/r/feministtheory

Photograph via snooOG

A place to explore feminist theory on gender relations in the world today.

Welcome to r/FeministTheory:


A place to explore feminist theory on gender relations in the world today.

Recommended Introductory Reading:


  • A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft

  • The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir

  • Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity by Judith Butler

  • Feminist Theory from Margin to Center by bell hooks

  • Women, Race and Class by Angela Davis

  • The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan

  • This Sex Which is Not One by Luce Irigaray

  • This Bridge Called My Back by Cherríe L. Moraga

See here for more

If there are any suggested readings you would like to add, please PM the moderators

Influential Feminist Thinkers:


  • Simone de Beauvoir
  • Judith Butler
  • Nancy Chodorow
  • Hélène Cixous
  • Voltairine de Cleyre
  • Andrea Dworkin
  • Emma Goldman
  • Luce Irigaray
  • bell hooks
  • Julia Kristeva
  • Virginia Woolf

See here for more | Search by "new"

If there are any suggested thinkers you would like to add, please PM the moderators.

Feminist Traditions:


. .
/r/AcademicFeminism /r/AnalyticalFeminism
/r/AnarchaFeminism /r/Avantgardienne
/r/BlackFeminism /r/ContinentalFeminism
/r/CriticalTheory /r/CulturalFeminism
/r/CyberFeminism /r/DifferenceFeminism
/r/EcoFeminism /r/Gynocriticism
/r/FemmeThoughtsFeminism /r/Feminism101
/r/Feminisme /r/Feminisms
/r/FeministEconomics /r/FeministFAQ
/r/FeministHistory /r/FeministHumor
/r/FeministTheology /r/FirstWaveFeminism
/r/FrenchFeminism /r/LiberalFeminism
/r/MarxistFeminism /r/PostcolonialFeminism
/r/PostFeminism /r/PostmodernFeminism
/r/PragmaticFeminism /r/ProtoFeminism
/r/QueerTheory /r/RadicalFeminism
/r/SecondWaveFeminism /r/Sexpositive
/r/SocialistFeminism /r/StandpointFeminism
/r/ThirdWaveFeminism /r/ThirdWorldFeminism
/r/TwoXChromosomes /r/WhereAreTheFeminists
/r/Womanism /r/riotgrrrl
/r/womeninphilosophy

If there are any suggested feminist subreddits you would like to add, please PM the moderators

/r/feministtheory

7,743 Subscribers

5

In Memory of Nicole Brown Simpson by Andrea Dworkin

0 Comments
2024/04/12
15:29 UTC

4

capitalism's demolition will not dismantle misogyny.

5 Comments
2024/03/28
17:02 UTC

7

I don’t like the term «girl boss» - feminism or sneaky patriarchy?

7 Comments
2024/02/21
03:40 UTC

1

how do you feel about the phrase “pick me” ?

4 Comments
2024/02/08
11:31 UTC

0

Good Morning, Revolution! Why does MAGA hate Taylor Swift?

0 Comments
2024/02/02
16:37 UTC

6

Collective narcissism is still pathology; the fallacy of referencing normative behavior in sick societies in psychological defenses against international failure, collective male narcissism and sexism, threatedness of male narcissists to women leaders and their deeper links to their societies

13 Comments
2024/02/01
22:19 UTC

4

How Shirley Jackson exposed the horror of home life

0 Comments
2024/02/01
03:37 UTC

3

Survey questions! (please fill out if possible)🙏🏾

Hi, I’m currently in college and trying to survey as many people as possible including anonymous ones. If you have the time please answer these few questions to the best of your ability! Thank you so much! 🫶🏾

  1. How you identify (man, women, nonbinary)

  2. Describe the first five things that come to your mind when you think of the word feminist (Images, words, etc.).

  3. Do you consider yourself a feminist? Why or why not?

  4. Do you believe that men and women should be treated equal?

6 Comments
2024/01/31
04:09 UTC

2

Why being too nice kills: Women should not be "nice girls."

4 Comments
2024/01/31
03:11 UTC

4

How did America become the most dangerous place for women to give birth?

2 Comments
2024/01/29
05:27 UTC

3

Women, Anonymity, and Privacy

0 Comments
2024/01/23
23:17 UTC

2

ARCHIVE EVERYTHING. ALWAYS.

0 Comments
2024/01/23
23:14 UTC

34

Man looking for contemporary feminist must read.

I’m a cis straight white gen x man. I’ve considered myself a feminist for decades. I’m looking for a newer written book that is a modern day “must read.”

What is that?

Edit: I’m raising two male children, and I want to read up on the latest greatest book.

11 Comments
2024/01/23
18:25 UTC

21

61% of Women In The U.S. says "Feminists" Describes Them Well

It may seem like you are alone and "feminist" is treated like a dirty word. However, even a couple of years ago, most women in a survey endorsed being a feminist. They said they were somewhat of a feminist or it described them well.

[https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/07/07/61-of-u-s-women-say-feminist-describes-them-well-many-see-feminism-as-empowering-polarizing/]

0 Comments
2024/01/21
19:29 UTC

4

The madness of the witch hunt(feminist hunt) taking place in Korea,, And “Studio Puri,” which is under attack from incels, explained the current controversy. However, the Korean male community does not acknowledge this at all.

5 Comments
2024/01/19
20:16 UTC

4

Please help with my AP Research project!

Hello, I am an 11th-grade AP Research student. Would you mind taking a moment to participate in my survey below? Your responses will greatly contribute to my research, and the survey is completely anonymous. Thank you!

https://forms.gle/ZCHnmQEiHydeDQw57

1 Comment
2024/01/17
01:08 UTC

28

How do you respond to “women are more emotional than men” ?

How do you respond to this statement? So many I personally know who believe in this.

My points for I believe this is isn’t true is because firstly there’s been studies showing how men and women experience the same emotions but women are expressive of their emotions. So women are able to express their emotions compared to men which makes sense when you look at the successful suicide rates between men and women and when you look at stats on men experiencing loneliness and depression more often then women.

It’s not that women are more emotional, rather women are able to experience their emotions more better then men which is also because of how society and culture influence men to bubble everything up inside while women are ok to express their feelings. So it’s a social issue, doesn’t seem to be a biological one.

Even after saying this I still get replies like “ya but women have periods and pms and pregnancy” which is true but they are still experiencing the same emotions as men despite the Hormonal changes and these changes only happen when you get pregnant. We can’t make the statement that all women are more emotional than men cuz the women who get pregnant one day will express more emotions on average.

Idk I don’t understand how to argue with this point. I’ve tried to ignore comments like these but it’s just difficult sometimes.

If you guys have thoughts or opinions whether it relates or disagrees plz do share!

21 Comments
2024/01/14
06:46 UTC

0

How "Expressions" Contributed to Sexism

1 Comment
2024/01/13
23:28 UTC

2

The Quest to Know You Better

Hello. I'd Ike to preface this post with the knowledge that I could likely Google the answer or find my own, but, the answer isn't my only goal. I'm also seeking community, because I believe it's a better way to learn than simply reading. I, a 28 year old cisgender Pakistani man, have recently, over the past few months, decided to genuinely focus on working at being a feminist. This initially began as a quest to be a better father to my young daughter. It has evolved into a desire to truly understand the plight of women and the feminist movement as well as divest myself from the pieces of patriarchy that have been embedded in me with the goal of reshaping thw world and guiding all three of my children to be better. I've never had qualms with women's rights or feminism, but I never truly put an effort into understanding it beyond its surface level either. I'm reaching out today to further ammend this error. Reading recommendations are my primary goal. So far, I have read; The Courage to Raise Good Men by Olga Silverstein (This one made me cry a lot), We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie (I truly loved the audio book version of this with all of my heart), Men Who Hate Women by Laura Bates (w.o.w.), The Genius of Women by Janice Kaplan (very interested in women history has covered up!), Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Peréz (I really enjoy numbers so this was great!), The Will to Change by bell hooks (What an incredible piece. This really put a start to my wanting to sus out what pieces of patriarchy and toxic masculinity I might not see in myself), and All About Love by bell hooks (again, incredible). While I would love more recommendations on what to read about feminism, I am more specifically seeking booms about black women and their roles in both feminism and the Civil Rights Movement. This is inspired by the upcoming Black History Month and a post by Andre Henry in regards to Jonathan Majors' interview in which he mentioned that he wanted a quiet partner like Coretta Scott-King, who was anything but. I asked myself which other powerful black women within the movement may have been written off. I thank you in advance for your time and consideration and am eternally grateful for any recommendations you might offer.

5 Comments
2024/01/13
22:47 UTC

6

Book recommendations for a man?

What feminist books would you recommend to a man who is open to new ideas and willing to learn but is very new to feminist ideas? Hoping to educate someone without coming on too strong and alienating him. Fiction or nonfiction welcome. Just hoping to expose a man’s mind to the female experience.

7 Comments
2024/01/13
07:52 UTC

2

What are some departments with good Anthropology of Islam/Religion/Gender professors?

Hi!

I'm looking for suitable PhD supervisors for a study on exchange practices in Indian Muslim Weddings. I'm actually quite confused what department my study would come under even - Anthropologyy of Islam or Islamic Studies/Religious Studies or Gender/Women studies?

Anyone have any suggestions regarding professors or departments? Even general advice on how to search for departments would be helpful!

0 Comments
2024/01/12
17:17 UTC

14

Sick of the word pick me

I am sick of people using the word pick-me to deflect whenever someone criticizes a woman they like. It is cringe and it makes it hard to have a conversation because that person won't engage in good faith. Also weird that it is being used to shut women up.

6 Comments
2024/01/10
19:26 UTC

7

Feminist spatiality

Hello! I'm looking to write my masters dissertation on urban spatiality from a feminist lens. I have read a considerable amount on feminist spatiality. Can you guys recommend any scholars who have worked on urban spaces and gender from a spatiality perspective, especially from South Asia?

Thanks!

1 Comment
2024/01/06
14:52 UTC

18

Feminism & Biology

Hey, I hope this post meets you all well. We just wanted to bring to your attention a book that was written as a part of our friend's Evolutionary Biology Ph.D, as its one of the first books we've come across that attempts to criticise the field of biology, particularly in regard to feminist theory.

The book includes a discussion of how female subjects are still excluded from the field of biology as the notion of "ovarian seasons" overcomplicates things too much — which is obviously deeply problematic, and renders the field of biology subject to immense criticism. The author discusses various fundamental changes that urgently need to reach the field of biology.

From the introduction: "Some bodies are far less studied than others, with a widespread and persistent exclusion of menstruating subjects from both animal and human drug-research because of the inconvenient bodily seasons created by ovarian hormones. Addressing the myth that "using females means we need to know the estrous cycle phase or remove the overies" within neuroscience, Shansky and Murphy (2021) point out that "ovarian hormones are unquestionably powerful neuromodulators, but ... gonadal hormones are not a uniquely "female problem" for neuroscientists. Examining the influence of the estrous cycle on a particular experimental question is always an option, but it is not required for research in females, just as assessing testosterone levels (which can vary up to ten-fold across a cohort) is not a standard practice for experiments in males. Despite institutional efforts to include more representative subjects in studies, many studies continue to underreport relevant information and rely on "misconceptions surrounding the hormonal variability of females" (Woitowich et al, 2020)."

If this is interesting to anyone, we would love to hear your feedback, and we are very close with the two authors, who chose to remain anonymous, but they can quite easily be contacted for more information if the intersection between biology and feminist theory is interesting to you!

book available here: (https://shop.becoming.press/products/where-does-a-body-begin-biologys-function-in-contemporary-capitalism)

x

0 Comments
2024/01/06
09:25 UTC

10

I'm locked in the house

Hey

Iam 22 years old woman from algeria my family have been abusing me since i was a a kid they treat me like shit they keep disrespect and humiliating me My father didn't allow me to continue my studies he didn't allow me to work and he doesn't even allow me to go outside even when i get sick they don't take me to the doctor . I've been thinking about leaving the house but i'm really afraid if they will find me besides they refuse to rent appartements for women here. What should i do ?

1 Comment
2024/01/05
01:45 UTC

0

Female led businesses

I would like to know if there is a platform which only has female own businesses or female freelancers. I would love to support talented women, especially those in male dominated industries when they are trying to make money. Let me know if this is something that exists.

0 Comments
2024/01/04
12:34 UTC

36

Do all feminist agree with sex work?

Got into an argument with someone online about sex work. They claimed sex work is empowering for women and most major feminist agree with that. I argued that not all feminist agree and I believe that sex work is not empowering for women because it’s women being seen as commodities as objects. And I understand that some people will make the comparison that in all forms of labour your seen as a commodity which I understand but it’s such a huge difference when your a construction worker verses a sex worker.

You can’t buy consent and there’s so many studies and statics showcasing the harm done to women and men (harm is different for both) when partaking in sex work or platforms related to such.

(I’m also just summarizing this argument ement focusing on the main points of what was said)

The other person replied to this by calling me to young and immature and then calling me a swerf and that no feminist agrees with my opinion because no one respects swerfs.

I didn’t know what swerf meant so I looked it up and it sounds like a liberal term. (Sex work exclusionary radical feminist) I’m not a radical feminist I’m an intersectional feminist. I used to be probed work till I saw how women in the west are actually privileged sex workers and it’s women globally who mostly suffer the negative impacts.

I do believe that sex work should have regulated laws protecting women but at the same time if you ask me if sex work empowers women I don’t believe it does because it’s viewing women as sexual commodities. Women have always been oppressed from sex and sex work, simply exploits them in my opinion.

I guess my question is, are there any other feminist to agree with my opinion? Who support protective laws for sex workers but at the same time don’t believe sex work actually empowers women?

35 Comments
2024/01/01
22:51 UTC

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