Individualist feminism

The origin of Feminism is linked to the abolition movement that occurred in the 1830s. The abolition movement was a social movement that aimed to eradicate the practice of slavery in the United State by insisting that every man was born to self-govern himself. The issue had attracted the participation of women, ranging from the upper class to the working class due to the similarities that they perceived between their oppression as women and the oppression of slaves.

Thus, through abolition, women of 19th century found a way to express their ideas and dissatisfaction with women’s rights and directly triggered a heated debate among society. Although a famous figure such as William Lloyd Garrison, a libertarian, supported women’s rights, he advised women’s rights activists such as Angelina Grimke and several others to stop mixing the issue of women’s rights into their lecture on anti-slavery.[16] Nevertheless, it happened and caused an uproar in society.

However, the Grimke sister’s efforts to advocate for women’s rights are not confined to just one method. Sarah Grimke’s Letters on the Equality of the Sexes and the Condition of Woman in 1837 addressed the roles of women in several aspects within society.[16] Her letters also compared the status of women and slaves, which seems to have no difference.

One of their greatest achievements is, on February 21, 1838, Angelina Grimke became the first woman who courageously delivered a speech in front of the Massachusetts Legislature. She delivered a speech that contained a mixture of two important issues, the antislavery petitions and women’s status in society.[16]

The women's suffrage supporters initiated to write, lecture, march, campaign and execute civil rebellion at the beginning of mid-19th century. It was a struggle to win the right for women to vote in the United States and it was a long and difficult campaign, which took almost a hundred years to win. The earliest Women's Rights Convention or Seneca Falls Convention was held in July 1848 by two organizers, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott.[17] In this convention, they produced a list of demands relating to issues that have long plagued women in general for centuries. Thus, the demands or ‘Declaration of Sentiments’ insisted on giving women more opportunities in education and profession as well as gaining the right to control their income and property.[18]

The Civil War began in 1862 and it lasted for four years. During the Civil War, they focused on supporting the abolition of slaves. Some of them served as nurses or took part in an association to provide help in another way. As for Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, formed a group known as the Women’s Loyal National League in 1863, to press for slavery to end and demanded the newly freed slaves to get full citizenship rights.

Two important figures who contributed greatly to the abolition movement are Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth. Harriet Tubman was an African American woman who used her knowledge and abilities to be a spy for the Union Army during the Civil War.[19] Whereas, Sojourner Truth passionately lectured about the rights of women and the rights of African Americans.[20]

After the Civil War, feminists focused on issues that aimed for the blacks' freedom by addressing three specific Amendments. The Thirteenth Amendment was ratified by the states on December 6, 1865, to abolish the enslavement of people throughout the nation.[21] As for the Fourteenth Amendment, the ratification happened on July 9, 1868, confirming the nationality of those who were born and naturalized in the United States, including the formerly enslaved people as citizens of America.[21]

In 1870, the 15th Amendment of the Constitution was ratified, allowing black men to have the right to vote, which caused quite a stir among woman suffragists.[18] In May 1869, Elizabeth Cady Stanton along with Susan B. Anthony created The National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA). This organization was composed of suffragists who were against the 15th Amendment because women were not included. To gain their right to vote, the NWSA applied a confrontational strategy by sending the Senate and House Representative a voting rights petition that aimed for the federal woman suffrage amendment and requested for the opportunity to speak on the Congress.[18]  

In the same year, 1869, Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe, and Thomas Wentworth Higginson established the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA). Opposite to NWSA, they supported the 15th amendment and opposed the method used by NWSA. The AWSA chose to start at local and state levels to gain access for women to vote, hoping that they will slowly receive support to act on the national level.[18]

Despite that, in 1890, both organizations united into a new organization, the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). A year before the adoption of the 19thamendment, the NAWSA organization merged with the National Council of Women Voters that was established by Emma Smith DeVoe in 1909, forming a new league, the League of Women Voters.[17]

Individualist feminism focuses on another variety of social issues instead of pursuing the issue of women's suffrage. Their participation is conveyed through a social movement known as the Free Love movement. It is a movement that aimed to separate government interference from matters such as marriage and birth control. They believe that such issues were related to those involved only.

In the 19th century, the usage of contraption became a serious issue among Americans. They considered using contraption as ‘obscene’ and many citizens condemned this practice. However, social reformers were concern about abortions by low-income women, particularly prostitutes, and the difficulty of childbirth.[22] However, Comstock Law considers anything ‘obscene’ as illegally blocked discussions on birth control.[22] As for marriage institutions, a wife's earning, property and her person is under the control of her husband. She has to oblige his demand in every aspect, including being his bedmate, which sometimes could result in a violent outcome.[23]

Joan Kennedy Taylor was an American author, activist, and pundit. She started her career in publishing and was considered apolitical for the first thirty years of her life. Taylor converted to libertarianism with the help of Ayn Rand. She would go on to become active in the Libertarian Party as well as groups like the Association of Libertarian Feminists and Feminists for Free Expression (which Taylor co‐founded). She is the author of two books, Reclaiming the Mainstream: Individualist Feminism Rediscovered and Notable Issues Evoke by Joan Kennedy Taylor on Sexual Harassment

Joan Kennedy Taylor was an American author, activist, and pundit. She started her career in publishing and was considered apolitical for the first thirty years of her life. Taylor converted to libertarianism with the help of Ayn Rand. She would go on to become active in the Libertarian Party as well as groups like the Association of Libertarian Feminists and Feminists for Free Expression (which Taylor co‐founded). She is the author of two books, Reclaiming the Mainstream: Individualist Feminism Rediscovered and What to Do When You Don't Want to Call the Cops: A Non-Adversarial Approach to Sexual Harassment (New York University Press, 1999).

Wendy McElroy is a Canadian author and activist who emphasizes individualism, particularly from the state, from the patriarchy, and from any kind of hierarchy. She is the editor of website ifeminists.net and of the books Individualist Feminism of the Nineteenth Century: Collected Writings and Biographical Profiles and Freedom, Feminism, and the State (2017). She is also the author of Sexual Correctness: The Gender-Feminist Attack on Women (1996), XXX: A Woman's Right to Pornography Paperback (1997), The Reasonable Woman: A Guide to Intellectual Survival (1998), and Queen Silver: The Godless Girl (1999).

McElroy proposed a very controversial yet effectively correct statement about each human being's freedom of the choice made for their own body. She battled out this issue on her book Sexual Correctness: The Gender-Feminist Attack on Women. Firstly, she stands on the ideology that women who are also human should be given the same right of self-ownership for their own body similarly to men.[24] She argues strongly that to cross the jurisdiction of one’s own body is the same as slavery. Secondly, under the first ideology she firmly said that it was needed for the embodiment of self individual rights and greater freedom for women.[25] Then, McElroy also emphasis that the mythology of rape should be change ultimately. This is because the term and action of rape can be use as a weapon politically. In a sense, since rape is view under a bad reputation, it can be used as a hidden trump card to hold and subdued women in the patriarchal society. Since women are almost always the victim or rape, this also in a way shown that women is weak, lower and cannot gain control or their self-ownership. That is why, McElroy is stressing this issues strongly on changing the radical view on rape in order to help the victim from being shone under the spotlight of damaged goods.[26] Other than the issues of rape, she also profoundly defended women’s interest on being in a pornography from a feminist perspective.[27] In short, from a liberal point of view she stands guard that pornography benefits women as they provide freedom for women’s own body, rights and expression respectively.[28]

Camille Anna Paglia is one of the Individualist American Feminists who have an unorthodox and distinct perspective on feminism. Paglia is an American feminist academic infamously known for her social critic on the view of American feminism.[29] She was born on April, 2 in 1947 in New York and has been an educator since 1972. She was a teacher before settling in as a professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia following her father’s step in 1984.[30] Notably, Paglia had published several literary works which link to the American Feminism. Paglia's opinion elaborated in her books led to tensions with the current feminist establishment.[29] Paglia came across as "anti-feminist feminist" to certain.[29][30]

Paglia had written a book entitled “Free Women, Free Men: Sex, Gender, Feminism” in 2017 which manifested her unconventional ideology on feminism. Paglia’s considered most controversial arguments are compiled and published in the book with the central idea of “enlightened feminism”. The book is an essay collection comprising her 25 years stances on date rape, abortion, free speech, sex and more.[31] Concerning the matter of rape culture, Paglia emphasized on personal responsibility that women are obligated to raise.[32] Women should explore initiatives to acquire knowledge on the risk factors leading to date rape. Paglia asserted that the obtained knowledge could be implemented in females’ campus lives to reduce the risk of rape.[32] It is a simple action that could be achieved to lower the risk of date rape. Hence, this indicates women should take their own precaution to date rape. This book refuses to ‘bow’ to the conservative ideology of “playing the victim” in a date rape situation.[31] The consistent opinion from Paglia on date rape discovered in an interview reveals the irresponsibility of females who let themselves get “dead drunk”.[33] Although other feminists labelled the situation as “blaming the victim”, Paglia compels women to never portray themselves as vulnerable nor gullible to others.[33] Such a situation would indisputably allow males to deftly take advantage and engage with them.[31][33]

Although the opinion of Paglia frequently opposes other feminist opinions, the view of Naomi Wolf on abortion is astonishingly parallel to hers. They are determined that induced abortion is unethical to be committed.[34] Paglia bluntly voiced that abortion is regarded as murder. She unveils her view which defines abortion as “the extermination of the powerless by the powerful” traced in an interview in 2006.[34] According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the abortion rate among women aged 15 to 44 years old in 2018 is 11.3 abortions per 1,000 women worldwide. It is reported that the abortion ratio is 189 abortions per 1000 live births in the same year.[35] However, Paglia disclosed to be a pro-choice and firmly supports to unrestricted access of abortion in 2016.[36] She believed women with a career are subject to their own body.[31][36] Paglia stated in her book “Free Women, Free Men: Sex, Gender, Feminism” that the ruling of Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade which legalized abortion in all the 50 states became the first landmark to feminism in the 1970s.[31] Moreover, Paglia insists in “Vamps & Tramps: New Essays” that bearing an unwanted infant is socially and professionally “inconvenient” or “onerous”.[37] She deeply feels that no control could be asserted over a woman's own body.[31]

Rene Denfeld was born in 1967. She is a journalist, award winning author and a licensed private investigator and currently lives in Portland, Oregon.[38] In Denfeld’s popular feminist book The New Victorians (1995), she raised her deep view towards feminist movement which she believed to be deviated as young women felt alienated from the woman movement itself. Other than that, since in the 1970s, she felt the progress of the movement totally contradicted the foundation of the movement.[39] Denfeld categorized the movement as a group that mainly discussed about male bashing or hatred towards men rather than glorifying women's rights.[40]

The Ladies of Liberty Alliance (also known as LOLA) is an organization with a mission to educate and empower female leaders within the liberty movement. Ladies of Liberty Alliance is a network of independent, libertarian women leaders who, through their careers and personal endeavors, are dedicated to spreading the ideas of individual liberty and free markets. The participation of LOLA is open to any female who is wishing to explore the idea of libertarian. In addition, participation is free and self-defined.

This organization was established in 2009 as a non-profit, non-political and educational organization to address the lack of women in the liberty movement. Nena Bartlett Whitfield is the president of Ladies of Liberty Alliance. She used to be active as a founding member and former Treasurer of the DC Liberty Toastmasters, Chair of the Republican Liberty Caucus of DC, and the former Vice President and Treasurer of the Norwich Alumni DC Chapter. In 2013, Nena left Capitol Hill to work as full-time Executive Director at Ladies of Liberty Alliance.

LOLA will encourage the female leaders to stay engaged with libertarian philosophy, promote freedom to new people, and boost up the organization’s work through leadership training. The libertarian women leaders will engage actively in public discourse, showing empathy to those harmed by the government, and invite new audiences to the political and societal changes.

Active leaders of LOLA will be invited to participate in the LOLA Leadership Retreat. LOLA provides skills-based training which is offered at Washington, DC and cities with its social chapters in order to help women reach individual and professional goals plus, becoming the strong speakers of libertarian ideas.

Social groups of LOLA located in cities throughout the U.S. where women who share the same idea come together to share the passion of liberty, establish a strong community through relationship building and empower one another to be active members of the liberty movement.[41]

• North America
• Charlotte, North Carolina
• Billings, Montana
• Virginia Beach, Virginia
• Phoenix, Arizona
• Dallas, Texas
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Seattle/Tacoma
• Houston, Texas
• Austin, Texas
• Sacramento, California
• Denver, Colorado
• Chicago, Illinois
• Omaha, Nebraska
• Atlanta, Georgia
• New York, New York
• Los Angeles, California
• Washington D.C.
• Kansas City, Kansas
• South America
• Honduras
• Mendoza, Argentina
• Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Quito, Ecuador
• Cali, Colombia
• Montevideo, Uruguay
• Bogota, Colombia
• Mexico City, Mexico
• Santiago, Chile
• Santiago del Estero, Argentina

The Mothers Institute was a non-profit educational and networking organization supporting stay-at-home mothering, homeschooling, civics in the classroom, and an effective networking system for mothers and freedom of choice in health and happiness. It is now defunct.

Feminists for Liberty (F4L) is a nonprofit libertarian feminist group founded in 2016. It was launched by millennial libertarians Kat Murti and Elizabeth Nolan Brown [42] to promote the values of libertarian feminism, publicize libertarian feminist voices, bring together libertarian feminists and those interested in the concept, advocate for classical liberal positions on public policy, and help revive the libertarian feminist movement for the 21st Century. Feminists for Liberty's taglines are "anti-sexism & anti-statism, pro-markets & pro-choice" and "consent in all things.[43]"

According to the Feminists for Liberty website, its mission includes opposing "government-sanctioned sexism in all its forms" and pushing "for systems in which sex and gender are irrelevant to how one is treated under the law." The group also aims to "to amplify the voices of freedom-minded feminists," inject "a libertarian feminist perspective into contemporary political conversations and media," and drive "more diverse and open liberty-movement discourse on issues surrounding sex, gender, sexuality, reproductive decisions, family issues, and equal rights."

Feminists for Liberty believes that "true feminism and libertarianism are highly compatible, as both are centered on the inherent worth and power of the individual."[44] They are opposed to collectivism and argue that sexism is a form of collectivism.They welcome people of any sex or gender as part of their coalition and events.

Feminists for Liberty also opposes carceral feminism. The group argues that that government has historically been one of the biggest perpetrators of sex discrimination, gender-based oppression, and sexual violence. It aims to promote "voluntary solutions to gender inequity, and [...] the social, cultural, and economic conditions in which these solutions can flourish,"

The group aims to highlight how economic liberty is crucial for women's advancement, and how "free speech, an open internet, religious freedom, sexual privacy, self-defense, and robust due process rights are essential to an equal and just society."

The Association of Libertarian Feminists was founded in 1973 by Tonie Nathan, a journalist and the first woman in history to acquire an electoral vote.[45] It was established on Ayn Rand's birthday, in Eugene, Oregon, at Nathan's home.[46] Tonie Nathan was a founding member and former vice president of the Libertarian Party

The co-founder of the Association of Libertarian Feminists is Sharon Presley, who is also known as a libertarian feminist, activist, author, and retired psychology lecturer. Presley was the national coordinator for the Libertarian Feminists' Association in the mid-1970s and now she is the executive director of the organization.[47]

At a meeting held in New York City, ALF became a national organization in September 1975. In 1977, Nathan suggested eliminating entire parts of the United States Postal Regulations that obstruct the mailing of birth control samples and information about family planning at the National Women's Conference in Houston, Texas.[46]

• Encourage women to become self sufficient economically and mentally unconstrained.
• Advertise and support rational views towards women's expertise, success, and ability.
• To condemn every government's curtailment of individual rights in terms of sex.
• Work to shift misogynistic views and actions shown by people
• Oppose features of the feminist movement that aim to discourage freedom and autonomy and instead offer a libertarian solution.

Sharon Presley and one of the other individual feminists, Lynn Kinsky wrote a pamphlet of a libertarian feminist during the 70s era, discussing the government as women’s enemy. They stated that it sounds cynical to turn their head and ask for the government's help to reach a solution for their problems because the government actually gives more damages instead of bringing any benefits.

• Child Care Centers: The child-care problem was created by government legislation. State rules, needless and redundant “health and safety” regulations, registration licenses that are impossible to acquire - all combine to ensure that citizens will not come together on their own and provide low-cost child care. They have to spend a significant amount of the expense of child-care facilities for the government authorities or to pay rent on excessively costly houses. The government also wants to be in charge of the children's development like how it is done in public schools.
• Public Schools: Public schools not only promote the worst of secularist misogynistic ideals but with bland, suppressing approaches and obligatory services and laws that instill conformity and submission to authority. They also use psychiatric tests and counseling, confidential (and sometimes viciously subjective) files that fellow children during their school years, to control over the lives of children in public schools.