Imperial Feminism: The Modern Gilded Age’s Feminism

The Gilded Age often obfuscated the real experience of living in America under the exploitative capitalist systems led by unhinged corporations and robber barons. During this period the U.S sought an ethos of colonialism abroad. However, the rust-filled, poverty stricken undertones of the Gilded Age were slowly being exposed in the United states. A greater role of government intervention and progressivist reform swept the nation. These reforms attempted to benefit all classes, genders, and ethnicities of women; yet it was not enough. A domestic aspect of imperial feminism thrives today under a neoliberal government that cannot promise a mandated 15$ minimum wage, or reproductive rights for all. America’s government faces further detriments due to the introduction of Senate bill 8 in Texas. This is another major battle lost in the war women continue to in order to change the systems of power that prevent individuals from defining it themselves. In that case patriarchal systems upholding government power have defined and, unfortunately still, define these systems of oppression. There is good news: the war is not over yet.

Source: International socialist review

Background:

Imperial Feminism is a negative connotation of feminism that entails the justification of empire building and imperialism through the use of feminist rhetoric. Mainstream, or western feminism, perpetuates a concept of American, or western, exceptionalism. That America’s idea of “democratization” is in part to “liberate” women in the east whose cultures through a certain colonial outlook are viewed as “backward” or “uncivilized”. This clash of civilizations perpetuates the racist and exploitative undertones found within the domain of imperialism. The “western” or paternalistic outlook of feminism in the modern world continues to thrive under the guise of neo-liberal feminism that focuses on women’s reform in a white and privileged sense, excluding the multi class and racial prism that defines intersectionality. Imperial feminism follows western feminism as it has been used to justify military interventions in countries such as Iraq during the War on Terror.

Politically, this feminism is often perpetuated by intersectional imperialism, where the foreign policy of western nations focuses on supporting and intervening in countries deemed inferior. However, the gilded facade of imperial feminism in the west enforces the idea that western women are already privileged and do not need to restructure themselves in society. This facade is a lie, and, ironically, imperial feminism is not intersectional. Zillah Einstein, an activist scholar and Professor in the Department of Politics at Ithaca College states, “Rather it has a very unitary objective to uphold structural misogyny and deny every underprivileged woman a chance of mobility, or opportunity for self sustainability under the basis of their gender oppression”

Current Examples of Imperial Feminism

These examples mainly fall in the category of the ironic and intersectional imperialism, in which imperial feminism is tied to some form of politics or political policy.

Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State and Senator of New York, often articulates, and simultaneously obfuscates, imperial feminist undertones in her politics.

Economically, the “No Ceilings” initiative established by the Clinton Foundation seems to provide a solid evidence-based case in which large sums of money are distributed to provide for secondary school for all women outside of the United States. However, most countries, whether in destitution or not, are unable to enable the participation of all women in the economy. According to OXFAM international, “ In no country have women achieved economic equality with men. Across the world, women are the lowest paid in work, and 75% globally, women cannot escape poverty. As 600 million are the most insecure working in precarious forms” these forms are outlined as forms of labor. Many governments still have not addressed unsustainable labor conditions for all women.

As a further counter argument, Eisenstein states, “I would be more interested in a no basements initiative. Feminists need to work from the bottom up ,where most women are found- hauling water, collecting wood, standing on assembly lines, and working low-paid jobs”. Furthermore, Hillary’s position on women entering the economy - based mainly on encouragement - does not account for the oppressive systems that most women are predetermined to. In America, these systems are upheld by capitalist privatization that follow more centric, economically liberal tendencies to gut state-run social welfare programs and replace them with privatized schooling, child care and certain necessary healthcare resources. An associate professor of media studies and Middle Eastern Studies at Rutgers University, Deepa Kumar states “These burdens fall on working class women which only increases their socioeconomic vulnerability because they cannot afford privatized things”. Despite this, it has become increasingly difficult to reform the oppressive economic systems of the United States. However, There are solutions.

NGOs and Militarism Pertaining to Imperial Feminism:

The ‘NGO-ization’ aspect of imperial feminism is crucial towards understanding the grip imperial feminist politics have on the world. They are constantly working towards the betterment of humanity overall in specific countries that face destitution, war, and those that lack resources necessary for sustainability. Certain NGOs, though, have allied themselves with oppressive corporations, upholding the framework of the empire. NGOs have partnered with beauty companies. For example, the eight-month campaign to teach Afghan women how to be beauticians, funded by L’oreal and Revlon (Kumar). One of the women who ran the program was completely stereotypical. Of course, not everyone who runs NGOs is like this. She was shocked at how women treat their hair, judging them for getting water from wells to wash hair. When she had make-up done on her, she said she looked like a drag queen. She was too focused on beauty standards that betrayed a sense of superiority for women in Afghanistan. “Rather than asking how it would be possible to get clean water into their homes, for example,” states Kumar. NGOs need to do better to criticize stereotypes that are derived from colonial beliefs. One way to do this is to pull out of partnerships with specific corporations that would rather maximize profit for self-benefit than fully support the betterment of women in Afghanistan

One final aspect of imperial feminism that cannot be overlooked is a militaristic standpoint . Throughout history, many countries have had to suffer under the excruciating weight of colonialism. Imperial feminism has been at the forefront of many unjust militaristic interventions and government coups. For example, US troops overthrew and deposed Hawaii's queen, queen Liliuokalani in a coup d’etat in 1893. As a result, the United States annexed Hawaii in 1898. This occurred through military intervention without just cause. American exceptionalism was the main ideological culprit; many believed a Hawaiian Queen was incapable of governing. In addition, the US wanted unlimited access to Hawaii’s valuable sugarcrop and to use the island as a strategic checkpoint station in the Pacific. This idea of American exceptionalism encompasses feminist imperialism. A different example today is how the U.S once backed Saudi Arabia to fight the ongoing proxy war in Yemen, vying for Sunni Arabs to overpower the Iranian backed, Shia Houthis. This proxy war has led to absolute devastation for the Yemeni people: of the 22.2 million Yemenis in need of assistance, more than 3 million women and children are at risk of sexual assault, and rape (Wadekar).

In another perspective, the U.S alliance with Saudi Arabia is based on a false premise. The alliance was perpetuated by the U.S oil company and the Saudi state. “They both exaggerated the importance of US-Saudi relations, many Democratic candidates no longer believe that Saudi Arabia is an ally,” says Ellen Wald of the Washington Post. The imperial feminism behind US actions is questionable in this case. However, if this does mean the US is reversing imperial feminist policy, it should go further to criticize Saudi Arabia and other proxies for their unjust actions that caused such a prolonged humanitarian crisis in Yemen. America, and its government, can also publicly stand in solidarity with Yemeni women and children by promoting good NGOs to donate to. In addition, the US can encourage advocacy for Yemen’s crisis-impacted women and girls and amplify their voices to provide a strong stance that might even motivate some to join the fight and dismantle imperial feminist standards.

Challenging Imperial Feminism

Even though imperial feminism is ideologically rooted in US foreign policy, it does not require much to challenge it on a general basis. Imperial feminist rhetoric also exists in many other countries’ policies too. For example, France supports the military occupations of the Sahel in the Sahara desert in order to rid the area of Jihadists. They also unnecessarily inflame ethnic tension. At home, they are no better, mandating harsh Islamaphobic policies on Muslim women. There is also to be little light at the end of the tunnel, as the next french election rolls around, even more harsh mandates could be enacted to further marginalize Muslim women

Post-colonialism is a new breed of feminism that critiques the colonial stereotypes placed on women in the eastern world while also amplifying their voices. However, the rhetoric of this ideology is considered more radical than what some mainstream feminists could care for. They believe that it divides rather than unites feminists However, researching Feminism from multiple perspectives reinforces better comprehension towards challenging Imperial Feminism. If pro-postcolonial feminist organizations can unite in America, for example, and secure a transnational and intersectional feminist movement to sway local, state or federal level elections to put more politically neo-liberal women in power: then maybe then the passage of the once- shot- down Equal Rights Amendment can be revitalized.

The passage of the ERA could take some brilliant steps towards changing the patriarchal, repressive systems in the US. One specific example, on gender pay gap; “The ERA could enhance existing statutory protections against pay discrimination and bolster legal challenges towards discriminatory conduct,” says Robin Bleiweis at the Center for American Progress. The extension of these challenges could one day eliminate discrimination in the work place and abolish loopholes employers can use to justify pay disparities. Which in turn, might inch all women to better participate in the US economy. A no basements initiative, brought up by Zillah Eisenstein earlier, that promotes “from the ground up” grassroots work to enhance economic freedom could definitely use the backing of the ERA. The Equal Rights Amendment passage might also have greater influence on Supreme Court decisions and could propagate wins in the areas of reproductive rights, despite recent events, and push the Violence Against Women Act to passage too. These are quite long term solutions that are much less patriarchal; an all-encompassing free system is miles away at the moment. However, if the possible solutions in this article tell you anything, it is that the war against discrimination is far from over.

Source: Operation Black Vote

How to Help:

Here are ways to help, either by informational research, donation or organization anyone can join in order to contribute to more inclusivity and rights for all women, and to better the world.

https://yemencrisis.carrd.co/ here is a carrd I found helpful, although not made by me.

https://www.obv.org.uk/news-blogs/ugly-truth-about-imperial-feminism - article overview on the topic

https://sossahel.ngo/ (donation)

https://www.google.com/amp/s/time.com/6049226/france-hijab-ban/%3famp=true - another article on the recent hijab ban in france and how to fight it

http://iwnam.org/ international women against militarism- an organization to get involved with

Works Cited

Eisenstein, Zillah. “Hillary Clinton's Imperial Feminism.” The Cairo Review of Global Affairs, The Cairo Review of Global Affairs, 12 Jan. 2017,

www.thecairoreview.com/essays/hillary-clintons-imperial-feminism/.

“Why the Majority of the World's Poor Are Women.” Oxfam International, 20 Jan. 2020,

www.oxfam.org/en/why-majority-worlds-poor-are-women.

Kumar, Deepa. “Imperialist Feminism.” Imperialist Feminism | International Socialist

Review, isreview.org/issue/102/imperialist-feminism/.

October 12, 2016, et al. “No Ceilings: The Full Participation Project.” Clinton Foundation, 12 Oct. 2016, www.clintonfoundation.org/our-work/no-ceilings-full-participation-project.

Saiesha. “NGOs Helping Women and Children in Yemen.” The Borgen Project, Saiesha Https://Borgenproject.org/Wp-Content/Uploads/The_Borgen_Project_Logo_small.J

pg, 8 Apr. 2021, borgenproject.org/women-and-children-in-yemen/.

Ph.D., Keanu Sai. “The Illegal Overthrow of the HAWAIIAN Kingdom Government.” NEA, www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/illegal-overthrow-hawaiian-kingdom-government.

“Perspective | The United States and Saudi Arabia Aren't Allies. They Never Have Been.” Google, Google, www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/02/05/united-states-saudi-arabia-arent-allies-they-never-have-been/%3foutputType=amp.