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Feminism ideology

POLITY for Civil services
deepanalysis
  1. “One is not born women, one becomes women.” – Simonde Beauvior
  2. Mary Will – mother.
  3. Meta ideology.
  4. Sociological theory.
  5. Where are the women? – Cynthia Enloe – Political theory is masculinist, women’s perspective is missing.
  6. Mary Woll Stonecraft – “Vindication of rights of women.”
First Wave – 
  • Started – French Revolution
  • Dominated by liberal feminist.
  • Aim – Right to vote for women (successful in western countries)
Second Wave – 
  • Socialist Feminism.
  • “Personal is Political.”
  • Capitalism is responsible for exploitation of women, communism will eradicate. – Engels
  • Influence of Sheila Rowbatham and Iris Marian Young on socialist feminism – 
    • Link exploitation with capitalism.
    • Private prop historically women have been deprived.
    • In capitalist countries women are seen as reserved work force.
    • Domestic labour of women remains unaccounted.
  • Fundamental concepts of feminism – 
    • Gender
    • Personal is political
    • Patriarchy
    • Differential citizenship
  • Reasons for adverse impact of globalisation on women – 
    • In export processing zones women and children are employed. Since women are vulnerable, less informed, less organised to it becomes easy to exploit women.
    • Globalisation had adversely affected agriculture. In developing countries primary work force in agriculture is women.
Third Wave – 
  • Radical feminism – real feminism
  • Based on experience
  • Originated in 1960s
  • Mother – Betty Friedan, Simonde Beauvior.
  • Betty – “The feminist Mystique”
  • Context of Betty’s Work – Problem without name – Patriarchy.
    • Betty conducted a survey amongst American White, married and women from well to do families.
    • In study she found most women recognised that something is missing, not satisfied,
    • Liberation of women is not possible without destruction of patriarchy.
Gender – 
  • Consequences of gendered societies – 
    • Violence faced by women and transgenders.
    • Sex based violence in India.
    • Female foeticide, mutilation of female genital organ, honour killings, rapes.
Patriarchy – 
  • Basic structure of society. – Feminist
  • Oldest and most powerful hegemonies.
  • “Suggest to talk about dialectics of sex rather than dialectics of class”. – Shula Smith Firestone
  • Kate Millet talks about “Sexual Politics”.
  • How gendered societies are build?
    • Many myths are manufactured to build patriarchy.
    • Certain attributes projected as eternal qualities of women – radical feminism challenges it.
  • Myths – 
    • Women should marry at an early age, because after certain age they loose their attractiveness.
    • Myths are manufactured, even in the name of scientific knowledge. Ex – Sigmund Freud – objective of women is to appear attractive to man.
    • Women magazine showing housewives as ideal women.
  • Simonde Beauvior – “The Second Sex” – Represent Existentialist Tradition.
  • “Existence is prior to essence” – Jean Paul Satre.        Existence – what a person is, essence – identity that others give.
  • Ideas of Satre – 
    • Priority of existence over essence.
    • Critic of religion, because tradition of essentialism comes from religion.
    • Faith in god is bad, belief in oneself is good.
    • With freedom comes responsibility.
    • In the state of existence, man is subject.
  • Ideas of Simone de Beauvoir – 
    • Radical feminist – Sex – natural, gender – social.
    • Becoming women is a process.
    • To address problems of women, firstly we need to define women –
      • Women can’t be defined independently of men.
      • Second sex, secondary sex, the other.
    • There is no women problem, it is men’s problem, natural problem, social problem.
    • Society never gives opportunity to women.
    • Women continue to face dilemma between their existence as human and their destiny as human.
    • Myths are not only propagated through customs and tradition but also called scientific disciplines. Eg – Sigmond Frued created the myth that women suffer from “Penis envy”, men suffer from “Castration complex.”
    • Patriarchy is bad even for men, hence men and women should work together to end patriarchy.
    • Emphasises on economic empowerment.
Personal is Political – 
  • Political science as a discipline and politics as a field, both are considered as masculinist.
  • “When I look at state, state appears male”. – Catherine Mckinnon
  • Susan Muller Okin in her book “gender., justice and family” gave four interpretations –
    • It is wrong to think that there is a complete separation between personal and political.
    • Since society is patriarchal, state will also be the institution of patriarchy.
    • Domestic violence should be a matter of public discourse.
    • Women face disadvantage in labour market, which again reinforce patriarchy.
Differentiated Citizenship – by Iris Young
  • Based on differentiated equality.
  • Different treatment to people placed in different circumstances – Affirmative action for upliftment of women.
Fourth Wave – 
  • Growth of enormous inter sectionalism within feminism.
  • Black Feminism – 
    • Scholars – Bell Hooks, Angela Davis.
    • Women is not a homogenous group, problems of white women are different form that of black women.
  • Post Colonial Feminism – 
    • Scholars – Chandra Mohanty Talpade, Sarojini Sahu
    • Problems faced by women in PC societies are different from western world. In PC societies women are under multiple burden –
      • Patriarchy
      • Colonialism
      • Racism
  • Post – Feminism – 
    • Scholars – Susan Faludi – Backlash
    • Based on eternal feminism.
    • Women should celebrate
    • Post feminist suggest –
      • Appear attractive to men.
      • Domestication.
  • Ecofeminism – 
    • Scholars – Eugene Dubois, Vandana Shiva.
    • Theme – protection of environment requires empowerment of women.
    • Men exploit both women and nature.
    • Men – Consumerist ; Women – Conservationist
    • Nature is also women.
    • Women are close to nature by nature.
    • Life of women is more dependent on nature.
    • Women – Worst affected by environmental tragedies.
    • Women are in best position to protect nature.
    • We see major participation of women in environment.
    • Agenda 21 adopted at Rio Summit 1992 recognised interdependence between women and environment.

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