A Response to Susan Moller Okin's Article: "Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women?"

The main arguments of Mohanty, Liederman, and Sen have similarities and differences. First, Mohanty’s main argument emphasizes the issue of white Western women belittling those of other cultures and ethnicities within the feminist movement. By asserting a universal notion of womanhood, these white Western women show ethnocentric universality through their ignorance of how the meaning of femininity, oppression, and liberation in the women’s movement vary in ethnic and cultural contexts (Mohanty, 1984, p. 335). By using a mindset that ignores ethnic differences, they therefore falsely construct and analyze “third world women,” believing that these women desperately need help to advance in society. Mohanty argues that in order for a feminist movement to advance, women must discontinue a paternalistic method of marginalizing women of different ethnicities to recognize the varied meanings of femininity, oppression, and liberation and enhance their solidarity and effectiveness as a whole group. This ethnocentrism is also present in Liederman’s

In certain communities in South Asia, the low status of girls has to be compensated for by the payment of a dowry by the parents of the girl to the husband at the time of marriage. This has resulted in a number of dowry crimes, including mental and physical torture, starvation, rape, and even the burning alive of women by their husbands and/or in-laws in cases where dowry payments are not met.

In his lecture Is Feminism Bad for Multiculturalism?, Chandran Kukathas argues that the ideals of feminism and multiculturalism are fundamentally opposed to each other, and that when push comes to shove, it is multiculturalism that is ultimately more important to protect. He attempts to argue against Susan Okin 's argument in her Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women? by first laying out her own argument and then arguing against her premises. I will do the same here, first summarizing Kukathas 's argument and will then attempt to point out the flaws present in his lecture.

Andrea Smith in the “Heteropatriarchy and the Three Pillars of White Supremacy” argues how women who are victimized by white supremacy should not be joined a union based on their oppression because they are oppressed differently. She describes the previous framework having five races, which are Native women, Black women, Arab/Muslim women, Latinas and Asian women all mix into one group of women of color. She proposes viewing oppression of women of color through a model known as the “Three Pillars of White Supremacy.” The three pillars are divided into Slavery/ Capitalism, Genocide/Capitalism, and Orientalism/War.

In the world today, women have a say in what they want to do and things that they desire to do. Back in the day, before the 1800’s, women had to be submissive to their male counterparts and do according to what was required of them. In the end, this led to the demeaning of the woman and the concept that women were inferior to men. Even though this concept and perception changed, there have been some countries and regions of the world that have not yet recognized the equality that women deserve. Such areas do not allow women to vote, attend school, have a say in the community, and the women are at the mercy of their husbands, fathers or male superiors (Hartmann, Susan M).

Gender discrimination and violence against women were not part of the Human Rights Agenda until the 1990s when feminists began to push for this change (p84/book). One of the slogans of their campaign was that “Women’s Rights

Alongside ethnic groups, women have had a long struggle to attain equal rights. Since the earliest days of the country’s history, women, regardless of marital status

Fathers such as Siri’s are willing to sell their young daughters into sexual slavery just to increase their socioeconomic statuses by buying more modern conveniences. It is clear that the father’s who sell their children and the wealthy men who buy the children exhibit dominant control in the society, with women submitting to total control, knowing that resistance will result in rape and beatings. As for socioeconomic statuses, Bales explained that previously, fathers would sell their children into prostitution to pay debts, now with the industrialization of Thailand, fathers are willing to sell their daughters just to boost their statuses in their society. The clear socioeconomic stratification between the wealthy and poor farmers is influencing the decisions of fathers to sell their daughters into

Multiculturalism is a political process whereby the government uses it to create peace between its people, but really it undermines much of what is valuable about diversity. When we talk about diversity, what we mean is that the world is a messy place, full of clashes and

For this paper, I watched a video on C-Span on women’s right call Women’s Right are Human Rights”The subject matter was how important was empowering women, and such women’s right as reproductive rights, equal pay, and equal representation. The significance of the forum with Rep. LLeana Rose- Lehtinen was that we need to promote the rights of women because women have been subjective to harassment, discrimination and denial of equal rights.

Multiracial feminism efforts are to understand the ways in which domination intersects with differences. When referring to differences, this means racial-ethnicity, class, and gender. This has spearheaded women studies to figure how to improve living for all, taking in consideration the differences and challenges women and men alike have faced. To change pre-historic beliefs of feminist universalism and instead acknowledge that we are all diverse but still socially

Whether one wants to look at someone else’s life or examine their own, it is important to decide whether or not it was a meaningful life that was worth living. No one wants to leave this earth knowing that they didn't do anything special with their life. What it means to live a meaningful life can differ among different people or different cultures. However, perhaps the biggest influence is education. Education absolutely plays a huge role in contributing to a meaningful life.

She believes that many of the minority groups discriminate against women and they do not allow them to have basic rights or equal rights with men. Men are seen as superior and women need to be controlled, when in reality they are all human beings and ultimately should have the same rights. Susan Okin relays a strong message throughout the entire reading on how women should be able to live freely and however they choose no matter what culture or society they come from. References: Moller Okin, S. (1997, October/November). Is multiculturalism bad for women?.

A couples of weeks ago we talked about white privilege and how white women in comparison to white men do not enjoy the same white advantage. Because of the inequality among white men and white women feminism was created. The main concern for white feminist was to receive more rights and achieve equality. As a matter of fact, white feminist did not include or focus on the needs of women of color. We can not forget that race has always play an important role in society. As a result of the unfairness or the lack of interest to help and fight for the rights of women of color the multiracial feminism was created.

In this essay I argue that multiculturalism and establishing group rights for cultures is not as harmful to the interests women as Okin implies in her essay, “Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women?”. (587). First I will outline Okin’s examples which she uses to frame her view of the control of women by men in their cultures. I will also outline her arguments that group rights and multiculturalism should be viewed skeptically. I will then define multiculturalism. Then I will argue that Okin uses vague ‘tunnel vision’ examples to support her ideas that multiculturalism is bad for women. I will also provide stories and examples in cultures where women are respected.