Women, and Feminism

Feminism, voting rights for women, and simple ethical rights for women all came on strong in the 20th century. There are two main branches of feminism. One being liberal feminism and the other being social feminism. Liberal feminism is about how men and women are equals. They feel that there is a faith in the rationality of the universe and the possessions of reason by all human, men and women. Also there needs to be an acceptance of natural right for all humans. The liberal feminists stress the idea that every person is the center of his or her own life decisions. Finally, they feel that education is the key to unlocking the potential of both men and women.

Social feminists on the other hand, feel that there are things that women tend have more or not all at of something compared to men. Carol Gilligan was a strong social feminist. A social feminist believes that women are more prone to emotional sensitivity. They are more likely to cry or to feel bad for others. Gilligan and her counterparts believed that women can look at something and better understand the larger picture, they are holistic. The main point that social feminists stressed was that they are more sharing and are more empathetic. They like to explore relationships and are very life-affirming people.

Carol Gilligan is a true social feminist. She felt that the way of thinking is simply different than that of a man. The contrast of thoughts is in no superior or inferior to men alike, it is just different. James Rachels explains it in the handout on page 164, “Gilligan suggests that women’s basic moral orientation is caring for others-“taking care” of others in a personal way, not just being concerned for humanity in general-and attending to their needs.” Believing this, Gilligan scrutinized Kohlberg’s moral developmental stages. She said that during his time psychology only focused on behavior, and there is far more than just behavior and the popular image. She did not agree with his stages: preconventional, conventional, and postconventional. Preconventional is all about self interest, egocentrism, and the affect of an authority figure. Convention has to deal with the want to please others. Although Kohlberg says not everyone get here, the postconventional stage is about the great good and start to think about principals and ideas. Gilligan did agree with the preconventional stage, but was not to certain about the second and third stage. She felt the stages to moral development were: self-centered, self-giving, and a mature combination of the first two.
Men and women do see moral situations differently. There are three likely categories why this is the case: culture, biology, and psychology. The cultural impact deals with the toys, the colors, and the overall sense of what a boy and a girl should be. Society says that girls play with dolls and have tea party like game and boys play with toy trucks and play rough sports. The biological impact roots simply from the fact that women give birth and men don’t. Because of the experience of birth women tend to be more sensitive and caring to other humans. Also, men have the presence of testosterone and women do not. This chemical is proven to produce a higher degree of aggression then males. The psychological fact is that the female is the primary care-giver in the family. Girls can relate to the mom and boys cannot.