Revisiting feminist care ethics for the age of the “pluralistic family”

ABSTRACT

Globally and in Korea families are experiencing a process of de-naturalization, as described by Ulrich Beck. Despite these changes, family norms for those related by blood, based on traditional marriage systems, still have significance, which lead to a huge gap between the evolving family realities and the idea of family. This article starts with a discussion of feminist perspectives that criticize patriarchal marriage and family systems, and suggests the pluralistic concept of family based on Iris M. Young's position, which encompasses various forms of family relations. Furthermore, I argue here that it is appropriate to construct the concept of family based on caring relationships instead of sexual relations or reproduction and suggest that feminist care ethics as the family/social ethics suitable for this pluralistic concept of family.

ABSTRACT IN KOREAN

한국사회는 물론 전지구적으로, 가족은 울리히 벡이 말한 ‘탈자연화 과정’을 급격히 겪고 있다. 이런 변화에도 불구하고 여전히 결혼제도를 통해 만들어지는 혈연중심의 가족 규범이 상당한 영향력을 발휘함으로써, 다양한 형태로 진화하는 가족 현실과 규범 간의 괴리가 크다. 이 글은 가부장적 결혼 가족 제도를 비판한 여성주의적 관점의 논의로부터 출발하여, 가족 관계의 다양한 형태를 포괄하는 ‘다원주의적’ 가족 개념을 아이리스 M. 영의 입장에 기반하여 제시한다. 더 나아가서, 현실의 다원화된 다양한 가족들은 성이나 재생산 대신 돌봄 관계를 중심으로 개념화하는 것이 적합하며, 이들 가족 개념에 적합한 가족 윤리로서 돌봄의 가치를 토대로 구성된 여성주의 가족 윤리를 제안하였다.

KEYWORDS:

• Marriage-family
• caring
• feminist care ethics
• I. M. Young

KEYWORDS:

• 결혼 가족
• 돌봄
• 여성주의 돌봄 윤리
• 아이리스 M. 영

Notes on contributor

Since 1995, HUH Ra Keum has been serving as a Professor of Women's Studies at Ewha Womans University, teaching feminist philosophy and women’s studies. Huh was President of the Korean Association of Feminist Philosophers and Vice-President of the Korean Association of Women’s Studies. She is the author of Toward Feminist Ethics from the Principles of Ethics and has published many research articles.

Notes

1 Adrienne Rich’s essay “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence” was first published in 1980.

2 I have written earlier on the marketization of care and touch on these concerns in an earlier article (Huh, 2008).

3 In this respect, Young’s proposal is as radical as Plato’s, although in a difference sense.

4 A recent newspaper article titled, “Numbers increase in the lonely death of men in their 50s,” covers a social problem of the spread of lonely deaths among the middle-aged group. It used to be thought as belonging to the elderly group, but the increase of single households and disintegration of community and generational ties have led many to feel lonely and disconnected from human interaction. It is also characteristic that social relation network typically diminishes with age. According to the social survey of Statistics Korea, those in their 20s that have answered that there is someone to turn to “to talk when depressed or let down” scored 89.1%, the highest among all age groups. However, it dramatically decreased from 40s and over reaching 75.6% in the over-60s age cohort. The number of people they could ask for help also decreased to 2.4 (Lee & Shin, 2017).