Did you know that there are many different types of feminism? There are those who have always believed that there is only one, feminism itself, but the truth is that it can be divided into several aspects, depending on whether they follow more lines of beliefs and actions or others.
Do not miss this OneHOWTO article on 18 types of feminism, discover the different feminist movements, their names, and characteristics. Did you know them all?
Philosophical feminism
Philosophical feminism is one that invites us to reflect on the concept, the idea, and the role of women in society. Through the history of philosophy, it is intended to review what the role of women has been and when the trace of her was erased.
Philosophical feminism is the basis of any feminist current and, throughout history, has given us figures that have marked the feminist movement such as one the movement’s forerunners, Mary Wollstonecraft, Simone de Beauvoir, Clara Campoamor, María Laffitte, Flora Tristán, Amelia Valcárcel or Celia Amorós, among many others.
Equality feminism
We call equality feminism the movement committed to promoting social practices of equality between women and men. From this type of feminism, it is considered that the gender difference is strictly cultural, so it is intended to consolidate a new social structure based on democratic and egalitarian values. Equality feminism is 100% committed to an activist agenda.
Ecofeminismo
Ecology and feminism come together in the ecofeminism concept through which two basic premises are fought for: patriarchy oppresses both women and nature due to its capitalist practices and women are the ones who promote care for nature.
Ecofeminism is closely linked to Marxist feminism, a current with which they share ideas about the situation of inequality of women, capitalism, and patriarchy.
Abolitionist feminism
The so-called abolitionist feminism is that type of feminism that focuses its struggle on the suppression of the commercial and sexual exploitation of the female body or any other type of trafficking in women. In this sense, one of the main missions of abolitionist feminism is the abolition of prostitution, pornography, or gestational surrogacy.
Dissident feminism
Dissident feminism is a movement that primarily seeks to promote equal rights for women and men but distances itself from the ideas promoted by other feminist movements. For this reason, there are different aspects of dissident feminism, given that there are disagreements with other currents such as Marxist feminism or radical feminism, among others.
Marxist feminism
Marxist or socialist feminism is one that reflects on the construction of power in society through Marxist theory. This type of feminism emphasizes the economic conditions and material reality that can be an instrument of oppression. Marxist feminism seeks to take into account the specific way in which capitalism is seen as the dominant system in the hegemony of patriarchy.
liberal feminism
On the opposite side of Marxist feminism we find liberal feminism, a current that considers that thanks to the capitalist system and liberalism, women have enough tools to free themselves from the oppression of patriarchy and be completely independent.
Radical feminism
Radical feminism, also known as radfem, is a movement that was born in the 1960s. Although its name seems to imply the opposite, this type of current moves away from extremism. Radical feminism takes its name from the word “root” and arises from the need to search for the roots of women’s oppression. For this current of feminism, oppression lies in the sociopolitical and economic structures from which discrimination against women is exercised, as well as other types of discrimination such as racism or classism.
Difference feminism
This is one of the types of feminism that may be less known by its name, instead, it is better known for what it is in itself. So-called difference feminism refers to the idea that gender difference is liberating for women. It is a current that does not aspire to be equal to masculine power, but based on the unique characteristics of women, a new social structure can be created.
Feminism provided
Pro-life feminism is one that supports all the keys to feminism except support for abortion. For pro-life feminists, it is necessary to include the unborn in the term of equality, which distances them from the freedom of abortion as a fight against oppression since for them it is contradictory. Pro-life feminism advocates fighting for the elimination of any economic inequality that, for many women, can be a decisive factor that would prevent them from resorting to abortion.
Cyberfeminism
Cyberfeminism is a feminist current based on the idea that women are a fundamental pillar in technological development. From this main premise, cyberfeminism is dedicated to promoting spaces of inclusion through technological education, cyberspace, and industrial design, areas where women have often been excluded or made invisible.
lesbian feminism
Through lesbian feminism, it is intended to review the naturalization of sexual normativity, especially that of heterosexuality, since through this the concept of social roles by gender is favored. For example, women should take care of household chores and men work to provide for them. For this reason, lesbian feminism advocates applying terms of heteronormative principles to this traditional conception. That is to say, from this current it is understood that women can only free themselves from the oppression of patriarchy through a structure sustained by bonds between women.
Black feminism
Black feminism is a movement that promotes equal rights primarily for black women. For people who believe in this current, this group is not only oppressed by patriarchy, but also by racism and sexism.
Black feminism was born in the 1960s from the struggle for the civil rights of the African-American population, given that women were not taken into account to assume positions of political leadership. Thus, black feminism is based on the fact that both classism, racism, and sexism are closely linked and it is understood that the fight for the rights of black women is also a fight for all people oppressed by discrimination in these senses.
Factual or scientific feminism
It is a type of feminism based on biology and the study of evolutionary psychology. Through factual or scientific feminism, opposition to the idea that the only differences between men and women are cultural is highlighted, since biological gender differences are recognized. However, factual feminism emphasizes that this type of difference cannot serve as a justification for gender inequality and, therefore, biological diversity must guarantee the construction of an inclusive society in terms of rights.
Anarcho-feminism
Anarchism is a political philosophy, a model of thought that advocates the defense of freedom in any type of matter: social, political, and economic. Through anarcho-feminism it is intended to fight for gender equality, taking as a reference the bases of anarchist ideology. For this reason, anarchic feminism questions the methods of social control such as the instrument of patriarchy.
cultural feminism
Through cultural feminism, different trends are encompassed that have a single proposal in common: the development of women within the framework of a counterculture of the feminine. This movement considers that women are morally superior to men and they see in it a special and direct link with nature due to the condition of women as mothers. Before this new adaptation, this current was understood as depoliticized feminism.
Separatist feminism
Separatist feminism bases its theories on lesbian feminism. However, through this current, the separation of men and women is proposed as the only way for women to reach their potential. Thus, within separatist feminism, there are two tendencies: general separatism and lesbian separatism.
Transfeminism
This is the last of the types of feminism on this list. Transfeminism is related to the most radical gender theories. From this current, it is argued that gender is a purely social construction, conceived to make people exercise according to their roles and codes within the social structure.
Likewise, they advocate considering that the characteristics of biological sex do not serve to differentiate the roles between men and women in society, but that these differences occur as a result of the classification that each sex imposes from the moment of birth. Transfeminism not only seeks the liberation of heterosexual women but the equity and equality of any person regardless of their gender.
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