女性主義思想及婦女運動之研究-以呂秀蓮為例

Abstract

台灣婦運從一九七一年敲起「新女性主義」的鐘聲，大力倡導女性參政多年後，過去發起「新女性主義」的呂秀蓮終於成為中華民國第一位女性副總統，這代表婦女運動獲得指標性的勝利。然而，這個結果和台灣婦女的期待似乎還有一些差距。 女性主義者強調下述這個事實，性別區隔是被社會地位建構起來的。男人與女人之所以不同，純粹是一種文化現象，文化既為人類自己所創，自當也可為另一種文化所推翻。當然，男人和女人在生物學上確實是有所不同的，使女人在婚姻制度中處於弱勢地位，呂秀蓮主張「女人走出廚房」即是向社會爭取女性發展空間，讓女性從私領域（家庭、托兒、教育、環保……）走向公領域（社會、外交、國防、軍備、貿易……），除了要求解放婦女的家庭角色，使女性又多了一個社會的角色，是有助於建構一個兩性平等的社會結構，弭平父權社會自古以來的性別歧視。所以，本研究把呂秀蓮視為能抗拒父權，真正創建一個兩性平權社會的人物代表。 本研究結果發現呂秀蓮以「積極開創、勇於冒險」的女性形象打破傳統，在女性主義方面有以下幾個特點：一、強調兩性平權。二、重視自我存在優先於「母親」角色。三、常透過法律來矯正婦女歧視現象。在婦女人權運動方面可分為以下四波：第一波婦女運動（1971-1974）是「新女性主義」第一期；第二波婦女運動（1976-1977）這也是「新女性主義」第三期；第三波婦女運動（1991-2000）此波婦女運動歷經呂秀蓮立法委員、桃園縣長時期；第四波婦女運動（2001迄今）從呂秀蓮擔任副總統到今日仍持續中……

但是，本研究還發現除了上述的現象外，在呂秀蓮擔任副總統以後到今日仍持續中的第四波婦女運動中，曾表明自己不敢言共治，但願以良相佐國自許，故曰：「柔性佐國。」這種說法，卻也使我們看到呂秀蓮在女性主義立場上的猶疑、矛盾、妥協甚至於棄守。其實，女性常常在不知不覺中將自己困守於家庭領域而不能自拔或不自知，限制女性角色的，往往不是天性，而是一些傳統、成見、習俗和過時的法律。也就是說：呂秀蓮以單身未嫁的新女性身分打破了家庭領域對女性的束縛，法律專才出身也能修改法律爭取女性的權利，但對於一些傳統、成見、習俗對女性的歧視卻未能完全掙脫。然而，女人對於這些成見、習俗和法律的形成多少是難辭其咎的……Abstract The feminist movement in Taiwan knocked on the door to “new feminism” in 1971. After pouring years of effort into the promotion of women’s participation in politics, Ms. Lu Hsiu Lien, founder of “new feminism” in Taiwan, was finally elected by the people as the first female vice president of the Republic of China. Even though this meant a significant victory for the feminist movement in Taiwan, apparently this outcome still fell short of the expectations of women in Taiwan. Feminists have been emphasizing the fact that gender distinctions are the products of social construction; the reason that men and women are different is simply due to a cultural phenomenon. Since culture is part of mankind’s creation, it is not exempt from being overthrown by another culture. Needless to say, men and women are biologically different, and this difference has placed women at a disadvantage in the marriage system. Lu’s call for women to “walk out of the kitchens” is her way of seeking room for women to develop in the society. Lu wanted women to walk out from the confines of private domains (family, day-care, education, environmental protection, etc.) towards the public domain (social issues, diplomacy, national defense, arms procurement, trade, etc.) Apart from the demands of liberating women from their traditional family role, Lu strived for an additional social role for women in Taiwan. Such advances would be beneficial to the construction of a social structure with gender equity and would put an end to the gender discrimination that has long existed in patripotestal society. Thus Lu has been considered to be a representative figure who is truly capable of defying patriarchal values and building a society with gender equity. In this research, we will look at Lu’s attempts to break away from the traditional role of woman and promote the image of a female who is “active and has the courage to seek adventure”. Lu’s brand of feminism has the following characteristics: 1. emphasis on gender equity; 2. priority given to existence as a person before the “mother” role and 3. fighting the discrimination of women, frequently through legal means. The progression of the woman’s rights movement in Taiwan can be divided into four specific stages: the first wave of the women’s movement (1971-1974) marked the first stage of the “new feminism”; the second wave of the women’s movement (1976-1977) was also the third stage of the “new feminism”; the third wave of the women’s movement (1991-2000) witnessed Lu’s journey from being a legislator to becoming the governor of Taoyuan County; the fourth wave of the women’s movement (2001 to the present) began when Lu assumed the post of the vice president of ROC (Taiwan), and extends to the present. However, apart from the observations above, it should be noted that ever since Lu became the vice president at the beginning of the on-going wave of the woman’s movement, she has publicly claimed that she would not be sharing the power with the president in running the country, but would hope to offer her aid to the president with her “soft powers”. It is exactly such claims that gave us a glimpse into Lu’s hesitations, contradictions, compromises and even forfeits with regard to feminism. In reality, women are often trapped in the domain of the family unknowingly and have trouble in freeing themselves; but instead of an innate feminine disposition, it is outdated traditions, biases and laws which are the shackles that often bind women. In other words, even though Lu has broken free from the bonds of the traditional family with the identity of a “new woman”, she is yet to be truly free from the bonds of tradition, biases and customs, despite staying single, having a specialized legal education background, and having the power to make amendments to the law to fight for the rights of women. As such, women must be at least partly responsible for the formulation of these biases, customs and laws.