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Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Refusing to Wait: Anarchism and Intersectionality
"Without justice there can be no love."--bell hooks
by Deric Shannon (WSA/NEFAC) and J. Rogue (WSA/Common Action)
Anarchism can learn a lot from the feminist movement. In many respects it already has. Anarcha-feminists have developed analyses of patriarchy that link it to the state form. We have learned from the slogan that "the personal is political" (e.g. men who espouse equality between all genders should treat the women in their lives with dignity and respect). We have learned that no revolutionary project can be complete while men systematically dominate and exploit women; that socialism is a rather empty goal--even if it is "stateless"--if men's domination of women is left in tact.
This essay argues that anarchists can likewise learn from the theory of "intersectionality" that emerged from the feminist movement. Indeed, anarchist conceptions of class struggle have widened as a result of the rise of feminist movements, civil rights movements, gay and lesbian liberation movements (and, perhaps more contemporarily, the queer movements), disability rights movements, etc. But how do we position ourselves regarding those struggles? What is their relationship to the class struggle that undergirds the fight for socialism? Do we dismiss them as "mere identity politics" that obscure rather than clarify the historic task of the working class? If not, how might anarchists include their concerns in our political theory and work?
Why Intersectionality? How We Got here
Many people locate the beginning of the feminist movement in the U.S. with the struggle of women to gain the vote. This focus on electoralism was criticized for its narrowness by many turn-of-the-century radical women. After all, what did the vote provide for working class women? How could voting for a new set of rulers put food in their mouths and the mouths of their families? In fact, many radical women of this time period refused to identify as “feminists”, as they viewed feminism as a bourgeois women's movement unconcerned with the class struggle (for an interesting discussion of this in the context of early 1900s Spanish anarcho-syndicalism, see Ackelsberg 2005: 118-119 and 123-124). Indeed, many working class women saw their "feminist" contemporaries as being in alliance "with all the forces that have been the most determined enemies of the working people, of the poor and disinherited"--that is, they saw the early feminist movement as a purely bourgeois women's movement that had no solutions to the pervasive poverty and exploitation inherent in the working class experience in a classed society (Parker 2001: 125).
Anarchists of this time period, on the other hand, at times anticipated some of the arguments to come out of the feminist movement regarding intersectionality. We argued against the class reductionism that often occurred within the broader socialist milieu. Early anarchists were writing about issues such as prostitution and sex trafficking (Goldman 2001), forced sterilizations (Kropotkin 2001), and marriage (de Cleyre 2004 and 2001) to widen the anarchist critique of hierarchy to give critical concern to women's issues in their own right, while also articulating a socialist vision of a future cooperative and classless society. Much of this early work demonstrated connections between the oppression of women and the exploitation of the working class. The refusal of many working class women to join their “feminist” contemporaries likewise demonstrated some of the problems of a universalized identity-based feminism that saw women’s oppression as a hierarchy that can be fought without also fighting capitalism.
This is not to suggest that anarchists weren’t at times reductionist. Unfortunately, many anarchist men were dismissive of women’s concerns. Part of the reason that the Mujeres Libres saw a need for a separate women’s organization around the time of the Spanish Civil War was because "many anarchists treated the issue of women's subordination as, at best, secondary to the emancipation of workers, a problem that would be resolved 'on the morrow of the revolution'" (Ackelsberg 2005: 38). Unfortunately, in some contexts, this attitude isn't just a historical oddity, though it should be. And it was these kinds of assumptions that became an important theoretical backdrop for feminism's "Second Wave".
Competing Visions in the "Second Wave"
During the late 60s through the early 80s, new forms of feminism began to emerge. Many feminists seemed to gravitate to four competing theories with very different explanations for the oppression of women.
Like their historical bourgeois predecessors,liberal feminists saw no need for a revolutionary break with existing society. Rather, their focus was on breaking the "glass ceiling", getting more women into positions of political and economic power. Liberal feminists assumed that the existing institutional arrangements were fundamentally unproblematic. Their task was to see to women's equality accommodated under capitalism.
Another theory, sometimes referred to as radical feminism, argued for abandoning the "male Left", as it was seen as hopelessly reductionist. Indeed, many women coming out of the Civil Rights movement and anti-war movements complained of pervasive sexism within the movements, being relegated to secretarial tasks, philandering male leaders, and a generalized alienation from Left politics. According to many radical feminists of the time, this was due to the primacy of the system of patriarchy--or men's systematic and institutionalized domination of women. To these feminists, the battle against patriarchy was the primary struggle to create a free society, as gender was our most entrenched and oldest hierarchy (see especially Firestone 1970).
Marxist feminists, on the other hand, tended to locate women's oppression within the economic sphere. The fight against capitalism was seen as the "primary" battle, as "The history of all hitherto existing societies is the history of class struggles"--that is, human history could be reduced to class (Marx and Engels 1967). Further, Marxist feminists tended to believe that the economic "base" of society had a determining effect on its cultural "superstructures". Thus, the only way to achieve equality between women and men would be to smash capitalism--as new, egalitarian economic arrangements would give rise to new, egalitarian superstructures. Such was the determining nature of the economic base.
Out of the conversations between Marxist feminism and radical feminism another approach emerged called "dual systems theory" (see e.g. Hartmann 1981; Young 1981). A product of what came to be dubbed socialist feminism, dual systems theory argued that feminists needed to develop "a theoretical account which gives as much weight to the system of patriarchy as to the system of capitalism" (Young 1981: 44). While this approach did much to resolve some of the arguments about which fight should be "primary" (i.e. the struggle against capitalism or the struggle against patriarchy), it still left much to be desired. For example, black feminists argued that this perspective left out a structural analysis of race (Joseph 1981). Further, where was oppression based on sexuality, ability, age, etc. in this analysis? Were all of these things reducible to capitalist patriarchy?
It is within this theoretical backdrop that intersectionality emerged. But it wasn't just abstraction and theory that led to these insights. As mentioned before, part of the reason feminists saw a need for a separate analysis of patriarchy as a systemic form of oppression was due to their experiences with the broader Left. Without an analysis of patriarchy that put it on equal footing with capitalism as an organizing system in our lives, there was no adequate response to male leaders who suggested that we deal with women's oppression after we deal with the "primary" or "more important" class struggle.
But these tensions were not limited to the Left, they also existed within the feminist movement. Perhaps one of the best examples of this on the ground was in the pro-choice movement in the United States. Before Roe vs. Wade in 1973, abortion law was considered an issue to be dealt with on a state-by-state basis. Feminists mobilized around Roe Vs. Wade to see that legal abortion would be guaranteed throughout the country. The ruling eventually did give legal guarantees to abortion through the second trimester, but the "choice" and "legalization" rhetoric left too much unaddressed for many feminists.
And this experience set the stage for re-thinking the idea of a universalized, monolithic experience of "womanhood" as it is often expressed in traditional identity politics. Black feminists and womanists, for example, argued that focusing solely on legalized abortion obscured the ways that black women in the United States underwent forced sterilizations and were often denied the right to have children (see Roberts 1997). Further, working class women argued that legalized "choice" is pretty meaningless without socialism, as having abortion legal, but unaffordable, didn't exactly constitute a "choice". True reproductive freedom meant something more than just legal abortion for working class women. Many wanted to have kids but simply couldn't afford raising them; some wanted a change in the cultural norms and mores of a society that judged the decisions women made about their bodies; others wanted proximity to clinics for reproductive health--in short, a "reproductive freedom" framework would take into account the interests of all women, not just be structured around white, heterosexual, middle-class women's concerns (the seeming default position of the "pro-choice" movement).
Intersections
These experiences within the feminist movement and the broader Left raised many questions for feminists. How do we create a movement that isn't focused around the interests of its most privileged elements? How do we retain our commitment to socialism without being subsumed into a politic that sees women's issues as "secondary"? What might political organization look like based on a common commitment to ending domination rather than an assumed common experience based on some single identity? These questions began to be answered largely by feminists of color, queers, and sex radicals with the theory of intersectionality--a theory that was critical of traditional class and identity politics (see especially e.g. hooks 2000; Collins 2000).
Intersectionality posits that our social locations in terms of race, class, gender, sexuality, nation of origin, ability, age, etc. are not easily parsed out one from the other. To speak of a universal experience as a "woman", for example, is problematic because "womanhood" is experienced quite differently based on race, class, sexuality-- any number of factors. As such, a non-reflective feminist movement centered ostensibly on the concerns of "women" tended to reflect the interests of the most privileged members of that social category.
As well, our various social locations and the hierarchies they inform intersect in complex ways and are not easily separable. People don't exist as "women", "men", "white", "working class", etc. in a vacuum devoid of other patterned social relationships. Further, these systems of exploitation and oppression function in unique ways. To name two rather obvious examples, class is a social relationship based on the exploitation of one's labor. As socialists, we seek the abolition of classes, not the end of class elitism under capitalism. This makes class unique. Similarly, the idea of "sexual orientation" developed in the 1800s with the invention of "the homosexual" as a species of a person. This effectively created an identity out of preferred gender choices in sexual partners, more or less ignoring the myriad other ways that people organize their sexuality (i.e. number of partners, preferred sexual acts, etc.). It also effectively limited sexual identity to three categories: hetero, homo, and bi--as if there could not be a large range of attractions and variety within humanity. Part of liberation based on sexuality is troubling these categories to provide a viable sexual/social existence for everyone. This makes sexuality, likewise, unique.
These structured inequalities and hierarchies inform and support one another. For example, the labor of women in child-bearing and rearing provides new bodies for the larger social factory to allow capitalism to continue. White supremacy and racism allow capitalists control over a segment of the labor market that can serve as stocks of cheap labor. Compulsory heterosexuality allows the policing of the patriarchal family form, strengthening patriarchy and male dominance. And all structured forms of inequality add to the nihilistic belief that institutionalized hierarchy is inevitable and that liberatory movements are based on utopian dreams.
Proponents of intersectionality, then, argue that all struggles against domination are necessary components for the creation of a liberatory society. It is unnecessary to create a totem pole of importance out of social struggles and suggest that some are "primary" while others are "secondary" or "peripheral" because of the complete ways that they intersect and inform one another. Further, history has shown us that this method of ranking oppressions is divisive and unnecessary--and worse, it undermines solidarity. As well, when organizing and developing political practice, we can self-reflexively move the margins to the center of our analyses to avoid the biases of privilege that has historically led to so many divisions in feminism and the Left.
A good contemporary example of intersectionality in the context of social movement practice is Incite! Women of Color Against Violence. Incite! “is a national activist organization of radical feminists of color advancing a movement to end violence against women of color and our communities through direct action, critical dialogue and grassroots organizing” (Incite! 2009). One reason Incite! stands out against other anti-violence organizations is their systemic analysis. They see women of color who have experienced violence as living in the “dangerous intersections” of white supremacy, patriarchy, capitalism, and other oppressive structures and institutions. Rather than simply reducing the experiences to the individual, they recognize the systems that oppress and exploit people and have structured their approach in such a way that calls for the “recentering” of marginalized folks, as opposed to a method of "inclusiveness" based on one single identity or social location. Incite! argues that “inclusiveness” simply adds a multicultural component to individualistic white-dominated organizing so common in the United States. Instead, they call for recentering the framework around the most marginalized peoples. This push is to ensure that their organizing addresses the needs of those historically overlooked by feminism, with the understanding that all people benefit from the liberation of their more marginalized peers--while focusing on the more privileged elements within a given social category leaves others behind (as in the examples we gave in the struggle for the vote and the legalization of abortion). Incite! makes a point to focus on the needs of the working class who have generally been neglected (i.e. sex workers, the incarcerated, trans folks and injection drug users). By centering these people in their organizing, they are focusing on the people standing at more dangerous intersections of oppression and exploitation, therefore tackling the entirety of the system and not just the more visible or advantaged aspects. Additionally, Incite! views the state as a major perpetrator of violence against women of color and seeks to build grassroots organizations independent of and against it. Anarchists could learn a lot from Incite! about the importance of addressing the needs of ALL sections of the working class and their attempt to check the tendency of the Left to ignore or dismiss the concerns, needs, ideas and leadership of people living in the dangerous intersections of capitalism, white supremacy, patriarchy, etc.
And What Can Anarchism Provide the Theory of Intersectionality?
We firmly believe that this learning process is a two-way street. That is, when synthesizing our practice to include these concerns raised by feminists, feminism could stand to benefit from learning from anarchism as well. We see the contributions of anarchists to intersectionality in two major areas. First, anarchism can provide a radical base from which to critique liberal interpretations of intersectionality. Secondly, anarchists can offer a critical analysis of the state.
Too often people using an intersectional analysis ignore the uniqueness of various systems of domination. One way this is done is by articulating a general opposition to classism. While we believe that class elitism exists, often this opposition to "classism" does not recognize the unique qualities of capitalism and can lead to a position that essentially argues for an end to class elitism under capitalism. As anarchists, we do not just oppose class elitism, we oppose class society itself. We do not want the ruling class to treat us nicer under a system based on inequality and exploitation (i.e. capitalism). We want to smash capitalism to pieces and build a new society in which classes no longer exist--that is, we fight for socialism. Anarchists, as part of the socialist movement, are well-placed to critique this liberal interpretation of intersectionality (see especially Schmidt and van der Walt 2009).
Likewise, as anarchists, we are well-placed to put forward our critiques of the state. The state, in addition to being a set of specific institutions (such as the courts, police, political bodies like senates, presidents, etc.), is a social relationship. And the state has an influence over our lives in myriad ways. For example, former prisoners are often unemployable, particularly if they have committed felonies. One only needs to take a cursory glance at the racial and class make-up of US prisons to see how intersectionality can be put to use here. Former prisoners, workers who are targeted for striking or engaging in direct actions and/or civil disobedience, etc. all have specific needs as subjects in a society that assumes political rulers and passive, ruled subjects. And the state tends to target specific sets of workers based on their existence within the dangerous intersections we mentioned above. Anarchists can offer to the theory of intersectionality an analysis of the ways that the state has come to rule our lives just as much as any other institutionalized system of domination. And we can, of course, argue for smashing such a social arrangement and replacing it with non-hierarchical social forms.
Refusing to Wait
In many ways, anarchists have historically anticipated some of the ideas in intersectionality. Further, anarchism as a political philosophy--and as a movement against all forms of structured domination, coercion, and control--seems well-suited for an intersectional practice. Unfortunately, we still have debilitating arguments about what hierarchy is "primary" and should be prioritized above others. Like in times past, this leads to easy division and a lack of solidarity (imagine being told to give up some struggle that directly involves YOU for the "correct" or "primary" fight!). Further, the smashing of any structured hierarchy can have a destabilizing effect on the rest, as the simple existence of any of these social divisions serves to naturalize the existence of all other hierarchies.
We've tried here to explain the rise of the theory of intersectionality within feminism and describe its contours. Perhaps more importantly, we've attempted to relate it throughout this piece to political practice and social movement struggles so as to avoid complete abstraction and theorization apart from practice. We hope that more anarchists become acquainted with intersectionality and put it to positive use in our political work. Finally, it is our hope that more people from marginalized groups refuse to wait, that we recognize the value of all fights against injustice and hierarchy in the here and now--and that we build a reflexive practice based on solidarity and mutual aid instead of divisive prescriptions about what struggles are "primary" and which ones, by extension, are "secondary" or "peripheral". Rather, they are all linked and we have good reason to refuse to wait until after "the revolution" to address them!
Bibliography
Ackelsberg, Martha A. 2005. The Free Women of Spain: Anarchism and the Struggle for the Emancipation of Women. Oakland: AK Press.
Collins, Patricia Hill. 2000. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. New York: Routledge.
de Cleyre, Voltairine. 2001. "They Who Marry do Ill". Pp. 103-113 in Anarchy!: An Anthology of Emma Goldman's Mother Earth, edited by Peter Glassgold. Washington, D.C.: Counterpoint.
_____. 2004. "Sex Slavery". Pp. 93-103 in The Voltairine de Cleyre Reader, edited by A.J. Brigati. Oakland: AK Press.
Firestone, Shulamith. 1970. The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist Revolution. New York: Morrow.
Goldman, Emma. 2001. "The White Slave Traffic". Pp. 113-120 in Anarchy!: An Anthology of Emma Goldman's Mother Earth, edited by Peter Glassgold. Washington, D.C.: Counterpoint.
Hartmann, Heidi. 1981. "The Unhappy Marriage of Marxism and Feminism: Towards a More Progressive Union." in Women and Revolution, by Lydia Sargent (ed.). Boston, MA: South End Press.
hooks, bell. 2000. Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics. Cambridge, MA: South End Press.
Incite!. 2009. http://www.incite-national.org/. Last accessed, October 2009.
Joseph, Gloria. 1981. "The Incompatible Menage à Trois: Marxism, Feminism, and Racism." in Women and Revolution, by Lydia Sargent (ed.). Boston, MA: South End Press.
Kropotkin, Peter. 2001. "The Sterilization of the Unfit". Pp. 120-123 in Anarchy!: An Anthology of Emma Goldman's Mother Earth, edited by Peter Glassgold. Washington, D.C.: Counterpoint.
Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels. 1967. The Communist Manifesto. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Parker, Robert Allerton. 2001. "Feminism in America". Pp. 124-126 in Anarchy!: An Anthology of Emma Goldman's Mother Earth, edited by Peter Glassgold. Washington, D.C.: Counterpoint.
Roberts, Dorothy. 1997. Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty. New York: Vintage.
Schmidt, M. & van der Walt, L. 2009. Black Flame: The revolutionary class politics of anarchism and syndicalism. Oakland: AK Press.
Young, Iris. 1981. "Beyond the Unhappy Marriage: A Critique of the Dual Systems Theory." in Women and Revolution, by Lydia Sargent (ed.). Boston, MA: South End Press.
From http://anarkismo.net/article/14923
Monday, September 14, 2009
Don't Be A Dick
BLOODLUST: a feminist journal against civilization
We Are All Survivors, We Are All Perpetrators // What To Do When...
Taking The First Step: Suggestions To People Called Out For Abusive Behavior
Why She Doesn't Give A Fuck About Your Insurrection
Militant Flamboyance: a brief history of Stonewall and other queer happenings
Patriarchy, Civilization, and the Origins of Gender
This is Not a Love Story - Armed Struggle against the Institutions of Patriarchy
Subversive Submissive #1
Gynocracy Song
Raise some Hell - a Feminist Childrearing Zine For Everyone
What to Do When Someone Tells You that You Committed (Sexual) Assault
Ladders and Hips: An Open Letter to the Boys in My Life
Liberating Ourselves in the Boudoir, An Anarchist-Feminist Perspective Against BDSM
Riot, Don't Diet
Hot Lead for Patriarchy
Burn the Idols of False Beauty
FACE OFF...women and the beauty industry
Transgender Herb Garden, The
La Comandanta
Dismantling the Boy's Club
Erinyen #2
Don't Rape Each Other!
Gay Shame Opposes Marriage in Any Form
Learning Good Consent
Interview with Philly's Pissed & Philly Stands Up
Supporting a Survivor of Sexual Assault
Herbs for Trauma
From the Kitchen: Sexism, Anarchism and Men
Mentally Ill
No Authority But Oneself by Sharon Presly
Class Equality, Sexual Equality, Racial Equality
Women in the Spanish Revolution
Tranzmision
Voltairine de Cleyre Reader, The
Sisters in Arms: Women in the Spanish Revolution
Women, the State and the Family
Emma Goldman: A Voice For Women?
Who Are You Calling a Lady?
Against Separatism
Judeo-Christian Degradation of Women
Pieces of Self
Anarchist Revolution and the Liberation of Women by Martha A. Ackelsburg
Anarchism: The Feminist Connectionby Peggy Kornegger
Said the Pot to the Kettle
Breaking the MANacles
Anarcha-Feminism zine
Fighting Back: Self Defense for Women and Girls
Working Women and their Organizations
Trans Gender Liberation
Tenacious Writings from women in prison #5 mother's day issue
Sparks Fly Women Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War in the U.S., Biographies, writings, art
Sex and Men
Daily Disrespects and Direct ActionsStreet Harassment: A feminist guide to analysis and direct action
Don't Leave Your Friends Behind anarcha-feminism and supporting mothers and children, La Rivolta! anarcha-feminist festival Boston 2006
Reproduce Freely: A Reproductive Autonomy Zine
Politics of Fat, The
HPV
Vasectomy Party
Regaining Control: Taking Health Care Into Our Own Hands
Herbal Abortion
by wemoons army
Sexual Violence by the Berkeley Students Cooperative
Anarcha-Feminism Facebook page
Thinking about anarchism: Capitalism and the exploitation of women
WIEDZMA Polish Anarcha-Feminist Zine
Friday, August 28, 2009
Monday, August 4, 2008
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
i apologize (probably again) for not keeping anarcha more updated. i've been doing some local organizing/activism, plus working full time. my access to the internet had been pretty slim, although now it's more daily. i will try to do more updates soon.
i got this idea last night for a project. i've been collecting zines on women's health & body issues for a while and i always get excited about new zines or new collectives (or finding out about older ones). i started an article a few years ago on the underground culture of zines and feminist groups and their role in educating girls/women about health and body issues. i still haven't finished the article because i feel like there's so much out there i don't have time to research. i had put together a survey, but got hardly any feedback and i can't find the survey now. anyway, last night i was thinking it would be great to do some sort of collaborative ongoing project online that perhaps could one day be shared in print- or, i had this idea to do a video project in which people would post videos of themselves talking about their experiences with these issues, and/or talking about zines or other media that had an impact on them. this could perhaps one day turn into a documentary. i think that zines like hot pants and take back your life, along with all those zines our collectives did that didn't get many copies out, to the blurbs in personal zines, even to posting info about toxic tampons or sharing books on fertility awareness, distributing the zines and fliers, the doohickey project, the born in flames conference, all this is really important feminist/radical/anarchist history. and it's still going on. many of us have been studying or have studied herbalism, midwifery, nursing, etc. inspired by the need to increase our knowledge and our service to other women in a world where we do not have all the freedoms we need regarding our bodies and health.
anyway, email me if you want to get involved. sallydarity [at] yahoo.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Friday, April 13, 2007
3:51PM
fixing dead links. thank goodness for archive.org
Feminism and Anarchism: Towards a Politics of Engagement by Krysti Guest
Sexism in the Anarchist Movement by Angela Beallor
http://www.anarcha.org/sallydarity/critique.php
Anarchy or Patriarchy? (repeat)
Patriarchy, Civilization, and the Origins of Gender by John Zerzan
Anarcha-Feminist Manifesto Anna Quist (not sure if this is the one i was missing)
Some thoughts on Anarcha-Feminism presented on June 12, 2002 at Anarchy: The Intentional Creation of a New Movement, Eugene, OR
Anarcha-feminism in Sweden, An anarcha-feminists' subjective perspective of anarcha-feminism
Manual for trans inclusion for women's orgs- pdf file (retrieved from archive.org) (or find my copy of it)
The Radical Tea Party Radio Show
Sunny and Lani tear up the Bay Area with their anarcha-feminist radio show LOST
Guerilla Radio
Zicka wakes up Cleveland with her a-fem radio show LOST
Stichin, Bitchin, and Ending Patriarchy by Pip (pdf)
Anarcha-Feminist Renaissance Underway by Revolta Profundo and Belladonna Blackheart (pdf) -same as above
Women of Color Blog LOST
The Revolt of Adam & Eve A Green Anarcha-Feminist Perspective by Witch Hazel
Interview with Julieta Paredes of Mujeres Creando
Women's Health Specialists, self help home remedies repeat
Alternative Menstrual Products
Museum of Menstruation and Women's Health
Below the Belt LOST
Women's Choices by sallydarity - to find on server
A Radical Critique of the Liberal Pro-Choice Movement By Corie Osborn RCDC Collective
Strong Hearts and Poisoned Waters: The Exclusion of Women of Color and the Reproductive Rights Movement in the U.S. by Puck
Let's Talk About Sex by Nickie Roberts, former prostitute and stripper (from the Class War Federation)
A Green Anarchist Project on Freedom and Love by Mae Bee
The Politics of Poly Love by James Heddle
Sex Is Not The Important Thing by Michael Aluna -repeats
http://www.ainfos.ca/02/dec/ainfos00469.html -text is white on white!
Out of Sight, Out of Mind by the Class War Federation
street harassment project
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Thursday, October 12, 2006
11:09AM
Kirsten Anderberg's "Imitating Others as Control: Is Drag Sexist/Racist?" is a dangerous contribution to radical commentary. Although I have promoted her work and donated to her, I feel I cannot let this go unopposed.
Kirsten argues that racial drag and gender drag as aspects of entertainment, with the privileged imitating the oppressed, acts to control the oppressed. I can follow her points on racism and sexism in the entertainment industry up to a point. However, I think this is an example of where the parallels between racism and sexism fall short. Kirsten seems to base her entire argument on the examples of racism, but doesn't give examples of how gender drag actually negatively affects the female gender. I certainly can't see how it negatively affects me.
The article seems to demonize drag queens. She says, "When men dress in drag and supposedly imitate women, it is most often very sexist in a remarkably similar way to the whites imitating racial minorities thing. As a woman comedian performing in comedy clubs, very often I found my act sandwiched between many, as in 5 a night, drag acts of men imitating women. And to be honest, I found these acts to be offensive and sexist as hell. All the things I have shunned as part of the ancient 'cult of womanhood,' all the superficial, commercialized, and fake aspects of 'femininity' that I have fought to be freed from, these men were embracing as their 'womanhood!'" Many women embrace those things as their womanhood as well, but this is not addressed.
She does not mention how many hate crimes exist against men who dress as women, or against people with male bodies who identify as women and dress as such. While it is quite safe for a woman to dress butch (although it is quite different in terms of attempting to pass as a different gender than that which one was born), it is not nearly as safe for a man to dress femme (oh, except at drag shows). While people who do drag and people who are transgender are not the same (and Kirsten does not criticize trans people), and there's a difference between entertainment and reality, there is a relationship here, which must not be ignored. The fact is, that no matter how often male to female drag occurs in the entertainment industry, it is not acceptable in this society as anything but humor and entertainment. It is worth mentioning that for many drag queens, it is a lifestyle tied up with their sexuality and gender identity- not simply an entertainment role.
People born male who act/dress feminine are, according to our society, lesser humans because they are not performing their masculinity. This says a lot about how gender relations work in this society. Men who act properly like men are on top in the hierarchy. Others are below. So how would it follow that a man performing drag acts to control the female gender?
It is important to ask why a man in a skirt is such a threat. He can get laughs or cheers on TV or on stage, but in other contexts he could be killed. I would argue that he is a threat because he undermines the order and control that the gender dichotomy provides. We're taught that men should be one way and women should be another. This serves the power structure and the elite in a number of ways. An example is the sexism (and sometimes violence against women) perpetuated by men who seek to defend their manhood in the presence of class and/or racial oppression, thereby disempowering women within their race and class and dividing their efforts at self-determination. Women contribute to holding up capitalism by performing their gendered duty of buying the things that without, they would be lesser women (i.e. mascara, various shoes, visits to hair stylists, the latest fashions, etc.).
That supports the argument that this caricature of femininity performed by drag queens can be seen as sexist, and perhaps it is in some ways. But looked at another way, it is clear that drag queens are men peforming as women, and since they're often better at performing this caricature of womanhood, it exposes stereotypes as stereotypes, and erodes the concept of real womanhood. What is a real woman? Obviously since a drag queen can be a better woman than me (in terms of performing extreme femininity), real womanhood (and manhood) no longer really means much. Some feminists (essentialists) are very threatened by the idea that there is no real womanhood. But I would argue that to push for the unravelling of concepts of "real man" and "real woman" and breaking down the gender dichotomy is a better effort at ending sexism than reinforcing the divide (that's actually an illusory divide). Kate Bornstein wrote, "The continued oppression of women proves only that in any binary there's going to be one up and one down. The struggle for equal rights must include the struggle to dismantle the binary”.
I wrote a lengthy essay called, "Gender is a Weapon: Coercion, domination and self-determination" in which i describe my theories more in depth. I was never able to come up with specific strategies, however. I don't think that men should be drag queens in order to fight against patriarchy. I am not purporting that they are revolutionaries. But I do think it's dangerous to blame drag queens for the racial and gender terms that are set by the entertainment industry. Although Kirsten's focus is primarily on the entertainment industry, she's basically calling drag queens sexists and putting them in the position to be further attacked. Making drag queens the enemy of feminism does nothing for feminism.
http://geocities.com/sallydarity/gender.html
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
11:09PM
i still don't have access to update the site. maybe some day.
in the meantime, you can check out a blog i started at http://deletetheborder.org/blog/451
i'll try to get some new links up on here soon.
Thursday, May 4, 2006
11:14PM
Forwarding... please repost
from doohickey@riseup.net
Please read this. See if you are interested. Then, send it to anyone
you can think of who might be. Thanks so much.
The doohickey project is a few friends struggling to reclaim knowledge and control over our bodies. We are planning a cross-country tour this fall to open a forum for womyn and transgendered people to discuss menstrual cycles, abortion options, and sexual health. We will begin the tour in late September, leaving from the northwest, making our way across to the northeast, then down to the southeast before heading back west through the southern states; stopping along the way for one to a few days in cities and towns where people make contact with us.
We envision that the local folks organizing and participating in the
events will strongly influence the outcome of each stop on the tour. We would like to distribute books, zines and other related materials, as well as initiate dialogue on various topics. Workshops and discussions that we can facilitate include: sexual anatomy/physiology and self-exams, menstruation, fertility awareness and abortion options (herbal, menstrual extraction, clinical). We openly invite and encourage people in the
towns we come through to join us in presenting workshops and initiating discussions. Some more topics for people to consider are: birth control choices, helpful herbs for a healthy pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, trans health care, etc. The length and format of the events can be flexible, so if you have knowledge or experiences you would like to share, please let us know so we can collaborate. We want to be learning as much as sharing, and networking with others interested in sexual and reproductive health.
We want to do this tour because the dominant health care programs in the US function within a system of white supremacy, strict class divisions, assumed heterosexuality, enforced gender binary, capitalism and specialized knowledge. We want to do this tour because mainstream culture thrives off of our alienation from our bodies and our dependence upon doctors. We want to do this so that everyone can share experiences, knowledge and resources freely. We see reproductive struggles as linked to all other struggles.
One focus of the tour is on abortion options. Due to high cost, lack of availability and other factors, clinical abortions are already not an
option for many people. As legislation further threatens access, we
feel it is important to develop community based abortion options rather than solely depending on the state for solutions. We hope to be part of creating viable and supportive options for the present by recirculating the wisdom of past and present cultures, including the indigenous women of North American who have used herbs to create abortion for centuries, and the self-help groups of the last several decades who developed menstrual extraction. A strong desire of ours is to help provide some basic ideas and resources for local folks to form their own friendship groups-to work together in taking reproductive health and knowledge into their own hands.
We are three young white womyn coming from various class backgrounds. We have been studying through herbal school, personal experience, and among groups of friends. We are not experts on these topics, just passionate about them. We believe that sharing information and supporting each other is an empowering way to grow and learn. We would like to openly challenge the assumptions and prejudices that both directly and subtly exclude many people from these types of events by keeping some key things in mind. First, there is a difference between anatomy and gender. All people have the right to choose gender identity just as they have the right to choose when and if they wish to reproduce. We want to use language that is respectful of the differences between anatomy and gender. Secondly, people of color face particular reproductive struggles, having to simultaneously fight for access to abortions and for validation in deciding to have children within a racist society that has never taken responsibility for previous and continuing atrocities. We are struggling (and often failing) to recognize the privileges we carry and their effects on others; in recognizing our own racism and transphobia, we hope to encourage others to examine theirs as well. We each feel a strong desire to be interacting with people outside of our immediate age, class and race, and have been grappling with how to build those bridges. We are open to suggestions.
We need individuals who are interested in setting up shows in their own town that are intentionally welcoming to people of all races, classes, sexualities and gender variant identities. We would like for childcare, Spanish translation and wheel chair accessibility to be provided as often as possible. If youre interested in making that space in your town, please contact us. Were trying to figure out travel routes, event dates and locations in the next few weeks, so please get in touch as soon as possible. We also need funds (or books/gas credit) to help gather supplies to distribute and fuel a car. We would really appreciate any and all contributions of time, money or store credit. Let us know if you have any ideas or questions. We cant do this without you. Thanks so much for reading this; we look forward to hearing from you.
Here is a list of towns we either have contacts in or are looking for contacts to set up events. The towns/cities with a * are places we have heard back from people who want to organize an event. The towns/cities with *? are ones where we've heard from people that haven't entirely committed. The towns/cities with nothing by them are ones that are somewhat on our way and seem like good places to stop. If you are interested in hosting/organizing an event in a location that is listed or not, please get in touch with us so we can solidify our route, stops and dates. Even if you live somewhere where we already have a contact, please let us know you're interested and we can help get you connected. If your not on the list but would really like to be, we'll try to work something
out. Thank you so much.
Eugene, OR*
Portland,OR*
Olympia, WA*
Seattle, WA*
Missoula, MT
Rapid City, SD*
Minneapolis, MN*
Madison, WN*
Chicago, IL*
St. Louis, MO*?
Louisville, KT*
Cincinatti, OH
Athens, OH*
Akron, OH
Buffalo, NY
Ithica, NY
? Vermont*
Boston, MA*
Providence, RI*
New York, NY*
Philadelphi, PA*
Baltimore
Washington DC*
Charlotesville, VA*
Richmond, VA
Chapel Hill, NC*
Greensboro, NC*
Asheville, NC*?
Charlotte, SC
Atlanta, GA
Tampa, FL
Miami, FL
Tallassee, FL
New Orleans, LA*
Houston, TX*
San Antonio, TX*
Tuscon, AZ*
Phoenix, AZ*
Flaggstaff, Az
San Diego, CA*
Los Angeles, CA*
Santa Cruz, CA*
Oakland, CA*
San Francisco, CA*
Oakland, CA*
Sacramento, CA
Garberville, CA*
Arcata, CA*
Ashland, OR
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Friends, acquaintances and such,
We’re getting in touch with you all about a womyn’s reproductive health tour we’re planning for this fall, called the dOoHiCkEy PrOjEcT. We’ll travel down the West coast, across the southern states
to Florida, up to the Northeast and back across to Oregon, organizing events with interested folks across the country.
The plan is to:
1. Initiate group-driven discussions and skill-sharing on the following topics:
-female anatomy
-Non-invasive birth control
-Fertility awareness
-Abortion options
-clinical abortion
-Herbal abortion/reproductive herbs
-Menstruation/blood catching/PMS
-Home health care;
-Self-exams
-Menstrual extraction
2. Harvesting and processing different women’s
reproductive herbs
3. Distributing related literature.
We want these events to be versatile and dynamic. We are not experts, and want to learn as much as share. The outcome of the events will be specific to the location, desires and goals of those participating. A primary intention of this tour is to help provide basic ideas, materials and literature so folks can form their own working/(friendship) groups where they can proceed in developing the tools and processes necessary for taking reproductive/gyno health and knowledge into their own hands. We hope to
share a desire in creating a safe and open setting for these conversations to take place.
We want these events to be trans-inclusive spaces. We hope the events will be accessible for folks to bring personal experiences and knowledge surrounding sexual health in general. If the above topics do not meet people's desires, one possibility is to organize a day or weekend of skill-shares and discussions on a variety of different topics. If you have any suggestions or topic ideas, please let us know.
WHAT WE NEED:
-People who are interested in bottom-lining an event in their town.
That means:
-finding a location and being in contact with us about dates and details.
(Potential locations: universities, women’s health clinics, infoshops, homes, etc.
-Organizing child-care and food for the events (this would be a wonderful way for people who don't bleed to help out) We can send already-made flyers ahead of time...
-Suggested resources, information, or literature
-More contacts of friends who might be interested
-fundraising for literature, materials, gas money, and such costs
We would love to hear your ideas and questions. And if you're interested in helping set up an event, please let us know. Feel free to get in touch with us anytime. --doohickeyproject
doohickey@riseup.net
Do you want to BREAK THE SILENCE of rape in your community?
Take Back The News confronts the misrepresentation of rape in the media. Activists across the country are Taking Back The News in their own communities and on their campuses. How? By providing a print forum for rape survivors to publish their stories in their own words. Be a part of the movement.
To create a public space for survivors to print their stories, you can organize a Take Back The News Community Print Project.
Visit http://www.takebackthenews.org/core/cpk/introduction.htm to find out how to get started.
"There was a noticeable shift in community awareness after doing this project. It is a powerful step to addressing violence on a community level."
-Project Organizer at LaSalle University
For more information about Take Back The News, visit http://www.takebackthenews.org
Community Print Project Kit contents include:
* Take Back The News brochure
* How To Organize a Take Back The News Print Project in Your Community
* Copies of Past Print Projects
* Invitation To Submit Stories
* Sample Introduction To The Stories
* Rape and Sexual Assault Statistics
* Take Back The News stickers
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
http://larivolta.org/
La Rivolta! Anarcha-Feminist Festival
Boston, MA
March 4th, 2006
Daytime Activities
Location: Community Church of Boston
565 Boylston Streeet
Boston, MA 02116
Ph: 617 266-6710
Time: 11 am - 5:30 pm
The Day's Schedule
11-11:30 Welcome + Coffee
11:30-1:00 Workshop Block I (workshop participants, titles, and descriptions coming soon)
Indigenous Women's Rights
Women and Radical Art
1:00-2:00 Lunch Break
(food and drink provided)
2:00-3:30 Workshop Block II
TBA
Sex Work in the U.S.
4-5:30 Workshop Block III
Transgender and Patriarchy Discussion
International Sex Trafficking
5:30 - 7/8 ? Break
(you're on your own!)
Evening Schedule
Show Location: Massachusetts College of Art
621 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA Exact show time TBA
Estimated show time: 7 or 8 pm -12 midnight
Confirmed performers:
Cojoba (Puerto Rico)
Ballast (Montreal, Canada)
La Moria (Buffalo, NY)
Resistant Culture (Los Angeles, CA)
Reflect and Strengthen (Boston, MA)
Sonya Renee (Washington, D.C.)
Wednesday, February 1, 2006
7:57PM
i don't have much commentary here, but i just found out some interesting information. i'm studying herbalism, and i didn't really think there would be a lot of important history/herstory other than that of patriarchy and healthcare, but i learned some history of racism (and patriarchy) having to do with herbs.
"Several herbs can be taken in small amounts during pregnancy if there is a risk of miscarriage. The most prominent of these is black haw, which has a long history of use for preventing miscarriage as well as for menstrual problems and as a uterine tonic. In the 19th century it was used to stop miscarriage, and it is still used in Europe today, even to counteract the effect of abortion drugs. In the American South it was well known to slave owners. The slave owners would rape slave women to increase the number of slaves. These women knew of an herb that would bring on a miscarriage; but the slave owners forced the women to drink a strong decoction of black haw to prevent miscarriage." (the source of this information came originally from the Kings American Dispensary)
Monday, January 16, 2006
i'm not involved in the organizing of this, but i thought i'd let you all know how cool the line-up for this year's bookfair is, if you can make it, which i intend to.
liz highleyman writes on queer/sex/health/anarchist issues, etc (http://www.black-rose.com/writings-short.html); katya komisaruk is a kick-ass woman lawyer who wrote a really great book on knowing your rights and dealing with law enforcement(http://www.lawcollective.org/); bo brown is queer ex-political prisoner who robbed banks in drag to raise money for such groups as the black panthers (http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=03/06/15/3995434); michelle tea is an awesome radical feminist queer author and more (http://www.purpleglitter.com/michelle_tea/modules/xfsection/article.php?articleid=475). it's worth mentioning that joe biel's microcosm publishing carries some rad anarchist/feminist publications and has carried some of my zines as well.
last year i picked up a number of cool zines related to anarcha-feminism at the bookfair.
here's more info...
from http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=200512271227299
Date: Saturday, March 18
10 am to 6 pm
Place: Same as last year, the County Fair Bldg, in Golden Gate Park, right inside at 9th and Lincoln. You can't miss it. It's the place with all the anarchists hanging around out front.
Speakers this year are:
-Liz Highleyman
-Katya Komisaruk (author of Beat The Heat)
-Bo Brown (ex George Jackson Brigade)
-Ramor Ryan (author of forthcoming Clandestines: The Pirate Journals Of An Irish Exile)
-Ward Churchill (author of lots of stuff)
-Chaz Bufe (translator, and editor, of Dreams Of Freedom: Ricardo Flores Magon Reader)
-Joe Biel (Microcosm Press)
-Michelle Tea
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