Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses

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

Women. This word creates an image- an image of a mother, a sister, a daughter. Women are of the basics part of life, they are essential not only to society, but to the human species. Therefore, women should be treated with equal importance and given the same rights regardless of gender. Society has come a long way since 1920 and giving women the right to vote. However, there a parts of the world where women are treated unequally in respect of men and are fighting for that equality- a basic human right. Women especially in the developing world struggle with unjust inequalities. Common abuses that claim women are sex trafficking and forced prostitution; gender-based violence, including honor killings and mass rape; and maternal mortality. Reportage and storytelling of these horrible abuses are combined in the nonfiction book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, where Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn argue that the oppression of women is the worst current global issue that calls for change.

For many decades, women have experienced all forms of oppression and constant violence that threatened their existence in the male-dominated society. Various forms of discrimination and oppression have been directed to women for decades. Violence directed at women such as rape and battery were seen and treated as isolated scenarios. However, as the need to foster gender equality took pace, such oppressive actions are now perceived as elements of a wider system of dominance in the society that that needs to be addressed as a whole rather than in singularity

Solnit’s choice of topic and the context surrounding it stem from her knowledge of the extent of the issue and the overarching repercussions that could result. She acknowledges that there are other topics that she would prefer to devote her time to, “but this affects everything else” (530). Through her topic choice and her selection of details, Solnit seeks to reveal the depth of the inequality throughout society. In order to do this, one of the first strategies that Solnit employs is to use examples from all around the globe. She writes this essay under the assumption that the audience is largely uninformed about the sheer extent of violence against women, and is working to remedy that situation. By pointing out the ways in which other countries routinely and systematically discriminate against women, Solnit places under scrutiny the idea that women’s rights are no longer an issue in the United States. Additionally, by presenting her audience with an abundance of headlines and examples of this discrimination, she further validates her argument and purpose of shedding light onto the issue. One other way in which the context of Solnit’s essay advances her purpose is through her creation of ties between the women’s rights movement and the

Sociological imagination highlights how society places the two sexes in unequal positions of wealth, power and privilege. It is therefore very useful to look beyond the gender itself and see the global issues associated with it. There are differences regarding the type of gender in different countries, the levels of gender inequality and the amount of violence that are necessary to maintain both systems of difference and domination. Women were always viewed as weak, sensitive, dependent and unintelligent so the society formed a view that they have to sit home, do the housework and raise the children. They were always considered less skilled, incapable of doing a hard work and even now women are more likely to be paid less than man. Women are more likely to be abused and they are less likely to have access to formal power. According to the United Nations, “At least one in five of world’s female population has been physically or sexually abused by a man at some time in their life” (UNFPA, 2000: p. 25).

Genocide has long had gendered effects, but those effects have long gone relatively understudied as with many other issues relating to feminism in academic scholarship. By gendering our understanding of power and violence, genocide must be rethought and even perhaps redefined, as the reality of genocide often finds itself in conflict with the genocidal realities women have faced throughout time. Through gendering our understanding of genocide in this analysis, the feminist viewpoint provides important acknowledgements for the effects of these human rights abuses on both men and women. Moreover, we will better understand how the

IV: Feminist scholarship extensively details how the very tools that allow us to interpret the world can also constitute and reinforce inequalities of power. We are given over form the beginning to structures such as language, identity, law, nation and privilege (among many others) that implicate us in processes of exclusion, devaluation, and commodification. Drawing upon at least one reading from classes 15-21, one from classes 22-27 and another from before the midterm, discuss methods of undermining or subverting this inevitable complicity to forge room for resistance.

Gender is an often a contentious term, feminist scholars have introduced this vital term to the language of international relations. Since its inception, gender is most prominent in distinguishing the differences between male and female, however it has articulated different interpretations by both parties in different realms of thought. The duration of this paper will help to explore the different definitions of gender and its associations with the practices of war. This paper will look into how power is used as a gendering tool to exert ones dominance over the other, with a close look at how rape is used as a tactical tool for warfare. As society portrays women as vulnerable, helpless victims, this paper seeks to look into how power can influence women as the perpetrator but also an option for resolution in conflict.

Marilyn Frye has universal definition of oppression as being “a system of interrelated barriers and forces which reduce, immobilize, and mold people who belong to a certain group and effect their subordination to another group” (7). Feminists are working to dismantle the restrictive powers to create equivalent opportunities for all people. On paper, it seems black and white because everyone is working together towards the same goal of equality. On the ground, the divisions of gray can be seen between the vast variety of methods and opinion. As the tension builds, there are two main camps formed: The Western feminist and the Non-Western feminist. (While I personally object to this terminology because of its Eurocentrism, I have yet to find alternatives that encompass the same meaning so it will have to stay standing as imperialist as it is.) Both sets of activists have different roles within these current predicaments facing the unjust treatment of women. Western feminists find themselves in a stalemate of passing critical judgement on another culture or standing aside and letting the injustice continue. Non-Western feminists are working against the oppression in their society as well as the overreaching Western feminists before they can make their voices heard. Therefore, my argument is that Western feminism needs be revised into becoming the megaphone for Non-Western feminist issues. That way ideas from people on the ground are not disregarded and those on the outside who

Throughout history, women have been victims of oppression. Even though there have been attempts to shed light on the issue that women face worldwide, it seems as if humanity still does not understand its importance. Society has tried to mold everyone to believe that white heterosexual men are superior to those who do not fit the hegemonic norm. However, there have been women and men who dedicated their lives to fight this worldwide issue. Amongst those people are Nicholas Kristoff and Cheryl WuDunn, who are authors of Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide and who are also featured in the movie documentary. Ishrad Manji defines Gendercide in his article “Changing Lives” that was published in The New York Times as “the daily slaughter of girls in the developing world” and it “steals more lives in any given decade than all the genocides of the 20th century.” Sex trafficking, forced prostitution, maternal mortality, and gender-based violence are subjects that are especially exposed. Therefore, the Half the Sky Movement has proposed microfinance and education as ways to overcome these problems.

Third world women are face with discrimination and sexism just like the women and men are in America. To further explain this, the first example are Asian-American women. Asian-American women have two “roles” that they need to be labeled as by their culture: docile or submissive oriental dolls (Kerber 735). If Asian Americans men, see Asian-American women taking on too much responsibility they are labeled as “unfeminine.” Kerber gives the examples of two sisters who have achieved positions of authority, but since they are minorities they still face the stereotypes society has placed on them. The sisters have rejected the stereotype that is imposed on them and are labeled other harsh names. Still giving labels instead of just seen as human Not

The defeatist mindset of women can perpetuate their own continued oppression. This is the psychological result of extreme oppression, abuse and marginalization of women in a radically patriarchal society like Afghanistan. In this society, one might assume that the power of men is reinforced mostly by fellow men; however, it is enlightening to learn that women themselves can perpetuate male privilege when they succumb to defeatism. Khaled Hosseini does an excellent job demonstrating this phenomenon in A Thousand Splendid Suns. Hosseini effectively shows Afghanistan as the quintessential patriarchal society that is oppressive to women and subverts feminism through abuse of human rights.

She criticizes Okin’s writing, mainly focusing on Okin’s idea that the West is the best. She states that this idea of Okin’s is untrue as it lies on the assumption that the West is the best for women. This assumption puts emphasis on the oppression women face in non-Western countries which she believes it problematic. Jaggar believes this idea is problematic as the idea is formed only through the perception of one from the West. Okin argues that a false consciousness is among non-Western women as she believes that these women are unaware of the oppression that they are faced with. Jaggar disagrees with this argument as she states that Western culture does not truly understand the injustices in the East. This disagreement leads Jaggar to the central claim that even though many Western people may find some cultural practices as oppressive in the East, many of these practices are actually voluntary choices. She concludes her piece stating that “Westerners concerned about the plight of poor women in poor countries should not focus exclusively, and perhaps not primarily, on the cultural traditions of those [Eastern] countries” (Jaggar 75). Jaggar believes that Western individuals need to be reflective of their own roles that contribute to the plight of the “Third World Woman” in the first place

There have been four United Nations World Conferences on Women in Mexico City (1975), Copenhagen (1980), Nairobi (1985), and Beijing (1995) that have revolutionized the feminist framework by allowing opportunities for women to converse about the challenge known as transnational feminist activism. Transnational feminist can be described as feminism, or a movement that unites women struggles from all over the globe to progress the fight for equality. Because the entire world is generally dominated by men whether it is in the workplace, politics, or at home, women are disadvantaged in society in comparison to men. Each one of these conferences was considered a “massive global consciousness-raising moment, even if a painful one, as women learned

This critique reflects on Mohanty’s “Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses” and Moore’s “The Rise and Rise of Ecofeminism as a Development Fable: A Response to Melissa Leach’s ‘Earth Mothers and Other Ecofeminist Fables: How a Strategic Notion Rose and Fell.” Both articles raise questions of essentialism as a necessary element in feminism itself, and of naivety, validity and value of essentialized feminist works. This firstly challenges the biological and social definition of ‘woman,’ the homogenization of ‘woman’, and further, the implication of the role of women in nature. The second challenge that arises in reviewing these articles is the question of audience: whom are these (eco)feminists targeting, and for what purpose? The challenges of (eco)feminism, essentialist feminism, and the application of feminism in gender, development and environmental studies are apparent in both of the articles I am reviewing.