Student ID# 1230835

Honors 394A: Philosophy of Gender in Western Thought

Final essay
Question #1: Marxism and Postmodernism
Analysis of Feminist Applications of the Marxist and Postmodern Philosophies
The feminist movement utilizes different philosophical stances depending on the branch
and person involved. Both Marxism and postmodernism have been utilized by the movement
over time to support the cause of women, but both philosophies also have weak points that make
them a less effective tool for supporting the womens rights. My own view on this issue utilizes
aspects of each movement to recognize all voices, while allowing people to contribute their own
talents for the greater good.
Marxism is founded on the ideas that built socialism, where society grew from an
egalitarian communal lifestyle, where women and men worked together to support society and
where production was defining character of man (Kerbo, 101). This theory relies on the
understanding of materialism, where the material world is primary and informs about all
meaning in life (Kerbo, 101). Within society there is a substructure, the economic mode of
production, and the superstructure, which involves everything else (Kerbo, 102). Through this
mode of understanding society all interactions, behaviors, and oppressions are economically
driven (Kerbo 102). In this way, the substructure changes the superstructure, and economic
ownership creates problems of social stratification, such as those that lead to slavery or
maltreatment of lower class workers (Kerbo, 102-103). The political ownership also contributes,
but this too is driven through economics, where the land owners hold power to make voting and
employment decisions (Kerbo, 107). The eventual end state of the world under Marxist
philosophy is a place where all of civilization is purely socialist, with technology advances to the
point that people are able to contribute their interest and talents to society and have all of their
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needs taken care of by others whose talents align with these needs (Kerbo 108). This philosophy
may have some strength with respect to feminism, but it also does not directly address the
systems of oppression.
Marxist thought benefits the feminist movement in that it recognizes all people for their
strengths rather than a societal role. It allows for self-reflection into strengths and talents, and
allows for a person to pursue a career that aligns with this (Kerbo, 108). While it may be unclear
the extent to which a person is chosen for a role or get to choose themselves, if properly
designed, a society under this system could benefit feminism because it would allow women to
pursue any career they choose. Under the current society women are often pressured to stay out
of male-dominated science and technology fields, but with Marxism, anyone would be
encouraged to engage in a field of their passion.
Another way that Marxism benefits feminism is that it provides for all of the people in a
society through communal sharing of basic needs such as food and housing. This means that the
family unit does not become an economic unit anymore, where man is the breadwinner and
woman takes care of the household. Some philosophers in this theory recognize the overwork of
women and children and wish to change this through economic transformation (Marx, 29).
Recognition of the power dynamic within a marriage, where woman is slave to man, which also
breeds a society where prostitution is common, allows women to escape the dependence on and
manipulation by men (Gossman, 291). In a sexually free society, people will pursue love rather
than desires, which will benefit men and women (Gossman, 291). This could allow for typical
gender roles to be taken apart and instead for relationships to be built around love and emotional
connections rather than need. This also benefits the feminist movement today because it allows
for other family structures than a simple nuclear family, such as lesbian, gay, and Trans families.

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A major flaw in Marxist philosophy as applied to the feminist movement is that it is not
written to directly address systems of oppression, but rather is written under the assumption that
these systems will fall away under an ideal communist society (Gossman, 295). Socialism as it is
currently written by men assumes that equality will arise as a byproduct of the new system,
however this is too cavalier and the society must be directly implemented in a way where women
are not relegated to household and service sector work (Mitchell, 19). The Marxist philosophy
attempt to justify female oppression by the lack of work, but does not properly address how
woman can enter the working environment as mans equal (Mitchell, 23). This addresses the fact
that human nature is believed to be different by feminists than by Marx, which needs to be taken
into a feminist formation of a socialist movement. In feminism, human nature should be taken to
be equal between men and women, where neither gender has more capacity for certain roles,
societal positions, or emotional capacity than the other. In Marxist theory woman is prescribed to
the work of the family and all that relates to childcare, even though this is in no way the only
natural form that society can take (Mitchell, 18). Even the language used within socialist text of
brother reflects this attitude of sexism and cannot be adopted by the feminist movement as it
stands (Mitchell, 20). Human nature is still not believed to be equal under Marxism, which
hinders the feminist movement if it were to fully adopt this philosophy. The current philosophy
assumes that society will become monogamous, as this is the natural way of woman and will
become so for men, but this discredits the views of those who are polyamorous, a lifestyle that
cannot be discredited as unnatural (Gossman, 294). In order to create an equal society changes
would need to be made to the theory as it stands today to allow woman to pursue their true
talents and desires, rather than relegating them to the strengths that men believe they have simply
because they bear children.

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Another devastating flaw to Marxist philosophy is the lack of unification amongst

oppressed groups. As a predominantly white, male philosophy, it does not take into account
African American socialist perspectives and how groups can work together to achieve equity.
The feminist movement will need to find a link between itself and oppressed groups of other
races, orientations, and identifications (Gossman, 297). This is a major weakness of the Marxist
movement where the focus is on building a new society, without directly confronting oppression
in this process.
Postmodernism is based on the ideas of disrupting and deconstructing common beliefs of
truth, knowledge, power, self, and language that Western culture takes for granted as truth (Flax
624). The ideas which it rejects were derived from the Modern Enlightenment, and have become
commonplace beliefs throughout our society, often taken for granted without even needing
validation (Flax 624). The main topics that are deconstructed are the idea of a self that is stable,
natural, and able to reason. Also the ability to reason as dictated by the Enlightenment that
governs scientific enquiry and pursuit of knowledge in an objective manner. Language is not a
clear and unbiased communication method that can portray the objective knowledge found
through science, but rather is shaping ideas using societal norms (Flax 624-625). Additionally,
logocentrism, the idea that there is a logical hierarchical reason to the world, is not taken to be
true under postmodernism (Sands and Nuccio, 491). The main method of analysis of the social
system is deconstruction within postmodernism, where one closely analyzes a certain writing for
contextual and historical biases that may be present, and analyzes them within the system they
were written. This also includes recognizing those that may have been left out of the text, or
whose voices may have been silenced during that time period (Sand and Nuccio, 491).
Postmodernism has been recently implemented and utilized by the feminist and other queer

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movements, with many advantages, but there are also shortcomings to utilizing this philosophy
alone.
First, in support of the feminist movement, postmodernism strongly recognizes the
narratives of all people within a fragmented and contextualized perspective of todays society.
Each persons voice is valid in this mindset, which recognizes the difference of experience
shared by those even within the same oppressed group. This is very beneficial to the movement
because, so often through feminist history, white upper class Christian women have dominated
the narrative, and discounted the differences that may be experienced by lesbians, trans-women,
women of other religions, and different races. Giving voice to the many narratives allows for a
stronger movement overall because there are many more people that can be united for a common
cause. In a similar vein, postmodernist thought recognizes the lack of a particular natural form of
human being, which allows for recognitions of all manifestations of biological sex, gender
presentation, and sexual orientation. This works with the many narratives to again bring more
people into the movement. Through both a normalization of all narrative and all natural human
manifestations, postmodernism creates a community of many equal voices, rather than a
hierarchical movement.
Additionally, postmodernism directly addresses systems that lack neutrality that we
usually consider truly objective. The scientific method is viewed as an objective form of
knowledge acquisition in todays society, but postmodernism addresses the fact that the
researcher will influence results, as will the location and methods used. This makes the topic
studied applicable only to a very particular set of conditions. This is advantageous to the feminist
movement because it prevents one viewpoint from being applied as true knowledge to all people
and in all systems. Another system that is analyzed is language, which postmodernism defines as

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being a prescriptive method of communication, where meaning is imbued in conversation that

may not necessarily reflect the ideas that were meant to be conveyed. A further problem with our
language as a method of communication is the lack of a spectrum in conversing about certain
topics, such as how one must be male or female otherwise they are called an it which is
dehumanizing (Sand and Nuccio 491). Postmodernism rejects the idea that matters must have an
either/or perspective, instead allowing for degrees and spectrums where we can have both and
neither (Sands and Nuccio, 492). This is the French understanding of difference in contrast with
the English understanding of the word (Sands & Nuccio 491). This benefits feminism by
acknowledging systems of oppression within our society that are not commonly recognized. It
also normalizes interactions between people, allowing for the occasional misrepresentation and
errors of communication of a thought through conversation. Directly addressing and combating
the subtle systems of oppression within society through knowledge acquisition and language
benefits the goals of feminism.
In contrast, postmodernism limits the reaches of feminism through a couple key steps of
isolating and diminishing group narrative. Postmodernism recognizes that there are many
narratives that are correct for the self; however it does not claim truth of any narrative including
the opposition narrative against the master narrative, which limits the ability for an oppressed
group to make a strong claim for their position. This is especially highlighted by the fact that
there is a lack of diverse writings from anyone who is outside of the academic arena, and
particularly outside of the dominant racial category (Hooks, 24). We can see from the sentiment
of Bell Hooks that only one narrative is being portrayed, and that there can be no strong stance
against an overpowering master narrative if the philosophy completely validates all narratives.

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While it is important to see all viewpoints within society and attempt to understand them, this
does not mean that they should be validated within a philosophical construct.
Postmodernism poses challenges for people to come together under this viewpoint
because no knowledge, experience, or self can transcend a particular location, position or system
in which it was formed, which limits the formation of groups with a shared experience. Identity
politics is still needed by many groups, especially racially oppressed groups, and it is not
welcomed under postmodernism, which makes people feel isolated and alone in their struggle
with racism (Hooks 28). Since there is not equal representation within academia of all racial
groups, scholars must consciously recognize that they need to bring their postmodern philosophy
out into the real world in order to involve a diverse movement (Hooks, 30). The overall emphasis
and focus on differences of people under postmodernism can pose challenges to feminists who
wish to unite and cause political change (Sands and Nuccio, 492). Political agenda is crucial for
the feminist movement, and could be slowed under a postmodern feminist stance (Sands and
Nuccio 492). It is important for the movement to come together under a shared narrative, while
recognizing differences within the group. Without a common goal, we will not pose a strong
front with clear requests from society, which is crucial for achieving positive change.
My own view on the issue of best strategies to motivate feminist change involves a
combination of tactics taken by both feminist and postmodernists. I believe that many
philosophies we have studied during this class bring up valid points and ideas, but also have
many shortcomings as discussed here.
With respect to Marxist thought, I value and support the idea of encouraging a
collaborative society where every persons need is taken care of by the government. This will
work to equalize all people, making it so that none are unable to provide basic human necessities.

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I also appreciate the ideas of Marxism that allow a person to contribute their own passion and
value to society, recognizing the potential in all people. I do not believe that this allows people to
live without working, but rather recognizes the equal societal importance between a doctor and a
teacher, something that is severely lacking in todays society, where some of the people with
whom we have the most contact, such as a teacher are not societally respected.
From my analysis of postmodernist philosophy, I believe that integration of the ideas that
all voices are valid and true for that experience and standpoint would strengthen the feminist
movement. This mindset would and is currently beginning to allow for a more intersectional
mindset, where difference parts of one identity can all be recognized within feminism. This
stance is crucial for the movement in my opinion, because when all oppressed groups are able to
work together towards a common goal while recognizing individual differences of experience,
these groups become the majority.
The theories of Marxism and postmodernism provide a counter to todays society by
highlighting many of the flaws that have led to hierarchies and oppression. Each provides a very
different strategy for reforming society, but both involve major upheavals to current systems and
beliefs. It is beneficial to the feminist movement to use these methods of analysis to study
cultural norms, and develop new roles for women. However, Marxist philosophy needs to be
reimagined from a perspective that begins with addressing systems of oppression and then builds
to economic systems in order to ensure woman an equal role. Postmodernism must be developed
in such a way that still allows for group narrative in order to have uniform goals that bring
people together rather than isolating each viewpoint. My own views work to combine parts of
these philosophies, in order to bring many oppressed groups together while still recognizing
individual perspective, because as a unified front we become the majority.

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