Development Team

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Development Team Paper No. : 10 Theories and methods in social and cultural Anthropology Module : 24 Feminism in Anthropology I Development Team Principal Investigator Prof. Anup Kumar Kapoor Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi Paper Coordinator Prof. Anup Kumar Kapoor Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi Naila Ansari Content Writer Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi Prof. Subir Biswas, Department of Anthropology, West Content Reviewer Bengal State University, Barasat, West Bengal 1 Theories and methods in social and cultural Anthropology Anthropology Feminism in Anthropology I Description of Module Subject Name Anthropology Paper Name 10 Theories and methods in social and cultural Anthropology Module Name/Title Feminism in Anthropology I Module Id 24 2 Theories and methods in social and cultural Anthropology Anthropology Feminism in Anthropology I Table of Content Introduction 1. Emergence of Feminism Anthropology 2. Definition of Feminism 3. Anthropology of Gender and Beyond 4. Feminist Theory . Feminism . Feminist . Cultural Feminism . Ecofeminism . Individualist or Libertarian Feminism . Material Feminism . National Organization for Women . Radical Feminism . Amazon Feminism . Separatists 5. Types of Feminist Theory . Gender Differences . Gender Identity . Gender Role . Gender Expression 6. Types of Oppression . Individual 3 Theories and methods in social and cultural Anthropology Anthropology Feminism in Anthropology I . Institutional . Societal/Cultural 7. Feminist Approaches Summary Learning Objectives . To able to define the concept and characteristics Feminism anthropology . To probes into the Emergence of Feminist Anthropology . To determine the identity of impact of feminist theory on mainstream disciplinary development of Anthropology. To able to define the major contemporary anthropological theories, which analyzes the status of women and men in society 4 Theories and methods in social and cultural Anthropology Anthropology Feminism in Anthropology I Introduction In the past several years, feminist anthropologists, sociologists, and social historians have produced a literature on women’s. The literature on women – both feminist and anti-feminist – is a long rumination on the question of the nature and genesis of women’s oppression and social subordination. The question is not a trivial one, since the answers given it determine our visions of the future, and our evaluation of whether or not it is realistic to hope for a sexually egalitarian society. Women are the backbone of a wide range of social activities, including rural and urban settled women population for improved living conditions, student movements, feminist activity, and movements for human rights, land reclamations, relatives of the disappeared, labour unions, abortion and reproductive rights, democratization of political systems, and more. Women were not recognized as individuals or autonomous beings. Women had to face many obstacles in the academic circuit, which symbolizes the effects of an educational culture that radically restricts the scope of women’s intellectual exposure. The task of representing the field of feminist anthropology has been enormously challenging. Not only is the field growing before one’s eyes a truly moving target but it has broadened over the years in ways that make a succinct statement of its contributions all but impossible. 1. Emergence of Feminism Anthropology Feminist anthropology first burst onto the scene only about 30 years ago, in the early to mid-1970s. Along with similar efforts taking hold throughout the academy in this period, it was inspired and shaped by the women’s liberation movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s; with scholar-activists asking questions that they thought might help them to formulate strategies for addressing persistent social injustices. Departing from anthropological conventions of the time, their concern was not only focused on the parts of the world traditionally studied by anthropologists – small scale, exotic, technologically primitive cultures, or populations defined as ‘‘others’’ close at hand – but with relating the insights yielded in cross-cultural study to the societies in which they lived. Curiosity about ‘‘the other’’ was filtered through a sense that the problems facing women in societies were urgent and that the more banal versions of cultural relativism could no longer be used to disguise their significance. Feminist anthropology may be said to have its roots in the work of a number of earlier scholars, including many who would have been surprised to know that their writings had inspired this particular disciplinary turn. Who may be counted as ancestors varies, of course, but I would argue that they should include both stylistic and intellectual predecessors, as well as individuals whose professional contributions stood as beacons to women anthropologists who followed after them. There were actually many women active in US anthropology as early as the late nineteenth century, some of them self- taught, but their accomplishments have tended to fade with time, partly because, in some cases they 5 Theories and methods in social and cultural Anthropology Anthropology Feminism in Anthropology I produced few publications, but also because their heritage was erased by the professionalization of the discipline at the turn of the twentieth century. Feminist anthropology is a four-field approach to anthropology (archaeological, biological, cultural, and linguistic) that seeks to reduce male bias in research findings, anthropological hiring practices, and the scholarly production of knowledge. The subfield of Feminist Anthropology emerged as a reaction to a perceived andocentric bias within the discipline. Two related points should be made concerning this reaction. First of all, some of the prominent figures in early American anthropology (e.g. Margaret Mead and Ruth Benedict) were women, and . Discipline has traditionally been more egalitarian, in terms of gender, than other social sciences. However, is the fact that the discipline has been subject to prevailing modes of thought through time and has certainly exhibited the kind of andocentric thinking that early feminist anthropologists accused it; Furthermore, in insisting on what was then a very unpopular interrogation of taken-for-granted assumptions about women and men, many of these early feminist anthropologists felt themselves to be outsiders in their own cultures. At the same time, however, in line with a strong belief in the common humanness of all the peoples anthropologists studied and the existence of fundamental commonalities between women across cultural boundaries, the originators of feminist anthropology were convinced that lessons relevant to their own concerns could be drawn from the study of women in other cultures. The notion that there were cultural regularities awaiting discovery was implicit in this venture, as was an as yet unexamined reliance on sexual categories as real and cross-culturally valid. In moving toward originating a new field, these scholars were moved, as well, by the desire to do justice to women in various cultures, a group they saw as having been ethnographically disenfranchised. 2. Definition of Feminism What is feminism? Who is a feminist? How do we understand feminism across national boundaries? Across cultures? Across centuries? These questions and their corollaries are raised every day, both here and abroad, by activists in the contemporary women's movement, by scholars, in the press, and in informal conversation. Everyone seems to have different answers, and every answer is infused with a political and emotional charge. 6 Theories and methods in social and cultural Anthropology Anthropology Feminism in Anthropology I . The terms "feminism" or "feminist" first appeared in France and The Netherlands in 1872, Great Britain in the 1890s, and the United States in 1910. The Oxford English Dictionary lists 1894 for the first appearance of "feminist" and 1895 for "feminism". "Woman's Rights" was probably the term used most commonly, hence Queen Victoria's description of this "mad, wicked folly of 'Woman's Rights'". Defining feminism can be challenging, but a broad understanding of it includes the acting, speaking, writing, and advocating on behalf of women's issues and rights and identifying injustice to females in the social status quo. The word ‘Feminism’ seems to refer to an intense awareness of identity as a woman and interest in feminine problems. The subjugation of woman is a central fact of history and it is the main cause of all psychological disorders in society. According to Janet Richards, “The essence of Feminism has a strong fundamental case intended to mean only that there are excellent reasons for thinking that woman suffer from systematic social injustice because of their sex, the proposition is to be regarded as constituting feminism.” . Feminism is a complex notion that has vast differences in meaning and connotation for people spanning generations, ethnic identities, sexual orientations, social classes, nationality, and myriad identities. Feminism is not a static notion; rather it evolves with us throughout our lives and is shaped by the various lenses we use to view the world at large and, most importantly, ourselves. 3. Anthropology of Gender and Beyond Central to this approach was recognition that ‘‘women’’ could not be classified categorically as constituents of a population whose membership was simply self evident, an insight that was also beginning
Recommended publications
  • Dziebel Commentproof
    UCLA Kinship Title COMMENT ON GERMAN DZIEBEL: CROW-OMAHA AND THE FUTURE OF KIN TERM RESEARCH Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/55g8x9t7 Journal Kinship, 1(2) Author Ensor, Bradley E Publication Date 2021 DOI 10.5070/K71253723 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ 4.0 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California COMMENT ON GERMAN DZIEBEL: CROW-OMAHA AND THE FUTURE OF KIN TERM RESEARCH Bradley E. Ensor SAC Department Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI 48197 USA Email: bensor@emich.edu Abstract: Kin terminology research—as reflected in Crow-Omaha and Dziebel (2021)—has long been interested in “deep time” evolution. In this commentary, I point out serious issues in neoev- olutionist models and phylogenetic models assumed in Crow-Omaha and Dziebel’s arguments. I summarize the widely-shared objections (in case Kin term scholars have not previously paid atten- tion) and how those apply to Kin terminology. Trautmann (2012:48) expresses a hope that Kinship analysis will Join with archaeology (and primatology). Dziebel misinterprets archaeology as lin- guistics and population genetics. Although neither Crow-Omaha nor Dziebel (2021) make use of archaeology, biological anthropology, or paleogenetics, I include a brief overview of recent ap- proaches to prehistoric Kinship in those fields—some of which consider Crow-Omaha—to point out how these fields’ interpretations are independent of ethnological evolutionary models, how their data should not be used, and what those areas do need from experts on kinship. Introduction I was delighted by the invitation to contribute to the debate initiated by Dziebel (2021) on Crow- Omaha: New Light on a Classic Problem of Kinship Analysis (Trautmann and Whiteley 2012a).
    [Show full text]
  • Feminist Anthropology • Emerged in 1970S in Response to “Androcentric” Biases of Anthropology and Other Sciences
    12/3/2013 Feminist Anthropology • Emerged in 1970s in response to “androcentric” biases of anthropology and other sciences. • Stanley Barrett* lists some prominent assumptions or Feminist anthropology characteristics of feminist anthropology: 1. All social relations are gendered . 2. Distinctive epistemology that rejects separation ANTH 348/Ideas of Culture between subject & object, researcher & researched. Favors collaborative, dialogical research. 3. Distinctive ethics – primary purpose of research to empower women, eliminate oppression. Anthropology: A Student’s Guide to Theory and Method . University of Toronto Press. Feminist Anthropology Feminist Anthropology 4. Anti-positivism – language of science is language 7. A female essence . of oppression. Image of orderly universe is replaced by incomplete, fragmentary ethnographies to more accurately reflect peoples' lives. 8. Universal sexual asymmetry . 5. Preference for qualitative methods – mainstream, quantitative methods are read as male methods. Genuine female methods bring researcher/subject 9. Anthropology of women vs. feminist together as equals. anthropology. 6. The life history – means to give voice to people, capture the institutional & historical forces as they impinge upon individuals. Feminist Anthropology Feminist Anthropology: Sherry Ortner • Sally Slocum, Woman the Gatherer: Male Bias in • Ph.D. University of Chicago. • Professor of Anthropology at Anthropology (1975) UCLA. • Eleanor Leacock, Interpreting the Origins of Gender • Fieldwork in Nepal with Inequality: Conceptual and Historical Problems Sherpas. • Structuralist approach to (1983) question of gender equality. • Sherry Ortner. Is Female to Male as Nature is to • Gender relations are patterned by fact that, as Culture? (1974) childbearers, women are natural creators while men, because they are unable to bear children, are cultural creators. 1 12/3/2013 Feminist Anthropology: Feminist Anthropology: Sally Slocum Eleanor Leacock (1922-1987) • Influenced by Marxist materialism.
    [Show full text]
  • World Archaeology, Vol
    Feminisms, Queer Theories, and the Archaeological Study of Past Sexualities Author(s): Barbara L. Voss Source: World Archaeology, Vol. 32, No. 2, Queer Archaeologies (Oct., 2000), pp. 180-192 Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/827864 Accessed: 23-08-2015 06:25 UTC Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/ info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. Taylor & Francis, Ltd. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to World Archaeology. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 159.178.22.27 on Sun, 23 Aug 2015 06:25:36 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Feminisms,queer theories,and the archaeologicalstudy of past sexualities Barbara L. Voss Abstract Archaeologyfaces the unique challenge of stretchingsocial theories of sexuality in newchrono- logicaland methodological directions. This essay uses an analysisof citational practices to consider how feministand queertheories articulate with archaeological investigations of sexuality.Both queertheories and feminist archaeological practices are shown to be powerfultools that can be used to expandarchaeological interpretations ofgender and sexuality. Keywords Sexuality;gender; queer theory; feminism; history of archaeology. There is another social functionof gender to be considered and that is the social markingof sexuallyappropriate partners...
    [Show full text]
  • What a Difference Political Economy Makes: Feminist Anthropology in the Postmodern Era
    What a Difference Political Economy Makes: Feminist Anthropology in the Postmodern Era Micaela Di Leonardo Anthropological Quarterly, Vol. 66, No. 2, Constructing Meaningful Dialogue on Difference: Feminism and Postmodernism in Anthropology and the Academy. Part 1. (Apr., 1993), pp. 76-80. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-5491%28199304%2966%3A2%3C76%3AWADPEM%3E2.0.CO%3B2-W Anthropological Quarterly is currently published by The George Washington University Institute for Ethnographic Research. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/about/terms.html. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/journals/ifer.html. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. The JSTOR Archive is a trusted digital repository providing for long-term preservation and access to leading academic journals and scholarly literature from around the world. The Archive is supported by libraries, scholarly societies, publishers, and foundations. It is an initiative of JSTOR, a not-for-profit organization with a mission to help the scholarly community take advantage of advances in technology.
    [Show full text]
  • 'Anthropologists Are Talking' About Feminist Anthropology
    ‘Anthropologists Are Talking’ About Feminist Anthropology he series ‘Anthropologists Are Talking’ is a roundtable feature in which anthropologists talk candidly and spontaneously about issues Tof relevance to the discipline. The aim of the series is to reflect the kinds of conversations we all have (or wish we had) with colleagues — the fun and engaging ones in which we recount, joke, agree, dispute and formulate part of a broader vision of what anthropology is or could be. This conversation was held to mark the fact that the two landmark books in feminist anthropology, Woman, Culture and Society, edited by Michelle Zimbalist Rosaldo and Louise Lamphere, and Toward an Anthropology of Women, edited by Rayna R. Reiter (later Rapp) had celebrated their 30 year anniversaries in 2004 and 2005, respectively. Former Ethnos editor Don Kulick asked two of the books’ editors and the author of one of the most celebrated articles to appear in one of them to talk about the history of the volumes, about what happened next, and about their sense of feminist anthropology today. The participants are: louise lamphere Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at the Uni- versity of New Mexico and past President of the American Anthropological Association. Louise has studied issues of women and work for 20 years, beginning with her book on women workers in Rhode Island industry, From Working Daughters to Working Mothers (1987). Among her other books are Sunbelt Working Mothers: Reconciling Family and Factory (1993, coauthored with Patricia Zavella, Felipe Gonzales and Peter Evans), and Situated Lives: Gender and Culture in Everyday Life (1997, co-edited with Helena Ragoné and Patricia Zavella).
    [Show full text]
  • Thomas Erben Gallery Ecofeminism(S)
    Thomas Erben Gallery ecofeminism(s) curated by Monika Fabijanska June 19 - July 24, 2020 Press Day: Thursday, June 18, 2020, 12-6pm Reopens: September 8-26, 2020 526 West 26th Street, Suite 412-413 New York, NY 10001 Gallery Hours: Tue - Sat, 10-6pm Summer Hours: Mon – Fri , 11-6pm (June 29-July 24) NEW INFORMATION (updated August 28, 2020) ecofemisnism(s) online: PRESS RELEASE PRESS KIT: WORK DESCRIPTIONS & IMAGES LIST OF ARTISTS LIST OF ARTWORKS IMAGES ESSAY EXHIBITION PRESS UPCOMING PROGRAMS: Thursday, September 10, 6:30 PM EST Christies’s webinar: Spotlight on ecofeminism(s) REGISTER This complimentary webinar explores the critically acclaimed group exhibition ecofeminism(s) at Thomas Erben Gallery. Exhibition curator Monika Fabijanska and gallerist Thomas Erben will join Christie’s Education’s Julie Reiss for a discussion about the show’s timeliness and the increasing centrality in the art world of art grounded in ecological and other human rights concerns. Wednesday, September 16, 6:30 PM EST Zoom conversation with Raquel Cecilia Mendieta, niece and goddaughter of Ana Mendieta and Mira Friedlaender, daughter of Bilge Friedlaender, moderated by Monika Fabijanska. LINK TO ZOOM Meeting ID: 969 1319 1806 Password: 411157 RECORDED PROGRAMS GALLERY WALKTHROUGH WITH THE CURATOR ZOOM CONVERSATIONS moderated by curator Monika Fabijanska: Wednesday, July 8, 6:30 PM EST Lynn Hershman Leeson Mary Mattingly Hanae Utamura Julie Reiss, Ph.D., Christie’s Education CLICK TO WATCH THE RECORDING Wednesday, July 15, 6:30 PM EST Aviva Rahmani Sonya Kelliher-Combs
    [Show full text]
  • Feminist Anthropology and Copyright: Gauging the Application and Limitations of Oppositions Models1
    EeIght Feminist Anthropology and Copyright: Gauging the Application and Limitations of Oppositions Models1 B CourtNEy dOaGOO AbstrAct (en): The purpose of this brief chapter is to explore the applica- tion of interdisciplinarity to intellectual property law, specifically copyright law, through the lens of feminist critiques. The paper attempts to demon- strate how the application and limitation of the two oppositions models offered by feminist anthropology intersect with copyright law. Specifically, drawing on examples from what is considered to be traditionally feminine areas of creativity, the paper broadly examines the values we associate with women, what they create, and how it is perceived and valued before the law. résumé (Fr): Le but de ce court chapitre est d’explorer l’application de l’in- terdisciplinarité au droit de la propriété intellectuelle, plus particulièrement au droit d’auteur, d’un angle critique féministe. Cet article essaie de dé- montrer comment les applications et les limites de deux modèles opposés offerts par l’anthropologie féministe s’entrecroisent avec le droit d’auteur. Plus spécialement, en se basant sur des exemples de ce que l’on considère comme des domaines traditionnels de créativité féminine, cet article exa- 1 I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Intellectual Property Workshop Com- mittee (Professor Mistrale Goudreau, Professor Teresa Scassa, and Executive Director of the Centre for Law, Technology and Society, Madelaine Saginur) for encouraging me to participate in this tremendous project, and also for all of their help, patience, and guid- ance. I would also like to thank the participants at the conference for their feedback, the two peer reviewers, the student editors, and committee editor for all of their hard work, dedication, and assistance.
    [Show full text]
  • Gender and Sexuality
    PERSPECTIVES: AN OPEN INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY SECOND EDITION Nina Brown, Thomas McIlwraith, Laura Tubelle de González 2020 American Anthropological Association 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 1301 Arlington, VA 22201 ISBN Print: 978-1-931303-67-5 ISBN Digital: 978-1-931303-66-8 http://perspectives.americananthro.org/ This book is a project of the Society for Anthropology in Community Colleges (SACC) http://sacc.americananthro.org/ and our parent organization, the American Anthropological Association (AAA). Please refer to the website for a complete table of contents and more information about the book. Perspectives: An Open Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, 2nd Edition by Nina Brown, Thomas McIlwraith, Laura Tubelle de González is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. Under this CC BY-NC 4.0 copyright license you are free to: Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material Under the following terms: Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes. 1010 GENDER AND SEXUALITY Carol C. Mukhopadhyay, San Jose State University carol.mukhopadhyay@sjsu.edu http://www.sjsu.edu/people/carol.mukhopadhyay Tami Blumenfield, Yunnan University tami.blumenfield@gmail.com with Susan Harper, Texas Woman’s University, susanharperteaches@gmail.com, and Abby Gondek, abbygondek@outlook.com Learning Objectives • Identify ways in which culture shapes sex/gender and sexuality.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ecofeminism of Ivone Gebara
    The Ecofeminism of Ivone Gebara Elaine Nogueira-Godsey Town Cape of Supervisor: David Chidester Co-Supervisor: Sa’diyya Shaikh Thesis Presented for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Universityin the Department of Religious Studies Faculty of Humanities UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN November 2013 The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgementTown of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Cape Published by the University ofof Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University Para os meus filhos Natália e Lucas Que são minha inacabável fonte de alegria e inspiração! To Nina Hoel, a rare human being, who I have the luck to call friend and To Trad Nogueira-Godsey who has been married to a PhD thesis for the last fifteen months. ii “Prefiro ser essa metamorfose ambulante Do que ter aquela velha opinião formada sobre tudo” (Raul Seixas, 1945-1989) iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements vi Abstract ix Preface xi Chapter 1: Introduction: Contextualizing the Theology of Ivone Gebara 1 1.1 Research Context 6 1.2 Conceptual Frameworks 18 1.3 Gebara’s Life Trajectory 23 1.4 Chapter Outline 38 Chapter 2: The Contours of Global Ecofeminism 41 2.1 Ecofeminist Development 43 2.2 Women, Ecology and Development 51 2.3 The Academic Intersection 56 2.4 Ecofeminist Basic Tenets 59 2.5 The Intersection of Ecofeminism 70 and Christian Feminist Theologies 2.6 Ecofeminist
    [Show full text]
  • Feminism and the Anthropology of 'Development'
    Feminism and the Anthropology of ‘Development’: Dilemmas in Rural Mexico Julia E. Murphy ABSTRACT: Feminist promotion of gender equity in development began in the 1970s, challenging development policy and practice and producing a rich body of debate and scholarship. Feminist anthropologists, through scholarship and activism, made impor- tant contributions to the project of reforming development. A recent anthropological critique of development, however, referred to as the anthropology of ‘development’, has raised important questions about anthropology’s relationship to development, presenting new challenges to feminist anthropologists who would engage with de- velopment. This new approach, despite its a ention to power, has not had questions about gender at its centre. Drawing on fi eldwork in southeastern Campeche, Mexico, this paper explores challenges of a feminist anthropology of ‘development’, includ- ing pressures for engagement and disengagement, and the apparent contradiction between refl exive critiques of, and feminist engagements with, development. KEYWORDS: anthropology of ‘development’, Calakmul, engaged anthropology, feminist anthropology, gender and development, Mexico Anthropology, Feminism, of development theory and challenged de- and Development velopment practice. Feminist anthropologists working on development have thus bridged Introduction the fi elds of feminism, development and The engagement of feminists in the promo- anthropology. tion of gender equity in development policy A recent anthropological critique of de-
    [Show full text]
  • Women's Human Rights in Africa: Beyond the Debate Over the Universality Or Relativity of Human Rights
    African Studies Quarterly | Volume 2, Issue 3 | 1998 Women's Human Rights in Africa: Beyond the Debate over the Universality or Relativity of Human Rights DIANA J. FOX INTRODUCTION In the fifty years following the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, anthropology as a discipline has embraced a predominantly ethical relativist stance toward the idea of human rights as a legitimate universal concern for all cultures. In the past decade, however, the rising prominence of women's rights as human rights has challenged this point of view. Within the context of the global women's human rights movement, feminist anthropologists are in the forefront of this challenge, striving to uphold anthropology's important focus on cultural context, while at the same time exhibiting a deep concern for practices which harm women, including female genital mutilation and satie, both of which may be argued to be morally objectionable outside of any given culture. Feminist anthropological theory and feminist legal scholarship have questioned the desirability of objective ethnographic reporting of such practices, claiming that to remain aloof from statements of value implies complicity through silence1. Objective reporting, it is argued, denies the existence of the researcher as a "positioned subject" with a point of view, such that the absence of a point of view in reality is a point of view that is not articulated. The effort to articulate a feminist anthropological position on human rights not only undermines the validity of ethical relativism, but also emphatically argues that the western liberal tradition, which informs the bulk of the contemporary human rights movement, represents a fragmentary discourse on human rights, and so cannot currently make claims for universality.
    [Show full text]
  • Locating Black Women in a Transfeminist Anthropology of Religion
    Feminist Anthropology 2020 DOI: 10.1002/fea2.12033 “You Were Gonna Leave Them Out?”: Locating Black Women in a Transfeminist Anthropology of Religion Elizabeth Pérez1 1 University of California, Santa Barbara, HSSB 3051, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 Corresponding author: Elizabeth Pérez; e-mail: eperez@religion.ucsb.edu This article summons a transfeminist anthropology of religion and asserts that such an orientation (with a subfield to match) would be impossible to conceptualize without the scholarship of Black women—feminist, Womanist, and otherwise critically situated. Through the ethnographic analysis of interviews, documentary footage, newspaper reportage, social media, and videos, the article pays tribute to the late Reverend BobbieJean Baker (1964-2014). The article argues that Black transgender Christian women’s religious subjectivity encompasses the innovative inhabitation of Black ecclesiastical linguistic codes and gestural idioms; the elaboration of transfeminist biblical hermeneutics and discursive mechanisms of legitimation; and the simultaneous performance of culinary and relational virtuosity. The article further contends that Baker’s account of her subjectivity cannot be understood without the insights of Christina Sharpe, Hortense J. Spillers, Monica A. Coleman, Yvette A. Flunder, Savannah Shange, Geneva Smitherman, Psyche A. Williams- Forson, and Karen Baker-Fletcher. Together, they assist in revealing that Baker’s efforts to increase the livability of trans women’s worlds were inseparable from her religious convictions, as communicated through (and constituted by) the discourses of the Black church. Equally so, her ministerial vocation and vision of beloved community proceeded from her experience as a seasoned— and expertly seasoning—southern-born-and-raised Black trans woman. Keywords Transfeminism, Blackness, Anthropology of Religion, Gender/Sexuality In October 2010, I met Reverend BobbieJean Baker at San Francisco’s St.
    [Show full text]