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| We learned to swear by Feminism |
Edited by Carolyn Bennett
“An ‘everyone for self’
ethic has never been our vision of freedom and yet when it comes to women we
have been manipulated into believing this means liberation,” Meghan Murphy
writes.
Some of our hardest-fought rights and freedoms are under
threat, unions are under attack, American privatization is leaning heavily on
our doorstep, safe housing is treated as a privilege, not a right. We are told
that concepts like universal daycare and decent social assistance programs are
inconceivable. In the face of this regression, mainstream feminism seems to be hacking away at its own knees.
It is as though we are so afraid of losing everything that
we fight for nothing.
“Desperation, coupled with the growing influence of
neo-liberal discourse, has led us to look for empowerment where there is none —
twisting deeply sexist imagery and industries into a frighteningly ironic
version of female liberation.
“In the age of ‘Slutwalks,’ the neo-burlesque ‘movement,’ the mainstreaming of pornography, and of a ‘sex-positive’ feminism that acts as an assault on decades of feminist discourse — how must we work to revitalize a feminist movement that does not kowtow to American neo-liberalism? An ideology that wants all of us to believe that freedom lies in positive thinking and that we can rise above institutionalized oppression by pretending it is not there.”
Individualism
Describing the problem of individualism, Murphy quotes feminism author and researcher Denise
Thompson.
‘If relations of domination and
subordination are interpreted as nothing but properties of individuals, they
cannot be seen as relations of ruling at all. They become simply a matter of
preferences and choices engaged in by discrete individuals who have no
responsibilities beyond their own immediate pleasures and satisfactions.’ (Radical Feminism Today, 2001)
“This critique of individualism,” Murphy continues, “demands
that feminism be a progressive movement and makes problematic arguments, for
example, for individual autonomy in sex work.”
We who should consider ourselves progressive have bought
into “an ideology that erases systems of domination and subordination and tells
us that our empowerment depends only on how we have framed our supposed
oppression.
“It tells us that wealth is at our fingertips if only we would just work at it a little harder (and that freedom is based on our ability to make money in whatever way possible), focus our energy within, and forget about the plight of our neighbors.
“It tells us to work with what we have because, hey, we’ve
been struggling long enough and still we suffer so why not just make the best
of it?
“Feminism has not escaped this mindset — far from it. It appears
that much of mainstream feminism has
embraced this ideology with open arms.…
Prostitution
“Visible examples of the way in which parts of the feminist
movement have adopted individualism as part of their discourse and action
include the phenomenon of Slutwalks and efforts to decriminalize prostitution.
“…While there are women who are privileged enough to
consider their choice to do sex work an empowered choice, the nature of the
industry is one that exploits the most marginalized. The gap growing between rich
and poor ensures that women will continue to be forced to ‘choose’ prostitution, as a means of survival.
“Keeping women safe from violence and abuse means providing women
with real options: with safe and affordable housing, with social safety nets.
It does not mean framing exploitation as a viable career path.… If The Left
truly desires an equitable society, we must be working to end prostitution. Work
toward freedom within the context of humanity rather than simply toward a lack of
restrictions.”
Slutwalks
“While many view Slutwalks as feminist, this ‘movement’ is
disappointing from a progressive perspective. Missing an opportunity to present
a radical challenge to the roots of oppression, they remain deeply focused on
clothing and the ‘freedom’ to identify as ‘sluts,’ making this ‘movement’ one
that places individual freedom above social change.
“In a culture that has successfully mainstreamed
pornography, sexualized rape and dominance, presented women’s bodies
consistently as things cut up into pieces for consumption — it is troubling
that these issues have been visibly left off the table in a march against rape
culture. Not only that; but the marches continue to play to a male gaze,
featuring women on stripper poles and plenty of camera ops for the men watching
from the sidelines.
“If our genuine goal, as The Left, is equality for all —
feminism can only be, at its core, a progressive movement.
Neo-liberal ideology that values
individual ‘freedom’ and ‘choice’ over emancipation will not liberate the poor
and the marginalized.
Selling sex has never provided
women with independence, safety, and long-lasting empowerment, but rather has
further reinforced male power and privilege.
“If we do not care about one another, if we do not look
toward building a world where women’s options for survival do not involve
selling their bodies to men with power, then this cannot be called a
progressive movement. It cannot be called a movement at all.
We must stop allowing ourselves to be manipulated into
believing that individualism means liberation. This idea needs to be absorbed not
only by the feminist movement but also by The Left as a whole. Murphy
concludes, “This is a movement, progressives,
not a bachelor party.”
Sources and notes
“A progressive dialogue: Building a progressive feminist
movement in neo-liberal times” (Meghan Murphy), October 28, 2011, http://rabble.ca/news/2011/10/progressive-dialogue-building-progressive-feminist-movement-neo-liberal-times
Vancouver, Canada-native Meghan
Murphy is host and producer of “The F Word” radio show (where she “marries
feminism and sarcasm without
alienating absolutely everyone”) and editor
of www.feminisms.org. Murphy is a master’s student in Simon Fraser University’s
Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies. She is also completing a
graduate degree at the University of British Columbia’s School of Journalism. Her
radio and blog work can be found at www.feminisms.org and at rabble.ca, http://rabble.ca/taxonomy/term/15553
Dr Denise Thompson [BA, Ph.D.] is on the Arts and Social
Sciences Faculty, Social Policy Research Center (and has worked at SPRC and
been research associate since 1996), The University of New South Wales, Sydney
Australia
Dr. Thompson has been an independent scholar for many years
reading, writing and publishing feminist theory. She has written many journal
articles and has published three books, among them her doctoral thesis at UNSW Against the Dismantling of Feminism: A Study
in the Politics of Meaning later published by Sage under the title Radical Feminism Today (2001). http://www.sprc.unsw.edu.au/staff/denise-thompson-504.html
Images
9780868408231: The F Word: How We
Learned to Swear by Feminism
Women propose feminist cinema http://artsearch.nga.gov.au/Detail.cfm?IRN=84649
Reclaiming feminism, http://blogs.abc.net.au/nsw/2011/08/reclaiming-feminism-.html
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Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire
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