Feminist Thought: A More Comprehensive Introduction

321 Pages·2017·2.832 MB·English

by  Rosemarie Putnam Tong, Tina Fernandes Botts

FEMINIST THOUGHT
2
FIFTH EDITION
FEMINIST THOUGHT
A MORE COMPREHENSIVE INTRODUCTION
Rosemarie Tong
University of North Carolina, Charlotte
and
Tina Fernandes Botts
California State University, Fresno
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First published 2018 by Westview Press
Fifth Edition: July 2017
Published 2018 by Routledge
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Tong, Rosemarie, author. | Botts, Tina Fernandes, author.
Title: Feminist thought : a more comprehensive introduction / Rosemarie Tong,
University of North Carolina, Charlotte, and Tina Fernandes Botts,
California State University, Fresno.
Description: Fifth edition. | Boulder, CO : Westview Press, [2017] | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016058505| ISBN 9780813349954 (pbk.) | ISBN 9780813350707 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Feminist theory.
Classification: LCC HQ1206 .T65 2017 | DDC 305.4201—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016058505
ISBN 13: 978-0-8133-4995-4 (pbk)
LSC-C
Print book interior design by Trish Wilkinson
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Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
The Diversity of Feminist Thinking
1 Liberal Feminism
Conceptual Roots
Before the “First Wave”: Equal Education
“First Wave” Liberal Feminism: Equal Liberty and the Suffrage
“Second Wave” Liberal Feminism: Equal Rights
Toward “Third-Wave” Liberal Feminism: Sameness Versus Difference and Egalitarianism
“Third-Wave” Liberal Feminism: Intersectionality
Critiques of Liberal Feminism
Conclusion
Questions for Discussion
2 Radical Feminism
Radical-Libertarian Feminism in General
Radical-Cultural Feminism in General
Controversies Between Radical-Libertarian and Radical-Cultural Feminists
Critiques of Radical Feminism
Conclusion
Questions for Discussion
3 Marxist and Socialist Feminisms
Some Traditional Marxist Concepts and Theories
Classical Marxist Feminism: General Reflections
Contemporary Socialist Feminism: General Reflections
Contemporary Women’s Labor Issues
Critiques of Marxist and Socialist Feminisms
Conclusion
Questions for Discussion
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4 Women-of-Color Feminism(s) in the United States
Women-of-Color Feminism(s) and the “First Wave”
Women-of-Color Feminism(s) and the “Second Wave”
Women-of-Color Feminism(s) and the “Third Wave”
Distinct Women-of-Color Feminism(s)
Critiques of Women-of-Color Feminism(s) in the United States
Conclusion
Questions for Discussion
5 Women-of-Color Feminism(s) on the World Stage: Global, Postcolonial, and Transnational Feminisms
Global Feminism in General
Postcolonial Feminism in General
Transnational Feminism in General
Critiques of Global, Postcolonial, and Transnational Feminisms
Conclusion
Questions for Discussion
6 Psychoanalytic Feminism
Classical Psychoanalytic Thought: Focus on Sigmund Freud
Anglo-American Critiques and Appropriations of Freud: Focus on Dorothy Dinnerstein, Nancy
Chodorow, and Juliet Mitchell
Contemporary Psychoanalytic Thought: Focus on Jacques Lacan
Critique of Jacques Lacan
“French” Psychoanalytic Feminism: Focus on Luce Irigaray and Julia Kristeva
Critiques of Freudian, Lacanian, and Psychoanalytic Feminist Thought
Conclusion
Questions for Discussion
7 Care-Focused Feminism
The Roots of Care-Focused Feminism
Critiques of Care-Focused Feminism
The Roots of Maternal Ethics
Critiques of Maternal Ethics
Conclusion
Questions for Discussion
8 Ecofeminism
Some Roots of Ecofeminism
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Early Conceptions of Ecofeminism
Women, Nature, and Culture: Some Tensions
Nature Ecofeminism
Spiritual Ecofeminism
Transformative Ecofeminism
Global Ecofeminism
Vegetarian Ecofeminism
Environmental Ecofeminism
Critiques of Ecofeminism
Conclusion
Questions for Discussion
9 Existentialist, Poststructural, and Postmodern Feminisms
Existentialism: Focus on Jean-Paul Sartre
Existentialist Feminism: Focus on Simone de Beauvoir
Critiques of Existentialist Feminism
Poststructuralism: Focus on Michel Foucault
Poststructural Feminism: Focus on Judith Butler
Critiques of Poststructural Feminism
Postmodernism: Focus on Jacques Derrida
Postmodern Feminism: Focus on Hélène Cixous
Critiques of Postmodern Feminism
Conclusion
Questions for Discussion
10 Third-Wave and Queer Feminisms
Third-Wave Feminism
Critiques of Third-Wave Feminism
Feminist Queer Theory
Critiques of Feminist Queer Theory
Conclusion
Questions for Discussion
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
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Preface
The two of us have enjoyed working together on the fifth edition of Feminist Thought—even though one of us
was in Charlotte, North Carolina, retired as an emeritus professor of philosophy, and the other was an
assistant professor of philosophy at California State University, Fresno. Committed to making the fifth
edition of the book the best yet, we expanded it from seven to ten chapters. Although Chapter 1 on liberal
feminism, Chapter 3 on Marxist and socialist feminisms, Chapter 8 on ecofeminism, and Chapter 9 on
existentialist, poststructural, and postmodern feminisms remain somewhat the same, we added better critiques
and more recent data. We have recast Chapter 2 on radical feminism to better accommodate some of our
most recent ideas about sexuality and particularly reproduction. In addition, we now have two chapters on
women-of-color feminism. One focuses on women of color in the United States and the other on women of
color worldwide (global, postcolonial, and transnational). We have also split Chapter 6 on psychoanalytic and
care-focused feminism into two chapters: Chapter 6 on psychoanalytic feminism and Chapter 7 on care-
focused feminism. Finally, we have added Chapter 10 on third-wave feminism and feminist queer theory and
significantly updated and reconfigured our bibliography.
This fifth edition of Feminist Thought contains several substantial changes in addition to many cosmetic
ones. We believe that nothing currently on the market is more inclusive of the rich diversity and
intersectionality of feminist thought.
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Acknowledgments
As usual we have relied on the help of many people to bring this book to market. First, we wish to
acknowledge each other as responsive, responsible, and self-critical coauthors. Second, we want to thank
everyone at Westview Press who cheerfully and skillfully aided us. In particular, we want to thank our editors,
Elizabeth Hansen and Nikki Ioakimedes; our publisher, Cathleen Esposito; and our editorial director, Grace
Fujimoto. In addition, we give special thanks to our project editor, Michael Clark, for shepherding our project
through the production process, and our copyeditor, Jennifer Kelland, for polishing our manuscript. Their
help unified and improved our two distinct styles. Finally, we wish to thank our patient and conscientious
typist, Pamela Eudy, who kept track of our many draftings and redraftings. We cannot overemphasize her
dedication to the fifth edition.
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