To what extent do feminist agree on human nature?

Introduction

• feminism is an ideology that formed as a response to the inequalities women faced because of the economy

• therefore this essay will argue that that feminists largely disagree on human nature by discussing equality, patriarchy, and sex vs gender

Equality = Liberal and Socialist

• they argue that biological differences are inconsequential and that gender differences are socially constructed

• this means that there are no gender specific traits

• Simone de Beauvoir wrote that gender differences are created by men in society and they are not natural

• she dismissed the idea of innate female characteristics and argued that women had been dominated in part because of their bodies

Equality = Some Radical and Post Modern

• they disagree wiht equality feminists and agrue that women should not desire to be like men

• this means that whilst believing women are men’s intellectual equals, they also believed in gender specific characteristics

• for exmaple, women are more naturally nurturing, caring and communal, whereas men are more aggressive and commanding

• this shows that sex isone of the most important deermants of human nature

Sex vs Gender = Liberals

• argue that gender roes are socially constructed and form gender stereotypes

• this means that women should be considered rational and as capable as men, and should be granted euqality of opportunity

• this is supported by thinkers such as CHarlotte Gilman who argued that gender roles are socially constructed from a young age, subordinating womn to the will of men

• political emancipation would be needed to gain gender and legal equality

Sex and Gender = radicals and socialists

• they agree and argue that sex may be a biological fact fact but gender roles are socially constructed

• Simone de Beauvoir wrote that the biological differences between men and women had been used by a male dominated state and society as a justification for predetermining the gender roles of women

• that men had successfully characterised themselves as the norm whereas women were the other and this ‘otherness’ left women subordinated to men in society

Androgyny = socialist and Radical

• they argue that human nature is androgenous

• this is the poessession f male and female characteristics to imply that humans are sexless persons

• this emans that feminism should aspire to genderless personhood

• simone de beauvoir…