Nationality

The difference between global and transnational feminism is that transnational feminism does not lump common interests together and instead attempts to form autonomous affinity groups across boundaries the world-over. In order to get past the identity problem when it comes to the identity category of “woman”, feminists must think only about the diversity associated with the different experiences of each individual woman. Every woman has experienced a different path in life, and must be judged by those experiences and not by their gender.

Some critical parts of a gender justice framework, in my opinion, should include the importance of deterring racism and race inequality as well. While we always highlight the importance of establishing feminine equality among the male race, it is always important to remember that the prevention of racism should work hand in hand with these efforts. Although racism is no where near as bad today as it was in the past, it is still a prevalent issue in America. It is not just with African Americans either. Racism involving the black community receives a lot more attention than racism involving the Hispanic and Asian communities.

Also, I must add, my best friend (who is an African American) and I had a discussion last night and she told me that she hates the term ‘racism’. When I asked why, she stated, “We’re all of the same race. We’re all of the human race, so it doesn’t make sense to call it racism.” I have to agree with her. I never really saw it in that perspective before. So instead of calling it ‘racism’, we started a new term. We are now substituting ‘racism’ for ‘colorism’. Colorism is the act of discriminating against an individual for the color of their skin.

To get back on track, I think that ‘third women’ are resentful of Western feminists because sometimes Western feminists try to force their ideals on ‘third women’. Instead of forced coercion into adopting certain ideals, Western feminists must focus on instead giving support to third women by supporting the ideals and achievements that these women make. I do think that the earlier theories of feminism presented in this course were a bit hegemonic. None of the feminists really talk about the issues that global women find to be most prevalent. The feminists in these lectures mostly talk about the issues in the United States. If we took the opportunity to examine what these women all over the world see as the most pressing issue, we might be able to find a common ground with these women and would be better adapted in supporting their own motives.