Misplaced Pages

Part of a series on
Feminism
History Feminist history History of feminism Women's history American British Canadian German Waves First Second Third Fourth Timelines Women's suffrage Muslim countries US Other women's rights Women's suffrage by country Austria Australia Canada Colombia India Japan Kuwait Liechtenstein New Zealand Spain Second Republic Francoist Switzerland United Kingdom Cayman Islands Wales United States states
Intersectional variants Fat Lesbian Lesbian of color Radical lesbianism Separatist Sex-positive Transfeminism Postgenderism Vegetarian ecofeminism Socialist Anarchist Queer Jineology Marxist Critical theory Standpoint Materialist Ecofeminist Postcolonial Global Transnational Xenofeminism Multicultural Africana womanism Black Hip hop Lesbian Ratchet Chicana Lesbian Indigenous Native American Multiracial Romani Womanism
Other variants Anti-abortion Equity Femonationalism Maternal Postfeminism Reactionary State Carceral Imperial Embedded Gender-critical or trans-exclusionary Victim White
Religious variants Atheist Buddhist Christian Mormon New Womanist Asian Neopagan Dianic Wicca Reclaiming Ecofeminist Hindu Islamic Jewish Orthodox Sikh
Movements and ideologies 4B movement Analytical Anti-fascist Anti-pornography Cyberfeminism HCI Networked Difference Cultural Neo Ecofeminism Eugenic Individualist Lipstick Stiletto Liberal Equality Social Labor Libertarian Post-structural Postmodern Radical Political lesbianism Separatist Technofeminism Women's liberation
Concepts Antinaturalism Choice feminism Cognitive labor Complementarianism Literature Children's literature Diversity (politics) Diversity, equity, and inclusion Effects on society Equality Female education Female genital mutilation Femicide Femonationalism Feminism in culture Feminist movement African-American women's suffrage movement Art movement In hip hop Feminist stripper Formal equality Gender equality Gender quota Girl power Honor killing Ideal womanhood Invisible labor Internalized sexism International Girl's Day and Women's Day Language reform Feminist capitalism Gender-blind Likeability trap Male privilege Matriarchal religion Media Men in feminism Misogyny Trans Oedipus complex Opposition to feminism Pro-feminism Protofeminism Purplewashing Racism Reproductive justice Sex workers' rights Sexual harassment Sexual objectification Substantive equality Toxic masculinity Transmisogyny Triple oppression Violence against women War on women Women's empowerment Women-only space Women's health Women's rights Women in the workforce
Outlooks Bicycling and feminism Criticism of marriage Views on BDSM Views on pornography Views on prostitution Views on sexual orientation Views on sexuality Views on transgender topics SCUM Manifesto
Theory Feminist method Gender studies Gender mainstreaming Gynocentrism Kyriarchy Male gaze Matriarchy Women's studies Men's studies Patriarchy Écriture féminine Areas of study Anthropology Archaeology Architecture Art Art criticism Literary criticism Film theory Science fiction Biology Composition studies Criminology Pathways perspective Economics FDPA Geography International relations Constructivism Legal theory Pedagogy Philosophy Aesthetics Empiricism Epistemology Ethics Justice ethics Existentialism Metaphysics science Political ecology Political theory Pornography Psychology Therapy Revisionist mythology Sex wars Sexology Sociology Technoscience Theology womanist theology
By continent/country Africa Democratic Republic of the Congo Egypt Ethiopia Ghana Mali Nigeria Senegal South Africa Albania Australia Bangladesh Canada China Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Hong Kong India Indonesia Iran Iraq Republic of Ireland Israel Italy Japan Latin America Argentina Brazil Chile Haiti Honduras Mexico Paraguay Trinidad and Tobago Lebanon Malaysia Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Northern Cyprus Norway Pakistan Philippines Poland Russia Saudi Arabia South Korea Sweden Syria Taiwan Thailand Turkey Vietnam Ukraine United Kingdom United States History of women
Lists and categories Lists Articles Feminists by nationality Literature American feminist literature Feminist comic books Feminist songs Conservative feminisms Ecofeminist authors Feminist art critics Feminist economists Feminist philosophers Feminist poets Feminist rhetoricians Jewish feminists Muslim feminists Feminist parties Suffragists and suffragettes Women's rights activists Women's studies journals Women's suffrage organizations Categories Women's rights by country Feminists by nationality
Feminism portal
v t e

Imperial feminism, also known as imperialist feminism, colonial feminism, or intersectional imperialism, refers to instances where critics argue that feminist rhetoric is used to justify empire-building or imperialism. The term has gained prominence in the 20th and 21st centuries, with one scholar asserting that it "privileges inequality through gender bending that masquerades as gendered equality... Imperial feminism privileges empire building through war." The related term intersectional imperialism refers to the foreign policy of Western nations that are perceived as engaging in or supporting imperialistic policies while promoting inclusive and progressive rhetoric at home.

In academia and women's studies discourse, imperial feminism and its related terms critique Western feminism's attitudes toward non-white and non-Western countries. Critics argue that it perpetuates inaccurate and demeaning stereotypes about the status of women in the Global South. Western feminism has been critiqued for creating an image of non-white and non-Western women as being in a lower socioeconomic position than they actually are. Additionally, "imperial feminism" is used to describe instances where racist viewpoints are displayed toward marginalized ethnic groups not part of mainstream feminism. Some scholars suggest that postcolonial feminism developed partly in response to these attitudes from their Western counterparts.

Early history

The term "imperial feminism" has its roots in the expansion of European colonial empires in the 18th and 19th centuries. As Europeans came to rule large populations of non-white and non-Western people, they justified the so-called "civilizing mission" by arguing that women in these nations were oppressed by the male population due to sexist ideologies. Colonial rule, they claimed, would liberate these women from the oppression of their male counterparts.

Palestinian-American historian Edward Said characterizes this phenomenon as part of "Orientalism" and claims that European scholarship, culture, and society perpetuated stereotypes about non-Western civilizations to justify control over them. Among these practices, the subjugation of women was heavily criticized and used by colonial powers as a justification for their continued rule. Cultural practices such as sati, child marriage, and pardah were pointed to as evidence of the "backwardness" of Oriental nations. In Southwest Asia and North Africa, colonial powers fixated on the Islamic veil as a symbol of oppression. Evelyn Baring, a colonial administrator in Egypt, was known for his campaigns against the veil, which he claimed oppressed Egyptian women. In the colonial Philippines, Westerners were horrified by the social acceptance of women's exposed breasts in public, perceiving this as an obscenity that required intervention. Europeans viewed these practices as evidence of the need for European rule, providing an ideological justification for colonialism.

Recent usage

After the September 11 terrorist attacks, the United States and its allies launched an invasion of Afghanistan. Among the rhetoric used to justify the war, some arguments focused on the plight of women under the Taliban. First Lady Laura Bush made several radio speeches claiming that the American invasion would help liberate Afghan women from Taliban oppression. In one speech, she stated, "Civilized people throughout the world are speaking out in horror – not only because our hearts break for the women and children in Afghanistan, but also because in Afghanistan, we see the world the terrorists would like to impose on the rest of us." Bush made similar arguments throughout her husband's presidency, prompting Mother Jones to write in 2007 that Laura Bush had taken the lead in pushing "a tidy moral justification for invasion of Afghanistan."

A few months after the invasion, Bush celebrated the U.S.'s apparent progress toward emancipating Afghan women:

Because of our recent military gains, in much of Afghanistan women are no longer imprisoned in their homes. They can listen to music and teach their daughters without fear of punishment. Yet, the terrorists who helped rule that country now plot and plan in many countries, and they must be stopped. The fight against terrorism is also a fight for the rights and dignity of women.

These arguments have been criticized by some, including American writer Akbar Shahid Ahmed, who argues that while Bush's rhetoric appears beneficial on the surface, it may undermine America's goals in Afghanistan by allowing the Taliban to frame women's empowerment as a form of American control. Additionally, Ahmed raises the question of whether "critical efforts to help women secure the status of full citizens... really need to be tied to U.S. militarism."

See also

• Asian women
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
• Cultural imperialism
• Equal opportunity
• Femen
• Gender equality
• Gender inequality
• History of feminism
• Human rights
• international feminism
• Intersectional feminism
• Islamic feminism
• Mahnaz Afkhami
• Orientalism
• Pinkwashing
• Postcolonial feminism
• Power (social and political)
• Purplewashing
• Racial equality
• Radical feminism
• Transnational feminism
• Women in Islam
• Women's rights
• Women for Women International

References

1. Gender, Sexuality, and Empire: Imperialist Feminism in Culture, retrieved 2020-08-11
2. ^ Amos, Valerie; Parmar, Pratibha (1984). "Challenging Imperial Feminism". Feminist Review (17): 3–19. doi:10.2307/1395006. ISSN 0141-7789. JSTOR 1395006.
3. "Hillary Clinton's Imperial Feminism". The Cairo Review of Global Affairs. 2016-10-23. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
4. Engler, Yves (19 August 2020). "Trudeau's Venezuela policy is a stain on Canada's global reputation". Canadian Dimension.
5. Said, Edward W. (2014). Orientalism. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-322-17630-7. OCLC 892699230.
6. "[PDF] Feminism, Imperialism and Orientalism: the challenge of the 'Indian woman' - Free Download PDF". nanopdf.com. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
7. Women Rising: In and Beyond the Arab Spring. Stephan, Rita, Charrad, M. (Mounira). New York. 9 June 2020. ISBN 978-1-4798-4664-1. OCLC 1120784076.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
8. Coloma, Roland Sintos (2012). "White Gazes, Brown Breasts: Imperial Feminism and Disciplining Desires and Bodies in Colonial Encounters". Paedagogica Historica. 48 (2): 243–261. doi:10.1080/00309230.2010.547511. ISSN 0030-9230. S2CID 145129186.
9. ^ Ahmed, Akbar Shahid (3 March 2016). "Dear Laura Bush, This Is Not The Way To Help Oppressed Women". Huffington Post. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
10. Gettelman, Elizabeth (1 July 2007). "Hidden Half: Women in Afghanistan". Mother Jones. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
11. "Radio Address by Mrs. Bush". georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov. Retrieved 2020-10-21.

• Feminism and society
• Eurocentrism