The ups and downs of this primary have revealed some undercurrents in our culture that have surprised me to no end. The most striking of which (to me) has been the way in which some (esp older) feminists have almost gleefully forgone a serious and nuanced discussion of what feminism means in 21st century America for a simplified , almost cartoonishly simplified version of the ideals they have spent the last 30+ fighting for.
I am beginning to worry about the long term damage to feminist ideals .
So as I just said, this is not so much a candidate diary (though there will be some of that) as an invitation to explore where feminism goes from here and how to get it back on track.
First is the fallacy that feminism has failed and sexism has won if Hillary Clinton does not become President in 2008.
This viewpoint seems to be coming to us from the 2nd wave 1970's via time machine. It completely dismisses the gains and popularization and mainstreaming of feminist ideals in the last 30 years. For many of us (excluding certain tv and radio pundits and right-wing op-ed writers who shall remain nameless) feminist ideals have become so mainstream that we take them as a given. They have been internalized .
(and here pop culture , with all its flaws is informative. I am 30 years old and have grown up with images of females and minorities in positions of power, including President. These images were always presented as normal and inconsequential . There was no discussion of there being a woman or minority President
in comic books, movies, tv shows, or literature. It was as though not only were these things real possibilities, but they were so obviously real that there was no need to dissect them or present them as oddities)
The mainstreaming of core feminist ideals are why we have a candidate who is unafraid to espouse strength through dialog and discussion even with those who want to do us harm. We have a candidate who is unafraid of confronting very difficult issues and spurring national conversations about potentially radioactive topics in an honest, mature, and forthright way . Issues that are full of nuance and complexity and many pitfalls and which are usually spoken of in hushed tones if at all .
We have a candidate who is unafraid of challenging the conventional wisdom head-on and trusting in the maturity and sense of fairness of the majority of the American public.
We have a candidate who is the embodiment of feminist ideals, and this candidate happens to be a man.
Second is the idea that feminism is all about gender . Period . End of story. Well, sorry, but it's just not. Feminism has moved on from that simple binary and moved into the 3rd wave and the post binary period. (though obviously many are heavily invested in pushing back the clock and reverting to the "her vs him" binary)
Though the 3rd wave doesn't receive the media attention of the 2nd (excepting the alternative press especially DIY media) it is there and has been for the past 15 years or so.
In my opinion , you may disagree, it is a slightly amorphous and thoroughly modern brand of radical feminism which espouses , among other things, that being equal really means being equal.
Not just in terms of how women are treated and what is expected of them, but in those same terms for men. It means that as a man, I can be as unapologetically masculine or feminine as I am , and so can my sister.It means that we are all free to be who we want even if that is within stereotyped gender roles or without them.
It proposes that corporatism is the most damaging aspect of modern life and must be challenged and defeated through grassroots networking and eduaction. It means that simply replacing the patriarchy with a matriarchy is insufficient to addressing inequity and the power structures in our society that keep those at the top successful while the rest are left to fight amongst themselves over scraps. The 3rd wave accepts that we are all complex beings with more than 1 defining characteristic. We are 3-dimensional beings.
The 3rd wave as I said above has a very anti-establishment ethic. It sprang from among other areas; punk rock, the black power movement,the gay rights movement, DIY culture, and the deconstruction of gender norms. It is less about breaking the glass ceiling by being a female CEO, etc. and more about creating new , more egalitarian power structures that are post binary in terms of gender or class . It's about not trying to climb the corporate ladder to make a statement for all of woman kind, but about building a new ladder that is wide and sturdy because it is supported by many hands , male , female , and those in between or neither. It's about eschewing the formal and official channels of power in favor of creating and nurturing alternative channels that are open to all. It's about confronting traditionally conservative and masculine "common sense" notions and not simply accepting them as if they were "common sense".
The 3rd wave feminists have taught me that you deactivate hate words by reclaiming them and repurposing them. They have taught me that it's better to be true to myself and fail than to try to be something I'm not in order to succeed in the "mainstream" world . They have taught me that my gender is not a determinant factor when considering my possibilities in life. They have taught me that gender and sexuality are fluid concepts that vary from person to person and that I have inherent prejudices within myself which run counter to those notions and which I must confront with intellectual honesty and fearlessness . They have taught me that violence is often a sign of weakness . They have taught me that self-actualization is more valuable than material wealth. They have cut back the overgrowth and walked a path to a place where more things are possible when we are willing to make our own way.
It is because of them that I try to muster the courage to find my own path , even while I see the smooth, paved road nearby.
For that reason, I worry (and in a genuine way...don't dismiss me as a concern troll) about the lasting impact to feminism when this heated primary is over.
For the past ... I dunno many many months, there have been op-eds written by some feminists which , do a great disservice to the ideals of feminism. Yes, I am suggesting that Gloria Steinam (among others) has damaged the concept of feminism. How? By embracing a simplified and indeed cartoonish version of the ideals they say they espouse. HerNYT op-ed about how Barack Obama wouldn't have been able to get where he is had be a woman is so sexist and offensive that I had to wonder what happened to this great champion of equality. She argued (as are many others at this point, see any recommended diary on MyDD for examples) that gender alone (and sexism from mainstream media types) has been the determinant factor in how this primary has played out. I know that others here and on other blogs have written about the reasons Hillary has lost and I will reiterate them here(the war vote, advocating militarism first ... diplomacy second, pandering to every interest group (left and right) at the appropriate political time, hiring advisers who are out of step with the party, engaging in Rovian style tactics that have received rave review from Fox News, Pat Buchanan , and Bill Kristol, etc etc etc) .
I cannot stand how this primary has been used by some to sidetrack us into a national victimhood-off where the disadvantages of sexism are competing for sympathy votes with the disadvantages of racism in 21st century America. Where feminism itself has been watered down to the point where it simply means voting for a woman . It is a mockery of feminism and an affirmation of the caricature of 1970's feminism by right wing hacks and anti-feminists .
There seems to be an attempt to not only disregard the 3rd wave , but to reduce feminism to a "women are better" bumper sticker slogan.
It perversely re-affirms gender stereotypes in the name of knocking them down. Hillary Clinton's willingness to support neo-conservative militarism
and right wing frames of "patriotism", "toughness" ,and "elitism" are a failure of courage and honesty and of feminist ideals. And the unweilding support of some women of "the female candidate" despite these stances is a sad commentary on the state of much mainstream feminist thought these days. They are willing to totally and completely support this person who espouses policies and positions that run counter to the ideals that Democrats and feminists have fought for for over 40 years simply because she is a woman in a male-dominated field. (and many are now making threats to vote for John McCain in the general election as a way to 'show us' how serious and angry they are)
As I said above, 2nd wave feminism has succeeded in many ways, but the most egregious failure of 2nd wave feminism was in not confronting class, race and non-binary gender norms. I had thought that we had moved on from those failures and begun to address them with 3rd wave feminism in the intervening years, but now the 2nd wave is making a big splash comeback , warts and all. It's as if nothing has been learned in the past 30 years about the interwoven constrictions on all people by the existing traditional power structure.
As if the vanguard of feminist thought has given up the fight , given up introspection , given up honest dialog . They want a woman President period, and implicitly argue that all other factors are inconsequential and only represent hidden sexism.
After Barack Obama gave his potentially risky speech on race relations in modern America, I eagerly awaited a similar speech on gender, sexism, and feminism by Hillary Clinton. And I waited. And all I heard again and again were accusations of "sexism" . The conversation on gender and American culture never happened. A teaching moment passed. And the charges of sexism were the only thing left in its place. And the cause of advancing feminist ideals has suffered as a result.