On International Women's day: Feminism, Culture and the Broader Picture.

Today is International Women's Day and what better day than this to make a post about something which changed my whole perception of Feminism and women's experiences generally.It was this time last year that my interest for gender equality began to develop and I wrote a post exactly a year ago about IWD!

A few weeks ago I had a essay to write for my feminism and political theory class and wanted to share briefly some of the ideas that I learnt from it. The essay was 'Given the variety of values and priorities between cultures, is it inappropriate to try to apply the same feminist agenda to all cultural groups?'

Now the conclusion I got from researching this question was that, of course, a one-size-fits-all feminism is not going to work because women are not just a solely a social entity . To assume that all women face oppression in the same way just because they are a women is clearly wrong, and it's an idea that has been challenged and has lost its popularity over many years. It has become clear to me though that yes, feminism has a clear general aim, but it will mean different things to different women. 

In studying the topics of multiculturalism and feminism, and particular looking at the lives of women in poor developing countries. This quote in particular stuck me. 

‘although sexual egalitarianism is a major goal for all feminists, gender discrimination is neither the sole nor perhaps the primary locus of the oppression of Third world women’. - Cheryl Johnson-Odim [x]

Now maybe this is a disputed idea, or maybe this is an obvious point, but it made me rethink in some ways what for me, feminism's purpose is, and how it needs to be catered to the women or the community it hopes to liberate. I can't really remember what I thought intersectionality meant before I did this essay but I believe now I have a better understanding of it. 

Although people's perception of other cultures is slowly getting better as people become more open and understanding. I would say there is a still a problem. The fact that we assume harmful practices such as Sati, dowry murders, child marriage and FGM are things innate to a countries culture or religion is so awful. To push these terrible things under the category of 'cultural values' gives the idea that because the west don't have these practices that the West is somewhat superior. 

Yet, if we are being honest, western countries are in no way better; forms of oppression and discrimination are widespread. The key difference is that the oppression of women in the west is seen as a problem that just needs solving, while the oppression of women in developing countries is seen as 'culture'. And the media goes to perpetuate these ideas. In an article by Leti Volpp, she talks about how the New Yorker, in writing about Dowry Murder in South Asian communities called it 'the cultural alternative to Western divorce'. This is the article [pdf link ]. I would really recommend it, as it explains it much more detail the problem of terming these practices as part of 'culture'. 

Anyways, before I get off on a tangent and start re-writing my essay, the ideas above are just some things that got me re-evaluating how I see the struggles of women in countries other than my own. For the main thing I want to get across in writing this is that women's experiences in countries other than our own can not be seen as just a gender issue. Oppressive structures of racism and poverty are playing a part in women's lives.

I feel like the feminism I read and talk about can be so western centric and sometimes I found myself assuming the discrimination and difficulties found by women in my near vicinity as ones faced by all women and therefore are the most pressing issues facing women.  It never crossed my mind before that women in other countries may be in such a difficult position that achieving gender equality is not the only and first way they need to improve their lives.

So there are just some of my thoughts on International Women's Day, for me, a day to open my eyes beyond my experiences and look at the broader picture. 

Feminism In London 2013 and Reclaim the Night!!

I haven't posted in ages, so having had such an amazing experience nearly a week ago, I felt I really wanted to blog my experience at #FIL2013. As well as my experience at my first march!

Well, to start the day, a group of us, from the University of Reading Woman's Campaign, REPRESENT! got the train at 9. Arrived, collected our bag of stuff, and sat for the welcoming talk. Speeches were on sexism in the media, Disability and bisexuality in feminism, and shocking presentation on Acid violence by Shabina Begum
The atmosphere was amazing, and just being around like-minded woman and men was such a good feeling.

Next was the morning workshop. I went to the 'Challenging links of system of power: Towards a whole-istic feminism' one. We sat in groups, hearing the ideas from the panel first. (Cynthia Cockburn, Pragna Patel, Jenny Nelson, Ece Kocabicak, and Brigitte Lechner) and then got to share our ideas of how we can create a more intersectional feminism. Some ideas that came out were:

• Looking to the iceland model of women's only political parties.
• Changing attitudes from a young age, through education, implementing changes with governors and equality officers.
• No taxation til representation.

Other than the workshops, speeches and panels, there was loads to discover in the foyer area.  Full of stands representing different feminist organisations. Pro-Choice abortion group, The Feminist Times, The White Ribbon Campaign, the Feminist library and loads more. Selling badges, stickers, bags, etc! One of the areas I loved were the stalls selling books all on gender and other related areas. I bought myself some badges and got loads of postcards and leaflets on some great organisations and groups!

After lunch at Pret, we had the afternoon session. I attended the Afternoon panel, 'Women in the Media - A Post-Leveson world'. Speakers included, representatives of Object, Yasmin Alibhai- Brown and Ruth Barnes, a radio presenter. I found the whole session pretty interesting, especially a debate which came up, whether wearing the Hijab or Niqab is actually a choice or not.

Finn Mackay speech in the afternoon ended the conference brilliantly! Highlighting important issues, and making it ever more clear why feminism is so important. You can follow her on twitter here: https://twitter.com/Finn_Mackay

Now for RECLAIM THE NIGHT! A brilliant way to end the evening. With two friends, we each took a sign which said the words, 'End Violence Against Women'. Starting off at the Institute of Education we walked through London, passing through West End, Trafalgar square and ending up near Charing Cross Station. Throughout the march we sang a number of different chants. Being my first experience, I really enjoyed it! Coming together with women from all over the place and marching for something which is so important. Plus there were people waving and clapping in support of such a cause!A few pics:

And to end my little summary, here is us lot, looking awesome. :D

LINKS:

http://www.feministtimes.com/storify-feminism-in-london/

https://twitter.com/FIL2013

Sexism: Examples in Sport, Politics and Film.

The news stories have recently got me riled up. Therefore I wanted to highlight some examples of sexism that have frustrated me in particular.

Sport.
The Women's Tennis Champion Marion Bartoli. This blog posts highlights the disgusting and enraging comments made towards her.You can read it for yourself.
 http://publicshaming.tumblr.com/post/54864863081/womens-wimbledon-champion-marion-bartoli-deemed
What makes the whole thing even more depressing is that John Iverdale, the Radio 5 live commentator, commented on Bartoli's win by saying  "I just wonder if her dad, because he has obviously been the most influential person in her life, did say to her when she was 12, 13, 14 maybe, 'listen, you are never going to be, you know, a looker.".
 And its the sad fact that a male sport person never has to worry about the way they look, they just perform and if they are not necessarily conventionally attractive, it doesn't matter! In fact it doesn't even pass through anyone's mind to comment on it. Yet the way a women looks in sports is somehow relevant enough to be commented on and surely must be relevant to their performance! People commenting that Bartoli was sweaty and using that to put her down. Wow, she was sweating, no shit!

Politics
Another example I want to highlight is with the case of Julia Gillard. Now whether you think she should have been removed as Prime Minister or not, and whether you think she was a good leader or not, is not what I want to address. What I want to address is how she has been treated by the media. In an interview, a radio DJ asked her if her partner was gay, because he was a hairdresser. Why did this even seem an appropriate question to ask her. We can all assume that an interview with a male person of similar position say Paul Rudd, or Tony Abbott, would not have been asked such an inappropriate question. I really recommend this guardian article. It shows how difficult her position was, being the first Australian Prime Minister. That she can't just be seen as a Prime Minister like all others before her, but because being the first Female PM she put on a pedal stool and heavily criticised.

Film.
How Scarlett Johansson gets asked questions about her underwear and her diet while her co-star Robert Downey Jr is asked a serious questions about his character.

http://boston.ihollaback.org/2012/08/21/sexism-in-the-media-and-street-harassment/

Its this idea that women have to look conventionally pretty and if not they are not worthy of respect and can't be praised for their achievements. It's this idea that someone finds it perfectly acceptable to ask a women questions that are obvious inappropriate and humiliating. Its this idea that for a female actor, its more important to know how she fits into her clothes, what she eats to keep her figure and what underwear she wears rather than asking her a serious question about her role in a film.

Why Feminism is Still Important.

I got the chance to attend a recent talk at my university, called 'Why Feminism is Still Important?' I took alot from the discussion and wanted to express my thoughts on the whole debate. Firstly, I find it kind of sad that mentioning the word 'Feminism' can cause a number of negative reactions. Why can't this movement be represented for what it is, or how I see it, (as I am sure many do); as a desire to change attitudes of both men and women and reform the structures that are limiting equality.

If you type in to google 'Is feminism...?'. Words such as important, relevant, dead and sexist come up. No one would disagree that feminism is not the same as it was in the 1970s and 80s, is this to say it's dead? Does a social movement need to happen in the form of protests and marches for it to make a difference? Surely the influence of twitter, facebook and blogs as well as the growth in feminist societies at universities across the UK suggests that feminism it is still important and is in fact growing. Creating a new wave of feminism for the new generation. But in having to question the whole concept of feminism, this suggests that women themselves, (those you would think would be its biggest advocate) are dissociating themselves from it. Some argue that the movement encourages nothing but victims, that women should stop using this as an excuse. 

I honestly believe that if you support gender equality, then you are a feminist, although I can understand that some may identify more with the label than others. To add to this is the questioned idea of progress. Is feminism no longer important because equality has already been achieved? Has the majority of society become complacent, assuming that now women have the vote, are progressing in education and are gaining high position jobs that we no longer need to bother?

Why we still need to bother:

• Women are still severely under-represented in government. (X)
• Women are unlikely to receive equal pay til 2067.
• Page 3 in 'The Sun' still exists... (Guardian article.)
• 1 in 7 women are made redunant after maternity leave. (Guardian article)
• Women and girls still suffer from sexual violence, domestic violence, stalking, trafficking, and harmful practices including FGM (female genital mutilation) and honour-based violence in the UK. (X)

Thanks for reading! :)