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Feminist Ethics
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For an invaluable overview of various theories and positions, see Rosemarie Tong, Feminine and Feminist Ethics (Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1993). Also see Jean Grimshaw, "The Idea of a Female Ethic," A Companion to Ethics, edited by Peter Singer (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1991), pp. 491-99; Alison M. Jaggar, "Feminist Ethics: Projects, Problems, Prospects," Claudia Card’s Feminist Ethics (Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas Press, 1991), 78-104; "Feminist Ethics," Encyclopedia of Ethics, edited by Lawrence C. Becker and Charlotte B. Becker (New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1992), pp. 361-70.
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There are three reasons for accepting orthodox principles as a foundation for feminist ethics. The first is historical. Some early feminists were Christians and grounded their feminist ethics on biblical principles. The second reason is based on the orthodox understanding of revelation as knowledge about God given by God. God gives the definitions of such terms as father and omnipotent ... investing those words with good rather than evil. The final reason builds on the biblical principle of grace.
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In other words, if the aim of a feminist approach to ethics is to achieve this type of gender equity, proponents argue that it must push itself out of the private realm and into the public realm. It must routinely and regularly sit at the policy table, for it is at this table that gender-equalizing rules and regulations can be formulated. Consider one aspect of the so-called fetal-maternal relationship problem; namely, the attempt to impose criminal penalties on cocaine-using pregnant women subsequent to the delivery of their cocaine-exposed infants. Feminist ethicists note that the ethics of justice has been rather blind to sexism, racism, and classism that underlies its proposals to punish cocaine-using pregnant women. They claim that what probably motivates those who would punish cocaine-using pregnant women is not respect for women as rational and autonomous agents, but fear and hate of women who seem unwilling to sacrifice their "selfish" selves on the altar of motherly love. Thus, when it comes to determining how tensions in the maternal-fetal relationship should be resolved, for example, it is not appropriate to ask what best serves the aggregate, but instead to ask what best serves women and through women the actual and potential people to whom they are related.
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In terms of ethics, feminists ... believe that men have a tendency to organise, order and control things in order to gain moral superiority (or power) over them. This is why they like the 'one-size-fits-all' approach. As an example of this, consider how the Catholic Church (largely a male institution) morally 'controls' it members by suggesting that what is 'good', must conform to a God-ordained natural (moral) law.
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Their tenacity kindled feminist bioethics scholarship and strengthened relationships with feminist ethics and social theory. Both scholarly groups share common vantage points. They take sex, gender, and other marginalizing characteristics as categories of analysis that are bound up with power relations across both public and private life.[2] Both emphasize the need for theoretical grounding not only to provide an explanatory framework but ... to uncover directions for interventions to curtail oppressive practices. For instance, both groups have focused much attention on social constructions that establish and maintain gendered hierarchies. Theoretical analysis of these constructions is often used to critique medical practices that impose excessive burdens on women such as unnecessary surgeries and physician attitudes that stereotype women patients.
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This book describes the diversity of moral thinking within contemporary feminism, giving an overview and analysis of the major themes of feminist ethics. It can serve as a guide for the reader who wants to engage with feminism in a serious way. It will be of specialist interest for Christian ethicists and moral philosophers, in understanding and making contributions to new developments. It will be useful to feminist scholars, in taking stock of their own tradition, and in considering the best way forward for feminist ethics.
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Feminist Ethics