Reconstructing Feminism (original) (raw)
Related papers
Transnational/Third World/Global Feminisms
Encyclopedia of Race and Racism (second ed.), 2013
. Routledge, 2013 Check with the original to verify italics Third world, transnational, and global feminisms focus on the situation of racial-ethnic women originating from the third world (or the South), whether or not they reside in the first world (or the North or West). This entry refers to these women as "third world women." Most second-wave white feminisms in the West-liberal, radical, psychoanalytic, or "care-focused" feminisms (Tong 2009)-have assumed that women everywhere face similar oppression merely by virtue of their sex/gender. Global feminism as it first emerged in the 1980s was largely a global application of this white feminist outlook. Third world and transnational feminisms emerged in the 1980s and early 1990s to challenge this white feminist assumption. These feminisms are predicated on the premise that women's oppression diverges globally due to not only gender, but also race, class, ethnicity, religion, and nation. Therefore, third world women suffer from multiple forms of oppression qualitatively different from the gender oppression experienced by middle-class white women in the West. Third world and transnational feminisms are distinct, however, not only in their origins and outlooks, but also in their goals and priorities. This entry begins by examining the genealogies of these feminisms, in the process of which their differences will be identified. It then explains four main characteristics that these feminisms share. After reviewing some instances of third world, transnational, and global feminist activities, the entry concludes by suggesting a way to resolve a potential conflict between the local and the universal facing third world, transnational, and global feminists. 2
The present paper looks at the challenges to feminism in the 21st century and gives a south Asian perspective. All over the world there has been a close link between the women's movement and feminism, each inspiring and enriching the other. While the women's movement is a much earlier phenomenon, the term Feminism is a modern one. Feminism comprises a number of social, cultural and political movements, theories and moral philosophies concerned with gender inequalities and equal rights for women. The present paper looks at the challenges to feminism in the South Asian region, with a special focus on India. These can be referred to as the three G's-the attitude towards, Girl child, Gender violence and Globalization. South Asia is home to around a fifth of world population. Though today this region is characterized by high economic growth for the past 10-15 years yet poverty is also a reality along with illiteracy, backwardness and a large population. In the absence of a State support structure, the family plays a major role in this culture and this affects women more than men. All South Asian cultures are patriarchal. There is a lot of value placed on the birth of a son and one of the major problems facing the family today is the declining sex ratio. Gender-based violence is a universal reality of the South Asian region regardless of income, class and culture. The liberalization of the economy in the wake of Globalization in many South Asian countries has vastly diminished traditional livelihood means for the poor. The dominance of rich nations, multinational corporations and international capital over markets, resources and labour in the developing countries through trade, aid and technology transfer has greatly weakened the capacity of nation states and governments to promote human development and offer protection to the poor people. The paper concludes by stating that feminism is as relevant as ever before and the biggest challenge of 21st century feminism as to how do we integrate difference with an interdependent world. Resumo O texto enfoca os desafios do feminismo no século 21 sob uma perspectiva do sul da Ásia, com foco na India. Em todo mundo tem havido uma ligação entre os movimentos de mulheres e o feminismo, inspirando e enriquecendo um ao outro. Enquanto o movimento de mulheres é um fenômeno mais antigo, o Feminismo é tido como moderno. O Feminismo inclui inúmeros movimentos de ordem social, cultural e política, teorias e filosofias morais que se ocupam da inequidade entre os gêneros e da igualdade de direitos para as mulheres. Centrando o foco no feminismo da India, pode ser chamado de três G's – a atitude adotada com as crianças do sexo feminino, a violência de gênero e a globalização. O Sul da Ásia concentra 1/5 da população mundial, na atualidade é uma região caracterizada por um alto crescimento econômico no últimos 10-15 anos, contudo a pobreza permanece uma realidade juntamente com o analfabetismo, o atraso e uma grande população. Na ausência de uma estrutura estatal de apoio, a família joga o papel principal nessa cultura, o que afeta às mulheres mais que aos homens. Todas as culturas sul asiáticas são patriarcais. Coloca-se um grande valor no nascimento de um filho e um dos maiores problemas enfrentados pelas famílias hoje é o declínio da proporção entre os sexos. A violência com base no gênero é uma realidade universal no sul da Ásia a despeito da renda, classe ou cultura. A liberalização da economia no despertar da globalização, em muitos países do sul da Ásia, acarretou a vasta diminuição dos meios de vida tradicionais dos pobres. A dominação das nações ricas, corporações multinacionais e do capital internacional sobre os mercados, recursos e mão de obra nos países em desenvolvimento, através do comercio, da ajuda e da transferência de tecnologia enfraqueceu grandemente a capacidade dos estados-nações e governos promoverem o desenvolvimento humano e oferecerem proteção para as pessoas pobres. Esse artigo conclui afirmando que o feminismo é tão relevante na atualidade como foi no passado e que o maior desafio do feminismo do século 21 diz respeito a como podemos integrar diferença em um mundo interdependente.
Revista Ártemis, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Brazil, Volume 17, No, 1, pp. . 3-14. ISSN: 1807-8214. , 2014
The present paper looks at the challenges to feminism in the 21st century and gives a south Asian perspective. All over the world there has been a close link between the women’s movement and feminism, each inspiring and enriching the other. While the women’s movement is a much earlier phenomenon, the term Feminism is a modern one. Feminism comprises a number of social, cultural and political movements, theories and moral philosophies concerned with gender inequalities and equal rights for women. The present paper looks at the challenges to feminism in the South Asian region, with a special focus on India. These can be referred to as the three G’s - the attitude towards, Girl child, Gender violence and Globalization. South Asia is home to around a fifth of world population. Though today this region is characterized by high economic growth for the past 10-15 years yet poverty is also a reality along with illiteracy, backwardness and a large population. In the absence of a State support structure, the family plays a major role in this culture and this affects women more than men. All South Asian cultures are patriarchal. There is a lot of value placed on the birth of a son and one of the major problems facing the family today is the declining sex ratio. Gender-based violence is a universal reality of the South Asian region regardless of income, class and culture. The liberalization of the economy in the wake of Globalization in many South Asian countries has vastly diminished traditional livelihood means for the poor. The dominance of rich nations, multinational corporations and international capital over markets, resources and labour in the developing countries through trade, aid and technology transfer has greatly weakened the capacity of nation states and governments to promote human development and offer protection to the poor people. The paper concludes by stating that feminism is as relevant as ever before and the biggest challenge of 21st century feminism as to how do we integrate difference with an interdependent world.
Challenges to Feminism in 21st Century: A South Asian Perspective, with Special Focus on India
Revista Ártemis, 2014
The present paper looks at the challenges to feminism in the 21st century and gives a south Asian perspective. All over the world there has been a close link between the women's movement and feminism, each inspiring and enriching the other. While the women's movement is a much earlier phenomenon, the term Feminism is a modern one. Feminism comprises a number of social, cultural and political movements, theories and moral philosophies concerned with gender inequalities and equal rights for women. The present paper looks at the challenges to feminism in the South Asian region, with a special focus on India. These can be referred to as the three G's-the attitude towards, Girl child, Gender violence and Globalization. South Asia is home to around a fifth of world population. Though today this region is characterized by high economic growth for the past 10-15 years yet poverty is also a reality along with illiteracy, backwardness and a large population. In the absence of a State support structure, the family plays a major role in this culture and this affects women more than men. All South Asian cultures are patriarchal. There is a lot of value placed on the birth of a son and one of the major problems facing the family today is the declining sex ratio. Gender-based violence is a universal reality of the South Asian region regardless of income, class and culture. The liberalization of the economy in the wake of Globalization in many South Asian countries has vastly diminished traditional livelihood means for the poor. The dominance of rich nations, multinational corporations and international capital over markets, resources and labour in the developing countries through trade, aid and technology transfer has greatly weakened the capacity of nation states and governments to promote human development and offer protection to the poor people. The paper concludes by stating that feminism is as relevant as ever before and the biggest challenge of 21st century feminism as to how do we integrate difference with an interdependent world.
Importing/applying western feminism
Women's Studies International Forum, 1999
between the University of Indonesia and the Memorial University, Canada, to establish a Women's Studies Programme at the University of Indonesia. The proposal of the Canadian International Development Agency (main Canadian government funding agency) contained the inherent assumption that all the materials and expertise resided in the Canadian University. The problem was, therefore, how to build an equal partnership from this and make it work. The processes involved are discussed here, including the discovery that equal partnership does not mean "exactly the same", but means equally respecting each others' differences. Lessons and implications for building global feminisms are drawn out, highlighting the need to resist the imposition of western feminism and allow for many different feminisms. The conclusion drawn is that the project was successful, but that there is a long way to go before what is called "western" feminism does not dominate.
Introduction: Why Feminisms and Internationalism?
Gender & History, 1998
We arrived at the theme for this special issue on 'Feminisms and Internationalism' from a desire to think together, on the one hand, the wide range of different feminisms and women's movements as they have emerged in historically specific sociopolitical contexts, 1 and, on the other, the universalist ideals that have been claimed historically on behalf of feminism. 2 These ideals appear in some contexts as mere ideology and in others as valuable utopian goads to a better political practice. In either case, moreover, such ideals have had international and transnational implications. The choice of Feminisms and Internationalism, therefore, reflects our own attempt to acknowledge, and to work through, the productive tension between the centrifugal force of discrepant feminist histories and the promising potential of political organising across cultural boundaries. Our approach to the special-issue topic has been informed by the contribution of some recent feminist scholarship that has raised new questions about the relation between the local and the global contexts of women's movements and feminisms world-wide.
Feminist research in an Era of Globalization
Redes Com Revista De Estudios Para El Desarrollo Social De La Comunicacion, 2006
The world has experienced a fundamental change in its economic relations… and women have played a major role. Women in a Changing GLOBAL ECONOMY 2 [W]e must be prepared to investigate the interrelations of public and private, of the economy and the domestic, of male and female roles, and of ideologies of work and politics and ideologies of gender, in our attempt to theorize the global dimensions of culture and society.