Postmodern feminism vs diversity and equality

Department of Women and Gender Studies University of Dhaka W S 2 G 8 0 Course Code 6 0 3 Class Roll Masum Billah Name of the Student Do you think postmodern feminists believe in gender diversity? Yes or no. how it is connected/not connected gender equality? Assignment Topic 911 Word Count: (Excluding bibliography and footnotes) 9/11/2015 Date of Submission: Having read and understood the guidelines on plagiarism/academic dishonesty, I hereby confirm by completing and attaching this form that the work submitted is my own. Signature of the Student Introduction: Diversity is a concept to encompass acceptance and respect. It means an understanding of each individual is unique, and recognize our individual differences. It may be along different dimensions of race, class, ethnicity, gender, age, physical ability, religious belief etc. Gender Diversity: Sex and gender, they’re always present, they’re important aspects of who we are, yet they’re rarely discussed in a thoughtful way. Gender diversity means to consider and promote different skills, different resources and potentials of women and men in their diversity and equivalent. Gender diversity is a term referring to how different genders are represented in a relevant setting. Primarily this term is often used to refer to females and males, though in some contexts and research the term may also refer to those who fall into non-binary categories of gender. Does postmodern feminism believe in diversity? As I think, postmodern feminism is a term which regards gender diversity and it is the first ideology who believe in this. All the groups before postmodern like liberal, radical, socialist and Marxist use a common theme. Women are dominated, oppressed all over the world in different ways. There are many differences in the process. But these groups gives a common solution for all women over the world as liberals emphasize on law, radicals on reproduction, Marxists suggest for economic and socialists for social structure. But postmodern feminists believe in individuality of every women. Different women have different problems, so solutions should be different based on their problems. How postmodern feminism believe in diversity? Postmodern Feminists accept the male/female binary as a main categorizing force in our society. Following Simone de Beauvoir, they see female as having being cast into the role of the “other”. They criticize the structure of society and the dominant order, especially in its patriarchal aspects. Many Postmodern feminists reject the feminist label, because anything that ends with an "ism" reflects an essentialist conception. Postmodern Feminism is the ultimate acceptor of diversity. Multiple truths, multiple roles, multiple realities are part of its focus. There is a rejection of an essential nature of women, of one-way to be a woman." Post-structural feminism offers a useful philosophy for diversity in feminism because of its acceptance of multiple truths and rejection of essentialism." (p. 19, Olson). Feminist empiricism, or liberal feminism, sees equal opportunity as the primary focus. They are concerned with "levelling the playing field." It does not question the nature of the knowledge or the structure of human interactions, but rather the events that go on within that structure. Accepting the idea that there is a single knowable truth has led liberal feminists to use the accepted methodologies in research, believing that they just need to be used in different ways. "The belief that 'one is a woman' is almost as absurd and obscurantist as the belief that 'one is a man.' I say 'almost' because there are still many goals which women can achieve: freedom of abortion and contraception, day-care centres for children, equality on the job, etc. Therefore, we must use 'we are women' as an advertisement or slogan for our demands. On a deeper level, however, a woman cannot 'be'; it is something which does not even belong in the order of being." (Kristeva, New French Feminisms, as quoted in Rosemarie Tong) How it is connected with equality? It’s very simple argument that, feminism is stand for emancipation of women. Having equality is the basic target of feminism. As postmodern thoughts is a part of feminism, ultimately it will target the basic aim of feminism that means equality. Is it really connected to equality? I think “No” Postmodern feminism is a postmodern thought. It believes in diversity, emphasizes on individuality. According to postmodern thoughts, different person has different problems and they should be solved according to the problems. That means, postmodern thoughts has no any universal/unique solution. Equality means equal rights for everyone regardless of ability. So it must have to be a universal point where they want to go. As they have no any universal point, it can’t reach at equality. Solutions based on individual problems may have different finishing point. For example, for a woman who has finished her graduation, have a problem to have a high quality job. So according to postmodern thoughts, the problem will be solved when the woman will get a high quality job. Another girl who have passed only her HSC and doesn’t want to study more but want to have a job, the solution will be a lower job than the first girl. So for two women, postmodern feminism have two different solution. So it doesn’t call equality having to different solution. Postmodern thoughts is still an idea, more hypothetical than practical. It has no any practical work. So without practice of a theory, how it can change the situation?? Conclusion Postmodern thoughts is a very good thoughts relevant with 21st century. As it believes on diversity, tells to solute different problems for different person based on the problems, it can be a real solution for the problems of present world. But without uniformity and practice, it is impossible to work with only a hypothesis. So to have the good effect of postmodern feminism, there should be a practical way to use the method. References Hope Olson, 1996. The Power to Name: Marginalizations and Exclusions of Subject Representation in Library Catalogues. Unpublished dissertation UW-Madison. Rosemarie Tong, 1989. Feminist Thought: A Comprehensive Introduction. Westview Press: Boulder CO. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_diversity https://www.gender-diversity.de/Portals/0/SiteDocs/Dokumente/english_info.pdf https://www.manyvoices.org/blog/resource/what-does-gender-diversity-mean/ https://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~asuomca/diversityinit/definition.html