links to some articles
Here’s a little taste of the articles i’ve been reading online lately. Firstly, i’ve been curious about what obama is gonna do as the new emperor of the world. I think it’s a good bet that the character of his appointees will indicate his direction. Along those lines, check out what Paul Craig Roberts has to say on Counterpoint. We can also see that outside of his personal policy advisors, obama is making moves to reassure big business that he’ll be thinking of them first.
Now, on the topic of patriarchy, there was a neat link from Feministing about working to change the sexist beliefs of men on campuses. Make sure you find the link at the bottom of that article that says “continue to next page”, otherwise it might appear to only be 1 page. It’s actually 4 pages, and a decent read. Maybe a little shy on details though. Next is a link from Muslimah Media Watch about the argument that patriarchy is not an inherent part of Islam, but rather a feature of local cultures in places where Islam is prominent. The article is called “Unpacking the culture argument“, and is quite interesting. They look at assumptions about western cultures (like ‘neutrality’, or even that the west is ‘culture free’), and how this influences westerner’s claims about other cultures. Somewhat short, but a worthwhile read.
Ride hard, ride free
November 17th, 2008 at 07:29 am
Almost have to agree with you on the Obama one. The president never was meant to have the kind of power he’s gotten in recent years. I’m not blaming it on either political party, it is both of them. Not saying he’s an emperor, but the office of the presidency has far overstepped it’s bounds. I’m not going to blame it on Obama though, I think McCain would have done the same thing.
As for the feminist article, well, they have their work cut out of them. Getting college guys not to be jerks to women? Good luck…
As for the second article. Hmmm. Well, I don’t think they can make the argument that there aren’t huge gender discrimination issues in the Middle East. It is foolish to think otherwise. I doubt you’ll find an area much worse, I know this from experience. Is it part of the culture or the religion, I have no idea. My guess is it is the religion being used as an excuse to cover up some unsavory parts of the culture. But I think it is naive to assume that, whatever the cause, there is no sexism in those areas. There is, and it is a problem. Whatever the cause. It doesn’t justify racism, obviously, or stereotypes. Denying the existence of the degradation of women in those areas is just foolish though.
November 21st, 2008 at 18:54 pm
To me, it seems that the author is not denying the existence of sexism in those places. Take, for example, this quote: “As usual, any alternate, non-oppressive stories from those communities are silenced, as are forms of resistance coming from those communities, as well as any external forces (such as economic issues, war, etc.) that may be exacerbating gender-based oppression and religious dogmatism.”
That seems to say that there sure is gender-based oppression and also religious dogmatism. The main thrust of the article, though, is that the accusation implicitly says a lot about white society. She tries to turn the mirror back on the accuser, and figure out what the accusation means. This is what she’s “unpacking”.
I think this other quote illustrates a strong part of her argument: “[In western cultures,] Oppression and violence against women are seen as individual aberrations rather than culturally located, despite the prevalence of domestic violence and other forms of sexism that are found across Western societies.”
I think what she’s asking for is balance. If you have some standards you’re applying to those other cultures over there, then why not apply them at home? If sexism is culturally-based over there, then why must it be so individualized here (and vice versa)? Why do we resist the notion that we are living in a rape culture here? I guess it’s easier to believe when it’s some far off place. That’s why we should be investigating our own situation too.