Should Feminists Be Against Pornography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Should Feminists Be Against Pornography - Essay Example Sometimes, it has also been the issue of equal rights between male and female and who is worth to have more power. The various issues arising out of feminism have also invited many theorists as well as political reformers formulate theories related to feminism which has been eventually linked up with politics. The research will investigate the different perspectives and issues related to pornography a subject closely linked with feminism, and whether the two go hand in hand. The issue of feminism is sometimes seen to be taking a liberal approach, which is again recognized as liberal feminism. Liberalism essentially refers to a differentiation of the body from the mind, overhauling the role of mind in defining human nature, while denying the importance of bodies. Precisely because it denies any connection between mind and body, liberalism assumes too many similarities between men and women. (Ring, 1991, 28) Women and men are no different from each other, and are treated equal irrespec tive of having two different bodies is what the liberalists believe. This ideology also has resemblances with Marxist theorists. According to Marxism, there is practically no difference between men and women. ... (Ring, 1991, 28) Looking from the Marxist approach, the body does not assume any significant image and even liberal feminists also share the same view. Whether one is a man or a woman holds no significance in the Marxist world. Instead, it is far more important to see whether one belongs to the upper class or the lower class based on his economic status. It denies any difference based on gender, and refutes any conflict that might be related to what rights a woman can enjoy as compared to her male counterpart. Considering from this angle, a woman has as much rights to wear clothes as a man, irrespective of how much part of her body the clothes might reveal. Following this perspective, one can notice the difference if one visits a capitalist country like USA and a country like UAE who believes in a more radical approach like difference between genders are strongly existent. In other words, a woman in USA would feel quite comfortable in exposing clothes like bikinis at a beach, while a woman from UAE might consider it unthinkable. However in the 1960s, feminists have been active in responding to the issues of the use of veil in Islam apart form issues like female genital mutilation carried out in Africa and female infanticide in Asia. However Marxist feminists believe that the two genders are equal but â€Å"we do not deny that men are the agents of women’s oppression, or that, within the framework of existing social relations, men benefit form it, both in material and psychological terms† (Marxism, Feminism & Women’s Liberation, n.d., 1). These feminists also hold that these gains are â€Å"petty, hollow and transitory† involving high costs. In this context of