October 30, 2014 - 11:48
/oneworld/identity-matters-being-belonging-becoming/shallow-apologies-and-avoided-identities
/oneworld/identity-matters-being-belonging-becoming/my-thoughts-feminism-and-ifemelu
I'm partially replying to these posts, as well as to continue some of the classroom discussion yesterday about it; in an oversimplified summary, I'd say that the large questions here are -
- What makes a feminist? Does this include activism?
- How is Ifemelu a feminist (primarily here considering she does not do what I'll call "Women Activism TM" for the sake of this discussion)?
rebeccamec: Does Ifemelu consider herself a feminist? ... Ifemelu seems fiercely independent, but some of her thoughts about men made me wonder if she thinks her purpose in life is to serve them. [Ifemelu and Obinze's] thoughts don't sit well with a person who tries to be aware of gender inequalities.
ndifrank: In some aspect I agree that as long as you believe in the social and political equality of the sexes than you are a feminist yet, I have a personal dificulty with both making feminist a broad title or by doing the opposite and catorgorizing feminism... A part of me strongly feels she is a feminist yet, I struggle with imagining Ifemelu standing up for someone outside her family and friend and then I think maybe she isnt a feminst which to me implies some sort of activism and instead she is just a strong woman. I think that feminism to me includes some sort of political or social activism and not only resisting conforming to gender/relationship/ societal norms. I also struggle then identifying what activism is. Does one have to protest or make huge statements to be activist or could they simply make alternative choices within their life?
Does Ifemelu ever explicitly say she works to serve men or that she is a feminist? I don't recall either being the case. So, to these statements/questions, I ask - what is feminism if it erases one's background completely? I can say that, in my experience, most if not all people are going to parrot what they have learned, though many of us who have awareness will try to unlearn certain things and decolonize our minds. But the latter is a constant struggle. Are any of us not feminists when we haven't unlearned something that our society has taught us that might not be the epitome of feminist ideology? To that, I extend that Ifemelu is Nigerian, and we cannot force our idea(l)s of feminism onto her, at least without noting the contextual differences first. (And to that I add, what's the difference in a person being a feminist vs someone performing feminism?)
Secondly, I'd ask - what is feminism if it is not pro- people of color (or specifically in this case, pro-blackness)? Even though Ifemelu is constantly learning and critiquing other black people, she also acknowledges that she is both constantly learning herself and that black people in America experiences microaggressions daily, which she verbally fights and even starts a blog about.
I saw Dear White People multiple times recently. I bring it up because I thought the blog posts that Ifemelu made sometimes had a likeness to the YouTube clips that are inserted throughout the film that address white people; Ifemelu's posts tend to not address anyone but sometimes they do address fellow black folks... I would say that Sam, who is the creator of the YouTube channel Dear White People that the movie is then named for, is a feminist. She does not do activism for womanhood, but she constantly is using feminist/womanist/race-studies ideologies to further her points. She is advocating for equality (or, rather, justice, but that is a discussion for another time) which, imo, is inherently feminist. Also, Sam is fighting for racial equality/justice, and race cannot be separated from gender. There are lots of examples of this within Americanah, but perhaps one explicit example: Aunty Uju talks about how Dike is addressed at school, and mentions that anything he does that is masculine is considered aggressive simply because he is black.
(Also, another question that I'd like to ask, though it doesn't relate inherently to the book -- if activism is necessary in feminism, how can disabled people be feminists when not all disabled folks can't always physically or mentally be part of activism?)
rebeccamec: Obinze has had some very problematic and sexist thoughts, especially when referring to how sorry he feels for his "good wife" who seems to never be good enough, though she's very pretty. His thoughts aren't blatantly sexist, but have the twinge of sliminess that Margaret Atwood's male characters have. [Ifemelu and Obinze's] thoughts don't sit well with a person who tries to be aware of gender inequalities.
I think this is very important also in defining Ifemelu as a feminist - her chapters are put alongside Obinze's, and I felt that, as the story progressed, I could see more and more of a difference between the two of them in their thoughts and actions; if nothing else, one's feminist status can be defined when by comparing to others. If you compare Ifemelu and Obinze, Ifemelu is definitely more feminist.