Editing Difference feminism (section)

== History ==
The "difference" feminist view was developed in the 1980s, in part as a reaction to popular liberal feminism (also known as "[[equality feminism]]"), which emphasized the similarities between women and men in order to argue for equal treatment for women. Difference feminism, although it still aimed at equality between men and women, emphasized the differences between men and women and argued that identicality or sameness are not necessary in order for men and women, and masculine and feminine values, to be treated equally.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Voet|first1=Rian|title=Feminism and Citizenship|date=1998|publisher=SAGE Publications Ltd}}</ref> Liberal feminism aimed to make society and law gender-neutral, since it saw recognition of gender difference as a barrier to rights and participation within liberal democracy, while difference feminism held that gender-neutrality harmed women "whether by impelling them to imitate men, by depriving society of their distinctive contributions, or by letting them participate in society only on terms that favor men".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Grande Jensen|first1=Pamela|title=Finding a New Feminism: Rethinking the Woman Question for Liberal Democracy|page=3}}</ref>

Difference feminism drew on earlier nineteenth-century strains of thought, for example the work of German writer [[Elise Oelsner]], which held that not only should women be allowed into formerly male-only spheres and institutions (e.g. public life, science) but that those institutions should also be expected to change in a way that recognizes the value of traditionally devalued feminine ethics, like care. On the latter point, many feminists have re-read the phrase "difference feminism" in a way that asks "what difference does feminism make?" (e.g. to the practice of science) rather than "what differences are there between men and women"?<ref name="auto1"/>

In the 1990s, feminists addressed the binary logic of "difference" versus "equality" and moved on from it, notably with [[postmodern]] and/or [[deconstructionist]] approaches that either dismantled or did not depend on that dichotomy.<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Bock|first1=Gisela|last2=James|first2=Susan|title=Beyond Equality and Difference|date=1992|publisher=Routledge|isbn = 9780415079891}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Voet|first1=Rian|title=Feminism and Citizenship|date=1998|publisher=SAGE Publications Ltd|location = London|isbn = 9781446228043}}</ref>