The Future of Feminist Security Studies Starts in Your Own Backyard

I think that the future of feminist security studies hinges on the future of more localized, day-to-day feminism. I think that before we look at IR, or while we look at it, we must also reflect on your own daily lives and communities. In order to build up feminist practices and ideologies abroad and on a global scale, women and men around the world must first start a discourse and critical thinking about gender within their own homes, schools, and local governments.

This localized feminism is looking dismal here in the US, or at least in my own communities. Feminism has become a dirty word, associated with radicals, lesbians (in a derogatory sense, as if "lesbian" is an insult), and "bitchy" women who take everything too seriously. In the US, particularly in my generation, we are living in a post-feminist world, where people seem to be under the impression that the movement--along with the gender inequality--is either over or no longer worth fighting for. 

I think it's easy for those of us who live in affluent countries and communities to look at women living in war-torn countries and see them as victims who need our help. I think that for the future of feminist security studies, we need to focus on moving even further away from white savior narratives and enter communities not to lead, direct or teach, but to show solidarity and provide support for the women and men within the community to help themselves. The best way that we, as feminists, can further the movement is to keep being curious, keep asking the tough questions, and to keep the discourse going within our own communities. When we do this, then we will actually have something to offer when we engage in dialogue with other feminists and other communities. 

Anu Bhagwati

I feel very conflicted about Anu Bhagwati's talk. I found myself agreeing with a lot of what she said in class and in her talk, and I really admire everything that she does with SWAN. But a lot of her more militarized and pro-military opinions are puzzling to me. In her talk, when she identified her hero as a woman [Martha McSally] who fought against U.S. servicewomen having to wear a veil while on duty in Saudi Arabia, I couldn't understand why that woman, out of all the strong women in the military fighting for women's rights, would be her hero. What really bothered me, however, was when Bhagwati was casually talking about female marines going into Iraqi women's homes and gaining their trust in order to determine the "appropriate" time and place for an airstrike.

The idea that an airstrike would ever be appropriate rubs me the wrong way, and the casual way she discussed exploiting these Iraqi women made me very angry. I'm conflicted about my anger because I think that it's great to have people with different opinions visit our class. Our class, like most at USF tends to be very liberal and pacifist. So I think it's good to present the other side of the conversation. But the militarism and dehumanization of Iraqi women just did not sit well with me.

Cynthia Enloe reflection

I feel so lucky that we were able to have Cynthia Enloe all to ourselves. I really enjoyed her in and outside of class and found nearly everything she said to be inspiring. The way that she constantly asked questions and seemed genuinely interested in everything around her was incredible, and the way that she answered our questions in class was so thoughtful and thorough. I feel like I really gained a lot from our conversations.

Enloe's talk after class was really fascinating. I'm glad that she chose to talk about the Boston marathon. Her methodical rationality was incredible, especially when considering that she lives in Boston. The questions she asked were fascinating. The way she thinks and processes information seems extremely unique and I learned a lot about how to ask the right questions from her talk. Overall, I think she was my favorite speaker this semester.

Davies Forum Workshop - Impressions I

(photos via Prof. Doubiago)

Davies Forum Workshop Reflection

I absolutely loved this workshop and I really wish I could have been there all day. It was so inspiring to be able to sit and talk with women who are working hard to incite change and have dedicated their lives to bettering their communities. I thought it was wonderful that these women's goals and focuses were so diverse even though they were all feminist scholars.

For the drawing exercise I was in a group with Lisa and Professor Wibben. It was fascinating how different all of our interpretations of violence and well-being were ranging from very abstract (Prof. Wibben) to extremely precise (Lisa). in our group we discussed the discomfort that doing art exercises brings us. We talked about struggling with the idea that what feminists do--thinking, feeling, talking, and in this case, making art--is not valued in American culture and how that impacts our own feelings about what we do and whether its worthwhile or silly. It was a fascinating and painful conversation, because I do often struggle, as do all feminists, with the way feminist work is perceived. 

After this exercise our guest speakers talked about their projects and methodologies, which was a wonderful learning experience. I loved the different ways that emotion plays into everyone's work, from wanted to bring a positive light to difficult subject matter to really harnessing the pain of truth. 

One of the biggest things I will take away from the experience is Swati Parashar's advice to value anger. I think that one of the biggest problems that feminism faces, especially in America, is complacency. We talked quite a bit about the importance and inherent nature of emotion in feminism, but I think that it was very good for me to be reminded that in this success-oriented, distanced culture, there needs to be room for emotion and anger and pain and all those human things that make us able to better ourselves and others. Rarely do people encourage us to be angry and harness the power of that anger, so I thank Dr. Parashar for making that statement.

Human Rights Film Festival: Transgender Tuesdays

I saw the documentary Transgender Tuesdays. The film is structured in two parts. The first, entitled “The Bad Old Days” discussed the history of trans* people in America, told through interviews with individuals old enough to remember what it was like to grow up trans* in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. The second part focused on the Tom Waddell Health Center in the Tenderloin and their single-handed endeavor to provide health care and basic compassion to trans* people in San Francisco.

            The people interviewed for the film told varied, but equally harrowing stories about growing up in between genders in a very binary world. These people have been raped, abused, and psychologically traumatized from a very early age, and many share similar stories of prostitution, making porn, suicide attempts, and drug use. Another thing they have in common is incredible resilience.

            Before Tom Waddell started Transgender Tuesdays, trans* people in San Francisco were dying in the streets instead of seeking medical help because they had been rejected and mistreated by clinics and hospitals so many times before. Just by displaying compassion and living up to the Hippocratic Oath, doctors and nurses at Tom Waddell were able to incite incredible change and save hundreds of lives. They were able to bring trafficking of hormones and silicone off the street into a safe space where trans* people didn’t feel threatened, a feeling that is exceedingly rare in such a disadvantaged, feared and misunderstood community.

            This movie made me very reflective of the damaging nature of strict gender roles. The fact that people are actually driven to kill just because another person doesn’t fit into their “appropriate” sex is so hard for me to understand. As Tom Waddell shows, change is coming. But there’s still so far to go. Why is there so much fear associated with sex and gender?  I hope that projects and films like this continue to be made and watched so that others can see for themselves that trans* people are nothing to fear.

Domestic Workers Reflection--GRWC 3/7

I attended the GWRC session about domestic workers in the United States (specifically California.) The panel consisted of four women: three who work for non-profit organizations pertaining to issues of domestic workers' rights and one who is a scholar of Catholic social thought. The speakers presented about the issues that domestic workers, almost entirely women of color, face in an industry that is extremely unregulated and private. Many of these workers are overworked, underpaid, and frequently abused. They are often lured into the country under false pretenses and afraid to report any injustices because of the threat of deportation. One of the immigrant groups most impacted is Filipino workers, many of whom find jobs providing care for the elderly. Activist groups had tried twice to introduce a Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights into the California legislature, but have been denied.

The presentations did not focus on gender or often mention the sex of the workers, but the subject matter and domestic work itself is extremely gendered. The presentations reminded me of the conversations we have had in class about how undervalued "women's work" is, i.e. cooking, cleaning, and anything associated with being a housewife. The women that we heard about in these presentations work incredibly hard, working long hours in physically demanding jobs, but are underpaid and under-appreciated. The main idea behind the panel is the same as the concept we've discussed in class--in order to begin to fix this oppression and dismissal of domestic work, we must redefine it as real work.

Sierra Leone: Girls

Sierra Leone: Girls

            In the chapter “Sierra Leone: Girls” from Ann Jones’ War is Not Over When it’s Over, Jones shows that in the wake of a devastating civil war women and young girls are still experiencing the degradation, rape, and limitations that they were during wartime. Jones retells her experiences of giving cameras to girls and women to photograph their crumbling villages and scores of pregnant and unsupported teens. One of the central issues, according to Jones, is that older men, many from other countries, often seduce and rape very young girls and then leave them when they get pregnant, worsening their poverty and making going to school an impossibility.

Ann, Jones. "Sierra Leone: Girls." War Is Not Over When It's Over. New York: Metropolitan, 2010. 92-130. 

Maria Stern (174-197)

A brief summary of “Racism, sexism, classism, and much more: reading security-identity in marginalized sites” by Maria Stern (pg. 174-197)

            Maria Stern, in her article "Racism, sexism, classism, and much more: reading security-identity in marginalized sites," speaks about the insecurity of Mayan women marginalized by the Guatemalan elites and the Guatemalan state. Stern explains that, “In sum Mayan women’s insecurity [is] multiple, contingent, and defined in terms of their identity" (176). The Mayans that stern interviewed identified themselves as women, indigenous, and poor which showed their understanding of their identity as marginalized Guatemalan pseudo citizens. Even though Stern was only able to interview women that were political leaders due to their ability to read and co-author their narrative, there was a large consensus amongst them that they had been a part of a resistance that has lasted 500 years (192). The challenges faced by Stern in researching the plight of these women were being able to communicate effectively, while at the same time not exploiting their narratives, all while remembering and balancing her position of privilege.

By Maribel, Haley, and Alexandra