Gender and Politics

1
Gender and Politics

• lecture 5

2
are there gendered interests that require
political representation?

• explore two main strands
• - gender identities produce certain type
  of politics?
• - what the personal is political might
  mean?

3
lecture outline

• traditional Western politics and gender
• redefinition of the political?
• identity politics in feminism
• problems with identity politics?
• politics of masculinities
• when is the personal political?
• e.g. Clinton and Paula Jones
• summary

4
women, voting and political involvement some
dates

• 1893 New Zealand first country give women the
  vote
• 1906 Finland first country in Europe
• pre-1918 - only men could vote (UK)
• 1918 women over 30 (UK)
• 1920 women vote USA
• 1928 Equal Franchise Act women aged 21 could
  vote (UK)
• 1929 first Cabinet Minister Margaret
  Bondfield (UK)
• 1979 first Prime Minister - Margaret Thatcher
  (UK)

5
traditional politics and gender e.g. Young in
Kemp Squires 1997 Holmes 2000 Freedman 2001

• women excluded from participating in formal
  politics?
• State political institutions masculine-dominate
  d activity represent interests of (some) men?
• separation of public/private spheres
  political/personal - gendered
• citizenship - relationship of (male) individuals
  to the State?
• critique ideal of impartiality exclude
  difference?

6
redefinition of political (1)Seideman 1994
Della Diani 1999 Holmes 2000

• New Social Movements (NSM)
• - encouraged attention to the personal
• - challenged dominant political systems
• 1970s second wave feminism
• - consciousness raising groups
• - the personal is political
• - Kate Millet (1970) Sexual Politics

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redefinition of the political (2)

• womens everyday experiences appropriate subject
  matter for politics
• to change yourself was a political act
• the personal put on political agenda
• e.g. sexuality, sexual harassment, abortion ...

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feminist standpoint epistemology

• sometimes called womens experience
  epistemology- because experience is the
  considered the basis of knowledge
• standpoint what we do shapes what we know
• builds on and adapts Marxs insights of the
  proletariat / particular emphasis on the sexual
  division of labour women are particularly aware
  of and responsible for the grounded
  responsibilities of everyday life
• women oppressed class comprehend their own
  subordination and those who oppress them (men)
  this affords a truer understanding of social
  reality not distorted by ideologies of power

9
identity politics in feminism

• women share a worldview because of their common
  material social position (extension of Marx)
• their (reproductive) activity produces a critique
  of patriarchy as partial, overly abstract
• effort to recognise difference but retain
  identity basis of politics
• e.g. speaking as a black, working class women

10
problems with identity politics?Butler in
Butler Scott 1992 Whelehan 1995 Adams 1989
Yuval-Davis 1997 Pilcher Whelehan 2004

• identity categories (e.g. woman) exclude?
• based on notions of authenticity?
• what about complexity and who measures up?
• lead to hierarchies of oppression who is most
  oppressed?
• can stifle debate and prevent coalitions?
• tends to see some women as victims?

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politics of masculinities (1)Messner 1997
Connell 1995

• what does it mean to be masculine?
• therapeutic approach a reaction to feminist
  criticisms of masculinity individual solutions
  often conservative
• the defence of hegemonic masculinity is political

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masculinity politics (2)Connell 1995 see also
Messner 1997 Seidler 1991 Whelehan 1995 Segal
1990

• gay community not a homogenous source of radical
  gender politics
• exit politics
• - resisting hegemonic masculinity
  address inequalities
• - refusing to be a man
• see also e.g. Messner (1997) The Politics of
  Masculinity

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when is the personal political?e.g. Holmes
2000

• what new areas did second wave feminists see as
  political?
• the personal was socially/politically
  constructed
• sexuality and relationships
• bodies and lifestyles
• has this influenced current ideas about the line
  between personal and political?

14
Clinton and Paula Jones (1)

• Holmes, M (2000) When is the personal political?
  The Presidents penis and other stories,
  Sociology, 34(2) 305-321
• feminist challenge to disembodied politics?
• e.g. what president did with his penis
  politically relevant?

15
Clinton and Paula Jones (2)Holmes 2000 Melucci
1989

• political cultures still masculine
• male sexual prowess enhances power?
• Clintons poll ratings not affected by sex
  scandals
• this may interfere with effective representation
  of womens interests policy most important?

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Clinton and Paula Jones (3)

• sexuality and embodiment read via gender/class
• Jones discredited as trailer park trash
• underwent an image make-over
• personal appearance is political problematic
  for marginalised groups to perform as
  creditable?
• Hilary Clinton privileged status
  internationally admired stood by her man
  wronged wife moral high ground

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summary

• what is considered political changes
• definitions usually favour dominant groups
• - e.g. defining women as irrational excluded
  them from important decision making
• personal/political boundary contested and
  constantly shifts

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summary

• is politics still organised around social
  identities based on common experiences?
• do the experiences defined as common unify or
  exclude?
• attention to personal politically important
• but does individual change challenge or reinforce
  gender order?

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final points

• what is political?
• if everything can be framed as being political
  does that dilute what is meant by political?
• are all women feminists?
• can men become feminists?
• is politics based on identities possible or
  desirable?

20
next week

• what are the relationships between gender and
  other inequalities?
• e.g. class, ethnicity, age, ability and sexual
  orientation cut across gender
• consider differences between and amongst women
  and men