Feminism is a word that is hard to translate into a general definition. As a movement, feminism is one of the pioneers of the spirit of justice without oppression, discrimination, and exploitation of women.

When talking about feminism, there are many definitions. However, the meaning of the word feminism itself is taken from the roots “femme” or “female” and “isme,” which imply an ideology. So this ideology depends on who started it, who is involved in it, what is left behind in it, and how it will come to a halt; all of these become important considerations.

Feminism arose because of the many forms of oppression against women, both structural and non-structural, for centuries (see: http://lib.unnes.ac.id/42757/). At that time, women were still “objects” in all aspects of life. For example, women in ancient Greece were easily harassed and mocked. To such an extent that they claimed women were impure and filth born from the acts of the devil. So what about today? The answer will only come when welfare and justice become the vital spirit in the soul of every human being.

Talking about feminism is closely tied to patriarchy. Patriarchy has a distinctive feature related to the phenomenon of gender gaps and inequality toward women, and it makes men the figures who are powerful in a power relation, both with women and with other genders. This is much like the quote from Cathia and Judy (2007) in Introducing Feminism: “patriarchal power rests on social given to biological sexual difference,” or “patriarchal power rests on the social meaning given to biological sexual differences”

This biological condition even extends to gender inequality that still clings to society today, one example being the characteristics associated with men and women, such as men being identified with logic and women with emotion. Therefore, the removal of biological stigma becomes one benchmark of feminism’s success in fighting for its rights.

Besides trying to destroy this biological stigma, feminism has a greater and more important goal: to build and achieve gender equality in all aspects, from politics, economics, the personal sphere, to the social sphere. Over the course of the feminist struggle, there has been a misunderstanding that feminism is an ideology that hates men. In fact, both men and women benefit when there is no unequal relationship between them.

Not only the dualism between men and women, the feminist movement also serves as a stepping stone for other genders to demand the abolition of oppression and violence against gender diversity.

Among the many introductions to feminism, there are also several feminist schools of thought that have emerged and developed around the world, among which the popular ones are:

Liberal Feminism

Liberal feminism puts forward the view of placing women as having full and individual freedom. It arose in the 18th century and has split into two categories: classical and egalitarian. Classical liberal feminism seeks to create freedom of individual civil rights, such as women’s right to vote, the right to own land, and freedom of expression. Meanwhile, egalitarian liberal feminism places more emphasis on equal and fair opportunities for women to access resources.

Radical Feminism

“Radical” here means demanding great and extreme change. However, in radical feminism the focus is on very fundamental inequalities that are so deeply rooted that great effort is needed to uproot them. Historically, this school emerged as a reaction against the culture of sexism or social domination based on sex in the West in the 1960s, especially against violence.

Postmodern Feminism

This feminism does not protest or carry out boycotts or the like. Instead, it mostly moves through writing, because it considers one source of women’s oppression to be language. This school may be different: it reclaims femininity for women as a construction of gender in society, and celebrates the otherness of women through ways of being, thinking, openness, diversity, and difference.

Of course, there are still many other schools with diverse concepts, including Ecofeminism, Multicultural and Global schools, Nordic feminism, and so on.

Then what about feminism in Indonesia? Surely the feminist movement is not merely a “Western culture,” but has existed in Indonesia for a long time. In the colonial era, social class played an important role in shaping the history of the social movement of Indonesian women. The priyayi class in Java had the least room to move, far less free than women from the middle and lower classes.

In the context of the personal is political, women’s issues that were considered private, such as marriage, have been discussed as political issues. Several political achievements were obtained as early as the Ethical Policy era of the Dutch East Indies and during the Indonesian independence movement (read more)

We certainly know Kartini, a heroine who opposed or was concerned about the principles of patriarchy and Javanese culture, which she considered an obstacle to women’s progress. Kartini poured her feminist thinking and the abolition of women’s oppression into a book titled “Habis Gelap Terbitlah Terang” (Out of Darkness Comes Light).

Besides Kartini, in the 1990s, specifically May 8, 1993, we know of Marsinah, who was murdered for being a pioneer of women laborers who vocally defended her fellow workers. Marsinah was a woman who never stopped challenging companies that were unfair in workers’ wages, and at the peak of this after a demonstration, Marsinah was kidnapped and murdered.

So, it can be concluded that whatever the struggle and school of feminism, it must stem from the logic that women should be free from oppression in all aspects of life, whether in terms of politics, economics, the personal sphere, or the social sphere.

 

Sources:

Dana, Siti Patni. (2012). Feminisme dalam Perkembangan Aliran Pemikiran dan Hukum di Indonesia. Salatiga. Faculty of Law, UKSW. https://ejournal.uksw.edu/alethea/article/view/2518

Dwitha. (2020). Kartini dan Feminsime. Yogyakarta. Clapeyronmedia. http://www.clapeyronmedia.com/kartini-dan-feminisme/

Jonesy. (2021). 8 Aliran Feminisme yang Ada Sekarang dan Perlu Kamu Tahu. Jakarta. Magdalene. https://magdalene.co/story/aliran-feminisme

Jenainati, Cathia & Groves, Jody. (2007). Introducing Feminism. USA. Gutenberg Press

Karima, Nadya Melati. (2019). Apa yang Perlu Diketahui tentang Dasar-Dasar Feminisme bagian 2. Perempuan dan Perlindungan Anak (20). BaktiNews. https://baktinews.bakti.or.id/artikel/apa-yang-perlu-diketahui-tentang-dasar-dasar-feminisme-bagian-2-selesai