My response to the email from my ESD (I hate referring to him as that but what do I call him?) received yesterday on the topic of feminism.
Hi Dad,
I went back to learning about Feminism as a philosophy, separate from what movement may be out there. At this phase, it’s just learning, mostly reading books from the second-wave era and considering what this all means to me. Allan G. Johnson’s book is on the theory of feminism, particularly of the radical nature, in a way that made a tremendous amount of sense, not necessarily in terms of how it affects women alone, but how it affects all people within this social system.
What’s new for me isn’t the anger at what I perceive as injustices all across the board, starting with a competitive hierarchy that I’ve been disenchanted with since around day one and including an understanding that layers of oppression indeed do exist with the primary areas of focus being gender, race, and class. Those are concepts I struggled with already, and this quest for information has aided me in furthering my understanding of how that system operates, albeit without most people actively engaging in it for the sake of perpetuating it, and in identifying ways in which dissent is discouraged.
What is new would be the more complex theory to explain the issues I’m already aware exist but didn’t comprehend why they continue to exist over thousands of years. It’s certainly not about centering the blame on men as we’re all responsible for perpetuating the cycle/tangled web of oppression in various ways depending on the role we’re playing at any given time.
Classism and gender inequalities are issues I care about and always have, but right now is about learning in what ways they’re affecting me (outside of the obvious). Soul-searching essentially in an effort to come to terms with what I’m seeing, experiencing, and witnessing in (and in relation to) others. It’s not just about men vs. women or white vs. black so much as it’s about the few vs. the many and how exploitation plays a major role in the social system we’ve come to take for granted as a birthright. It’s not merely men taking advantage of all others, it’s men taking advantage of one another in a system that encourages and celebrates what I consider excessive competition in a capitalist economy. It’s people viewing life and their relation to others in terms of where they fall within the socially-constructed hierarchy, while excusing the hierarchy’s existence itself with arguments for innate, biological differences lending credence to the assumption that superiority/inferiority are natural “facts” that will and should go on unchallenged.
To me, it’s more than trying to join a movement. It is absolutely about learning who I am and why this affects me as it does. Charity work is commendable and I’d like very much to become involved with that once my financial situation stabilizes a bit, but your suggestion to seek peace and enjoyment isn’t my mission at this time. This is very much a soul-searching expedition where the focus is on reading and listening more and talking less. I don’t have the answers and even when I feel a step closer to understanding, there’s no disillusion that I can seriously affect permanent, wide-scale change that extends to others. No, it’s about gaining a better understanding so that I can grasp what we are all up against in an effort to figure out ways to manage my existence in the face of this reality. Seeking out positive people is useful, but I need to go deeper than that for myself. Again, it’s not at this point about finding something to distract my attention or give me an area of focus in order to find some sense of pleasure, as that’s a temporary solution (as discovered from many attempts of doing just that over the years). This IS sociology at its core and my attempt to understand the implications and blatant inequalities because this does affect me and denying that or choosing not to learn more does nothing really in the way of improving my or anyone else’s lot in life.
And that’s the thing…an unwillingness to accept the status quo, as if I’ve ever accepted it. This is helping me to understand why it has never set well since conformity is obviously not an option, not for me. I keep trying, like so many others, to find a place where I belong but there’s no place, space, group, or faction that I identify with enough to where joining the ranks makes sense. Being a loner extrovert is an odd way to live, but it wasn’t something I intentionally set out to become. It’s just the way things are apparently. My personality hasn’t changed much since childhood it seems. So anyway, just as I don’t fit in anywhere else really, I’m aware that feminism – as a movement – doesn’t hold much for me either. But as a philosophy, it’s essentially putting a name to beliefs I’ve held for years, while tightening up the logic that supports and explains it.
As for the feminist movement…I remain disenchanted with what is out there in the U.S. and must admit, sadly, that a true movement doesn’t even appear to exist. Lots of in-fighting and divisiveness along the lines of color, with women of lower classes generally unwilling to even identify themselves as feminists because what progress has been made for women largely ignores anyone below the middle-class. It’s not for all women as much as for a handful, and what good is attempted on behalf of the “less fortunate” winds up being poorly thought out or executed, winding up doing more harm than good for the women it’s intended to serve.
And I don’t get this “postmodern-feminist” label…what the hell is that? “Post”? Like something that’s already come and gone?
Most of what we hear touted as feminist-related in the media is largely of the mainstream liberal feminist persuasion and their interests cater to middle-to-upper class white women, making it easier for them to climb in rank professionally and better able to compete with men of the same demographic, hence why I’ve usually ignored it. And also hence why I’ve always struggled with the label of “feminist.” Why align myself with a cause that not only treats me like I belong on the bottom of the totem pole (for various reasons, one being that I’m pro-gun rights) and then does little to nothing to change the system for the better, preferring instead to be co-opted by what’s already in place? We agree on some issues, like protecting Roe v. Wade, but when it comes to most stuff, they focus on what improves the situation of the most privileged women, and when not doing that, focusing on conditions in third-world nations. Like we don’t have enough women in the U.S. to focus on. *huh* Women in other countries undoubtedly do need help, but the modern U.S. feminist “movement” doesn’t do much to actually improve their situations, and certainly not in any permanent fashion. Hell, we can’t even help ourselves in any meaningful way. We, as an aggregate, can’t even identify and accept all of the ways in which our own people are suffering from oppression. And that’s the point right there.
(BTW, I’ve been reading about this very topic recently on feminist blogs and have been giving consideration to what feminism is, in terms of being a philosophy and/or a movement, individually and collectively. What it means to me and what I need to do with that. And also whether a movement is even a possibility at this time.)
Can there be a movement when we as people, particularly women, are not far enough in the learning and acceptance phase of what oppression really encompasses or how one other experiences it? I mean, from what I’m reading out there it seems that there remains a hefty divide between white middle-to-upper class women and women of color of all classes. And without having to read on the Internet I’m already well aware that working- and lower-class women are the ones with a lesser voice despite being greatly impacted by our current social system, causing plenty to reject the concept of feminism altogether. What people are really rejecting is what basically amounts to a white middle-to-upper class women’s movement that’s largely ignorant to the issues confronting women (hell, people) oppressed due to class and/or race and promotes its agenda accordingly. It isn’t an all-inclusive “movement,” it’s this microcosm of the hierarchy we already live within, riddled with competitiveness and controversy as women vie for top slots and better opportunities within the very economic and socio-political framework that is renounced by radical and marxist feminist theories.
You know I believe in capitalism, however, there are and should be limits. Some competition is healthy, but excessive competition within and among corporations that are all about maximizing profits, while remaining “ethically-detached,” is a problem and one that creates an ever-increasing gap between the “haves” and “have-nots.” That’s a problem either way you slice it, and it particularly affects the working-to-lower classes who are not being represented in the mainstream at all, not even in mainstream feminism. This is a tremendous form of oppression to contend with that affects us all, but it seems until it downgrades the rest of the middle-class it won’t be taken seriously by them, as “the mainstream.”
That just sucks and is a major reason I struggle with referring to myself as a feminist to others. I don’t support what “movement” we have currently and don’t want to be associated with it if it’s just going to be a female-oriented version of the same problem we’re already experiencing. Having women compete with one another in an attempt to improve their chances to compete with men is entirely counter-productive, IMO. That solves nothing for the masses, males and females alike, and only serves to promote a small portion of privileged women to higher ranks within a self-destructive system. It defies logic in my mind. Who would want that? Well, those motivated by greed and privilege, of course.
I opt out.
But the logic behind actual radical feminist theory is another thing altogether. Radical feminist theory makes sense to me and really isn’t as “radical” as people would like to think. (People tend to equate “radical” with “extremist” when in this context it actually refers to getting to the root of the problem, as in uncovering and understanding the fundamentals of our patriarchal social system.) It’s not just for women, it’s for all people, and basically calls for people not to be treated as superior or inferior to one another on the basis of biological variants of no real consequence, such as race and gender. I don’t feel the theory is fundamentally incongruous with capitalism, just with capitalism as we’re currently experiencing it, largely unregulated, unlimited, and with little regard to ethics (for people/employees, communities, or the environment). But capitalism isn’t fixed and like any other economic system throughout history can be re-examined and modified. Competition very much appears to be healthy, to an extent, and that’s where human ingenuity comes into play to figure out where and how to draw that line.
That’s wonderful, yes, and idealistic, but realistically I understand it won’t be something I witness in my lifetime. But that doesn’t mean it ceases to be ideal. I’ll continue to encourage others to give it serious thought. Hence why I consider it a philosophy to structure my life according to at the utmost of my ability. That ability is limited, surely, but then again I’m already on the fringes which allows for more freedom to express and be active. Vying for a place in the mainstream is what really limits a person, though I realize for many it’s an unavoidable conundrum.
So, anyway, no, my thinking hasn’t radically shifted though it is expanding as a couple more pieces fall into place. I’m still me, stating much of the same things as always. Coming to terms with what feminism is and what it means to me and how I am to move forward matters right now because my frustration with people, men in particular (as a category) had reached new heights and I needed answers to why it all goes down as it does. Beyond my own individual involvement and choices, what had led me to where I am now in life and why did so much of it feel outside of my control? Acknowledging personal responsibility is tremendously important for each and every one of us, but no human (or group) is an island either and that deserves recognition as well. A fact we all take for granted, yet one we owe careful, thoughtful consideration to because, whether we like it or not, reality dictates that social forces can and do undermine the efforts of individuals. Continuing to blame individuals without taking into consideration the larger social context is what has so many people up in arms these days. It doesn’t bring us any closer to a solution (not that one is actually being sought by those in power) and serves to increase hostility between and among the various categories, socio-economic classes, and genders. That affects me and it affects you, albeit in different ways. Moving forward entails coming to terms with this concept and how it figures into shading my own worldview and the choices I make.
So, hopefully that clears up where I’m at right now. I encourage you to pick up a copy of “The Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy” as it really did help make sense of how this social system works. As for the here and now, reading and thinking about these things is helping me to heal and make sense of where I am in life. This is just a very strange transitional period I find myself in these days.
He and I come from and live in different worlds, but we try to keep the channels of communication open these days to learn more about one another. As a middle-class white male employed in academia and a product of a fairly functional, entrepreneurial, working-class family, we…um…differ. But it’s cool that he continues to reach out to keep the dialogue going.
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ESD’s Response on Feminism - 5/01/2008 « Wake Me Now said
[...] pm · Filed under Letters, On Radical Feminism This is the latest response from my ESD in our exchange about feminism. It’s interesting for me to read his point-of-view because it does differ so [...]