Consequences Of Transnational Feminism

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

The first assumption argues that “western” feminist discourses emphasize that all women are bound together by a shared oppression and are powerless (53-54). Mohanty systemically explores this theory through an in depth analysis of five categories in which women of the third world are traditionally presented as homogenous victims by “western” feminist. The first two categories, women as victims of male violence and women as universal dependents, arguably offer the most straightforward deconstruction of the gendered body of knowledge that is power. Women, especially women of the third world, are all seen as victims of male violence and control (54). All women are defined as powerless, and all men are defined as powerful (55). Similarly, all women are defined as powerless dependents in the second category. Mohanty argues, “this is because descriptive gender differences are transformed into the divisions between men and women” (55). This division possesses a privileged position as the explanation for the oppression of women (56). Therefore, women are seen as a powerless group no matter what the historical or cultural situation because they are deemed so prior to any analysis (56).

For years America has been seen as the world’s hero swooping in and saving the day from foreign bad guys, or at least that’s America sees itself as. To many other countries however America is often seen as the world’s bully or just a nuisance. The United States has had many positive impacts on the world and those seem to over shadow the large number of negative impacts it has imposed as well. The world has been changed by the U.S. in both positive and negative ways, and this is due to the alternating use of internationalism and isolationism. Throughout the United States’ existence both foreign polices have existed, but rarely have them been used at the came time. In the present day the U.S. has mainly focused on internationalism. This has

Recently, and especially since the 1990s, a popular conception of the world is that the age of empires and superpowers is waning, rapidly being replaced by a kind of global community made up of interdependent states and deeply connected through economics and technology. In this view, the United States' role following the Cold War is one of almost benign preeminence, in which it seeks to spread liberal democracy through economic globalization, and, failing that, military intervention. Even then, however, this military intervention is framed as part of a globalizing process, rather than any kind of unilateral imperialist endeavor. However, examining the history of the United States since nearly its inception all the way up to today reveals that nothing could be farther from the truth. The United States is an empire in the truest sense of the word, expanding its control through military force with seemingly no end other than its own enrichment. The United States' misadventure in Iraq puts the lie to the notion that US economic and military action is geared towards any kind of global progression towards liberal democracy, and forces one to re-imagine the United States' role in contemporary global affairs by recognizing the way in which it has attempted to secure its own hegemony by crippling any potential threats.

The current overwhelming dominance of the unprecedented modern American empire in the realm of world politics generally agreed upon by experts and scholars around the world. There is little to refute the argument that there is any state that comes close to the strength of the Americans in a vast number of areas, most notably economically and militarily. Present debate among experts in the field of international relations revolves around whether the Americans can maintain their primacy for upcoming generations. Robert Dujarric and William Odom, both experienced and respected scholars of international relations, declare in their 2004 work, “America’s Inadvertent Empire,” that America is in a solid position to keep a tight hold on its place at the top. Vividly explaining America’s path to dominance while emphasizing the current state of domination, the authors effectively present the abilities of the empire while also illustrating the potential threats that could bring it down.

The call for feminism marks the beginning of an extensive journey with the quest to inspire women and to advocate women right in a male governed the world. Gloria Anzaldúa and Maxine Kingston both scrutinize feminism in the framework of “Borderland: La Frontera: The New Mestiza” and “The Women Warrior” encouraging women to occupy a strong position in the post-colonial male led civilization. The author both traces the journey of women struggle to achieve rewarding role within the structure shaped by men. The alliance of different voice from disregarded women gestures a strong theme that inspires Maxine Hong Kingston and Gloria Anzaldua to write enthusiastically within the feminist topic to dispute the patriarchal society.

This essay argues that 1991 was the peak of American power. The Berlin wall had fallen in 1989, and then the USSR had disbanded in 1991, making the US the only superpower in the world. In 1991 America had military and financial power of that other nations could only dream of. Cox then argues that American power declined from that point because nations have a finite lifespan. As a realist he argued that all great nations go into decline and no matter how “singular and exceptional a powerful nations qualities might be, it cannot, for ever, determine the way in which the international system operates”. Williams reviewed Cox and almost instantly argued against his theory. Cox states the traditional realist view of a rise and fall of national power, but Williams argues a more liberal view, that American power, while not being as dominant, is still a

The long term effects of British colonization on the feminist movements in India and Nigeria can be seen through Katherine Mayo’s Mother India, the film, “Mother India”, Misty Bastian’s Vultures of the Market Place, and Falola and Paddock’s The Women’s War of 1929. In India, imperialism delayed the advancement of the feminist movement due to the priority of the nationalist movement. In Nigeria, imperialism spurred the feminist movement due to the autonomy of the women. Throughout this essay I will compare and contrast the feminist movements in India and Nigeria, in light of British colonization.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze to main questions. The first part of the paper will define transnational feminism and identify key factors within a transnational perspective. Another part will be discussing some transnational feminist critiques of mainstream “white/Western” feminism and will also give ideas that a transnational feminist would suggest in order to make positive changes for women. The second part of the paper will choose two concepts to define, as well as discuss how they relate to one another from a transnational perspective. In addition, the relation of how they related to gender or affect the political, social, and/or economic status of women in the world will be analyzed.

third world feminists, proposes a structure of “oppositional (or differential) consciousness” onto which all forms of oppositional consciousness can be mapped. Differential consciousness, she argues, implies a new kind of subjectivity developed under conditions of multiple oppression. This new subjectivity, dynamic and self-consciously mobile, manifests itself in the political practices of U.S. third world feminists. Because nonwhite women have long been oppressed in multiple ways, as part of their political coming to consciousness they have had to learn to highlight (or obscure) different aspects of themselves to be able to work effectively within political organizations. For example, if a U.S. third world feminist wants to work effectively or feel comfortable in a group organized on the basis of race, she will have to highlight the racialized aspects of her personal identity and deemphasize the gendered ones. Conversely, if she wants to work effectively or feel included in white feminist organizations, she will have to deemphasize or ignore the interests generated from the racialized aspect of her identity. As a result of having to continually privilege or deemphasize different aspects of themselves in different situations, Sandoval says, U.S. third world feminists have become practiced at shifting their ideologies and identities in response to different configurations of

This short video covers women’s rights in Afghanistan before and after the Taliban, the mid-90’s. The makers of this video often post informative videos, in fact, that’s all they post. In this video, Paula Bronstein, a woman that studies Afghan culture with a main focus on women, is interviewed about the information she found in her studies. This video’s content explains the oppression of Afghan women.

Throughout the history of Afghanistan, women have played a significant role in trying to connect the divide within society. They work by connecting communities and individuals; thus working to change the narrative of peace building in a society where violence has long been considered a method of realizing interests. Afghan women have been fighting to turn the focus towards the fulfillment of peace and human rights. The inadequate support that these women receive and the distrust they experience, from fellow Afghans and the international community, has had an adversative impact on women’s inclusion in the peace process.

As argued by McKay and Mazurana, (2007), in Bunch, (1987), the concept of feminism is seeking to challenge the very dynamics of such domination at all levels of society, and perhaps demand a world order that is premised more on cooperation than on conquest. For example, feminist peace theorist, Birgit Brock-Utne, (1989) argues that, authenticity of society requires positive peace, a society in which there is no indirect or structural violence such as gender inequality. While this is the most desired society, women have remained victims of negative peace, which is latent and occurs in the absence

Feminism is not about the belittling of men, but instead, having equality for both men and women. Transnationality is the idea of carrying actions and ideas across borders. In other words, transnational feminism, is the carrying out of equality of women and men across borders for it is an act of justice. In an excerpt by Wendy Hesford and Elleen Schell, they stated “transnational feminism might be best characterized as an interdisciplinary analytic attentive to the constraints of neoliberalism and to the power differential and inequalities that shape geopolitical alignment.” However, to me, transnational feminism is simpler that what Hesford and Schell stated, because transnational feminism is the spreading of the notion that ALL people are

All too often, women of all ages are discriminated against in health, education and the labor market — resulting in negative effects on their freedoms. “While women here in the U.S. are far better off than those in other countries, and by and large don’t experience what women face in developing countries, we simply can’t turn our backs on the struggles women face elsewhere. It’s a critical challenge that the entire world must work together to address.” By observing the gender disparities in Somalia and Afghanistan, the U.S. can find specific ways to invest in gender equality and women’s rights in developing nations. Gender-inequality is an international concern, because women empowerment allows for social, economic and political growth.