Feminism in Europe: Facing new challenges

The article is devoted to topical issues of the development of the ideology of feminism in modern conditions. The purpose of the work is to identify the factors of the dynamics of the ideology of feminism at the beginning of the 21st century. The main versions of classical feminism are characterized: liberal, Marxist and radical. There is a close connection between the origins of feminism and Marxism, but even in the early period the interaction of these ideological and political movements was problematic. There is also an interaction of feminism with new social movements in the West in the 20th century. The contradictory consequences of the development of the women’s movement for the ideology of feminism are noted: on the one hand, the actualization of the feminist agenda in Western countries created the conditions for significant successes in protecting women’s rights and recognizing feminism as a real political force, on the other hand, these same successes reduced the relevance of the liberal version of feminism. Recent developments in Europe have a significant impact on the feminist agenda. Globalization and, in particular, the migration crisis of the 2010s are considered as one of the new factors in the ideological dynamics of feminism. The influx of migrants from Muslim countries not only places a burden on state budgets and reduces the level of security of life on the continent, but also erodes the civilizational identity of European society. Muslim migrants do not seek to integrate into European society, often ignore the fundamental values of European civilization, and above all, women’s equality. This situation creates incentives not only to renew the political goals of feminists, but also to revise the ideological foundations of their ideology itself. In particular, it is possible to move away from the traditional reliance on left-wing political slogans and replace the popular Marxist phraseology among radical Islamists with values related to the protection of democratic gains of European society.

feminism, Marxism, discrimination, gender-based violence, Islam, migrants