Chandra Talpade Mohanty et.al, "Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism" (Book Note)

 

Over the last decade, feminist scholarship has undergone a transformative phase, enriched by critiques stemming from the experiences of women in the Third World. These critiques, emanating from conferences like the pivotal 1983 gathering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, known as "Common Differences: Third World Women and Feminist Perspectives," have reshaped the theoretical landscape of feminist discourse, particularly within Western academia. This book stands as a testament to the endeavor to redefine the boundaries of feminist scholarship, contributing to an ongoing dialogue on Third World women.

 

The chapters and case studies within the book grapple with two key sets of questions. The first seeks to offer an expanded definition of the Third World concept, while the second aims to contextualize the diverse experiences within the Third World. As Chandra Mohanty emphasizes in her introduction, these essays intend to guide future work, especially as second-wave White Western feminist analysis undergoes scrutiny from race and post-colonial studies.

 

The book establishes Third World women as an analytical category, acknowledging its contentious nature. This analytical category proves valuable in constructing an imagined community that fosters alliances, collaborations, and comradeship among women involved in oppositional struggles. Mohanty's introductory essay outlines the tasks for feminists: rethinking praxis and suggesting provisional sites for feminist analysis. Subsequent chapters delve into representations of gender in theory and culture, ideological constructions of gender in state and public policy, nationalism and sexuality, and identity and feminist practice.

 

The essays in the first section are thoughtfully crafted and compelling in their arguments about the politics of representations. They challenge conventional theoretical practices, relevant not only to feminists but also to critical social science in general. Chandra Mohanty's essay, "Under Western Eyes," has become essential reading for anyone undertaking comparative research on Third World women. It not only challenges assumptions about such research but also elucidates how theoretical underpinnings can create essentialist and universalist constructions of the category "Woman." However, a paradox emerges in Mohanty's political project and deconstructionist practice, as she seeks to retain the notion of "Woman" as an analytical category for political purposes while suggesting its abandonment in theoretical work. Within this conceptual framework, feminist praxis becomes a complex undertaking. Rey Chow's essay, "Violence in the Other Country," highlights the centrality of ontology in exploring questions of gender. When grappling with events like the Tiananmen Square incident of 1989 in the People's Republic of China, it is insufficient to merely ask how to interpret the events in terms of gender; rather, the focus should be on what these events reveal about gender as a category, especially concerning Third World women.

 

The subsequent chapters delve into the nuanced understanding that the term "Third World" is not solely a geopolitical designation but can also function as a shorthand term to signify conditions of subordination. However, the quality of these chapters tends to be uneven, lacking in robust conceptualization. Additionally, it is noteworthy that the editors could have curated case studies offering a more diverse array of cross-cultural examples.

 

Nevertheless, the chapters within the section on public policy effectively illustrate how ostensibly neutral language embedded in state policies contributes to the construction of gender ideologies. Jacqui Alexander's essay, for instance, illuminates how the state's discourse on morality shapes sexual politics. The section dedicated to national liberation and sexual politics delves into the integral role of sexuality in nationalism. It's worth mentioning a notable limitation: all three essays in this section hail from nations identifying as Islamic states. This raises concerns about the selection bias and underscores a point made by Mohanty regarding research on women in the Third World. The assertion that women in Islamic states face a heightened degree of sexist oppression compared to their Western counterparts, and hence warrant deeper analytical scrutiny, is reflected in this section.

 

However, there is room for improvement in illustrating the interplay between nationalist and gender ideologies. This could be achieved by selecting case studies that extend beyond the conventional examples of state-building in Islamic nations, providing a more comprehensive portrayal of how these ideologies intersect.