Two paths of feminism
Feb. 9th, 2007 10:54 amLast night I finished reading On being a Jewish Feminist. I really liked it. It's a good read for anyone interested in feminism and Judaism even if a few of the essays are a bit barmy.
Many of the essays raised an interesting question about whether feminism should put more effort into the struggle to gain women's admittance to male dominated institutions or to exploring, developing and improving the status of specifically women's institutions. In Judaism this can be seen most clearly with women attempting to gain more of a role the three daily synagogue services on the one hand and the development of female centred ritual such as mikvah and Rosh Chodesh on the other. In mainstream feminism it can be seen in attitudes toward whether feminists should concentrate upon gaining women's admittance to traditionally masculine careers or challenging the assumption of inferiority and poor rewards of traditionally feminine occupations.
I think which one sees as more important depends upon how one views gender. If one believes that gender is completely constructed one is more likely to feel that the same institutions will be suitable for both men and women and thus the main issue is gaining women's entrance into existing male institutions. Someone who feels that men and women in general have different needs is likely to place more emphasis upon working on valued female centred institutions.
Ultimately both of these areas need to dealt with to reach women's (and men's) liberation. Institutions should be open to all and should reflect the full variety of people's experiences rather than everyone having to fit into a 'male' model activity or people being segregated into their own equally valued areas. In the mean time it is important to be aware of how actions to promote one area could undermine the other. When women actively work to enter traditionally masculine areas they must be careful that their actions do not reinforce the idea that feminine = inferior. Similarly, feminists working to develop woman centred institutions must be careful to avoid them being used as an excuse to increase female exclusion from 'male' institutions.
Many of the essays raised an interesting question about whether feminism should put more effort into the struggle to gain women's admittance to male dominated institutions or to exploring, developing and improving the status of specifically women's institutions. In Judaism this can be seen most clearly with women attempting to gain more of a role the three daily synagogue services on the one hand and the development of female centred ritual such as mikvah and Rosh Chodesh on the other. In mainstream feminism it can be seen in attitudes toward whether feminists should concentrate upon gaining women's admittance to traditionally masculine careers or challenging the assumption of inferiority and poor rewards of traditionally feminine occupations.
I think which one sees as more important depends upon how one views gender. If one believes that gender is completely constructed one is more likely to feel that the same institutions will be suitable for both men and women and thus the main issue is gaining women's entrance into existing male institutions. Someone who feels that men and women in general have different needs is likely to place more emphasis upon working on valued female centred institutions.
Ultimately both of these areas need to dealt with to reach women's (and men's) liberation. Institutions should be open to all and should reflect the full variety of people's experiences rather than everyone having to fit into a 'male' model activity or people being segregated into their own equally valued areas. In the mean time it is important to be aware of how actions to promote one area could undermine the other. When women actively work to enter traditionally masculine areas they must be careful that their actions do not reinforce the idea that feminine = inferior. Similarly, feminists working to develop woman centred institutions must be careful to avoid them being used as an excuse to increase female exclusion from 'male' institutions.