Effective Non-Violent Resistance

       For my final blog post I decided to write about our last class topic, resistance. Throughout our class readings we have seen so many examples of resistance. The most prevalent examples to me is in Playing With Fire. All forms of resistance that they presented were non-violent and produced desired results. Just writing their book alone was a form of resistance. They critiqued NGOs, they very organizations that they worked for. Doing this brought them a lot of backlash, but it got the conversation started for their work and the fallacies in the idea of NGOs. They created their own knowledge and had a voice which I think is just a few of the most powerful things a woman can have. They refused to be silenced, and by doing that, they were heard.
       Another example of non-violent resistance is Plachimada fight vs. Coca-Cola. They were fighting against coporatization and western imperialism through events, networking, and working through official channels. In The Essential Feminist Reader, each country shows some form of resistance to their everyday lives that they live. For example, the daughters in boxes and how they ask people to examine their own daughters and their lives. All of these writings are a form of resistance by challenging their existing institutions in what is considered 'normal' and what should be done to evoke change.
       The outside source I decided to bring in was a TED talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/jamila_raqib_the_secret_to_effective_nonviolent_resistance?language=en#t-525051
I thoroughly enjoyed this talk. She explains that "non-violent struggle works by destroying an opponent by identifying institutions that an opponent needs to survive and then denying them those sources of power." I think this is partly what our readings showed us. They identify their institutions and begin to deny them in their own way. She mentions that protests are good, but will not create the change you may be looking for, which I was confused about at first. She clears this up with an analogy: A army leader would not lead his men into a battle without a plan to win the war. Isolated actions do very little without complex strategies to win what you are fighting for. She suggests that we learn where these tactics have been successful and make it more powerful. She, as well as many others including myself, want to make violence obsolete. For now this may seem unobtainable, and may be for decades to come. But I believe with the right people, ideas, and actions, this may become a reality one day.
~Samantha Romes

Feminist Technology

The everyday technology we all use such as an alarm on our phone, GPS to get to class, or work saved on our laptops appears to be gender neutral in this context. Using technology may not seem to be gendered at all. If we think back to when technology was introduced to the home, it was due to the man in the household. Fathers had computers for working at home, while a mother continued to use paper and pen to track the family bank account. Brothers played video games while their sisters learned how to use an easy bake oven that transferred into the skills needed to do the “motherly” duty of baking for their family.

New technology in household appliances was pushed onto women to help make their housework easier. Household gadgets are undeniably connected to women’s labor in the home. There is technology that is feminized. Take a look at reproductive technologies like birth control and tampons. While seen as liberating to women, these technologies were invented by men to make their lives easier.

Technology that has been created specifically aimed at women deepens gender stereotyping. This is seen when women are warned about different machinery, expensive computers and complicated technology. In rural India, there is a myth that a woman’s touch would destroy technology. Looking at the beginning of this blog again, can technology really be gender neutral?

Technology in the past has been gendered towards men through inventions that changed the workforce, education for men and the military. This past has continued into the present with girls raised to fear STEM education and careers throughout the world. Women have been excluded from learning and new technology. This only creates a larger power dynamic between men and women with men given even more power with new technology.

To fix this, feminist technology (feminism meaning equal) is needed to empower women and close the digital divide that exists between genders. The basic definition of “Feminist Technology” can be described as, “technological innovations that would enhance women’s lives through women’s agenda to make them equal” (Layne).

Technology must also be looked at how it will impact the lives of women, regardless of the inventor’s gender. Tampons were invented by men with a sexist view of menstruation. Female contraceptive pills, on the other hand, were invented by a man to allow for more options for women. Technology like pink phones or bedazzled cases may have been invented by a woman but do not improve women’s lives. They only reinforce gender stereotypes.

Source:

Layne, Linda. 2010. "Introduction." In Feminist Technology, by Shara L. Vostral and Kate Boyer. Edited by L. Linda Layne, 1-35. University of Illinois.


-Hannah Moskowitz

Eco-Grief

In class these past two weeks  we have discussed and enlightened ourselves on the term/concept of “Ecofeminism.”   The association that women have with nature is an idea that may have possibly stemmed from the stereotypical thought that women are viewed as nurturers. Women are viewed as being closer with nature due to things such as hormones, cycles, birthing a child etc. These things are considered to give women this feeling of “empowerment.” In essence, nature gives the women power.

 I was curious to learn more about this concept of ecofeminism, upon my light research, I stumbled upon this video led by environmental researcher and author, Heidi Hutner. The Ted Talk introduced yet another new concept to me called “Eco-Grief.” Hutner experienced what she considered to be “Eco-Grief,” when she was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 35. She realized during her treatment, a very sad truth that so many of us are blind to. She realized that the more pollutants in the air, the more chemicals that we all unknowingly subject ourselves to everyday, will impact the lives of our children that have yet to even be born. Hutner was beside herself at how “stuck” she felt for lack of a better word, and at how damaged our ecosystem is, that it just became to much to process and digest.

 This was so fascinating to me because I think that myself and the majority of the people I surround myself with, experience an enormous amount eco-grief. I had just personally never thought that there would be such a simple easy term to describe it.

https://youtu.be/t6FuKhjfvK8

Broad Overview of Female Genital Surgeries.

The topic of female genital surgeries (FGS) has been discussed in several of my classes this semester. It is an extremely dark topic; to which I am shook every time we talk about it in class. Rather than discussing FGS solely from a human rights perspective, I would like to touch on what FGS is, and that it has cultural, religious, and superstitious implications depending on the society depending on the society.

I use the term female genital surgery because this is what I was taught to use by my anthropology professor. That many of these societies performing FGS are not purposefully attempting to mutilate female genitalia. In many cases they are performing them for cultural reasons. As an example I will use the Masai people. Both men and women are circumcised in this society. There is a belief among the Masai, that for women, their labia and clitoris will continue to grow, and that for men their foreskin will continue to gown and touch the ground. This is one reason for circumcision. Their religion and culture also revolves heavily around fertility. The women of the society agree that men are circumcised, so too should the women. According to the Masai people, men are circumcised for reasons of fertility, and women are circumcised for reasons of fertility. Furthermore, without being circumcised, women have no right to be married, or to have children, or even be born.

 What we can see from this example is that circumcision is deeply embedded into some cultures. That female circumcision is not as simple as members within a culture mutilating other members’ genitalia for a mere sense of power or control over females. However, in most of the societies performing FGS, men dominate, and women have little to no power.

Before I discuss the topic I would like to inform the reader that I do not condone any variation of these surgeries. When studying anthropology, and psychology, we are taught to keep our own biases from affecting our studies. I try my best to approach all subjects of study with an unbiased point of view.

There are several names for FGS. It is best known as female genital mutilation (FGM), or female circumcision. These surgeries affect over 200 million females, and 3 million females are at risk of undergoing the procedure every year (Female genital mutilation (FGM), 2018).

FGS is most heavily practiced in 28 counties across Africa, though there are other various areas worldwide that also practice it such as some areas of India. There are various cultural and religious reasons for FGS. A few of which are, initiation of the girl into woman hood, to ensure virginity, and curb female sexual energy (okeke, Anyaehie, and Ezenyeaku, 2012). Below is a graph of age groups and a map of where FGS takes place.

(Female genital mutilation (FGM), 2018).

 (Female genital mutilation (FGM), 2018).

As stated by okeke, Anyaehie, and Ezenyeaku, other reason for FGS as proposed by participants in their study is that FGS are regarded as “tribal traditional practice (our custom is a good tradition and has to be protected), as a superstitious belief practiced for preservation of chastity and purification, family honor, hygiene, esthetic reasons, protection of virginity and prevention of promiscuity, modification of sociosexual attitudes (countering failure of a woman to attain orgasm), increasing sexual pleasure of husband, enhancing fertility and increasing matrimonial opportunities. Other reasons are to prevent mother and child from dying during childbirth and for legal reasons (one cannot inherit property if not circumcised) …” (2012). Many of these stated reasons are counter intuitive of the actual effects from undergoing FGS.

What are the complications of FGS and what are the various types of female circumcisions practiced? There are two main types: Pharaonic circumcision and Sunna circumcision.

  Pharaonic circumcision is the removal of all of the external female genitalia, including the clitoris, some or all of the labia majora and infibulation (generally done when the girl is very young). Infibulation is the closing of the vaginal opening leaving a small hole for urination and menses.

Sunna Circumcision is less common and less extensive than pharaonic circumcision. It consists of removal of the clitoris, and/or partial or no infibulation.

The complications with these practices range widely. They include death, hemorrhaging, infections, shock from severe pain, retention of urine and menses leading that to severe urinary tract infections, and chronic pelvic infections. Complications also occur with inelastic scaring, child birth, and death of the child during child birth.

 In the case of human rights issue with FGS – with no doubt, I do have serious issues with FGS. But also who is any one to change another culture’s ways. We have seen time and time again where Europeans have made contact with another culture and tried to change that culture in some fashion to fit their own belief systems. I believe this is one of those sticky situations of whether or not human rights activists should intervene or not. If they did intervene, what would their process be?

One of my thoughts for intervening and attempting to better the situation is to educate the societies practicing FGS. To teach them that their society will continue to progress if the surgeries cease to continue.

Another tactic would be to teach the midwives and husbands who perform these FGS to use a consistent procedure that would limit the risk of complications. To teach them to use proper equipment, and to supply developing areas with the proper supplies, pain medication, and antibiotics.

Aria Newell-Sowash

Submitted 11-02-18

Female genital mutilation (FGM). (2018). Retrieved from http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/fgm/prevalence/en/

Okeke, T., Anyaehie, U., & Ezenyeaku, C. (2012). An overview of female genital mutilation in Nigeria. Annals of medical and health sciences research, 2(1), 70-3.

Gendered Environmental Differences

In the article Gender and Enviroment, we are introduced to the perspective of how environmental factors affect individuals differently based on gender. As many of us are well aware gender in the global south shapes a lot of the opportunities that an individual may have such as personal freedoms and liberties, political rights, access to education, as well as entry into the workforce. However, this causes certain aspects to be overlooked such as how exactly environmental factors can come into play and also have in impact on an individual's other areas of life. an example given in the article takes a look at how exactly a flood could affect a woman in the global south in contrast to a man. One of the first differences pointed to is the fact that it is much more likely for a man in the global south to know how to swim than it would be for a woman this at a very basic level showing how a flood might affect a woman differently than a man. in a more complex way of explaining how a flood might impact a woman's life take for example if her husband was to die in that flood that means she would be tasked with maintaining her families livelihood and household. which would be no easy task for a woman in the global south to do because as we know entry into the workforce is not something easily obtained by women in the global south. which would leave many women who fall victim to a similar fate to be killed of due to starvation or dehydration due to failing to keep up with everything after the man in her household passed. from both of these examples outlined we can see just how drastic of a difference it is to undergo such an event based on your gender and these are things not taken into account when we see our environments being overly harvested and resources not being replenished after we use them causing the climate of our plant to change harshly affecting the poorest areas of the world when those causing these issues on a global scale are only a small percentage of the worlds wealthiest and elite members of society. We must speak out against injustices such as these because as long as we allow this to happen the more individuals in less developed regions will suffer the brunt of these actions with the worst of it affecting the women of the global south.

Problems with Ecofeminism

Critiques of Cultural Ecofeminism

Recently in class we’ve been discussing the idea of Ecofeminism. Ecofeminism is a movement that makes connections between environmentalism and feminism. It presents the idea that the same ideologies throughout society that restrict the environment also restrict women. While there are many sub-groups of ecofeminists, I am going to be focusing specifically on cultural ecofeminists. Cultural ecofeminists criticize the patriarchy and emphasize biological links between women and nature. When we were first talking about this in class it seemed like most people were pretty on board with the idea, and I couldn’t quite agree with some of the ideas that cultural ecofeminists hold. To me, it seemed like the majority found this empowering towards women. Rather, I found it not only destructive but also a huge step back when it comes to women’s rights.

To start, one of the first articles we read on ecofeminism admitted that there was no scientific data backing the idea that there is anything biological that makes women more attuned to nature. In fact, when they did a study on soil erosion far away, they found men actually tended to care more about the impacts. Considering this theory has a lot of scientific elements within it, I can’t help but feel like its rather problematic that there’s no scientific research there to support it. Further, making a biological claim like this also implies that women don’t have a choice in this role. Rather than a social view, which would point out gender roles and how they lead women to be more nurturing towards nature, this gives the idea that if you are born a women then you care about nature because it’s in your DNA. Therefore, this can lead to the idea that women are naturally the caretakers, and they should stay in the home to do that job. 

Another problem I have with this biological link is that it can be used in so many negative forms. If we justify using biology that has no scientific fact to back it up, we can also use biology to justify women not being able to work, hold positions of power, or own their own land. A really interesting article I found on the topic, listed at https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=2ahUKEwjS1tLI37beAhWiwVkKHZ9NBjQQFjAAegQICRAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcws.journals.yorku.ca%2Findex.php%2Fcws%2Farticle%2Fdownload%2F10403%2F9492&usg=AOvVaw2z9aQYPCRUQb-YKe8ZCMqJ , further brought up the critique that if we say women who give birth and breastfeed are what is considered ‘feminine’ and they are more close to nature, then we therefore de-feminize and delegitimize any women who chooses or cannot do these actions. Anne Archambault goes on to point out that this theory doesn’t leave any room for progression, but rather limits women to the role of a care giver without any hope of going past that. 

Overall, I think cultural ecofeminism can be used in a rather destructive way to further oppress women in the global south and keep them from working outside the home. If we utilized a different approach on this theory, like focusing this difference on gender norms, then there would be room for change that could help women learn that as a woman you are not confined to just one role, but you can have multiple options.