Wednesday, May 1, 1996
By Lena Hicks
Daily Bruin Contributor
Images of burning bras and chanting in unison through the
streets have traditionally stood out as the trademarks of the
feminist movement.
But today, more and more women argue that the chanting has died
down and the movement lacks strength, attributing the shortcomings
they see to an absence of unity within the movement.
"There exists these different factions amongst feminists which
make it difficult to establish one goal," said Petty Tsay,
co-founder of the Womynist Collective, a UCLA women’s rights group
supporting positive changes toward the perception of women and
gender relations.
But while some believe that the fire and activism of the
feminist movement is on the wane, others argued that the opposite
is true.
"I think it’s very misleading to think that the feminist
movement was at its peak and has declined … I see the feminist
movement as growing," said Christine Littleton, a law professor and
chair of the women’s studies department.
Although some feminists may not agree on the strength of the
movement, most see eye to eye on the idea that conflicting
ideologies have resulted in lines of division.
Littleton, who agreed that conflicting goals can be divisive for
women, explained that abortion is one of the issues that
contributes to lack of unification.
"In focusing only on abortion rights, the mainstream feminist
movement marginalizes poorer women and women of color who cannot
afford to exercise abortion rights, or who want to bear children
but can’t afford to raise them," said Littleton, who feels that one
way to achieve unity is by including a broader spectrum of issues
within the movement.
"What we should be pursuing is a broad agenda that supports
women’s economic security, reproductive health, and the ability to
exercise their choices," she said.
American feminist activism emerged as early as the 1800s,
Littleton explained, when women participated in the abolition of
slavery and celebrated the passing of the Married Women’s Property
Act.
The Suffrage Movement of the early 1900s marked the beginning of
women’s fight to gain the right to vote. Working-class women fought
against exploitation of female factory workers during the 1930s and
1940s.
Striving for civil rights and protesting against the Vietnam War
during the 1960s and 1970s later inspired young women, as well as
suburban housewives, to aim for gender equity.
Up until the Vietnam War, women were working alongside men and
given no say in decision making, Littleton claimed.
"It was men who were calling all of the shots … women were
pulling away and making their own organizations," such as the
National Organization for Women (NOW), Littleton said.
But the priorities of the Chicana feminist movement are
different from those of mainstream Caucasian feminists, according
to Sonia SaldÃvar-Hull, an assistant professor of English.
She explained that the Chicana feminist movement does not solely
address women’s issues; rather, Chicanas are focusing on issues
affecting the Chicana/o community as a whole.
"The demands of our communities are such that we will be
protesting against INS policies, immigration laws, Proposition 187
… that’s where I see the activism right now … Chicanas are
protesting for the larger issues in the community,"
SaldÃvar-Hull said as she rose from her chair, walked to her
wall-to-wall library of paperback books, and reached for "This
Bridge Called My Back," a collection of different essays, poems and
autobiographies written by Chicana feminists.
"That’s the Bible of Chicana feminism," SaldÃvar-Hull
said.
Racial divisions are also a contributing factor to the lack
unification within the feminist movement, activists said. The
Chicana feminist movement emerged as a result of the exclusion of
Chicanas from both the mainstream Caucasian feminist and male
Chicano Nationalist movements, SaldÃvar-Hull explained.
Chicanas borrowed aspects of both Caucasian feminism and the
Chicano movement, merging them to their own activism.
"As Chicanas, we had to take from both the nationalist Chicano
movement and feminist movement," SaldÃvar-Hull said. "There
may not have been a space for us, but we made a space."
In the Chicana feminist movement, the issues of gender, race,
class, ethnicity and sexual orientation all intersect.
"We can’t prioritize one issue over another as women of color,"
SaldÃvar-Hull said.
To some African-American feminists, issues of race and economics
are as important as gender equity.
African-American feminist issues addressed the state of
African-American women, women as a whole, the economically
disadvantaged, relations with African-American men and the status
of the African-American community as a whole.
"Feminism for black women is about survival, and is about
including the community … it’s a movement that attacks all forms
of oppression," said Kandea Mosley, the affirmative action
coordinator for the African Student Union. "I am a black woman, and
I can’t separate issues of racial oppression from my identity as a
women."
Some African-American feminists also agreed that their movement
possesses the same elements as the mainstream Caucasian feminist
movement. However, they feel that the African-American feminist
movement is more expansive, creating an alternative arena for
African Americans and members of other underrepresented groups to
feel welcome.
"I think black feminism includes all of what white feminism
includes, and then expands on that … with black women’s
liberation comes everyone’s liberation. With white women’s
liberation comes white women’s liberation," said Kendra Fox-Davis,
the African Student Union’s empowerment coordinator.
A Caucasian feminist herself, Littleton also agreed that the
mainstream movement has neglected issues and concerns of women of
color, even though Caucasian women obtained their initial activism
experience through the Civil Rights movement.
"Racial inequality was the primary issue on the feminist agenda
in the 1950s, because white suburbia was asleep!" Littleton said.
"Mainstream feminist leaders have sort of gotten off track in
ignoring or marginalizing issues of race and class," Littleton
said.
"It’s been a very rocky road (for women of color)," she
concluded.
Some women of color are concerned with what they see as
mainstream feminism clumping all women of color together,
disregarding the fact that African Americans , Asian Americans,
Chicanas/Latinas and other women of color have different
experiences and perspectives.
"I think women of color are a part of the feminist movement, but
they’re recognized as a group rather than as individuals," said
Tsay, an Asian-American woman.
Tsay also explained that she is opposed to the idea of Caucasian
women poorly paying their housekeepers and nannies who are members
of underrepresented groups.
"Oftentimes, white women hire women of color to take care of
their children when they go to work, but they don’t pay them the
amount that they deserve," Tsay said. "She’s not trying to raise
the (glass) ceiling for the black woman who’s working for her."
Like women of color, some lesbians agreed that their community
has been excluded from mainstream feminism.
Homophobia and disapproval of the gay community played a huge
role in the exclusion of lesbians from the feminist movement during
the 1980s, said Ali Beck, editor in chief of TenPercent, the
campus’ gay and lesbian newsmagazine.
"Historically, the feminist movement has deliberately excluded
lesbians from the movement … the accusation of lesbianism towards
feminists was seen as threatening and something that could
ultimately cause the movement to fail," Beck said. "I think that
there are women, particularly women our age, who don’t understand
lesbian rights as a feminist issue."
Many lesbians believed that the feminist movement needs to
accept homosexuality as a feminist issue, Beck said.
"I see gay marriage as a really important issue … some people
say that it’s a move to try to be like straight people, but I
disagree," Beck argued. "The fact that a woman can live and be, and
have an identity which is not dependent on having a man in the
picture, is a very threatening concept … and I think a very
revolutionary one," said Beck, who feels that women’s gender and
opposition toward a patriarchal system is the link between feminism
and lesbianism.
Labeling oneself a feminist often involves encountering the
stigmas and stereotypes attached to feminism. However, feminists
argued that such beliefs are misconceptions that do not reflect the
ideology of feminism.
"I think the simplicity of the definition allows more women to
be a part of the movement," Mosley commented. Feminism is in
essence a very basic concept  it’s about human rights for
women."
Other feminists felt that the definition of feminism allows all
groups of people to be included.
"I think the notion of feminism does not seek to promote the
benefits of one group at the expense of others," Tsay said. "I
think it represents the gradual movement towards a gender-neutral
society."
However, most feminists argued that before a gender-neutral
society can be achieved, an understanding among women must be
established and all lines of division erased.
"I think that (unity) is a very realistic goal, because we share
two things in common: one, that we are women, and two, that we want
to overcome the negative implications of being a woman.," Tsay
concluded. "If we continue to label ourselves as feminists, we are
able to share our strengths with one another and eliminate
stereotypes against feminism."
Daily Bruin File Photo
Felicia Márquez (left) and Tammy Sioux protest a 1992
Supreme Court decision to restrict doctors from informing their
patients about abortion procedures, a ruling commonly known as the
"Gag Rule."
FRED HE/Daily Bruin
NOW activists hold a candlelight vigil at the Federal Building
to protest against domestic violence after the death of Nicole
Brown Simpson.