Philosophical Tradition of Feminism - ESSAY.

Running head: FEMINISM ESSAY
Feminism Essay
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The purpose of this report is to explore key concepts related to the philosophical tradition
of feminism. In its broadest sense, feminism refers to a wide range of social and political
movements, along with sets of ideologies that advocates for women’s rights and equality of the
sexes. As a philosophical tradition, feminism defends the theories and ideologies that presume
equal rights for women. At the same time, it analyses the traditional way in which philosophy
reflects and perpetuates bias against women, and emphasizes the role of gender in the
development of philosophical concepts (Nagl-Docekal 2018).
In the light of the general notion of feminism, it can be argued that the historical tradition
of feminist movements and feminist ideologies have advocated for equal rights for women in all
sects of the society, whereas Marxist feminism has put additional emphasis on the working class
women (Oksala 2017). However, it has been historically difficult to argue in favour of sex
workers for a variety of reasons, especially the moral claims constituted around prostitution and
sexual practices. Moreover, a blurred line between sex trafficking and voluntary prostitution has
made the altercations even more problematic. To this end, it is worth revaluating the positions of
different feminist ideologies as they analyse sex work, sexual autonomy and sexual oppression.
In this regard, the current report focuses on two particular feminist philosophies, namely liberal
feminism and Marxist feminism, since both the traditions have contributed significant insights to
assess sexuality and sex work.
Liberal feminism and Marxist feminism are two major feminist traditions that have
significant influence over the philosophical tradition. Liberal feminism is founded on the
principles of classical liberal tradition, which regards human beings as autonomous, rational and
self-interested individuals. It values liberty as the supreme characteristics of human beings, and
argues against the state authority that curbs individual liberty. Besides, liberalism places a huge

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importance on rights. Aligning itself with classical liberalism, liberal feminists argue in favour of
freedom for women. They advocate that women should have the ability to live their lives through
their own choices and actions, while being able to maintain equality in both the public and
domestic sphere. However, based on the lack of unanimity regarding the meaning of freedom,
liberal feminism takes more than one form. One section, known as the liberal feminists,
conceives of freedom as personal autonomy and political autonomy. The other section, known as
the classical liberal feminists or libertarian feminists, emphasizes emancipation of women from
subjugation, since they conceive freedom as freedom from coercive interference (Baehr 2017).
These particular stances on freedom and choice as maintained by liberal feminism are the key
aspects of analysing their position on sex work. However, in contrast to the radical and Marxists
feminists, they undertake a unique approach to sex work.
In the view of liberal feminism, sex work and sex trafficking are two distinct approaches
to deal with. Although a section of libertarian feminists hold that sex work, or prostitution to be
more precise, is a form of exploitation and oppression on women exerted by the patriarchal
society, the liberal feminists emphasize authentic consent in both commercialized and non-
commercialized sex makes the act an autonomous choice of the persons involved. In purview of
such autonomy, criminalizing prostitution and enforcing legal sanctions against the prostitutes
violate their autonomy and signify state coercion. Thus, liberal feminism mostly takes a pro-sex
work or sex positivist standpoint, justifying prostitution as a voluntary and autonomous choice in
the form of an occupation. Feminist writer Maggie McNiel argues that the aspect of intimacy,
which is the most crucial aspect of sex work under the lenses of moral sanctions and social
stigma, is also present in the occupations such as nursing, gynaecology and child care. Hence, it
is not plausible to critic consensual prostitution alone (Gerassi 2015). Nevertheless, the