Individualism

Abstract

This chapter argues that independence individualism, a form of individualism that is the object of decolonial feminist critique, is conceptually unnecessary for feminism, and in fact undermines transnational feminist praxis. Opposition to sexist oppression does not logically entail individualism. Adopting the specific form of individualism called “independence individualism,” which holds that individuals should be economically self-sufficient and that only chosen relationships are valuable is likely to worsen the gender division of labor and obscure the transition costs of feminist change. The perceived relationship between independence individualism and feminism is traceable to ideological assumptions that associate capitalism with liberation from tradition, and tradition with patriarchy. The concept of independence individualism is arrived at by examining the justificatory discourses behind ostensibly feminist policies that proclaim the value of the individual person while harming “other” women.