POST MODERN FEMINISM

Postmodern feminism is a mix of post-structuralism, postmodernism, and

French feminism. The goal of postmodern feminism is to destabilize the
patriarchal norms entrenched in society that have led to gender inequality.
Postmodern feminists seek to accomplish this goal through rejecting
essentialism, philosophy, and universal truths in favor of embracing the
differences that exist amongst women to demonstrate that not all women are the
same. These ideologies are rejected by postmodern feminists because they
believe if a universal truth is applied to all woman of society, it minimizes
individual experience, hence they warn women to be aware of ideas displayed
as the norm in society since it may stem from masculine notions of how women
should be portrayed.
Postmodern feminists seek to analyze any notions that have led to gender
inequality in society. Postmodern feminists analyze these notions and attempt to
promote equality of gender through critiquing logocentrism, supporting multiple
discourses, deconstructing texts, and seeking to promote subjectivity.
Postmodern feminists are accredited with drawing attention to dichotomies in
society and demonstrating how language influences the difference in treatment
of genders.
The inclusion of postmodern theory into feminist theory is not readily accepted
by all feminists—some believe postmodern thought undermines the attacks that
feminist theory attempts to create, while other feminists are in favor of the
union
Post-modern feminism is distinct to the three main strands of feminist thought.
Post-modern feminists begin with the assumption that the modernist conception
of feminism places overt emphasis upon gender differences between women
and men whilst ignoring the differences within each gender.
Post-modern feminists also claim that gender is largely developed from a
discourse that we learn to adopt over time. Gender is therefore neither natural
nor innate. Instead, gender is constituted by the way we talk, create images and
present ourselves to others.
Another key element of post-modern feminism is the claim that patriarchy
operates differently due to the social characteristics of women. The nature and
extent of patriarchy is therefore different for a middle-class white woman than a
poor black-woman. This view is framed within the concept
of intersectionality which seeks to examine how biological, social and cultural
categorisations interact on multiple and often simultaneous levels. It is a
framework which enables us to identify how systemic injustice and inequality
exists on a multitude of levels.
Given the sheer diversity within feminist thought, it may well be appropriate to
use the term feminisms (Coffey, 2004). At the very least, we should be careful
to avoid generalisations when considering the ideology of feminism. It is also
debatable to what extent feminists speak for women. The American academic
Camille Paglia is a particularly forceful opponent of feminism. Paglia believes
that feminism has generated a sense of victimhood that does not apply to all
women. From a similar angle, Christina Hoff Sommers adds that modern
feminist thought often holds an “irrational hostility to men.” She therefore
claims that contemporary feminism is overtly radical and therefore disconnected
from the lives of everyday women.
Finally, it is worth reminding ourselves that many women do not class
themselves as feminists. Perhaps the most famous line of argument here derives
from the first female Prime Minister of the UK who boldly declared “I owe
nothing to women’s liberation.” It is a view which perfectly encapsulates the
conservative strand of thought amongst women who have smashed through the
glass ceiling with no outside assistance. They have merely shown themselves to
be outstanding at their jobs and better than any comparable man. As such, it
may be enough to adopt a ‘pro-women’ stance rather than labelling oneself as a
feminist. This argument is particularly persuasive for those who feel the term
itself carries a certain degree of ideological baggage. At the very least, it must
be recognised that the issues facing women are different to previous waves of
feminist thought. It also reflects a recognition that some objectives of the
women’s movement have been achieved.
Critiques
There have been many critiques of postmodern feminism since it originated in
the 1990s. Most of the criticism has been from modernists and feminists
supporting modernist thought. They have put a focus on the themes of
relativism and nihilism as defined by postmodernism. Though modernist critics
believe more importantly, that through abandoning the values of Enlightenment
thought, postmodern feminism "precludes the possibility of liberating political
action." This concern can be seen in critics like Meaghan Morris, who have
argued that postmodern feminism runs the risk of undercutting the basis of a
politics of action based upon gender difference, through its very anti-
essentialism. Alison Assiter published the book Enlightened Women to critique
postmodernists and postmodern feminists alike, saying that there should be a
return to Enlightenment values and modernist feminism. Gloria Steinem has
also criticized feminist theory, and especially postmodernist feminist theory, as
being overly academic, where discourse that is full of jargon and inaccessible is
helpful to no one