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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Do you have to be politically left-wing to be a feminist?

76 replies

OTheHugeManatee · 22/04/2015 10:22

Having posted on the 'why don't people post in feminism' thread in AIBU and in the course of it thought of a few topics that interest me, I figured I'd put my money where my mouth is and start one Grin

So, then: is it possible to be a feminist without being left-wing?

I definitely think of myself as a feminist, but I would also class my politics in many respects as broadly centre-right: I think a lot of things are better solved by markets than by the state, I prefer a smaller and less nannyish government and, at root, have a fairly Hobbesian view of human nature (intrinsically flawed, not susceptible to being perfected either individually or at the social level) that doesn't sit well with the big-R Romantic vision of humanity that underpins a lot of left-wing politics. But I also believe that the position of women within society is problematic in many ways, and needs to be challenged.

Having said all that, though, my sense is that by and large the feminist movement allies more naturally with left-wing perspectives. I can't find many right-wing feminist writers online - at least not many that characterise themselves as such. Or is that true? Liberal feminism could, from some perspectives, be characterised as right-wing in the sense of prioritising economic and bodily autonomy and paying less attention to identity politics. (And from another angle, it doesn't seem to follow that lefties are non-sexist: the political left seems to have its share of dinosaurs on this front.) Russell Brand also springs to mind Hmm

So what do people think? If you are a feminist, do you think it follows that the rest of your politics should be left-wing? If not, why does most feminist discussion happen within the context of a broader leftish caucus? Why are there so few right-of-centre people describing themselves as feminists? Is my position hopelessly muddled, or just unusual?

OP posts:
howabout · 07/05/2015 14:56

No I agree about ingrained male bias of capitalism but this is more to do with the fact that it promotes the interests of the incumbents of power and wealth and historically this was men because might was / is right. The problem with socialism is that in looking out for the weak it can be paternalistic. The problem with feminism when it only talks from a woman's perspective is that it can discount the views and needs of those who live happily in partnership with the opposite sex.

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