What’s yo izm?

I saw the words on the back cover of Erykah Badu’s album Mama’s Gun, and they reminded me of the recent troubles in the feminist blogosphere. I’ve been around far too little to know much of the background of all the problems, but many of the posts I’ve read that attempted to look at a bigger picture have made me think.

So what’s yo izm? What’s my ism?

Goodness, there are many. But let’s start with the obvious: feminism. The current issue brought to light – for me at least – that feminism is more than what it means. Feminism is the belief that women are equal to men and should thereore be treated equally. In the word itself is no other focus than that on the female gender. The discussions of intersectionality, how different isms overlap is important, but simply because isms overlap, it becomes dodgy territory when we start to actually mix them up.

The discussion about white feminism and racism within feminism has saddened me greatly. Not because I think racism can exist within feminism, because I don’t. It would become exactly the problem we have seen it become recently, where black women and other WoC are pushed into the back row. Racism cannot be allowed to exist within feminism, because WoC are just that: WOMEN. And they are no less women than women of any other colour than they.

No, part of the reason this discussion has saddened me so is that the ism has become appropriated by a movement. And both sides of the recent dispute see it as such. But here’s what weneed to remember: Feminism is NOT a movement, it’s a world-view. The movement is the Women’s Rights Movement, or whichever other organised groups you might mention. Feminism is the world-view, and now, because of this dispute, I see feminists who will no longer call themselves feminists, because they’ve become disillusioned with the movement.

And I repeat: Feminism is the world-view. And if you still believe that women deserve equal rights and treatment, you’re still a feminist. It really is that simple. Saying that all feminists must necessarily subscribe to the Feminist movement that people have been so hasty to denounce just now is the same as saying that everyone who calls themselves socialists must necessarily all be members of Socialism. Well, guess what? There is no such thing as one Socialism. There are many models out there, many methods for achieving the socialist ideals, the only thing they do have in common are said socialist ideals.

I’m writing this from a Danish perspective. It’s a tiny little country in Northern Europe with next to no influence on anything outside our own borders. In other words: we have no say. We’re too small and insignificant.

I’m Danish, I’m a socialist. I believe socialism is the best ideal for a society that benefits as many as possible. The society I live in is based on socialist doctrine with state-funded schools, healthcare etc etc. Does this mean I support the socialist revolutions in which militant socialists take up arms and violently overthrow a right-wing government? No. Because, just because the militant socialists and I agree on which end we’d like to achieve, the means to said end can be a matter of great controversy.

That point leads me back to feminism. The dispute about Racism in Feminism and how some WoC bloggers will no longer call themselves feminist, because some other feminist did somethign wrong not only saddens me: It outright pisses me off. And here’s why:

Since when did feminism only exist in the US? This dispute was between American feminists. Some of white origin some of coloured origin, but all still American (or at least US-based) – as far as I know. I’m a feminist, I’m white, and now because of my skin colour I am by proxy accused of racism and of appropriation of the work of WoC.

What happend to everyone’s horizon? Did it suddenly shrink immensely? Did it occur to anyone that feminism is not an American thing? Did it occur to anyone that the face of feminism in America may not look like feminism in different parts of Europe?

Sometimes I’m embarrassed to call myself feminist in Denmark, because many of the feminists people see are American. And our cultures are widely different. So different that many completely normal Americans come across as obnoxious, rude, loud and pretentious to us over here. Then what happens when the strongest examples of feminists are American? Feminism as a movement gets a real bad name here. Almost no matter where I go, I have to explain to people that while I’m a feminist I’m not gonna turn ‘American’ (meaning: obnoxious, rude and pretentious) all of a sudden. They think that’s what feminists are like.

I shan’t pretend to know jack shit about race issues in the States. I’ve never been to the States, I don’t plan on ever going. I carry an intense dislike for the culture (no offense intended to its people). What I do know is that American feminists – and maybe to some degree feminists in other English speaking countries – have appropriated the movement. The American way in feminism has become the feminist way and where does that leave me? Probably around the same spot where WoC stand when it comes to white feminists.

Not many moons ago there was great spike in blogs about Simone de Beauvoir, because she would’ve been a hundred years old this year. But how many other non-English feminist writers are credited anywhere? Not many, I betcha. Why? Two reasons I imagine. One: Because what with the English speaking world and Western democracies overlapping as much as they do, there is a higher amount of feminist writings in English. Two: Because of the English speaking world having plenty of literature by its own hands, why should foreign literature be translated at any great frequency?

The result: The rest of the world knows plenty about the English speaking world (primarily the US) and the US knows next to nothing about the rest of the world.

Sites such as Feministing and Feministe (both can be found in my blogroll) make sure to post news from around the world with relevance to feminism, women’s rights, and other issues the left might have an interest in. I applaud them, they read the news, they see the reports on how the batle is going. But how often do the America-based blogs actually communicate with non-US bloggers? Or even non-UK? I’ve seen it a few times, I’ll grant that. But how often? The only answer I can give is “not often enough”. Just like the WoC questioned the lack of introspection and race awareness in white feminists (and rightly so) I’m now questioning the introspection and nationality/culture awareness of American feminists.

I do not want to be associated with those American feminists, who can’t grasp any reality beyond their own except for the occasional pity- or charity-case in the third world. But that does not mean I will shed the mantle of feminism. Feminism is still my izm. Just as I will fight the anti-racism fight here in Denmark. And though racism and its counterpart has a very different foothold and expression in Denmark than it does in the US, it is STILL racism, and it still counts as anti-racism to fight against it.

Just like it will still be feminism if a WoC fights for her rights as a woman, even if a white feminist doesn’t grasp when she’s being racist herself.

Feminism is still the belief in women’s equality, no matter whether we’re on the same frequency about race, nation, religion or something else. So if you believe in women’s equality: please call yourself a feminist. Don’t hand over the word to those individuals with whom you disagree. The word belongs to all of us, unless we choose to give it away. So let’s not do that.

My izm is still feminism.

(and socialism, anti-racism, environmentalism and atheism)

What’s yo izm?