Running Head MULTICULTURALISM BAD FOR WOMEN

Multiculturalism Bad For Women



Multiculturalism Bad For Women

Introduction

Multiculturalism has come to refer to (a) the state of a society or the world in which there exists numerous distinct ethnic and cultural groups seen to be politically relevant; and (b) a program or policy advocating or promoting such a society. The first is a factual claim, the second evaluative. But like so many claims in the social sciences, the empirical claim involves much more than empirical judgements, and the evaluative claim is contested by as many who promote it (and certainly does not follow from the empirical claim). Controversy has raged over what the best response to the fact of cultural diversity in the world might be, and it is not too much to suggest that the social and political issues raised by multiculturalism are among the most pressing and important for the new millennium. Coming to grips with these issues requires asking some difficult questions about the nature of culture and its relation to human welfare, and especially what political consequences follow in light of the answers given. Political philosophers aspire to deal with the challenges posed by multiculturalism fairly; the problem is, no one is quite sure what this actually entails.

Discussion

Longings for justice, for equality, for recognition are part of the feminist project. Feminisms have put gender on the agenda for discussing these issues, entailing looking at them from the point of view of what they mean for women in struggling against oppression and injustice as human beings. Our voices involve the search for recognition of our essential humanity, our desire for equality, and our desire for autonomy (where autonomy is an important cultural construct). Women, however, are not only victims of structures but are social agents, strategically acting to counteract disadvantages and at times also acting as oppressors of other women, of blacks, of migrants and of working class women. Our multilayered identities therefore need recognising and that we occupy positions in other categories of difference and location such as ethnicity, racialisation and social class.

The feminist project can be seen as one prong in the fight for ethnic/racial freedom and freedom from class exploitation. It is clear that we cannot build a fairer and more just society for women (the project of feminism) unless we also engage with the other oppressions, around “race,” of culture, of class. This is one of the reasons that feminisms cannot ignore the struggles to build an anti-racist as well as anti-sexist multicultural democracy. This is especially the case with globalisation and transnational movements of labour and the growth of localisms and particularisms that have accompanied these. However, we need to think very carefully about what the recognition of ethnic or cultural “identities” entails. We must be careful not to fix, “museumise” and idealise cultures (our own as well as those of others). This stereotyping fixes them in stone and can lead us on a number of false trails. Firstly, it can lead us to over-celebrating cultures, as though ...