August 7, 2008 @ 11:12 am | Category: gender/feminism
Cultural critic Camille Paglia offers an insightful and challenging appraisal of the current state of affairs within feminism. Read her lecture here published in Arion. She asks some important questions:
“What precisely is feminism? Is it a theory, an ideology, or a praxis (that is, a program for action)? Is feminism perhaps so Western in its premises that it cannot be exported to other cultures without distorting them? When we find feminism in medieval or Renaissance writers, are we exporting modern ideas backwards? Who is or is not a feminist, and who defines it? Who confers legitimacy or authenticity? Must a feminist be a member of a group or conform to a dominant ideology or its subsets? Who declares, and on what authority, what is or is not permissible to think or say about gender issues? And is feminism intrinsically a movement of the left, or can there be a feminism based on conservative or religious principles?”
On the right, we have those who see feminism as the boogey woman, the enemy of marriage, the family and the reason for the demise of manhood. On the left, we have those who want one narrow definition of what a feminist is and what a feminist must affirm. As Paglia points out in her lecture, the explosion in media has allowed different voices within feminism to be heard. What we our doing with our voice is yet unclear.
While the political and economic power western women have gained is a positive move, it doesn’t automatically bring about the good. It all depends on what we choose to do with our unprecedented position in global history. The story is not over and only time will tell if we will be even half as effective as some of the great women of the nineteenth century, a time when women had less formal power but more moral outrage. Our effective use of power will be measured in my book by whether we advocate for those who have less.
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July 24, 2008 @ 5:32 pm | Category: gender/feminism, Pop Culture
Getting married? Wondering what to give your bridesmaids who have spent good money on a dress they will never wear again? How about a Botox party? See this story in the New York Times. Oh, the perils of affluency!
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July 16, 2008 @ 7:04 am | Category: gender/feminism, global issues
Read this story in The New York Times by medical missionary Sue Makin. This is one story, among many, that highlights the sad fact that childbirth is still a dangerous process for many women in the world.
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July 2, 2008 @ 2:14 pm | Category: gender/feminism
See this video at Salon.com about sex difference research. The question yet to be answered is how does learned behavior change our brain?
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June 26, 2008 @ 3:18 pm | Category: gender/feminism, politics, global issues
I haven’t been blogging lately because frankly the media noise has been so loud that it’s hard to figure out what’s important and what’s just noise. Well, I think this is important. After years in office this is the strongest statement by US Secretary of State Rice regarding violence against women worldwide. Here is another article about how rape is used as a weapon of war. Maybe with only few months left Rice feels like she can afford to speak up in a significant way.
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March 30, 2008 @ 9:37 pm | Category: gender/feminism, media
I have what I call the gender test for news. Whenever I hear news that spotlights a girl or woman I ask, would this story be the same or even exist if the person in the spotlight was male? This week my local newspaper ran a story about a run away 12 year old girl who danced nude at a “gentleman’s club.” The story is bad enough, but the newspaper has the audacity to grace the girl with the title of “stripper.” If this doesn’t demonstrate the hostile environment that girls and women live under, I don’t know what does. Tragically, this is no big deal to many and mild in the face of the exploitation of girls and women that plagues the world. P.S. The gentlemen got to keep their license and club remains open for business.
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February 24, 2008 @ 2:40 pm | Category: gender/feminism, politics
For much of American history women’s solidarity, the way women identified with each other, was grounded in the fact that all women were either mothers or potential mothers. This solidarity drove women’s political and social involvement outside the home. After the reproduction revolution of the twentieth century, women’s solidarity has become significantly eroded. Now, motherhood is strictly an option and potential motherhood is receding in the minds of many western women. The result is that feminism has lost its political traction. What is left of liberal feminism? Check out this article by Utne Reader entitled “Shelf Life: Feminism 2.0″ which surveys the blogosphere for the conversations that are taking place. Twenty first century feminism has become a form of tribalism where every issue is equally valid, and therefore no longer politically or philosophically compelling. Check out the blogs and let me know what you find.
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February 20, 2008 @ 1:51 pm | Category: gender/feminism, global issues
The Turkish Parliament has lifted the ban on the headscarf on university campuses, but this has not resolved the issue for them or for us. See the buzz on Broadsheet. The hijab raises the question of where does social freedom end and oppression begin? The contrast between Western and devoted Muslim women could not be more stark. It’s become more common in American cities to see women wearing the hijab. Sometimes it’s more than a scarf. It can include long dresses, sleeves, and a rather plain appearance. My American feminist inspired sensibilities cringe a little by the sight of a woman feeling compelled by either religion, or culture to take on the hijab. While many of these women will assure me that this is a free choice, I find it difficult to believe.
On the other hand, recently I was at an upscale mall when a department store decided that parading bikini clad young women offering the latest in designer fragrances would be a good marketing move. I was offended. What makes retailers think that a middle aged woman would be inspired to spend money by the sight of bikini clad young bodies? If I had talked to the models they would assure me that they too had made a choice in how their bodies would be seen. In a liberal society, freedom of expression and religion demand that I accept both the hijab and the bikini as a legitimate choice.
What is going on? In both cases the female body carries a great deal of social meaning. We don’t have an equivalent issue regarding male bodies. Men feel neither compelled to cover, or display their bodies in public. Both cultural situations see female sexuality as potentially disruptive. One culture chooses to bring that disruption under control, whether it’s the woman’s, or the community’s choice, is debatable. The other chooses to tell women that they can control the meaning of their bodies for their own benefit. Neither tell the whole story that no individual can escape the larger social meanings in which they live. The question remains. What constitutes freedom when women’s bodies are continually viewed as disruptive? Regardless of whether we attribute the situation to the society, or the individual, the answer will fall short short if one is not willing to consider a more elemental spiritual source.
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February 8, 2008 @ 10:40 pm | Category: gender/feminism, family/relationships
Here is an article on marriage from the Atlantic that I think is rather frank regarding something I have noticed. Many bright, articulate women wanting marriage find themselves waiting year after year for the “right” guy, and not realizing how they might be contributing to their own situation. The ideal of marriage has become so romanticized and worked up by Hollywood that we have forgotten what marriage is for. It seems that every woman wants to marry up (why is that?), and when you are pretty impressive yourself it’s rather disconcerting that maybe the ordinary guy in the next cubicle, or the quite nice guy at church might just be what this author calls “good enough.” I disagree that men who are “good enough” are really just that. Maybe the guy who seems to promise all the thrill of a Hollywood romance is really a candle in the wind put out by the first life storm that comes through. This is the point when women need to ask themselves, what is marriage for anyway? How about life long stable, some would call boring, companionship? Most of life is ordinary and mundane so what a good woman needs is a stable “good enough” man. Maybe she can learn to be a “good enough” woman and not make herself into a pretzel trying to please. That may lead to “good enough” parents who aren’t running around trying to raise the next Bill Gates. So now my next question is, why are these articles always about women?
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January 20, 2008 @ 3:16 pm | Category: gender/feminism, global issues
Here is a Time magazine story about girls in Afghanistan. Only 30% of eligible girls are enrolled in school. This is due to social and economic factors. Why does this matter?
“The stakes for Afghan society are high. Every social and economic index shows that countries with a higher percentage of women with a high school education also have better overall health, a more functional democracy and increased economic performance. “
The education of girls matter because any hope for global peace needs them to be educated. Educated women train their children and create a more educated society with all its resultant benefits. Afghanistan will not emerge from its poverty and political precarious position unless women can fully participate. Education makes that possible.
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