Feminism: Represented by Mary Wollstonecraft and Judith Butler
Despite both women being staunch feminists, Mary Wollstonecraft and Judith Butler both have many conflicting views which is reflective in the feminist movements of their time. Wollstonecraft represents the 1st wave feminism movement and Butler represents contemporary feminism
Wollstonecraft who is a key founder of feminism in the 18th-century was influenced by John Locke and Christianity. As such, her views strongly parallel each other. Wollstonecraft argued for equality between men and women. At the time, women had a limited and distinct role in society as dutiful caregivers and obedient housewives. Also, during this time women had limited opportunity in the pursuit of education, occupation, and personal endeavors. Notably, she highlighted the importance of developing reason and rationality which was difficult, because women were catering to the desires and men, and confined to the home. Women were expected to be subordinate to men and offer them amusement, whilst indulging in their own emotions. Clearly, Wollstonecraft lived in a time of overt institutional sexism (which has since diminished). Wollstonecraft’s main focus was to restore women’s dignity through their participation in the public sphere. Wollstonecraft provided inspiration and justification for many other feminist movements, including women’s suffrage, by arguing that the betterment and improved participation of women in the public sphere, compounded with the higher education that women receive allows them to become better wives and mothers which would then benefit society as a whole. Unlike many modern feminists, Wollstonecraft believed, that women are not men and men are not women. There is a clear biological distinction between sexes and one cannot change on their own whims. It is important to note that birth control was introduced after Wollstonecraft died. Contraceptives gave greater autonomy for women and could have potentially given Wollstonecraft a different perspective on feminism.
Judith Butler is a 21st-century philosopher and focuses on redefining gender based on self-identification. Butler argues that feminists, and even society, should not have used the terms “man” or “women” as a definition of common characteristics as she believes it reinforces the binary division of gender relations. As such, Butler believes that instead of the feminist movement focusing efforts on defining those binary terms, efforts should be placed in the direction of how power functions and shapes one’s understanding of womanhood in contemporary society. In this manner, Butler insinuates that the link between sex and gender can be broken, stepping away from traditional binary views and towards a more fluid identity, and gender as a performance. Butler is arguing within the realm of covert sexism rather than overt sexism because of her strong stance on redefining the terms society uses, rather than arguing for institutional change. Also, despite Butlers’ Jewish background, she does not use the Bible as a foundation for her feminist views. Instead, she was influenced by the philosopher Foucault who was a homosexual atheist.