Christina Hoff Sommers is an American philosopher, writer, and social activist who advocates for ‘Equity Feminism’ rather than ‘Gender Feminism.’ She earned her Ph.D. in philosophy from Brandeis University and then worked as an associate professor at Clarks University. She has made a number of appearances at various forums, where she has presented her views on feminism with a twist, stating that men and women should be given equal opportunity without discrimination. She believes that while men and women have distinct innate abilities, this should not be a criterion for pursuing a vocation of one’s choice. Despite being a feminist, she opposes any reservation made at the expense of men. At the same time, she opposes women being treated unfairly and being left behind in society. She has gone on television talk shows and produced videos that have been placed on YouTube in order to spread her message to a broad audience. She’s also authored and edited various books in which she expresses her opinions. She is now a well-known activist and member of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education’s Board of Advisors as well as the Independent Women’s Forum’s National Advisory Board.
Childhood and Adolescence
Christina Marie Hoff was born in Petaluma, California, to Dolores and Kenneth Hoff on September 28, 1950. She is descended from a Jewish family.
She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from New York University in 1971, graduating ‘Phi Beta Kappa,’ and then went on to Brandeis University to earn her Ph.D. in philosophy in 1979. She was also a lecturer at the University of Massachusetts at Boston throughout her Ph.D.
The Career of Christina
She joined Clark University’s philosophy department as an assistant professor in 1980 and was promoted to associate professor in 1986, where she specialized in moral theory. She remained a professor at Clark University until 1997.
She joined the American Enterprise Institute as a WH Brady fellow in 1997. (AEI). She is a member of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education’s (FIRE) Board of Advisors, which focuses on civil freedoms in academia in the United States.
Christina Sommers has featured on shows such as ‘Nightline,’ ’60 Minutes,’ ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show,’ and Comedy Central’s ‘The Daily Show,’ among others. She has also given lectures and participated in debates at a number of colleges and universities.
She has been on the National Advisory Board of the Independent Women’s Forum, as well as the Center of the American Experiment, which is credited with empowering conservatives in Minnesota.
She has published articles in prestigious publications such as ‘Time,’ ‘Huffington Post,’ and ‘The Atlantic,’ to mention a few.
She also maintains a video blog and has produced a number of short movies for the ‘Prager University’ instructional website. Her ‘The Factual Feminist’ video series has earned over two million views on YouTube.
She has written a lot of books about gender equality that have garnered mixed reviews due to her anti-feminist ideas. In contrast to some feminist viewpoints, she has argued for allowing women to compete on the same level as men.
She coined the terms “Equity Feminism” and “Gender Feminism” for the first time. The former believes that women should compete on an equal footing with men, whereas the latter sees males as a continual threat and enemy.
She believes that the National Organization for Women (NOW) has created an environment in which males are disliked and seen as an impediment to girls’ gender justice, which is not the truth.
She distinguishes between equity feminists, victim feminists, and gender feminists, stating that modern feminist philosophy frequently harbors an illogical antipathy toward males and an inability to recognize that men and women are equal but different.
The Major Projects
‘Who Stole Feminism? : How Women Have Betrayed Women’ (1994), ‘The War Against Boys’ (2000), ‘The Science on Women in Science’ (2009), and ‘Freedom Feminism: Its Surprising History and Why it Matters Today’ are just a few of her books (2013).
‘Should the Academy Support Academic Feminism?’ published in the Public Affairs Quarterly in 1988, ‘The Feminist Revelation’ published in the Social Philosophy and Policy in 1990, and ‘Do These Feminists Like Women’ published in the Journal of Social Philosophy in 1990 are three of her articles that have had a significant impact on society.
She has also edited books such as ‘Vice & Virtue in Everyday Life: Introductory Readings in Ethics,’ which she co-edited with Robert J Fogelin in 1984, and ‘Right and Wrong: Basic Readings in Ethics,’ which she co-edited with Robert J Fogelin again in 1989.
Achievements & Awards
The National Women’s Political Caucus honored her with the 2013 ‘Exceptional Merit in Media Award’ for her New York Times story ‘The Boys at the Back.’
Personal History and Legacy
Fred Sommers, the Harry A Wolfson Chair in Philosophy at Brandeis University, was her husband in 1981. Tamler and David are their two sons.
She lived in Chevy Chase with her family. Her spouse, who was 91 years old at the time, died in 2014.
Sommers is a registered Democrat with Libertarian leanings, according to his website. Gender feminists, she claims, have transcended early feminist liberalism, viewing society through the sexist’s lens rather than focused on equal rights.
She opposed university Women’s Studies programs and fought for equal chances for men and women without prejudice.
She claimed that men were typically found on the opposite ends of the life spectrum. A few of them fared extraordinarily well, but the majority struggled to stay alive. She did not fight for women’s education and opportunity at the expense of men.
Sommers was labeled as pro-men by several feminist groups because of his anti-women reputation. She stood firm in her beliefs, though, and urged women’s organizations to broaden their horizons and recognize men’s struggles.
She thought that men and women are equal yet distinct. She acknowledged that boys and girls are better suited for certain occupations, but she argued that this should be accepted as a fact of life rather than as a judgment against men or women.
She recognizes that a woman’s profession is most challenged by her responsibilities as a mother, and she supports abortion rights for women who need them but not as a routine. She was also in favor of legalizing same-gender marriages.
Estimated Net worth
Christina Hoff Sommers, a well-known philosopher, has a net worth of $12 million at the age of 69.