Individualist feminism

Individualist feminism, sometimes also grouped with libertarian feminism, is a feminist tradition that emphasize individualism, personal autonomy, choice, consent, freedom from state-sanctioned discrimination on the basis of sex or gender, and equality under the law.
Overview.
Individualist feminists attempt to change legal systems to eliminate sex and/or gender privileges and to ensure that individuals have equal rights, including an equal claim under the law to their own persons and property, regardless of their gender, sex, or sexual orientation. Individualist feminism encourages women to take full responsibility for their own lives and opposes any government interference into the choices adults make with their own bodies. Individualist or libertarian feminism is sometimes grouped as one of many branches of liberal feminism, but tends to diverge significantly from mainstream liberal feminism in the 21st Century.
The Association of Libertarian Feminists (ALF), founded by Tonie Nathan in 1973, is one of a number of individualist or libertarian feminist organizations in the U.S. "Libertarian feminists resent and reject all legislation which attempts to provide us with special treatment by the law," said the group's initial mission statement. "We also resent and reject legislation which attempts to 'equalize' our social or economic position. [...] However, recognizing that bigotry and unjust legal discrimination do exist presently, we support the efforts of all concerned individuals to change this situation by non-coercive means." ALF takes a strong anti-government and pro-choice stand.
Other libertarian feminist organizations include the Ladies of Liberty Alliance, Feminists for Liberty, and the defunct Mother's Institute, which included Mothers for Liberty (meet-up groups). "If feminism is 'the radical notion that women are people,' libertarian feminism is the even more radical notion that women (and men) are individuals and should be treated as such," states the Feminists for Liberty website.
Introduction.
"Contrary to what some may think, the first feminist activists were not socialists, they were individualists and libertarians," suggests author and psychologist Sharon Presley.
Early organized feminism in the United States was fundamentally “a classical liberal women’s movement,” agreed author Joan Kennedy Taylor in the essay “Feminism, Classical Liberalism, and the Future.” These First Wave" feminists started out pushing for "universal suffrage"—i.e., voting rights for women and for Americans of color—and the abolition of slavery along with property rights for women and other forms of equal rights. Individualist feminism fell out of vogue in the U.S. and the U.K. as the Progressive, Labor, and Socialist movements began to hold more sway over politics during the Victorian era and in the early 20th century.
But it was revived in the radical anti-authoritarianism, activism, "free love," mutual aid, and individualist spirit of the "Second Wave" feminists of the mid-20th Century. “Consciousness raising was a profoundly individualistic activity, and the political issues that gained wide adherence were the reproductive rights to birth control and abortion, and the Equal Rights Amendment, which (at least in its initial support) was a classical liberal restraint on government,” wrote Taylor in her 1992 book "Reclaiming the Mainstream: Individualist Feminism Reconsidered".
Labels like "individualist feminism", "libertarian feminism", and/or "classical liberal feminism" were explicitly embraced by late 20th Century writers and activists such as Taylor, Presley, Tonie Nathan (the Libertarian Party's first Vice Presidential nominee, in 1972), and Wendy McElroy. Modern libertarian feminism is a continuation of ideas and work developed by these women and their contemporaries (many of whom are still active today), including Nadine Strossen and Camille Paglia, as well as of the ideas of classical liberal and anarchist writers throughout history.
Mary Wollstonecraft, Olympe de Gouges, Voltairine de Cleyre, Soujourner Truth, John Stuart Mill, Ida Bell Wells-Barnett, Lucy Stone, Frederick Douglass, and Suzanne Clara La Follette are a few of the historical writers and activists who have influenced libertarian feminism.
One central theme of individualist feminism revolves around the Free Love Movement, which indicates that a woman's sexual choices should be made by her and her alone, rather than by government regulations. The Free Love Movement "had no connection whatsoever to licentious behavior. It simply declared that all peaceful sexual choices, such as marriage and birth control, were to be left entirely to the adults involved, with no government interference," writes Wendy McElroy. She and Christina Hoff Sommers define individualist feminism in opposition to what they call "political" or "gender feminism". It conforms to the theory of natural law and believes in laws that protect both the rights of men and women equally.
Individualist feminists do "not" believe equality is strictly a legal issue; however, they believe that equality under the law is the only proper standard for government. Government should not move to" equal the playing field" or correct historic discrimination by prioritizing the needs of women over men or awarding them special treatment, nor should it strive to intervene to create equality in personal relationships, private economic arrangements, entertainment and media representation, or the general socio-cultural realm. Advancing equality in these realms must be achieved without state force, intervention, or coercion. This is a matter of principle as well as practicality, as state power will inevitably used against groups and individuals who are more marginalized. Increasing state power increases the power of the state to hurt women and girls in myriad ways.
History of IFeminism in America.
The Abolition Movement.
The origin of Feminism is linked to the abolition movement that occurred in the 1830s. The abolition movement was a social movement that aimed to eradicate the practice of slavery in the United State by insisting that every man was born to self-govern himself. The issue had attracted the participation of women, ranging from the upper class to the working class due to the similarities that they perceived between their oppression as women and the oppression of slaves.
Thus, through abolition, women of 19th century found a way to express their ideas and dissatisfaction with women’s rights and directly triggered a heated debate among society. Although a famous figure such as William Lloyd Garrison, a libertarian, supported women’s rights, he advised women’s rights activists such as Angelina Grimke and several others to stop mixing the issue of women’s rights into their lecture on anti-slavery. Nevertheless, it happened and caused an uproar in society.
However, the Grimke sister’s efforts to advocate for women’s rights are not confined to just one method. Sarah Grimke’s Letters on the Equality of the Sexes and the Condition of Woman in 1837 addressed the roles of women in several aspects within society. Her letters also compared the status of women and slaves, which seems to have no difference.
One of their greatest achievements is, on February 21, 1838, Angelina Grimke became the first woman who courageously delivered a speech in front of the Massachusetts Legislature. She delivered a speech that contained a mixture of two important issues, the antislavery petitions and women’s status in society.
Pre- and Civil War Feminism.
The women's suffrage supporters initiated to write, lecture, march, campaign and execute civil rebellion at the beginning of mid-19th century. It was a struggle to win the right for women to vote in the United States and it was a long and difficult campaign, which took almost a hundred years to win. The earliest Women's Rights Convention or Seneca Falls Convention was held in July 1848 by two organizers, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. In this convention, they produced a list of demands relating to issues that have long plagued women in general for centuries. Thus, the demands or ‘Declaration of Sentiments’ insisted on giving women more opportunities in education and profession as well as gaining the right to control their income and property.
During the Civil War.
The Civil War began in 1862 and it lasted for four years. During the Civil War, they focused on supporting the abolition of slaves. Some of them served as nurses or took part in an association to provide help in another way. As for Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, formed a group known as the Women’s Loyal National League in 1863, to press for slavery to end and demanded the newly freed slaves to get full citizenship rights.
Two important figures who contributed greatly to the abolition movement are Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth. Harriet Tubman was an African American woman who used her knowledge and abilities to be a spy for the Union Army during the Civil War. Whereas, Sojourner Truth passionately lectured about the rights of women and the rights of African Americans.
Post-Civil War Feminism.
After the Civil War, feminists focused on issues that aimed for the blacks' freedom by addressing three specific Amendments. The Thirteenth Amendment was ratified by the states on December 6, 1865, to abolish the enslavement of people throughout the nation. As for the Fourteenth Amendment, the ratification happened on July 9, 1868, confirming the nationality of those who were born and naturalized in the United States, including the formerly enslaved people as citizens of America.
In 1870, the 15th Amendment of the Constitution was ratified, allowing black men to have the right to vote, which caused quite a stir among woman suffragists. In May 1869, Elizabeth Cady Stanton along with Susan B. Anthony created The National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA). This organization was composed of suffragists who were against the 15th Amendment because women were not included. To gain their right to vote, the NWSA applied a confrontational strategy by sending the Senate and House Representative a voting rights petition that aimed for the federal woman suffrage amendment and requested for the opportunity to speak on the Congress. 
In the same year, 1869, Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe, and Thomas Wentworth Higginson established the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA). Opposite to NWSA, they supported the 15th amendment and opposed the method used by NWSA. The AWSA chose to start at local and state levels to gain access for women to vote, hoping that they will slowly receive support to act on the national level.
Despite that, in 1890, both organizations united into a new organization, the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). A year before the adoption of the 19thamendment, the NAWSA organization merged with the National Council of Women Voters that was established by Emma Smith DeVoe in 1909, forming a new league, the League of Women Voters.
Free Love Movement.
Individualist feminism focuses on another variety of social issues instead of pursuing the issue of women's suffrage. Their participation is conveyed through a social movement known as the Free Love movement. It is a movement that aimed to separate government interference from matters such as marriage and birth control. They believe that such issues were related to those involved only.
In the 19th century, the usage of contraption became a serious issue among Americans. They considered using contraption as ‘obscene’ and many citizens condemned this practice. However, social reformers were concern about abortions by low-income women, particularly prostitutes, and the difficulty of childbirth. However, Comstock Law considers anything ‘obscene’ as illegally blocked discussions on birth control. As for marriage institutions, a wife's earning, property and her person is under the control of her husband. She has to oblige his demand in every aspect, including being his bedmate, which sometimes could result in a violent outcome.
Notable Individualist feminists.
Joan Kennedy Taylor.
Joan Kennedy Taylor was an American author, activist, and pundit. She started her career in publishing and was considered apolitical for the first thirty years of her life. Taylor converted to libertarianism with the help of Ayn Rand. She would go on to become active in the Libertarian Party as well as groups like the Association of Libertarian Feminists and Feminists for Free Expression (which Taylor co‐founded). She is the author of two books, "Reclaiming the Mainstream: Individualist Feminism Rediscovered" and "What to Do When You Don't Want to Call the Cops: A Non-Adversarial Approach to Sexual Harassment" (New York University Press, 1999).
Wendy McElroy.
Wendy McElroy is a Canadian author and activist who emphasizes individualism, particularly from the state, from the patriarchy, and from any kind of hierarchy. She is the editor of website ifeminists.net and of the books "Individualist Feminism of the Nineteenth Century: Collected Writings and Biographical Profiles" and "Freedom, Feminism, and the State" (2017). She is also the author of "Sexual Correctness: The Gender-Feminist Attack on Women" (1996), "XXX: A Woman's Right to Pornography Paperback" (1997), "The Reasonable Woman: A Guide to Intellectual Survival" (1998), and "Queen Silver: The Godless Girl" (1999).
McElroy proposed a controversial statement about each human being's freedom of the choice made for their own body. She battled out this issue on her book Sexual Correctness: The Gender-Feminist Attack on Women. Firstly, she stands on the ideology that women who are also human should be given the same right of self-ownership for their own body similarly to men. She argues strongly that to cross the jurisdiction of one’s own body is the same as slavery. Secondly, under the first ideology she firmly said that it was needed for the embodiment of self individual rights and greater freedom for women. Then, McElroy also emphasis that the mythology of rape should be change ultimately. This is because the term and action of rape can be use as a weapon politically. In a sense, since rape is view under a bad reputation, it can be used as a hidden trump card to hold and subdued women in the patriarchal society. Since women are almost always the victim or rape, this also in a way shown that women is weak, lower and cannot gain control or their self-ownership. That is why, McElroy is stressing this issues strongly on changing the radical view on rape in order to help the victim from being shone under the spotlight of damaged goods. Other than the issues of rape, she also profoundly defended women’s interest on being in a pornography from a feminist perspective. In short, from a liberal point of view she stands guard that pornography benefits women as they provide freedom for women’s own body, rights and expression respectively.
Camille Paglia.
Camille Anna Paglia is one of the Individualist American Feminists who have an unorthodox and distinct perspective on feminism. Paglia is an American feminist academic known for her social critique of American feminism. She was born on April, 2 in 1947 in New York and has been an educator since 1972. She was a teacher before settling in as a professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia following her father’s step in 1984. Notably, Paglia had published several literary works which link to the American Feminism. Paglia's opinion elaborated in her books led to tensions with the current feminist establishment. Paglia came across as "anti-feminist feminist" to certain.
Paglia had written a book entitled “Free Women, Free Men: Sex, Gender, Feminism” in 2017 which manifested her unconventional ideology on feminism. Paglia’s considered most controversial arguments are compiled and published in the book with the central idea of “enlightened feminism”. The book is an essay collection comprising her 25 years stances on date rape, abortion, free speech, sex and more. Concerning the matter of rape culture, Paglia emphasized on personal responsibility that women are obligated to raise. Women should explore initiatives to acquire knowledge on the risk factors leading to date rape. Paglia asserted that the obtained knowledge could be implemented in females’ campus lives to reduce the risk of rape. It is a simple action that could be achieved to lower the risk of date rape. Hence, this indicates women should take their own precaution to date rape. This book refuses to ‘bow’ to the conservative ideology of “playing the victim” in a date rape situation. The consistent opinion from Paglia on date rape discovered in an interview reveals the irresponsibility of females who let themselves get “dead drunk”. Although other feminists labelled the situation as “blaming the victim”, Paglia compels women to never portray themselves as vulnerable nor gullible to others. Such a situation would indisputably allow males to deftly take advantage and engage with them.
Although the opinion of Paglia frequently opposes other feminist opinions, the view of Naomi Wolf on abortion is astonishingly parallel to hers. They are determined that induced abortion is unethical to be committed. Paglia bluntly voiced that abortion is regarded as murder. She unveils her view which defines abortion as “the extermination of the powerless by the powerful” traced in an interview in 2006. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the abortion rate among women aged 15 to 44 years old in 2018 is 11.3 abortions per 1,000 women worldwide. It is reported that the abortion ratio is 189 abortions per 1000 live births in the same year. However, Paglia disclosed to be a pro-choice and firmly supports to unrestricted access of abortion in 2016. She believed women with a career are subject to their own body. Paglia stated in her book “Free Women, Free Men: Sex, Gender, Feminism” that the ruling of Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade which legalized abortion in all the 50 states became the first landmark to feminism in the 1970s. Moreover, Paglia insists in “Vamps & Tramps: New Essays” that bearing an unwanted infant is socially and professionally “inconvenient” or “onerous”. She deeply feels that no control could be asserted over a woman's own body.
Rene Denfeld.
Rene Denfeld was born in 1967. She is a journalist, award winning author and a licensed private investigator and currently lives in Portland, Oregon. In Denfeld’s popular feminist book "The New Victorians" (1995), she raised her deep view towards feminist movement which she believed to be deviated as young women felt alienated from the woman movement itself. Other than that, since in the 1970s, she felt the progress of the movement totally contradicted the foundation of the movement. Denfeld categorized the movement as a group that mainly discussed about male bashing or hatred towards men rather than glorifying women's rights.
Libertarian Feminist Organizations.
The Ladies of Liberty Alliance (LOLA).
The Ladies of Liberty Alliance (also known as LOLA) is an organization with a mission to educate and empower female leaders within the liberty movement. Ladies of Liberty Alliance is a network of independent, libertarian women leaders who, through their careers and personal endeavors, are dedicated to spreading the ideas of individual liberty and free markets. The participation of LOLA is open to any female who is wishing to explore the idea of libertarian. In addition, participation is free and self-defined.
This organization was established in 2009 as a non-profit, non-political and educational organization to address the lack of women in the liberty movement. Nena Bartlett Whitfield is the president of Ladies of Liberty Alliance. She used to be active as a founding member and former Treasurer of the DC Liberty Toastmasters, Chair of the Republican Liberty Caucus of DC, and the former Vice President and Treasurer of the Norwich Alumni DC Chapter. In 2013, Nena left Capitol Hill to work as full-time Executive Director at Ladies of Liberty Alliance.
LOLA will encourage the female leaders to stay engaged with libertarian philosophy, promote freedom to new people, and boost up the organization’s work through leadership training. The libertarian women leaders will engage actively in public discourse, showing empathy to those harmed by the government, and invite new audiences to the political and societal changes.
Active leaders of LOLA will be invited to participate in the LOLA Leadership Retreat. LOLA provides skills-based training which is offered at Washington, DC and cities with its social chapters in order to help women reach individual and professional goals plus, becoming the strong speakers of libertarian ideas.
Social groups of LOLA located in cities throughout the U.S. where women who share the same idea come together to share the passion of liberty, establish a strong community through relationship building and empower one another to be active members of the liberty movement.
The Mothers Institute.
The Mothers Institute was a non-profit educational and networking organization supporting stay-at-home mothering, homeschooling, civics in the classroom, and an effective networking system for mothers and freedom of choice in health and happiness. It is now defunct.
Feminists for Liberty.
Feminists for Liberty (F4L) is a nonprofit libertarian feminist group founded in 2016. It was launched by millennial libertarians Kat Murti and Elizabeth Nolan Brown to promote the values of libertarian feminism, publicize libertarian feminist voices, bring together libertarian feminists and those interested in the concept, advocate for classical liberal positions on public policy, and help revive the libertarian feminist movement for the 21st Century. Feminists for Liberty's taglines are "anti-sexism & anti-statism, pro-markets & pro-choice" and "consent in all things."
According to the Feminists for Liberty website, its mission includes opposing "government-sanctioned sexism in all its forms" and pushing "for systems in which sex and gender are irrelevant to how one is treated under the law." The group also aims to "to amplify the voices of freedom-minded feminists," inject "a libertarian feminist perspective into contemporary political conversations and media," and drive "more diverse and open liberty-movement discourse on issues surrounding sex, gender, sexuality, reproductive decisions, family issues, and equal rights."
Feminists for Liberty believes that "true feminism and libertarianism are highly compatible, as both are centered on the inherent worth and power of the individual." They are opposed to collectivism and argue that sexism is a form of collectivism.They welcome people of any sex or gender as part of their coalition and events.
Feminists for Liberty also opposes carceral feminism. The group argues that that government has historically been one of the biggest perpetrators of sex discrimination, gender-based oppression, and sexual violence. It aims to promote "voluntary solutions to gender inequity, and [...] the social, cultural, and economic conditions in which these solutions can flourish,"
The group aims to highlight how economic liberty is crucial for women's advancement, and how "free speech, an open internet, religious freedom, sexual privacy, self-defense, and robust due process rights are essential to an equal and just society."
The Association of Libertarian Feminists (ALF).
The Association of Libertarian Feminists was founded in 1973 by Tonie Nathan, a journalist and the first woman in history to acquire an electoral vote. It was established on Ayn Rand's birthday, in Eugene, Oregon, at Nathan's home. Tonie Nathan was a founding member and former vice president of the Libertarian Party
The co-founder of the Association of Libertarian Feminists is Sharon Presley, who is also known as a libertarian feminist, activist, author, and retired psychology lecturer. Presley was the national coordinator for the Libertarian Feminists' Association in the mid-1970s and now she is the executive director of the organization.
At a meeting held in New York City, ALF became a national organization in September 1975. In 1977, Nathan suggested eliminating entire parts of the United States Postal Regulations that obstruct the mailing of birth control samples and information about family planning at the National Women's Conference in Houston, Texas.
The Purposes of ALF:.
Sharon Presley and one of the other individual feminists, Lynn Kinsky wrote a pamphlet of a libertarian feminist during the 70s era, discussing the government as women’s enemy. They stated that it sounds cynical to turn their head and ask for the government's help to reach a solution for their problems because the government actually gives more damages instead of bringing any benefits.
Law and Socio-political view associated with individualist feminism.
The influence of individualist feminism prevailed in the United States in the 19th century. It was an idea of "absolute equality of women under just law, without gender-based privileges or sanctions." The idea of individualist feminism has its roots in the philosophy of natural law, which believes that people have complete rights to their own bodies and that without any penalty, no other people should violate or decide about it. Natural law notes that there should be no distinction between persons and only one criterion before the law, and that is humanity. Discrimination can be seen not only towards women in the 19th century, but also towards ethnic groups and individuals with different coloured skin. Jurisdiction was created by men in the 19th century. Therefore the most controversial area in which women felt most suppressed was legal issues. Women were treated as second-class by the government, they were restricted from occupations, they could not vote, women lost their right to their earnings or property in marriage and could not even have knowledge of their own bodies. A culture that represents equal regard for the natural rights of all people, male or female, is the ultimate aim of individualist feminism. A government which has traditionally legislated gender-based privileges or limitations is the greatest enemy. Indeed, men may not have traditionally oppressed women without the vehicle of government and law, except on an individual basis. There is one question in this respect: why did women have to be marginalised in some way or area of their lives, such as political inequality, economic inequality, technical or sexual inequality? What makes men, in the eyes of the 19th-century government, so much better than women? Why were women expected to sit at home with no rights at all? The philosophy of natural law poses the same questions and presents a solution, which at that time was not approved. As women started to understand that they must come together and fight for the rights that they are denied because of their sex, the feminist movement began to form. Under natural law, individualist feminism promoted the fair treatment of all human beings. As a campaign, it called for the law to be oblivious to the secondary characteristics of sex and to accommodate women at the same level as men, according to their primary characteristic of being a human.
Individualist feminism often envisages its progressive causes through discourses on human rights, but it has not really based its human rights lens on the fair distribution of resources through the law in terms of income, power or education. This, however, suggests a radical need to protect the human rights of individuals. In this context, by the law, individualist feminists typically promote the defence of their individual choices and rights. This is because, in order to be liberated, they assume that this is the ultimate cause that needs to be preserved since it is what they have to claim. For example, the topic of abortion, which of course, through the prism of individualist feminism, can be considered in delineating the distinctions between individualist feminism and other forms of feminism; it is also one of their choices and rights that must be covered by the law. There are also voices who argue that individualist feminism must not only comply with current rules but must go beyond what they deem a revolution. Individualist feminism also differs from relational feminism because, within established laws or structures, the latter is seen to be mostly promoting fair justice, while the former protested against existing laws and institutions.
In "ifeminism", feminists opposed the punishment of speech that was meant to deter abuse and faithfully protected the freedom of expression, especially speech that society disagreed with. Above all, by censoring legislation that has been used to discourage abolitionist feminists from talking about the freedom and slavery of women. Censorship has suffocated debates on divisive issues such as birth control, according to feminist history. It is therefore acknowledged that the welfare of women was also pivotal to the evolution of feminism. The political precision and changes to the distinct origins of feminism are dormant by assumptions about class conflict. Political precision divides society into different classes, separating society into identifiable classes that are explained by characteristics such as gender and ethnicity. The groups tend to have numerous aggressive political advantages. Consequently, it is necessary for government participation to save and its gimmick deprived groups to ensure accurate redistribution of wealth and power in society. To sum up, to the detriment of other classes, certain classes enjoy governmental benefits.
Individualist feminism advises ending the opposite of all classes under the law so that every individual can receive equal rights and equal claim to individuals and property, irrespective of things such as gender or ethnicity. The real component of government is to eliminate the advantage and secure the interests of individual men and women equally. Various philosophical approaches, such as equity feminism, strive at fairness within established institutions without actually altering the current structure to clarify people's natural rights. Ecofeminism refers to being connected to the male supremacy of women to kill the environment in order to concentrate on the obligation of women to destroy the habitat in connection with male domination of women and to concentrate on the role women must play in saving nature. Most inequalities occur under the law and throughout the society in Western countries, which are broken to provide an incentive for both men and women to face the same fundamental choices. The benefits that women have received from certain policies, such as positive action, are undoubtedly beneficial. Individualist feminism, therefore, argues that women's benefits are excluded in order to achieve true justice.
Female critics of individualist feminism.
Criticism of individualist feminism ranges from expressing disagreements with the values of individualism as a feminist to expressing the limitations within individualist feminism as an effective activism.
US Feminist Susan Brownmiller suggests that the aversion from collective, “united” feminism is a sign of “waning” and unhealthy feminist movement, implying that the individualist feminism has caused a deficit in the true identity and impetus of feminism.
Another claim that has been made against individualist feminism is that it gives little to no attention to structural inequality. Sandra Friedan proposes that bettering one’s life through personal choices could result in the lack of awareness towards structural sexism, which makes individualist feminism a feeble tool in opposing gender disparity.
Jan Clausen also expresses her worry regarding the inadequacy of individualist feminism, mainly its association with the younger generation who “have no had little or no exposure to the realities of attempting … social change,” which she finds very discomforting.
American radical feminist Catharine MacKinnon disregards the value of individual choice because there are still instances where “women are used, abused, bought, sold, and silenced…” and “no woman is yet exempt from this condition from the moment of her birth to the moment of her death, in the eyes of the law, or in the memory of her children,” especially among women of color.