I hope that no one will accept my points. . . . . .

What is the difference between feminism and feminism?

Wang Hongwei

In China, people often ask: What is the difference between feminism and feminism?

If we just look at the Chinese translation of the same English word feminism, there is actually no difference between feminism and feminism. At present, feminism is obviously used more than feminism, perhaps because the word "power" does not appear in the former, and it may appear more peaceful to those who are watching or listening, so as not to trigger the idea that "feminism" means "seizing power from men" "Association. But strictly speaking, the feminist translation is undoubtedly more accurate. Although there are various feminist movements and feminist trends around the world, one thing is the same, that is, their fundamental purpose is to strive for and realize that men and women have equal rights in all aspects. Since 1975, with the convening of the United Nations World Conference on Women, the slogan "Women's rights are human rights" has gained more and more recognition internationally. The Chinese Constitution, revised and adopted in 2004, also includes the content of "the state respects and protects human rights" in Article 33, paragraph 3.

There is no doubt that "women's rights are human rights" is of extremely important significance. "Women's rights" are the rights that women should have as social beings and national citizens, and they are by no means obtained by "seizing power" from men. If women’s rights are not there, where are human rights? If women’s rights are not there, where is social justice? It is in this sense that the modern feminist movement and feminist thought have been called a basic force in promoting the world's democratic process in the past 50 years.

Perhaps it is too ambitious to compare "women's rights" and "human rights" in this way? Similar problems were encountered by Mr. Liang Qichao, a famous thinker of the reform movement, in his early years. The title of Mr. Liang's article is "Human Rights and Women's Rights", which was criticized as "illogical". In response to this, Liang first said "haha", and then his answer was quite meaningful. He said that if this topic does not make sense, it is not because Liang made it up, but because the current situation of society is like this (it does not make sense). He just told it truthfully and wanted to make it clear. If you think about it carefully, if you insist on or allow discrimination, exclusion, and oppression against the other half of mankind, and deprive them of the equal rights they should have, what will be left of human rights and justice, which are the essence of modern democratic spirit? What else is noteworthy? When women are absent from their position as "human beings", human rights and social justice will cease to exist. The truth is indeed simple. However, the system of social inequality in which men are superior to women and men are subordinate to women has lasted for thousands of years in China. Although it has fallen apart as a system, it still permeates all aspects of society as an ideological concept and is deeply rooted. Therefore, it is very difficult for everyone to understand and understand the principle of "women's rights are human rights" and truly put it into practice. Therefore, it is also called "the longest revolution."

More importantly, feminist research has also found that in order to truly understand and implement "women's rights are human rights", legal provisions alone are obviously not enough. For equal rights to transform from legal provisions into real practical rights, many related conditions must be met. As feminist research points out, equality of rights cannot just be conceived as having equal material things or money. To a greater extent, rights should refer to various relationships - people act and interact with each other in accordance with certain systems and rules. The relationships established in this way also provide various opportunities for the individuals involved, which is also understood as "social capital" that is indispensable for personal development. Differences in relationships and opportunities will undoubtedly directly affect the strength of personal development capabilities and lead to very different development states. This means that if we want to truly recognize and implement the equality of rights between men and women, we must enable them to participate in establishing as equal a relationship as possible, and then have equal opportunities for development - to have equal "social capital". It is on this point that patriarchy goes in the opposite direction. Through the division of labor model of "men are in charge outside and women are in charge inside", women are excluded from the field of social public affairs and thus lose their ability to participate as independent subjects. The possibility of various public activities, communication relationships cannot be established, and development opportunities cannot be obtained. Therefore, the formation of women's self-development ability has become a tree without roots and water without a source. Feminist research also points out that "self-esteem is a basic asset" for human development. However, through the spread of the traditional concept of men being superior to women, patriarchy has devalued and trampled on women's self-esteem, which not only deprived them of the "capital" that could support their independent development not only in terms of material conditions, but also spiritually. It can be seen that the slogan "Women's rights are human rights" expresses far more than the legal provisions of equal gender rights, and more importantly, the de facto gender equal rights - the true possession of all the conditions necessary for the realization of equal rights.

In the article "Human Rights and Women's Rights", Mr. Liang Qichao's views are very similar to this. He pointed out that human rights have three meanings: one is the right to equality in education, the other is the right to equality in occupation, and the third is the right to political equality.

He believes that although these three things for women are connected together, they can still be divided into steps. The right to education is undoubtedly an indispensable first step, so that women can have the necessary conditions for equal employment and political participation. . Liang Qichao also quoted the famous saying "Knowledge is strength (power)" and clearly pointed out: "If you don't seek power based on knowledge, you will never get it; if you get it by luck, you will never be able to keep it. A person like this, The same applies to each other between classes, and the same applies to each other between the sexes." This is a wise saying, far-sighted and resonant. Looking back at today's China, the 2005 Peking University's admission score line for the college entrance examination in minor languages ??was "higher for women and lower for men" and the social controversy caused by this made people even more emotional about the necessity and importance of knowing that "women's rights are human rights" and educating women The implementation of various equal rights, including human rights, has been elevated to the level of human rights protection, which is also highly targeted at present. Otherwise, women’s equal rights will “never be achieved” and “never be maintained.”

(The author is a professor, doctor, and doctoral supervisor at the School of Political Science and Administration, South China Normal University)