Individualist feminism

{{About|libertarian feminism|individualist anarchist feminism|Anarcha-feminism|variations of libertarian feminism|Feminist movements and ideologies#Libertarian|liberal feminism|Liberal feminism}}

Individualist feminism, also known as ifeminism, is a libertarian feminist movement that emphasizes individualism, personal autonomy, freedom from state-sanctioned discrimination against women, and gender equality.

Overview

Individualist feminists attempt to change legal systems to eliminate sex and gender privileges, and to ensure that individuals have equal rights. Individualist feminism encourages women to take full responsibility for their own lives and opposes any government interference into choices adults make with their own bodies.{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/48475190 |title=Liberty for women : freedom and feminism in the twenty-first century |date=2002 |publisher=Ivan R. Dee |others=Wendy McElroy |isbn=1-56663-434-2 |location=Chicago |oclc=48475190}}{{Cite book |last=Taylor |first=Joan Kennedy |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/25282967 |title=Reclaiming the mainstream : individualist feminism rediscovered |date=1992 |publisher=Prometheus Books |isbn=0-87975-717-5 |location=Buffalo, N.Y. |oclc=25282967}}{{Cite book |last=Taylor |first=Joan Kennedy |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/41580348 |title=What to do when you don't want to call the cops : a non-adversarial approach to sexual harassment |date=1999 |publisher=London |isbn=0-8147-8232-9 |location=New York |oclc=41580348}}{{Page needed|date=April 2023}}

Individualist or libertarian feminism is sometimes grouped as one of many branches of liberal feminism, but it tends to diverge significantly from mainstream liberal feminism of the 21st century.{{Cite web|date=2015-01-28|title=Carceral Feminism and the Libertarian Alternative {{!}} Libertarianism.org|url=https://www.libertarianism.org/columns/carceral-feminism-libertarian-alternative|access-date=2020-12-06|website=www.libertarianism.org|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2015-01-06|title=How is Libertarian Feminism Different from Other Feminisms? {{!}} Libertarianism.org|url=https://www.libertarianism.org/columns/how-is-libertarian-feminism-different-other-feminisms|access-date=2020-12-06|website=www.libertarianism.org|language=en}}{{Explain|reason=|date=April 2023}} Individualist feminists Wendy McElroy and Christina Hoff Sommers define individualist feminism in opposition to what they call "political" or "gender feminism".{{cite book |title=Liberty for women: freedom and feminism in the twenty-first century |publisher=Ivan R. Dee |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-56663-435-9 |editor-last=McElroy |editor-first=Wendy |editor-link=Wendy McElroy |location=Chicago}}{{rp|14}}{{cite book |last=Hoff Sommers |first=Christina |title=Who Stole Feminism? How Women Have Betrayed Women |publisher=Touchstone/Simon & Schuster |year=1995 |isbn=9780684801568 |location=New York |author-link=Christina Hoff Sommers}}{{Cite journal |last=McElroy |first=Wendy |date=2003 |title=Gender Feminism and Ifeminism: Wherein They Differ |url=https://www.openstarts.units.it/bitstream/10077/5456/1/McElroy_E&P_V_2003_2.pdf |journal=Etica & Politica / Ethics & Politics |volume=2}}

Beliefs

Libertarian feminists reject gender roles that limit women's autonomy and choice, and assert that strict gender roles limit both women and men, especially if they are legally enforced.{{Cite web |url=https://www.libertarianism.org/columns/how-is-libertarian-feminism-different-other-feminisms |access-date=2023-09-02 |website=www.libertarianism.org}} Libertarian feminists are critical of using institutional power to achieve positive aims, believing that allowing the government to make decisions on behalf of women may limit women's individual choices. For instance, banning sex work to "protect" women treats women as a monolithic group, rather than individuals, and takes away economic opportunities for women who want to work in the sex industry by choice.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}

The Cato Institute, an American libertarian think tank, argues that capitalism has given women a higher standard of living, greater access to resources, greater individual freedoms and more job opportunities outside of physical labor.{{Cite web |url=https://www.cato.org/commentary/why-feminists-should-embrace-capitalism |access-date=2023-09-02 |website=www.cato.org}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.cato.org/policy-report/november/december-2019/does-capitalism-help-women |access-date=2023-09-02 |website=www.cato.org}}

Individualist feminism conforms to the theory of natural law, supporting laws that protect the rights of men and women equally.{{Cite book |last=McElroy |first=Wendy |title=Individualist feminism of the nineteenth century: Collected writings and Biographical profiles |year=2001 |location=McFarland}}{{Page needed|date=April 2023}} Individual feminists argue that government should not prioritize the needs of women over men, nor should it strive to intervene to create equality in personal relationships, private economic arrangements, entertainment and media representation, or the general sociocultural realm.{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}}

History in the United States

According to individualist feminist Joan Kennedy Taylor, early organized feminism in the United States was fundamentally "a classical liberal women's movement".{{Cite web|date=2020-03-11|title=Reclaiming Feminism for Liberty {{!}} Libertarianism.org|url=https://www.libertarianism.org/columns/reclaiming-feminism-liberty|access-date=2020-12-06|website=www.libertarianism.org|language=en}} First-wave feminists focused on universal suffrage and the abolition of slavery, along with property rights for women and other forms of equal rights.{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}}

During the Victorian era and the early 20th century, individualist feminism fell out of vogue in the US and UK as the progressive, labor, and socialist movements began to hold more sway over politics.{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}}

Individualist feminism was revived by anti-authoritarian and individualist second-wave feminists in the mid-20th century. According to Taylor, "the political issues that gained wide adherence were the reproductive rights to birth control and abortion, and the Equal Rights Amendment, which (at least in its initial support) was a classical liberal restraint on government."

Labels like individualist feminism, libertarian feminism, and classical liberal feminism were explicitly embraced by late 20th century writers and activists such as Taylor, Sharon Presley, Tonie Nathan, and Wendy McElroy.{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}} Modern libertarian feminism is a continuation of ideas and work developed by these women and their contemporaries, including Nadine Strossen and Camille Paglia, as well as of the ideas of classical liberal and anarchist writers throughout history.{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}}

Libertarian feminist organizations

= Association of Libertarian Feminists =

The Association of Libertarian Feminists (ALF) was founded in 1973 by Tonie Nathan and Sharon Presley on Ayn Rand's birthday in Eugene, Oregon, at Nathan's home.{{Cite web |last=Fisher |first=J. A. |date=2013-07-16 |title=Individualist Feminism: A Libertarian Feminism |url=https://beingfeministblog.wordpress.com/2013/07/16/individualist-feminism-a-libertarian-feminism/ |access-date=2020-12-04 |website=Being Feminist |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2008-12-26 |title=About ALF - The Association of Libertarian Feminists |url=http://www.alf.org/aboutalf/founding.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081226000448/http://www.alf.org/aboutalf/founding.shtml |archive-date=2008-12-26 |access-date=2020-12-04}} In September 1975 in New York City, ALF became a national organization. {{As of|2015}}, Presley was the executive director of the organization.{{Cite web |title=Association of Libertarian Feminists |url=https://insomniaclibertarian.wordpress.com/category/association-of-libertarian-feminists/ |access-date=2020-12-04 |website=The Insomniac Libertarian |language=en}}

The ALF has stated that their purpose is to oppose sexist attitudes, oppose government, and "provide a libertarian alternative to those aspects of the women's movement that tend to discourage independence and individuality."{{Cite web |date=2008-12-23 |title=Association of Libertarian Feminists |url=http://www.alf.org/index.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081223184643/http://www.alf.org/index.shtml |archive-date=2008-12-23 |access-date=2020-12-04}} The ALF have opposed the government's involvement in childcare centers, including "zoning laws, unnecessary and pointless "health and safety" restrictions, [and] required licensing."{{Cite web |last=Presley |first=Sharon |last2=Kinsky |first2=Lynn |date=2008-12-26 |title=ALF Paper: Government Is Women's Enemy |url=http://alf.org/papers/gwe1.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081226003724/http://alf.org/papers/gwe1.shtml |archive-date=2008-12-26 |access-date=2020-12-04}} The ALF have also opposed public education, saying that public schools "not only foster the worst of traditionalist sexist values but inculcate docility and obedience to authority with sterile, stifling methods and compulsory programs and regulations." In 1977, Nathan suggested eliminating parts of the United States Postal Service regulations that obstructed the mailing of birth control samples and information about family planning at the National Women's Conference in Houston, Texas.

= Feminists for Liberty =

Feminists for Liberty (F4L) is a nonprofit libertarian feminist group founded in 2016. It was founded by Kat Murti and Elizabeth Nolan Brown{{cite web |title=Who We Are – Feminists for Liberty |url=https://www.feministsforliberty.com/about/officers-and-board/ |access-date=2020-12-04 |language=en-US}} to promote the values of libertarian feminism. F4L are "anti-sexism and anti-statism, pro-markets and pro-choice" and "classically liberal, anti-carceral, and sex positive".{{Cite web |title=Feminists for Liberty – consent in all things |url=https://feministsforliberty.com/ |access-date=2023-04-08 |language=en-US}} They are opposed to collectivism and argue that "treating someone as simply a representative of their sex or gender" is collectivist.

= Ladies of Liberty Alliance (LOLA) =

The Ladies of Liberty Alliance (LOLA) was established in 2009 as a nonprofit organization. LOLA's goal is to engage women in libertarianism through social groups, leadership trainings, and visits from guest speakers.{{Cite web|last=Ladies of Liberty|date=2018|title=Ladies of Liberty Alliance|url=http://ladiesofliberty.org/about-us/|access-date=26 November 2020|website=LOLA: Ladies of Liberty Alliance}}

= Mothers Institute =

The Mothers Institute was a non-profit educational and networking organization supporting stay-at-home mothering, homeschooling, civics in the classroom, and an effective networking system for mothers and freedom of choice in health and happiness. It is now defunct.{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}}

Criticism

{{about|criticism of individualist feminism|the political movement opposed to feminism|Antifeminism|section=yes}}

Criticism of individualist feminism ranges from expressing disagreements with the values of individualism as a feminist to expressing the limitations within individualist feminism as an effective activism. Critics have argued that individualist feminism does not sufficiently address structural inequality.{{Cite book|editor=Personal Narratives Group|title=Interpreting women's lives: Feminist Theory and Personal Narratives.|publisher=Indiana University Press|year=1989|isbn=9780253205018|location=Bloomington|pages=172–88}} In 1995, American radical feminist Catharine MacKinnon criticized the value of individual choice, saying there were still instances where "women are used, abused, bought, sold, and silenced", especially women of color.{{Cite book |last=Freedman |first=M., & Hofstra University |title=Group Defamation and Freedom of Speech: The Relationship Between Language and Violence |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=1995 |isbn=9780313292972 |location=Westport, Conn.}} In 1999, American feminist Susan Brownmiller suggested that the aversion to collective, "united" feminism was a sign of a "waning" and unhealthy feminist movement.{{Cite book|last=Brownmiller|first=Susan|title=In Our Time: Memoir of a Revolution.|publisher=Dial Press|year=1999|isbn=978-0-385-31486-2|location=New York|pages=328}}

Notable individualist feminists

William Lloyd Garrison (1805–1879){{cite book |last=Kennedy Taylor |first=Joan |title=Reclaiming the Mainstream: Individualist Feminism Rediscovered |year=1992 |page=48 |publisher=Prometheus Books |isbn=9780879757175}}
Ezra Heywood (1829–1893)
Moses Harman (1830–1910){{cite web |last=McElroy |first=Wendy |date=1 August 1998 |title=Individualist Feminism: The Lost Tradition |url=https://www.independent.org/news/article.asp?id=16 |website=independent.org |publisher=Independent Institute |access-date=22 October 2024}}
Voltairine de Cleyre (1866–1912)
Dora Marsden (1882–1960)
Suzanne La Follette (1893–1983)
Tonie Nathan (1923–2014)
Joan Kennedy Taylor (1926–2005)
Mimi Reisel Gladstein (b. 1936)
Sharon Presley (1943–2022)
Camille Paglia (b. 1947)
Wendy Kaminer (b. 1949){{cite magazine |last=Kaminer |first=Wendy |date=6 April 2011 |title=Sexual Harassment and the Loneliness of the Civil Libertarian Feminist |url=https://reason.com/2024/04/01/defending-pornography-on-feminist-grounds-a-qa-with-nadine-strossen/ |magazine=The Atlantic |access-date=22 October 2024}}
Candida Royalle (1950–2015){{cite magazine |last=Nolan Brown |first=Elizabeth |date=1 April 2024 |title=Defending Pornography on Feminist Grounds: A Q&A With Nadine Strossen |url=https://reason.com/2024/04/01/defending-pornography-on-feminist-grounds-a-qa-with-nadine-strossen/ |magazine=Reason |access-date=22 October 2024}}
Christina Hoff Sommers (b. 1950)
Wendy McElroy (b. 1951)
Jo Jorgensen (b. 1957)
Nina Hartley (b. 1959)
Virginia Postrel (b. 1960)
Cathy Young (b. 1963)
Tiffany Million (b. 1966)
Chris Crass (b. 1973)
Spike Cohen (b. 1982)
Lily Wu (b. 1984)
Rene Denfeld

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20060804001950/http://alf.org/ Association of Libertarian Feminists]
[http://www.ifeminists.com iFeminists]
[http://www.pro-choicelibertarians.net Pro Choice Libertarians] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070903172114/http://www.pro-choicelibertarians.net/ |date=2007-09-03 }}
[http://themothersinstitute.org The Mother's Institute]
[http://ladiesofliberty.org/ Ladies of Liberty Alliance (LOLA)]

Category:Feminist movements and ideologies

Category:Feminist theory

Category:Libertarianism by form

Category:Individualist anarchism

Category:Feminism and history