public vs personal realm - feminism

Intro

The public sphere refers to aspects of social, political and economic life that concern the whole community and so are not confined to the home or the private life of women. Whereas the private sphere refers to aspects of life which are the concern of the individual and her close family and friends only. Liberal feminists believe that the private sphere is separate from the public sphere and it should not be the concern of anyone, especially not the state. Whereas radical feminists believe that there is no difference between the

private and public sphere, arguing that everything is political due to the patriarchal society that women are subject to. A convincing argument is that feminism should concern itself with the personal and public realm rather than just the public realm.

Person is political - liberals

One way that the 'person is political' debate is viewed is through the eyes of liberal feminists who argue that the private sphere is not the concern of anybody, let alone the state. Liberals believe that as long as our actions do not harm others there is no justification for interference from the state.

However if our actions do start to infringe on the rights of others, such as in the case of sexual abuse, then the state has a right to get involved.

Betty Friedan, a liberal thinker argued that there needed to be a change to public values, social institutions and leaderships styles to allow all people to achieve personal fulfilment. Friedan believed that for this to be achieved the state must step in not just grant formal equality but intervene to tackle gender inequality and enable equality of opportunity.

An example of this in practice is the UK Equality Act 2010, which made it illegal for organisations to discriminate against employees and the people that use their services because of a certain characteristic In particular making it illegal for women to be paid less than men whilst performing the

same job.

Radical

Another way that the 'person is political debate is viewed is through the eyes of Radical thinkers who argue that there is no distinction between the public and private sphere. This is because they believe everything is political due to the patriarchal nature of society, and the power that men hold over women in all areas of life. Radical feminists focus on how women are unable to experience the same opportunities as men due to being confined to their job of looking after the home and children. Radicals therefore believe that this is not a private matter but concerns the whole society and the traditional stereotypes that women face.

The idea that feminism should be concerned with both the

private and public sphere is seen through the works of Kate Millet who stated that a cultural revolution is needed to overturn the patriarchy and women should be freed from oppression by being freed from relationships with men.

Socialist

final way that the 'person is political' debate is viewed is through the views of socialist thinkers who believe that liberation of women comes about from moving on from a capitalist society. Socialists argue that a capitalist society oppresses women due to women being denied the same

opportunities as men and being seen as cheap labour. Socialist feminists see women as being unable to reach their full potential due to the capitalist society which discriminates against them in every aspect of their lives in both the personal sphere and the private sphere.

The socialist feminist views on the 'person is political' debate is seen through the eyes of Shelia Rowbotham who believed that feminism should be concerned with both the public and private sphere because women are oppressed in both the

home and wider culture. Rowbotham saw a cultural revolution as not being able to automatically liberate women and that women cannot end the patriarchy on their own so must do it with the help of men as well.