Feminism: Encyclopedia II - Feminism - Relationship to other movements

Feminism - Relationship to other movements

Some feminists take a holistic approach to politics, believing the saying of Martin Luther King Jr., "A threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere". In that belief, some self-identified feminists support other movements such as the civil rights movement and the gay rights movement. At the same time, many black feminists such as bell hooks criticize the movement for being dominated by white women. Feminist claims about the alleged disadvantages women face in Western society are often less relevant to the lives of black women. This idea is the key in postcolonial feminism. Many black feminist women prefer the term womanism for their views.

Feminists are sometimes wary of the transgender movement because it challenges the distinctions between men and women. Transgender and transsexual individuals who identify as female are excluded from some "women-only" gatherings and events and are rejected by some feminists, who say that no one born male can fully understand the oppression that women face. This exclusion is criticized as "transphobic" by transgender people, who assert their political and social struggles are closely linked to many feminist efforts, and that discrimination against gender-variant people is another face of the so-called patriarchy. See transfeminism and gender studies.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Relationship to other movements", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki