Utilitarian and deontological approaches seem to be rather rational. Under deontological views, actions are determined by universal laws, and once these are determined, it is somewhat simple to find if a specific action is ethical in reference to those principles.
Under utilitarian views, a person will make an analysis that determines if an action is ethical based on the benefits and costs associated with it. Enter the feminists. They bring up an element that definitely existed, but had not been added in the descriptions offered by the other theories: emotions. Feminists defend that caring for oneself and for others is crucial in forming ethical persons that consider their responsibilities in relationships.
It is hard for me to see define and understand feminist ethics without infusing it with my own beliefs and thoughts. In regards to the two positions of feminism about pornography mentioned by Ess, I find reason in the anti-porn position, and cannot find reason in the anti-anti-porn side. Of course, I can read the argument and rationally understand what they say. But I can’t see how anyone would find the growth of the pornography industry to be an ethically acceptable event, for women or any other group.
In analyzing the phenomenon of sexting, feminists may argue that it is valid as a way to express the person’s (usually female) sexuality and reinforce a relationship in which sexual behavior plays an important role, such as a marriage. However, the problem with this is that caring ethics, not unlike other ethical frameworks, opens up a person to the risk of caring for someone who does not care. In the case of sexting, caring for the other person and strengthening a relationship with another person needs to be carefully balanced with care for self and understanding with a self-relationship that develops across time. Of course, ethics are clear in writing, but how would one explain caring about self and making good decisions to a teenager? That is a whole different topic.
What would a feminist ethicist have to say about policies for punishing teens who sext? This has been one of the major areas of controversy, because in some jurisdictions, sexting has been treated as child pronography, because teens are still technically minors. But then you have situations where say, one half of a couple is 16 and the other is 18, and then the 18-year-old gets charged as an adult and labeled a sex offender. Is this an ethical way of dealing with the problem? How would a feminist punish teens caught sexting?
I don’t think a feminist would punish a teen caught sexting. Like I mentioned before, I have a hard time following the full spectrum of feminist positions, but if pornography can be defined as a form of expression or a legitimate tool in developing the sexual self, then sexting would be seen as a private form of the same thing. Trying to stretch my thinking here and based on what I’ve read about feminist ethics I would say they argue the current approach by law enforcement is too black or white. They may advance that making a person a felon for sending their own provocative photo is too extreme and does not show true concern for that individual. But I am still at a loss as to what they actually would do and not just their observation/critique of what’s happening. So, from a caring Christian perspective, which is where I found some commonality with feminism, I would say that caring for a teenager that is making poor decisions looks more like trying to widen their thinking about the possible and likely consequences of their actions. If a young girl is sending provocative photos of herself she may not be aware of the lifelong problems such an action may bring legally and socially. Therefore, punishment would turn into guidance and discipleship (a Christian term more than feminist).