Mansplaining Feminism

Interview with Susan Hawthorne, author, poet, philosopher, feminist and publisher. Together with Renate Klein, she is co-founder and director of Spinifex Press, a leading independent feminist publisher that celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2016 in Melbourne with a festival of radical feminism. (00:00) Cows in Chennai  (01:24) How controversial was the concept of separatism when Susan Hawthorne was working on the book in the 70s? (06:29) When the oppressed want to fight the aggressors, they do set up separate groups... (07:42) Is thinking of the women's movement as national struggles and the opposition as IMF useful?  (12:49) Are non-political women only spaces useful too?  (16:39) Where should we stand on the issue of protecting women (for example with women's only carriages) and changing men's behaviour?  (20:30) Class and gender - how does class change the ideas of Susan Hawthorne? Memories from India.  (24:28) Is separatism a long term solution?  (31:41) For the men who has never been in the position of struggle because of their gender or background, what can they do?  (34:00) The difference between the image of feminism and what it has turned out to be as we have studied it.  (35:10) The clarity of In Defence of Separatism (36:12) Final thoughts, recommendations for our reading list. 

In the 1970s, Susan Hawthorne wrote most of In Defence of Separatism but struggled to get it published. The concept was controversial then as it is now. The basic idea is that men have access to more power than women, and that therefore any relationship between men and women, whether at work, in the family or anywhere else, will always have an unequal power dynamic. Separatism is the only way to allow women at the very least some rest and time to heal, but also a ground for political awareness which will allow women to collectively break free from patriarchy once and for all. We also talk about men who harass women, White Tiger and macro-economics. 

Zillah Eisenstein is a Professor of Politics at Ithaca College. She's a feminist activist and scholar for over twenty years, she is the author of Radical Future of Liberal Feminism, The Female Body and the Law and The Color of Gender - and the book we wanted to speak about "Capitalist Patriarchy and the Case of Socialist Feminism". 

Zillah Eisenstein is one of the most prominent feminist activists and marxist scholars. Her book, Capitalist Patriarchy and the Case for Socialist Feminism was influential in uniting socialist activists and feminist ones in a common struggle for freedom. Today we discuss what this means, and about that teacher who was sacked from Eton for mansplaining feminism. We also talk about Avatar

On the surface, Dr. Rahul Rao's book is about the anti-homosexuality law which was debated between 2009 and 2014 in the Ugandan parliament and its links to US evangelical Christian activists as well as its relationship with colonial law. The book also looks at similar dynamics in postcolonial India and other parts of the world where sexuality is more than a personal issue, but one of major political significance. However, at a deeper level, the book is about how even sexuality, perhaps one of the most personal aspects of our lives, is not only political but geopolitical. I speak here about the book and Rahul's thoughts about queer theory's relationship with feminist theory - and about what inspired him to write the book.

When Beyond the Pale: White Women, Racism and History was published in the 90s, it was a powerful message against racism in both colonial and feminist politics. Vron Ware discussed the concept of race and whiteness in particular within those political movements, and how it intersected with anti-racist and racist projects. Although problematising the very foundation of race, the book is beautifully written and was influential in both me and Billy's life. To be able to speak to her now was very exciting for both of us and we couldn't wait to speak to her about different ways in which the book is still relevant today. For example, the role of the white girl as a victim of South Asian grooming gangs in England seemed as powerful as those used by the right as explained in Professor Ware's work. But the interview started on a more personal note. 

In 1978, Angela Carter published a book that was the complete antithesis to Andrea Dworkin's anti-porn stance. For Carter, pornography represented a possibility of a gender revolution. It was abstracted and pure, showed oppression as it fundamentally was, and it allowed the possibility of change. Carter did this through her analysis of Marquis de Sade and his pornographic literature, which she looked on favourably for reasons we explore in today's episode. 

In 1976, Merlin Stone published her book on the prevalence of goddess worship in most of human history until the introduction of Abrahamic religions who erased not only the female gods, but also the role of powerful women in society. The end of the female creator god, or rather the sidelining of her as a "great wife" or "nurturer of prophets", mirrored the lowered status of women in society. Stone illustrates this using ancient sculptors and art work. We had some help at the end of this episode from Dr. Amina Nawaz, who shared some of her own experience doing research on the feminine in Islamic theology. 

In 1975, Evelyn Reed did what Kate Millet said couldn't  be done. She traced the origins of patriarchy to its origins. Her argument was that it was the introduction of capitalism that brought the original, more equal, matrilineal societies to their demise. These societies were defined by the power of women within them, the equality that existed between the sexes and the rules which were in place to keep all of it together. We also talk to Dr. Igor Cherstich from UCL about the traditions within anthropology in looking at origins of patriarchy. 

Anneka Harry, author, comedian, actor, producer, and general champion, spoke with Arash and Billy about her book Lady Sidekick. The conversation moved across Indiana Jones, Gladiator, and obviously Wonder Woman. Her book discusses 50 of the most common tropes for women in movies so we discussed how she imagined us moving away from narratives based in tropes. 

Fascinating conversation with the founder of Feminist International Relations about prostitution, militarisation, academia and nationalism. Cynthia Enloe, who wrote the influential feminist book Bananas, Beaches and Bases (discussed on Mansplaining Feminism in Season 2) is not just an excellent researcher and writer, but a brilliant teacher - something she shows in this conversation. 

A hugely influential feminist, economist, and politician, Professor Dame Marilyn Waring spoke with us about her worries about the lack of change, her hopes for the future, and ways in which she has helped shape our understanding of measuring success in public policy. Her 1988 classic, If Women Counted, her 1988 classic, will be discussed in Season 2 of Mansplaining Feminism.

Our first season ends with Woman Hating by Andrea Dworkin. She is particularly famous for her consistent stance against pornography but in this book she starts by laying out the fundamental flaw in assuming any real progress in the rights of women. She shows, through analysis of fairy tales and pornography, that the ways in which we understand gender roles are highly limited to patriarchal and abusive systems of control. A highly controversial figure, she makes a fitting finale to our first season. We also read a few reviews. 

In 1972, Selma James wrote, photocopied and distributed a text that would become the bedrock of any wages for housework campaign that followed. She was critical of the way societies demands on women were reinforced by the left and asked for the socialist movement to include a call for true freedom for women. That would only happen if women were paid for their work at home, she argued. 

In 1975, Susan Brownmiller published the very popular and controversial book "Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape". In it, she argues that rape is an ever present force within sexist society and not some distant event that happens in the margins of every day life. Rape should be brought to the forefront of our consciousness as a society, so we can eradicate the culture that leads to it. Her main controversies came in the chapters on race, where many accused Brownmiller of resurrecting racist imagery. A difficult subject, but an important one, discussed in an extra long episode. We also speak about MeToo.

In the 1970s, after the Stonewall riots and the renewed empowerment of the LGBTQ movements, a collective by the name of Radicallesbians wrote a manifesto. This was their resistance against the exclusion of lesbian rights within the feminist movement and against the anti-homosexual statements of Betty Friedan. The manifesto is not just a piece of resistance literature, but also sets out its own understanding of an 'organic revolution', and liberation for both women and men. 

In 1970, Germaine Greer published the Female Eunuch which went on to shake American society and bring new energy into the feminist movement. Calling on women to "taste their menstrual blood", and with a confident energy rarely seen on mainstream TV, Greer convinced many women to resist all types of repression and oppression and to not be content with the status quo. We also talk about films again. 

Slight detour through the 1970s, we return to the start of the decade with a book which made waves in the second wave. Kate Millett's Sexual Politics might be one of the first feminist literary critiques, but it also shifted the debate from the rights of women to the creation and reinforcement of patriarchy. The focus was no longer on women, but on men as well, and the very foundations of sexual politics.

In 1975, Laura Mulvey wrote what would become a highly influential analysis of how cinema reproduces patriarchy. She coined the term "male gaze" and argued that the cinema goer is manipulated by being forced to connect to the cinema experience through the prism of heterosexual male desire. We also talk about Frozen, The Royal Tenenbaums and more trucks. 

A unique voice in the feminist movement, Firestone's Dialectic of Sex was a best-selling revolutionary text arguing that we need to end traditional gender/sex roles. Science, she argued, had finally allowed total domination of humans over nature, so it was time this domination was used to free women from their 'natural' roles. 

Mary Ann Weathers called for a new feminism movement which centred around the experiences of black women. Her argument was that Black women were caught beneath patriarchy as well as racism as well as most frequently the ones suffering most from the injustice of capitalism. We talk about her famous essay "An Argument for Black Women's Liberation" as well as Colin Kaepernick, Martin Luther King and why Billy was attacked at work. 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5VBqGiB... Twitter: https://twitter.com/mansplainingf We start on one of the more radical characters in the history of feminism, with Valerie Solanas. The SCUM Manifesto, SCUM standing for Society for Cutting Up Men, divided the feminist movement as not everyone shared Solanas view of a utopia which was free from the male. The manifesto is not however, just random collections of anti-male propaganda as some might think and can be seen as an ironic reaction to misogynist literature. Whatever you think of it, it certainly isn't boring.    (00:00) Introduction (01:04) Scum Manifesto and other good titles (01:50) Valerie Solanas background, abusive upbringing and academic breakthrough  (03:35) SCUM Manifesto and the connection to Valerie Solanas' abuse (04:19) Men are walking abortions, mistakes and scum.  (05:50) Men are jealous of women and want what they have.  (07:30) Men want to be housewives (08:43) Every man, deep down, knows he's a worthless piece of shit (11:38) The break from de Beauvoir - men lack any worth whatsoever (12:18) Is SCUM genuine or ironic?  (13:35) SCUM Manifesto a socialist manifesto. Removing the money system and destroy so-called great art. (16:02) Valerie Solanas and Andy Warhol (18:42) What was the reaction to the SCUM Manifesto?  

The Feminine Mystique - Betty Friedan  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5VBqGiB... Twitter: https://twitter.com/mansplainingf We've reached the funky 60s and another major text in the feminist movement. The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan called out the "problem that has no name" but that was felt so clearly by many women in the US since the end of World War two. Criticised for being centred on a specifically middle-class and white demographic, the book was nevertheless a major turning point and was highly influential.    (00:00) Introduction (00:31) Billy's new feminist glasses (01:24) Betty Friedan is American so it matters more (02:33) Betty Friedan was a socialist, Jewish and feminist activist (04:00) The problem that has no name, American housewives and their lost potential (09:16) The feminine mystique and the female stereotype (13:33) "Housewife fatigue" and the problems of patriarchy according to Friedan (15:10) Mad Men, Betty and her unnamed problem (16:05) The response to The Feminine Mystique  (17:18) Critique of The Feminine Mystique from LGBTQ and Black feminists

Simone de Beauvoir - The Second Sex - Part 2 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5VBqGiB... Twitter: https://twitter.com/mansplainingf Still on Simone de Beauvoir's "The Second Sex", we now discuss the second volume where de Beauvoir sets out her main theory of immanence and transcendence. She explains what it means to be truly free as a human being, and how that freedom is often denied women. We also look at Tupac Shakur for some reason.   (00:00) Introduction (00:33) What happened in part 1?  (01:42) One is not born, but rather becomes a woman. Leaving Freud.  (03:07) Simone de Beauvoir's view on becoming a woman. Departure from the first wave.  (05:13) The different stages of becoming and being a woman.  (06:18) The discovery of the genitalia. The boy and the penis.  (07:10) Transcendence and Immanence - real freedom and the status quo.  (07:51) Tupac Shakur and Transcendence versus the housewife and immanence (11:33) Solutions to the gender problem by Simone de Beauvoir (12:22) Boys love trucks and women love dolls (15:28) The reaction to the Second Sex and the ideas of transcendence and immanence (17:54) Why there aren't many women geniuses according to Simone de Beauvoir

Simone de Beauvoir - The Second Sex - Part 1 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5VBqGiB... Twitter: https://twitter.com/mansplainingf In this episode we look at the 1950s and what many call “the feminist bible”: The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir. How are women actually oppressed? Can they ever be free? These are the fundamental questions de Beauvoir tackles in this giant book.   (00:00) Introduction (00:31) Hi Billy… (00:57) The Second Sex and some background (01:21) So who was Simone de Beauvoir? (02:48) Why is she famous? How did she contribute to the history of feminism? (04:00) Sperm and Ovum (05:39) Simone de Beauvoir and the second wave (07:00) So this is a huge leap forward compared to the first wave? (08:54) Does the book lead to any change in society? (10:32) Women have a tougher life than men! (12:39) Just to summarise…

Episode 1 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5VBqGiBvqFa98qw603kJxq?si=18f52b7b834c4eab Twitter: https://twitter.com/mansplainingf In this episode we look at the Declaration of Sentiments, among other texts from the 19th century. We discuss the role of Cady Stanton and her allies in arguably kicking off feminism in the Western world. It's the first episode of a long journey, and we hope, a step in the right direction. (00:00) Introduction (00:39) Purpose of the podcast (02:39) Mid-19th century American feminism and the Declaration of Sentiments (05:16) Sojourner Truth and Ain't I A Woman (07:14) Billy summarises the Declaration of Sentiments (07:40) Abolitionist Movement and Feminism (08:24) Religious arguments for women's liberation (10:40) What did they do with this manifesto? What were the results? (12:20) Conclusions and what to expect in future episodes