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Topic: Imperial feminism
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rosebuds
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2399
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posted 04 July 2002 06:21 PM
There's a great deal to be said for cultural sensitivity, too.I think it's important to realize that in many cultures the women are as believing about their traditions or ethos as the men are. We certainly can't be marching in and demanding huge changes because "we know what's better" for them. That kind of presumption is called "culturalism" and it's as evil as racism in many ways. That being said, I'm not suggesting that the oppression of women in any culture is acceptable. But we need to start from the bottom up. Countries where the opression of women is violent, such as in the cases of female genital mutilation or honor-killings, need to be condemned outright. As far as the beliefs that go along with those activities, they'll take a lot longer to change. I believe that the process of change within a culture is one that must be accomplished FROM within that culture. While gross human rights violations can't be tolerated, it is simply arrogant to suggest that our way is the only way. That's why imperialism failed so miserably in the first place...
From: Meanwhile, on the other side of the world... | Registered: Mar 2002
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Tommy_Paine
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 214
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posted 07 July 2002 08:39 AM
I think with feminism or any push to liberate persons or peoples with demonstrable problems is to be aggressive providing them with access to information.Then you have to step back and trust that they'll take advantage of the information in a way that best suits them. If one truly believes that all people are in fact equal, why would one doubt that they'd not be able to make the best of the information provided to them? The problem with groups on the left that attempt social change, be they feminists, trade unionists or environmentalists is that some of us don't trust too well. We tend to think we know what is best for other people, and yes, that is a kind of Imperialism, although it could be called many other things. It's the habit of idealogues, and it's not limited to the left by any means. I missed the topic of can feminists be submissive? over at "Auntie". But that is a fun example. Auntie believed that a submissive woman in the bedroom can't be a "feminist". Rebbeca West, ever the salient one, pointed out that feminism is about giving women choices, and sometimes, people being people, they make choices that one wouldn't make for one's self. If one can't be tollerant of this kind of thing happening, then perhaps one should re-examine one's core relationship with the ideas of freedom and personal liberty. Those that demand a certain orthodoxy or dogma concerning lock step acceptance of "certain actors, positions or systems", I submit, have not the trust in people, nor the commitment to freedom and individual liberty we should come to expect from each other out here on the left.
From: The Alley, Behind Montgomery's Tavern | Registered: Apr 2001
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