Ο '''φιλελεύθερος φεμινισμός''' είναι μια μορφή φεμινισμού που υποστηρίζει πως η ισότητα των γυναικών μπορεί να επιτευχθεί με νόμιμα μέσα και κοινωνικές μεταρρυθμίσεις, και πως οι άντρες ως ομάδα δεν πρέπει να αντικρουστούν. 

Με τα σημερινά στάνταρ ο φιλελεύθερος φεμινισμός είναι μια κάπως συντηρητική μορφή φεμινισμού, αν και έχει τις ρίζες του παραδοσιακά στον φιλελευθερισμό. Ο φιλελεύθερος φεμινισμός τείνει προς μια ισότητα ομοιότητας με τους άντρες (όχι ένας φεμινισμός διαφορών).

Ο φιλελεύθερος φεμινισμός κατανοεί την πολιτική υπό ατομιστικούς όρους και στοχεύει στην μεταρρύθμιση παρόντων “φιλελεύθερων” πρακτικών στην κοινωνία, παρά στην υποστήριξη μιας συλλήβδην επαναστατικής αλλαγής. Οι φεμινιστές συγγραφείς που συνδέθηκαν με την παράδοση αυτή είναι μεταξύ άλλων οι ''Mary Wollstonecraft'', Τζον Στιούαρτ Μίλλ και η φεμινίστρια δεύτερου κύματος ''Betty Friedan''. 

==Απόψεις των φιλελεύθερων φεμινιστών==

Οι φιλελεύθεροι φεμινιστές τείνουν προς την υποστήξη της νομιμοποίησης των γάμων ατόμων ιδίου φύλου, καθώς και της πολυγαμίας (που περιλαμβάνει την πολυγυνία και την πολυανδρία). Η άποψή τους είναι πως η κυβέρνηση δεν έχει κανένα δικαίωμα να ορίζει ποιό είδος ομόφωνης σχέσης θα συνάψουν οι πολίτες. 

Οι φιλελεύθεροι φεμινιστές τείνουν να είναι επίσης υπέρ της επιλογής όσον αφορά στις συζητήσεις για την έκτρωση. Ένα κοινό επιχείρημα που δίνεται γι’αυτή τη θέση είναι πως κάθε άτομο πρέπει να έχει τον έλεγχο του σώματός του, και αυτό τους δίνει το δικαίωμα να παίρνουν ιατρικές αποφάσεις. 

Εξαιτίας της προσέγγισης αυτής στην αυτοδιάθεση, οι φιλελεύθεροι φεμινιστές τείνουν να υποστηρίζουν την νομιμοποίηση ή αποποινικοποίηση της πορνείας, θέση που συχνά αντικρούεται από ριζοσπαστικούς φεμινιστές και από το θρησκευτικό δικαίωμα. Οι φιλελεύθεροι φεμινιστές τείνουν να βλέπουν την ποινικοποίηση της πορνείας ως μία νομοθετική πράξη βασισμένη στον πατριαρχικό έλεγχο επί των προσωπικών και επιχειρηματικών υποθέσεων των γυναικών, και γι’αυτό καταπιεστική. 

'''Liberal feminism''', also known as "mainstream feminism," asserts the equality of men and women through political and legal reform.  It is an individualistic form of feminism and theory, which focuses on women’s ability to show and maintain their equality through their own actions and choices.  Liberal feminism looks at the personal interactions of men and women as the starting ground from which to transform society into a more gender-equitable place.  According to liberal feminists, all women are capable of asserting their ability to achieve equality, therefore it is possible for change to happen without altering the structure of society.  Issues important to liberal feminists include reproductive and abortion rights, sexual harassment, voting, education, "equal pay for equal work," affordable childcare, affordable health care, and bringing to light the frequency of sexual and domestic violence against women.<ref>hooks, bell. "Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center" Cambridge, MA: South End Press 1984</ref> 

Liberal feminists generally work for the eradication of institutional bias and the implementation of better laws.  In the United States, liberal feminists have historically worked for the ratification of the  the Equal Rights Amendment or Constitutional Equity Amendment, in the hopes it will ensure that men and women are treated as equals under the democratic laws that also influence important spheres of women's lives, including reproduction, work and equal pay issues.  

Feminist writers associated with this tradition are amongst others Mary Wollstonecraft, John Stuart Mill; second-wave feminists Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem; and the Third Wave feminist Rebecca Walker.

== Liberal feminist organizational goals ==
===United States===
====Organizations and their issues====

The largest liberal feminist organization in the United States is the National Organization for Women (NOW). Their priority issues are<ref>[http://www.now.org/issues/ NOW Key Issues<!--Bot-generated title-->]</ref>:

;Priority
* Constitutional Equality through the Constitutional Equality Amendment
* Reproductive Freedom Issues/Abortion rights
* Ending Violence Against Women
* Promoting Diversity / Ending Racism
* Lesbian Rights
* Economic Justice

;Also important
<table cellspacing="1" width="550"><tr><td class="p11">
* Affirmative Action
* Disability Rights
* Ecofeminism
* Family 
* Fighting the Right 
* Global Feminism
* Health
</td><td class="p11">
* Immigration
* Judicial Nominations
* Legislation
* Marriage Equality
* Media Activism
* Mothers' Economic Rights
* Working for Peace
</td><td class="p11">
* Social Security
* Supreme Court
* Title IX/Education
* Welfare
* Women-Friendly Workplace
* Women in the Military
* Young Feminist Programs
</td></tr>
</table>

====Support for the ERA and the CEA====
Some American liberal feminists believe that equality in pay, job opportunities, political structure, social security and education needs to be guaranteed by U.S. Constitution.

'''History of the ERA:'''<br />
Three years after women won the right to vote, the Republicans. It was authored by Alice Paul, head of the National Women's Party, who led the suffrage campaign. Anthony was the nephew of suffragist Susan B. Anthony.  Through the efforts of Alice Paul, the Amendment was introduced into each session of Congress. But it was buried in committee in both Houses of Congress. In 1946, it was narrowly defeated by the full Senate, 38-35. In February 1970 twenty NOW leaders disrupted the hearings of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments, demanding the ERA be heard by the full Congress. In May of that year, the Senate Subcommittee began hearings on the ERA under Senator Birch Bayh.  In June, the ERA finally left the House Judiciary Committee due to a discharge petition filed by Representative Martha Griffiths. In March 1972, the ERA was approved by the full Senate without changes — 84-8. Senator Sam Ervin and Representative Emanuel Celler succeeded in setting an arbitrary time limit of seven years for ratification.  The ERA went to individual states to be ratified by the state legislatures.

In 1982, the ERA was stopped three states short of ratification. The state legislatures that were most hostile to the ERA were Utah, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina and Oklahoma. The National Organization for Women believes that the single most obvious problem in passing the ERA was the gender and racial imbalance in the legislatures.  More than 2/3 of the women and all of the African Americans in state legislatures voted for the ERA, but less than 50% of the white men in the targeted legislatures cast pro-ERA votes in 1982.<ref>[http://www.now.org/issues/economic/cea/history.html Chronology of the Equal Rights Amendment, 1923-1996<!--Bot-generated title-->]</ref>

'''The CEA:'''<br />
The Constitution Equality Amendment (CEA) was rolled out in 1995 by [http://www.womensorganizations.org/ American Women's Organizations].  The CEA incorporated all of the concerns that have arose out of a two year study by NOW and other groups of the ERA which reviewed the history of the amendment from 1923 until the present.  The items that were included in the CEA which were missing in the ERA include: