Justice from a Feminist Perspective.2
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Mosby 1
Aisha Mosby
Professor Dillon
ENGLISH 103
03/13/2022
Justice from a Feminist Perspective
Inevitably, the concept of the feminist view of justice varies from the typical justice since
it relates to the eradication of male domination and superiority in society. Additionally, this
perspective seeks to obtain equality of rights, eliminate the gap between private and public
sectors, change existing gender stereotypes, and establish a new society that tolerates and
respects women. Therefore, the primary goal of justice from a female perspective is to create
non-patriarchal systems in all avenues of human life – social, economic, and political realms to
ensure that gender equality prevails.
Notably, while justice from a feminist perspective can be assumed to relate primarily to
women, it can also incorporate men by advocating for equality in gender and sexual orientation.
This means that all people should be allowed to enjoy their rights and freedoms regardless of
their gender or sexual orientation, thereby eliminating the existing social stereotypes and
obstacles that hinder some minority groups from enjoying themselves (
Stephens 177-189)
. This
form of justice advocates for objective, impartial and universal treatment of people by adhering
to their unique needs and preferences without subjecting them to generalized societal beliefs and
expectations.
Rights are inevitable in people's enjoyment of social welfare and a good life. In this
sense, rights refer to liberties, claims, immunities, and powers traditionally afforded to people
biased by adhering to embedded social stereotypes that undermine people based on their gender
and sexual orientation (
Stephens 177-189)
. Notably, race and class disparities are also
intertwined with justice from a feminist perspective. They undermine people's quality of life-
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based on their unique disparity aspects, fundamentally natural. Elizabeth Keckley evaluates
slavery and its impacts on society by depicting how people of color, specifically women, were
treated and undermined by their masters. "They could not buy me, so my old master sought to
render them assistance by allowing them the benefit of my services (Keckley 44). Keckley shows
how people of color, especially women, were violated and treated like property by their white
counterparts. Racism, or rather slavery, relates with justice from a feminist perspective because
many slave masters were men. This shows the patriarchal domination in the society since only
men were involved in the slave trade, purchasing and selling men and women of color like
typical property.
The issue of sexual orientation has been highly controversial in society as the lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community proceeds to advocate for its rights. Society has
often been against the LGBTQ community by pressuring people to adhere to socially set and
highly accepted notions of sexual preferences (
Stephens 177-189)
. Society has always advocated
for sexual attractions between people of different genders, such as between a man and a woman
while opposing same-gender sexual relationships. As a result, justice from a feminist perspective
advocates for such problems in society since they undermine people's freedoms in life, where
everyone should be empowered to live their best life without being condemned or criticized for
their unique life choices (
Stephens 177-189)
. Besides, u judging people based on their life
choices or natural aspects such as gender and race is inappropriate since these limits their
avenues of enjoying life by belittling them.
The fundamental aspects of feminist theory are equality, gender, sex, difference,
discrimination, race, and choice. Therefore, for justice to prevail, these aspects must be
considered regarding people's needs and preferences and adhere to inherent differences between
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people by birth (Keckley 46). For instance, gender is natural and cannot be altered to enable one
to change into the other gender, such as from male to female (
Storni). As a result, it is unethical
and unjust to discriminate and undermine people based on gender since such aspects are beyond
human control. Therefore, a biased society should not limit people's quality of life because of
existing stereotypes on gender, sex, and race.
Studies show that societal beliefs and stereotypes aggravate discrimination as people are
compelled to conform to acceptable norms that are subscribed to by a larger majority. For
instance, feminist justice seeks equality by condemning biases that relegate women to household
chores while men dominate all other aspects of human life. In the past, women were expected to
take care of their families while their husbands pursu4ed economic and political endeavors
which were presumed masculine (
Storni). However, feminists sought to change this oppressive
narrative by illustrating that both men and women are gifted equally and are capable of
undertaking similar tasks regardless of their gender. As a result, women were empowered to
work, providing them with a competitive advantage to improve their quality of life without
relying on men to improve their well-being. Therefore, with equality comes independence which
makes people self-reliant, thereby improving the general well-being of the entire society (
Storni).
Besides, women have proved that they are equally capable of handling complex tasks initially
meant for men. This shows that societal biases are often misinformed since they are not based on
any factual information but rather on individual beliefs, which are often subjective.
While analyzing societal inequality from a gender-biased perspective, the society
discriminates against various societal groups based on traditional or primitive beliefs that lack
merit. For instance, society views sexual orientation as a choice, while studies have determined it
is a scientific factor (
Plakias 155-164)
. Therefore, people's sexuality reflects their biological
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Mosby 4
aspects, influencing their desires. Therefore, it is unlawful for society to compel people to a
specific lifestyle that undermines their biological make-up. Given that sexual orientation is a
biological aspect like gender, people should be empowered to be themselves and do what suits
them best (
Storni). Besides, natural things cannot be changed since they are beyond human
creation. For example, a man cannot be forced to lead a life like a woman since he is not created
as such. Therefore, society should not generalize acceptable conduct since they undermine other
people's needs and preferences.
Ideally, justice from a feminist perspective fosters moral relativism, which is the notion
that there is no absolute truth or rules to evaluate if something is ethically right or wrong (
Plakias
155-164)
. Society should embrace this view to avoid undermining other people on matters that
have no impact on their lives. Besides, one's sexual orientation does not affect others since it is
an individual endeavor. Therefore, society should be a free place for people to maximize
happiness and their quality of life by doing what is good for them, even if it is not accepted by
the larger society (
Storni). Moral relativism depicts that people can have differing opinions but
still come to a consensus provided everyone gets what is best for them (
Plakias 155-164)
. The
same argument applies to all social issues such as racial, gender, religious, or class bias. Denying
other people access to justice or healthcare services based on their race is unjust and unethical
since this degrades them as human beings (
Plakias 155-164)
. Society should operate to maximize
the happiness of all human beings alongside their quality of life instead of degrading them since
life is sacred and innate.
W.E.B Du Bois renders an instrumental argument condemning gender discrimination
asserting that society must change and embrace equality since all human beings are born equal.
He advocates for women to be availed of similar treatment as men to improve their quality of
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life. "The future woman must have a life of work and economic independence (
Du Bois
73)." His
argument shows that women were not afforded equal treatment as men since they were perceived
as lesser human beings, incapable of engaging in beneficial activities such as work and politics.
However, DuBois shows that women should be educated to afford them financial independence
in the future, reflecting positively on the larger society since they will seize depending on their
husbands (
Du Bois
73). Additionally, DuBois argues that society should also liberate black
women since they are undermined not only because of their gender but also because of their race.
Apart from the evident distinctions in human beings based on visible aspects such as gender and
race, all humans are created equal. They should be afforded equal treatment and respect to
improve their quality of life and satisfaction.
As discussed above, justice has always varied to existing societal biases based on
misinformed stereotypes. Gender, race, social class, religion, and sexual orientation have often
influenced the scales of justice by eluding objectivity as people act on their subjective views that
undermine disparity in society. As a result, justice from a feminist perspective aims at
eliminating existing biases by introducing clarity that fosters equality and equity towards
improving the quality of life for all people regardless of their race, gender, religion, social class,
or sexual orientation.
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Works Cited
Du Bois, W. E. B.
Darkwater: The givens collection
. Simon and Schuster, 2010.
Keckley, Elizabeth.
Behind the Scenes: Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the Lincoln White
House
. Fall River Press, 2014.
Plakias, Alexandra. "Moral relativism and moral disagreement."
The Routledge Handbook of
Philosophy of Relativism
(2019): 155-164.
Stephens, Jennie C. "Feminist, Antiracist Values for Climate Justice: Moving beyond Climate
Isolationism."
Sacred Civics
(2022): 177-189.
Storni, Alfonsina.
The She-Wolf [ Abridged])
. 2020, Accessed 29 May 2022.
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