In Pursuit of a Feminist Democracy
Probing assumed
notions of identity and revisiting intention is an ongoing process for
reflective critical philosophies. This practice is healthy because it
encourages re-conceptualizing and re-cognition.
It is a lesson from feminism’s past, as much as from
More and more writers,
theorists, and researchers are expected to position themselves contextually
within a piece of work. Increasingly, the critique of sameness is been
internalized bringing with it a crisis of description. And that crisis, simply stated, is the
contradiction implicit in postulating life beyond identity while simultaneously
demanding the acknowledgment of difference.[i]
In spite of the agreed upon benefits of respecting detailed expression of the multiplicity of an individual’s social identity, there has been an increase in questioning the relevance and value of a diversified, seemingly divided feminist movement as an effective tool for theoretical debate and political action. Voices can be heard wondering whether it is possible to have an impact on social systems when neither a cohesive identity nor an easily understood common goal appears to underline the effort.
Common Goals and Identity
Although it is apparent that feminism is still thought of as “a movement”, and thus has not altogether lost cohesion and direction, it is actively promoting recognition of difference rather than a position of neutrality. This is not to suggest a pursuit of unity, rather the recognition that what is of democratic value is producing a movement that can contain conflicting interpretations on fundamental issues without controlling them (Butler, 1993).
It is convincingly argued by a number of current feminist theorists that there is a process underway to construct the groundwork needed to address concerns around citizenship and identity (Du Plessis, 2002). Just as international politics re-visits speculative meanings of identity and belonging in the face of collapsing physical and virtual borders, so do anti-discrimination movements re-cognize that there is no such thing as theory divorced from a standpoint in time and space (Du Plessis, 2002), and that identity is not essential and unchanging.
This is true of individuals just as it is true of collectives. Feminism has to constantly flex and stretch to accommodate change. One of the most valuable developments for African feminism outside of the impact of the increased intensity in the voices of black women revealing white imperialist classist theoretical constructs, is masculinity theory. Why masculinities is a worthwhile extension to feminist initiative, is because patriarchy links international politics and global feminism; patriarchy links regional government policy and local feminist action; patriarchy positions democracy and social equality within critical theory.
What masculinity theory does is reveal the danger of viewing democracy as a fixed entity, an end product, a situated goal. And it rejects the existence of only one version of equality accessible by only one gender through one particular analytical tool. Social equality, which is another term for democracy, is not the responsibility only of women. Men stand to benefit from this achievement too. It is with this shared goal in mind, that men seek to explore the dynamics of gender (Kimmel and Messner, 2005).
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Democracy and Cooperation
While it is vital to maintain tensions of race/sexuality/ gender/class rather than blur boundaries, it is just as important for different theories – all the way through to different global powers - to find ways to cooperate without being absorbed.
The crisis for feminism, particularly as it contemplates the relatively new development of masculinities, is to look beyond body politics while still acknowledging the need for differences to be expressed. It is extremely difficult, until a new language grows, to resist using binaries to explain identity. Although these terms are handy and readily available, nuances and subtleties are lost along the way. This lack of rigorous expression can turn full circle: recreating misunderstanding, misappropriation, bias and a lack of contextual awareness. A step towards revealing sub texts is through masculinities where the topic of men has become explicit rather than implicit (Kimmel et al, 2005), debated rather than assumed, visible rather than imperceptible. One clear example of an important social shift is in fathering (Kimmel and Messner, 2005).
I would argue that democratic procedures cannot be attained or maintained unless grounded in this sort of conscious political action of self-reflection and genuine attempts at coalition. This is being increasingly pursued and often achieved within academic circles. It is one of the arguments made for not separating academia from resistance, or local struggles from the global context.
Within gender studies, terms like “multicultural”, “transnational”, “inter-departmental” are becoming part of everyday language. In critical theory circles collaboration of different, disagreeing authors on one article is beginning to appear. Through this medium disagreements can be aired directly, revealing different ways of thinking about one topic rather than one person expressing her version of different ideas.
A Temporary Suspension
The South African context provides a unique opportunity in which to explore cooperation. Being a newly conceived democracy means there is plenty of room to move. The opportunity exists for Africanist identity, usually linked to negative concepts, to be re-constructed positively with the conscious intention of creating a basis for cooperation and transformation (Du Plessis, 2002). The time is ripe for identity and politics to be re-conceptualized in a way that is central to thinking about democratic citizenship.
It would be self-defeating to think of identity as fixed, as a tool of segregation. It is a personal and political force open to active re-creation through words and actions.
The global trend is away from whitewashed patriarchal notions of universality towards a mutual respect founded in the achievement of justice by embracing the contradiction that any idea of a universal underlying theme or goal is born out of a particular geographical/ historical/social/psychological/bodily context.
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