Liberalism and American feminism : theoretical and historical perspectives

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dc.contributor.authorCrossley, Diane Marieen_US
dc.date.accessioned2024-08-13T18:16:35Z
dc.date.available2024-08-13T18:16:35Z
dc.date.copyright1986en_US
dc.date.issued1986
dc.degree.departmentDepartment of Political Science
dc.degree.levelMaster of Arts M.A.en
dc.description.abstractThis thesis takes issue with the common tendency of feminist theorists to equate "liberal" and "bourgeois" feminism. It sets out general liberal philosophic principles, and then examines mainstream American feminist ideas, showing that these ideas sometimes-though by no means always-fall outside the boundaries of liberal principles, strictly construed . Three different periods of American feminism are examined: the antebellum era, the Progressive era, and the post-1960 period . Antebellum feminism had its roots in American revolutionary principles, romanticism, and evangelicalism. Feminism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century included a number of features which can be summarized as "maternal" -the argument for various reforms rested on women's supposed moral superiority and maternal sensibilities. Modern mainstream feminism since the nineteen sixties has often draw on ideas derived from radical feminism. This thesis stresses the complexity both of liberalism and of American feminism, and argues that a number of the features discussed shade off into illiberalism. The final chapter offers some critical comments on mainstream feminism in the light of liberal philosophic principles.
dc.format.extent151 pages
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1828/17566
dc.rightsAvailable to the World Wide Weben_US
dc.titleLiberalism and American feminism : theoretical and historical perspectivesen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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