Many people acknowledge that feminism means equality among men and women, but they often fail to analyze the multitude of ways that feminism is applied and fostered around the world. As Western young adults, many of us are preparing to study abroad in the hopes of learning from another culture and understanding the rights men and women have within it. We must remember not to make generalizations when entering such situations, a problem feminists struggle with as well. You have to question whether these international interactions among feminists are beneficial, detrimental and most importantly accurate. Are Western feminists helping women in the developing world, or further diluting citizens’ ideas of them and simply failing to acknowledge and respect their needs?
More often than not, first-world feminism manifests further oppression because of the savior complex that accompanies western feminists, while helping women in developing countries. This problem stems from the fact that many feminists have a global definition of what it means to be a woman. In "Postcolonial Studies and Transnational Feminist Practices," authors Inderpal Grewal and Caren Kaplan believe it to be, “the belief that the intersection of race and gender creates a homogeneous colonized female body as well as for the liberation of that body.”
First world women use this definition as justification for the “assistance” they provide women in less developed countries. Grewal and Kaplan go on to say that this creates a “racist form of ‘knowing’ those constituted as ‘others’.” Also, many Western feminists believe that all women are victims of the patriarchal hierarchy and therefore there is a universal agenda among females. However, this is inaccurate since the patriarchy cannot be used to analyze the oppression of women by men within a spectrum of different socio-economic backgrounds. Viewing women as oppressed and powerless allows women to be categorized as a whole because they are looked at only for their object status.
Western feminists cannot understand the assistance women in the developing world need, unless they look past the false conception of a struggling sisterhood and take into account race, class, sexuality, religion and culture. These factors produce a multitude of women in relation to various patriarchies. This was evident during various UN-sponsored women’s conference during 1976-85, in which the agenda was dominated by white feminists who emphasized women’s need for sexual autonomy while disregarding Third World feminist’s desire to address under-development and imperialism as obstacles to women’s advancement. Because many of the leaders within the white feminist movement correspond with private foundations and have a shared agenda, they’re able to ensure their issues are the priority and that political disruption from third world nationalists doesn’t occur.
The idea that third world women need saving began with Western feminists holding third world women to a first world-standard. Painting globalization and capitalism as the only way for countries to be productive and progressive enforces this Western standard. As author Chandra Talpade Mohanty writes in, "Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses," by pushing for development, the West is saying that “third world women as a group or category are automatically as necessarily defined as: religious (read “not progressive”), family-oriented (read “traditional”), illiterate (read “ignorant”), domestic (read “backwards”), and sometimes revolutionary (read “their-country-is-in-a-state-of-war-they-must-fight!”).”
This creates a power struggle and patriarchal binary in which the First World women take on the role of the oppressing male, and the Third World women are the oppressed. Instead of pushing for globalization and claiming that it is the only way for these countries to compete in the ever growing world, individuals should opt for transnational feminism. This approach attempts to create alliances across borders without altering culture and holding on to Western standards. At the International Women Year Conference, the women recognized that creating a coherent political agenda was unrealistic. Instead they created a spectrum of NGOs for women’s advocacy, allowing women to work internationally through these organizations to convince governments to pass laws which benefited females on a global spectrum. Shortly after the IWY, the Mexican government passed a constitutional amendment which declared women and men equal before the law. Changes such as these would not have been possible unless women from all countries supported one another and recognized the variance in needs females have and helped them acquire the change they needed, not the change First World countries believed they should make.
It is evident that we must change the dialogue surrounding Western feminists and Third World women. It is imperative that history, class, race and culture are taken into consideration before Western women attempt to access what is best for Third World women. These components must be kept in mind while Western individuals study abroad as well, in order for them to fully appreciate a culture and not attempt to alter it. Furthermore, the idea of not holding these Third World women to Western standards seeps into the idea of capitalism. We must move away from globalization that converts Third World ways to Western beliefs about culture and work towards transnational feminism that respects the traditions of these countries and focuses on forming alliances. Though some Western feminist work has been beneficial to Third World women, it is unfair to victimize them and assume that they need saving. Once this is understood, an environment in which change that is realistic and dire can be fostered.
