The societal inequalities and discriminatory practices have haunted the women folk of the society from the ancient times of history. In the wake of globalization and blurring of geographical gulfs, the patriarchal norms and practices have taken a more complex turn and have come up to threaten the position of women more vehemently with all the discriminatory devices in its arsenal.
In the article titled, ‘Interactive and Intersectional Analytics of Globalization’ by Peterson, one comes across the discriminatory practices which are in vogue in the economic domain of the globalized world. The hegemonic transcendence of the masculine over the feminine in workplaces goes beyond the barriers of sex and actually influences people on the basis of their gender. Contemporary research in the field of Women’s Studies needs to take into consideration the intricacy of categorization which is being practiced to pacify the individuals not only on the basis of their being female, but also their attributes of femininity. Thus, the debate of the gap between the two sexes should get extended to take into its ambit the issues of gender as well.
Exploitation of the women folk of the society and the feminized individuals have taken several forms, one of the most alarming of which is seen in the economic sphere. It needs to be comprehended that economic independence and power can be considered a huge stepping stone toward the emancipation of the feminine in the present day scenario of the patriarchal society which aims to articulate its omnipotence and superiority through marginalizing the people not on the basis of their skills or capability, but owing to their gender. This is extremely reprehensible and needs to be addressed and countered all over the world with immediate effect, or else the huge gulf between the two groups would only get accentuated with time.
The article, ‘Politics of Border Crossings: Black, Postcolonial and Transnational Feminist Perspectives’ by Hyun Sook Kim, delves deep into the complexities of feminist studies and the shortcomings which need to be addressed. The article discusses issues of sex, class, gender and feminist epistemology. The discussion about triple oppression, black feminist standpoint, Afro-centric epistemology focus the limelight on the intricacies of comprehending the issues related to sexual discrimination and gender. The challenge for the black women comes from class, race and gender. But, unfortunately, the entire population of black women is gauged from the Afro-centric point of view which is not the correct way to judge and critique the status quo.
There are great differences among the black women based on their communities, economic status and so on. Issues of gender, class, nationality, culture have to be taken into consideration while researching on the matter. Similarly, Americo-centric point of view is also to be shunned and it needs to be understood that it is in a way emphasizing hegemonic concepts of U.S.
Postcolonial critiques focus on issues of race and gender, but are unfortunately oblivious to the issues of class, religion, culture, caste and so on. They are in a constant combat with the perspectives of First World Feminist scholars. For the purpose of advancement in the path of feminist research, these two major perspectives have to be at peace with each other and tread along to counter the discriminatory forces of patriarchy which haunts the entire world irrespective of the level of modernization or post-modernization.
Thus, it is extremely evident that in the present day scenario, the issues regarding the equality of the sexes have become much more complex as there are several factors which have come into play. The articles put light on such avenues and evoke the avid readers to ponder about the matter.
In the age of Late Capitalism, the forces of patriarchy and the bourgeoisie have joined hands to condition the women population of the world and the discrimination and marginalization has actually spread to the domain of gender. Societal factors like class, race and religion complicate the matter even more. On the one hand, globalization tends to put forward the notion that the world is taking the form of a “global village”, while on the other hand, these factors show their effects on the female and feminine in different forms all over the globe.
As such, the articles raise very important issues which need to be considered immediately from an academic point of view. The dynamics and power hierarchy of the society can only be comprehended perfectly in all the variable factors are considered properly. Overlooking even one of them would lead to the possibility of generalization which is akin to a huge flaw as it defies the very basic ideological stance of feminism.
The various schools of feminist thought should come together to fight the evil of patriarchy. It is only through cumulative knowledge and interpretation that the feminist movement can go forward in the contemporary times. Feminist thought has come a long way after the seminal proclamation of Simone de Beauvoir and it needs to go further with time.
The articles present the arguments quintessentially with enough examples and ignite the thoughts of the readers in this discourse. These articles persuade the readers to think more about the issues and understand the complexities which are involved. Feminist movement is more than just a voice against the oppression by the male folk. Feminist movement should also aim to understand the very nature of the female and feminine and the various factors which are influential in the societal structure. It is only after knowing oneself perfectly that a feminized person or female raise the voice of dissent against any patriarchal discrimination.
References
Kim, H.S. “Politics of Border Crossings: Black, Postcolonial and Transnational Feminist
Perspectives.” Handbook of Feminist Research.
Peterson, V.S. (2009). Interactive and Intersectional Analytics of Globalization. Frontiers,
30(1): 31-40.
