The gender of the public: feminist criticisms of liberalism and its derivatives

• Autor(a) principal: Silva, André Luiz da
• Data de Publicação: 2009
• Outros Autores: Ventura, Raissa Wihby, Kritsch, Raquel
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Mediações - Revista de Ciências Sociais
• Texto Completo: https://ojs.uel.br/revistas/uel/index.php/mediacoes/article/view/4507
• topic: Feminism; Liberalism; Political theory; Public/private; Feminismo; Liberalismo; Teoria política; Público/privado

This article addresses the distinction, originating in classical liberal thought, between the public and the private. It lays out briefly some of the principal aspects of feminist theory and then goes on to demonstrate how liberal political theory differentiates between public (political) and private (social) and, later, between “public” and personal. This discussion allows us to understand the basis for feminist theory’s accusation that liberalism treats justice exclusively as part of the public (masculine) domain, removing from consideration the social relations of gender in the domestic sphere. Finally, we discuss some of the principle aspects of the feminism of Susan Okin, in particular, her debate with the egalitarian liberalism of John Rawls, in which she sees possible contributions toward the coexistence of justice and gender.