Veiling, Burqas and Western Feminism

[betenoire]

Originally Posted by JustJo

For me, the essence of feminism is that women should be free to express themselves, however that looks...steel toed boots or 4 inch heels, work outside the home or inside it, dressed modestly or barely dressed at all.

Exactly. Feminism is about power and choice.

[betenoire]

Originally Posted by betenoire

Exactly. Feminism is about power and choice.

Oh, and I wanted to come back to say something else:

For a white woman to tell a brown woman that her culture/customs/religion/whatever is wrong and needs to be changed is waaaaaaaaaay fucked up.

It's not only anti-feminist when men tell women what they can or can not do with their bodies/lives. It's also anti-feminist when women do that to each other - even if they think they are doing it in the name of feminism.

[JustJo]

Originally Posted by betenoire

Oh, and I wanted to come back to say something else:

For a white woman to tell a brown woman that her culture/customs/religion/whatever is wrong and needs to be changed is waaaaaaaaaay fucked up.

It's not only anti-feminist when men tell women what they can or can not do with their bodies/lives. It's also anti-feminist when women do that to each other - even if they think they are doing it in the name of feminism.

Absolutely! It's ironic to me (in a gut wrenching way) that we are frequently our own oppressors in this manner.

So often we (general "we") forget that our standards, morals, values, beliefs, etc. are just that - ours. Not right, not true, not correct, not "the way it should be" - just our own. And everyone is entitled to their own....not ours.