Lastly, you will consistently be noticing the
dichotomies within the articles and your education as a whole. There is the
more pronounced dichotomy of male/female, or combatant/civilian, which all the
authors discussed. The male/female dichotomy is better represented by
masculinity and femininity, which signifies the socialization and construction
of the two factors. Masculinity and femininity can be manipulated in a few ways
to achieve the desired goals of the military.
It can be taken in the
hero complex, where masculinity must protect femininity from the enemy, or the
infringement of the other. Men must be strong to protect the weak women who lack
capabilities and agency. This dichotomy is closely related to a savior hero
rhetoric on which colonialism is based on. In Zarakov’s article she discussed
the how the colonial notion of civilized versus primitive can use women in the
dichotomy and also have women perpetrate the dichotomy (2011). Women are just
as complicit in colonialism. You will eventually read Feminism for Real:
Deconstructing the Academic Industrial Complex of Feminism by Jessica Yee,
which challenges feminism on its colonial tendencies. The author, remarks that
Indigenous women don’t necessarily feel the feminism sisterhood because women,
particularly white women, are still within the colonial oppressive framework
(Yee 2011). The book still is in support of feminism but wants to readers to
understand their role in colonization and that patriarchy has been imposed on
Indigenous people. This emphasized the intersection of dichotomies.
Further, masculinity can
be promoted through direct opposition to not wanting to be feminine, so if a
man ascribes to dominant forms of masculinity, such as athletic prowess,
strength, and a lack of emotion, the less feminine others will perceive them as.
In this dichotomy of masculinity, gay men disrupt the narratives of domination
over the feminine, and homophobia reasserts the dominant masculinity over
anything feminized.
Other dichotomies in the
reading, is the warrior, hero protecting the mother, which represents the
homeland. Najmadabi’s article particularly emphasizes how men go fight as part
of the masculine state to protect the feminized homeland (1997). It is further
developed to say men fight as an obligation of a son to fight for their mother,
the homeland. This rhetoric is present with in all cultures and is typically
one of the least challenged dichotomies.
Lastly Alex, you will
learn all this information to make you more passionate about feminist causes,
more critical of feminism so that your feminism is intersectional, and provide
you with the confidence to not back down from a challenging of your values and
ideas. Be strong. Do not give up. Feminist research is always important and
valuable.
December 1, 2017
Dear Post Undergraduate Alex,
So you have completed
your degree, congratulations, now what. What will you do with that degree?
Political science, so are you going to be a politician? What is your opinion on
every political issue happening around the world at this very moment? Oh you
don’t have one, well then what did you really study in political science? These
are all the questions and responses you will receive when mentioning your
graduation from political science. However there will be more important
questions that will challenge you, that will show you why you took political
science. These questions will further allow engagement with feminist discourse
that takes you beyond your undergrad understanding. Why are women always
represented as peaceful? This narrative that is constructed about women
persists, and maybe this is why crime by women, seems to engage you. Women
committing criminal acts such as Karla Homolka or Kelly Ellard[1] disrupt this narrative of
women as peaceful and complicit. Or connected to this, is the banality of crime
and violence, how can ordinary people, specifically men, commit atrocities?
Where should responsibility lie? How is masculinity constructed to permit
certain acts to be normalized? Society wants to blame the individual instead of
looking to the systemic problems that lead to domestic violence, rape, and
murder. People should be held responsible but so should society. Lastly you
will really begin to think about the construction of social movements. Who
should be accepted in them? What role can they play? Is it anyone’s right to
say who or who cannot participate? You will have friends who will say that any woman
who is a Conservative cannot be a feminist. I disagree, first because I don’t
think it is my responsibility to say who and who cannot be a feminist, but it
would also be my responsibility to push their feminism and make sure it is more
intersectional and it does not further oppress anyone. Furthermore, it is
important to understand that feminism is not one monolithic entity. There are
many different interpretations and facets, which can be understood through the
discourse and action from individual actors. So after graduating from your
undergrad, you will be pushed to think beyond traditional perimeters of
political science. You will start to develop your own opinions and listen to
other opinions without being persuaded to abandon your own thoughts. You will
be unequivocally a feminist and gain the confidence to not back down on how
much you believe in feminism.
[1] These women are two of Canada’s
most infamous murders. Karla Homolka killed three people, one of which was her
sister, with her former husband in the late 1980’s. They were known as the Ken
and Barbie killers. She currently lives in Quebec and he is still in prison. In
1997, Kelly Ellard murdered a fellow classmate in Victoria, BC at the age of
15. She is still currently serving her
sentence in prison.
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