Ainsley Whichard
Panel Discussion
Western Feminism
Through out the semester we have learned about women in different parts of the world and their culture. We have also learned about western feminism and how it is harmful to the women around the world. Through out this paper and discussion I will be exploring how western feminism is harmful to those around us in the modern day and what we can do to break they “white savior” complex.
Western Feminism is the belief that women around the world need saving and want the same things in terms of cultural norms. For example it is a common belief in America that women who live in the middle east are oppressed because they wear burqas’, when in reality it is their choice to wear them. While the implications of western feminism are a lot more harmful and complex than a women being told their oppressed for what they wear. Women in the West have a savior complex for people who do not live in first world societies when really they are trying to westernize other societies that do not want to implement western standards into their society.
America’s history of feminism has been a long progressive battle which took hundreds of years and has a long way to go before women are completely equal to men in our societal views. America has this connotation that we are the best in the world and that countries that do things differently with us are wrong and we look down on them for it. So in western societies that have different cultural norms than we do white westerners feel like they need to fix it. When western feminist attempt to change a cultural norm that women in that society do not deem harmful, it is keeping the issues they actually want fixed from being fixed. It is also taking away from the humanization of women in other countries.
Western societies have a savior complex when it comes to “underdeveloped” nations. When a country is deemed underdeveloped it means that they do not have the technology or industrial advancements to be considered a “High functioning” country. These nations are normally looked at as poor dissolute places with no running water and starving children. While they do not have the technology or practices that we deem necessary it does not mean this country’s people are unhappy and dying in the streets. Western societies often have a reputation disrupting societal norms in other countries. This often happens in colonization or through mission work. Western societies think they have a duty to implement western societal norms into their culture that they have had since the birth of their nation. When westerners implement their cultural norms then leave them to upkeep and evolve what the westerners started, historically it is harmful to the nation. When westerners do this with feminism, it never helps the issues these women actually need.
Throughout the age of social media it has made it easier than ever to communicate on a global platform, more people have access to the internet than to indoor pluming. With translation features on most social media platforms we can virtual talk to anyone, anywhere, at anytime. While there are still very few studies on the implications of having this global platform, it gives women throughout the world a way to voice their struggles of womanhood. But western feminist are still controlling the conversation on what other women need by exploiting them on social media. In an age where “poverty porn”, the idea that exploiting others in a time of need, is so popular westerners who often will never face the problems they are exploiting in that capacity do not understand the pain they are causing when partaking in “poverty porn”. When we have this aspect of exploitation, women in underdeveloped nations are being told by western feminist on things that need to be changed but when these women voice their issues and what they think needs to be changed they are ignored.
As a western society we need to understand the issues we create. While the feminist movement in western countries has started a global conversation about women rights and the humanization of women, it also has set a standard of human rights around the world. Feminism is important but we must understand other cultures before we make assumptions on what they need. We do have a duty to help the women in the world but not when it harms women more. We tend to not take women seriously if they are not “liberated” but we cannot help them get to a place where they are free in our eyes without harming them. We must listen to what others want in their own countries before we can change their societies. It is important that we as western nations have a conversation on what is harming others and what is helping them. It is also important to have a conversation globally on what every women wants and how we can help. How can we help other women in the world who need feminism but how do we do it in a way that we are not overstepping? Do we partaken in western feminism or poverty porn? How can we fix the damage that we have done? How can social media play a part in my views across the globe? How can we advance societies without leaving a path of destruction?
cites:
Dixon, and Violet K. “Western Feminism in a Global Perspective.” Inquiries Journal, Inquiries Journal, 1 Feb. 2011, http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/395/western-feminism-in-a-global-perspective.
Mohanty, Chandra Talpade. “Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses.” Gender, 2000, pp. 51–71., doi:10.1007/978-1-137-07412-6_5.
“1. Do Muslim Women (Still) Need Saving?” Do Muslim Women Need Saving?, doi:10.4159/9780674726338-002.
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