person has the right to do what he or she pleases as long as it doesn’t harm anyone else. A person should not have more freedom than another because of something baseless like sex or race—instead, each person is accountable for their own actions because they have the freedom to live life as they please, whether it be rationally or irrationally.
But in the US today, we live with many laws which are intended to enforce morality. Some of the most important issues facing a free society today are reproductive choices, and legislators and other public figures have not been chary about meddling with such personal choices. Should married couples be able to buy birth control? Should women be able to get abortions? Should a woman seeking sterilization require a psych eval? An individual feminist would be accepting of the reproductive choices a woman makes, and sees women as individuals who are capable of making the best decisions for themselves—and thus should be allowed to do so without government or societal interference.
Individualism feminism renews old ideas of freedom and equality and applies it equally to men and women—not only does it care about women’s rights, it cares about men’s rights too. Men are not oppressors or enemies. Individualist feminism places no one in a hierarchy and instead leaves individuals to their own devices to create their own lives. Individualist feminism is the only feminism that actually respects the individual.
For more information about Wendy McElroy and individualism feminism:
Sexual Correctness: The Gendered-Feminist Attack on Women by Wendy McElroy
Liberty for Women: Freedom and Feminism in the Twenty-First Century, edited by Wendy McElroy
Individualist Feminism of the Nineteenth Century edited by Wendy McElroy
Freedom, Feminism, and the State edited by Wendy McElroy
XXX: A Woman’s Right to Pornography by Wendy McElroy
Copyright . Published 1 July 2008 in Features.
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I need to find this book!
I actually “returned” to feminism a few months ago, on my own terms, after a long break caused by some of the issues you also have with the philosophy/movement.
While the whole lowercase “i” prefix annoys me (reminds me too much of Apple products), I think I will like McElroy’s approach to feminism. I’ll be requesting the book from my library this weekend . . .
permalink — 1 July 2008, 13:44