SYMPOSIUM: A ROUNDTABLE ON FEMINISM AND PHILOSOPHY IN THE MID-1990s: TAKING STOCK: INTRODUCTION

Abstract: Feminist philosophy emerged in earnest in the 1970s. With that emergence and the latest surge of the Women's Movement now a quarter of a century old and with the turn of the century approaching quickly, the Society for Philosophy and Public Affairs and the Pacific Society for Women in Philosophy invited a group of feminist philosophers to reflect on feminism and philosophy as we approach the millennium. A roundtable was held at the 1995 meeting of the Pacific Division of the American Philosophical Association, and much of the content of that session is included in this Symposium. The discussants include scholars with research interests across the traditional areas of philosophy (e.g., metaphysics and epistemology, ethics, social and political philosophy, history of philosophy, and philosophy of science), as well as not so traditional areas (e.g., lesbian philosophy). Each participant was asked to take ten minutes to focus on whatever she thought might be useful to discuss in a forum designed for taking stock of feminism and philosophy in the mid-1990s. The contributors are Louise Antony, Joan Callahan (introduction), Claudia Card, Ruth Ginzberg, Martha Nussbaum, Naomi Scheman, Laurie Schrage, Nancy Tuana, Margaret Walker, and Charlotte Witt.     

ANARCHISM AND FEMINISM

[anarchism] desires above all…the political, economic, and social equalization of the two sexes…we demand…that every individual, man or woman, coming into life, shall find as nearly as possible equal means for the development of his or her different faculties and for their utilization by his or her labor; to organize a society which, renders for every individual…the exploitation of anybody else, impossible.     

FEMINISM AND WOMEN'S FRIENDSHIPS

The ideology of sisterhood within the feminist movement suggests that feminists' and nonfeminists' same–sex friendships would differ profoundly. This assumption was tested by examining the friendships of 45 heterosexual nonfeminists, 43 heterosexual feminists, and 38 lesbian feminists from a large midwestern city. Participants ranged in age from 19 to 46. Using objective measures, differences were found between feminists and nonfeminists for some structural dimensions of friendship, including number of cross–generational friendships, degree of equality, and amount of privacy preferred with a best friend. Lesbian feminists preferred more privacy with their friends than nonfeminists, but rated their friends as lower on relationship quality and degree of equality than heterosexual feminists and nonfeminists. The three groups did not differ on the affective content of friendship, including liking, loving, satisfaction and commitment. However, feminists subjectively perceived their feminism as having contributed to both structural and affective changes in their friendships.     

FEMINISM AND DIVERSITY IN PSYCHOLOGY

The contributions of feminist psychology to diversity are highlighted, focusing on the example of women of color. A historical overview of the confluence of feminism and ethnicism is provided, stressing the dynamic interplay between these two movements. The relevance of feminist psychology to women of color is assessed in addition to women of color's contributions to feminism. The role of women of color in the transformation and reformulation of an integrative feminist psychology is examined.