Let us start by addressing what is at best a limited solution to female oppression. The problem with women becoming “tough” or opting for masculine values as “better” is that you are still caught up in the system of Western dualities. Up to a point, it is natural to struggle to restore those qualities that have been denied one. If one has not been permitted to express anger, because that mode of expression is considered “masculine”, then one may have to work hard to get to the point where the expression of anger is as natural and unimpeded by gender considerations as the expression of any other emotion. So, there is a first level of feminist action, which is to restore those putative “masculine” qualities that have been lost.
Beyond this point of practical restoration, though, there is no value in adopting masculine values or styles of behaviour just because these have been valued as “better” than feminine ones. That is to treat metaphysical values, which have been learned socially, as if they had a meaning that was more than arbitrarily defined and historically created.
Real liberation is to be able to escape the limitations of these binaries altogether so that they no longer have any hold over your life or your mind.
Beyond this point of practical restoration, though, there is no value in adopting masculine values or styles of behaviour just because these have been valued as “better” than feminine ones. That is to treat metaphysical values, which have been learned socially, as if they had a meaning that was more than arbitrarily defined and historically created.
Real liberation is to be able to escape the limitations of these binaries altogether so that they no longer have any hold over your life or your mind.
No comments:
Post a Comment