All of the other feminisms we have examined so far assume that all women share a similar situation and similar experience of oppression. This assumption is known as essentialism. Instead, difference feminists dismiss essentialism and argue that middle-class and working-class women, white and black women, lesbian and heterosexual women have very different experiences of patriarchy and capitalism.
Difference Feminists
Difference feminism criticises the other feminisms as only focusing on the experiences of white, Western, heterosexual, middle class women. For example, by seeing the family only as a source of oppression, white feminists have neglected black women's experience of racial oppression. By contrast, many black feminists view the black family positively as a source of resistance against racism.
