Women-only spaces
I believe that the most important and fundamental part of feminism is that women (and all) believe that women are full, whole human beings. I believe that women-only spaces are ideal for demonstrating this to women, by their very nature.
These are the questions I will use to unpack the women-only spaces in many of the movies and literature that I engage for this blog.
Formation
- What led to the existence of this space?
- Why can only women be there?
- Is it the women’s choice that they, and only they, are there?
- Are there things about the space, other than its occupants, that make it “feminine” or women-oriented?
Role in their lives
- How often are the women there?
- What role does it play in their lives?
- How significant is the space to their lives?
Effect
- Does the space affirm and empower women? Do they love one another?
- Does the space contribute to women’s relationships with themselves and one another? With men? With the broader world?
- Does the space teach women that they are full and whole human beings?
Women have come into male spaces in male ways because that is often the only option. Women need to be able to enter all spaces with a full, whole sense of their womanhood—their selfhood.
Freedom should not be fully individual without attention to others – women know this. Christianity speaks to this (though of course it is often problematic). Women can offer the world a lesson on sacrifice – including the nuances of pitfalls and pain.
A marginalized group must be focused on its own wholeness, rather than finding equality with the center group. This is how they can make themselves their own center, rather than always giving the center its normalized, powerful position.
It is essential for men to occupy “women’s” spaces or quality will never be realized.
While there are many constructive comparisons among various margins and centers, one disanalogy between black/white and women/men relations is that women and men share many more physical spaces and their lives are more constantly intertwined. Segregation between genders happens in psychological, intellectual, etc. spaces as much as physical.
Women are more inclined to defend and perpetuate oppression in order to maintain harmony with men they love. It is much harder for women to find their own spaces for internal consciousness and growth. Lesbianism has its own merits, but one way that it dismantles patriarchy is by offering opportunities for women-only spaces.
Women-only spaces in film and literature:
Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
The Social Construction of Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins
Why Lesbian Ethics? by Sarah Hoagland (actually about lesbian-only space)
Do you have suggestions for literature, films, etc. that offer insights on the role and power of women-only spaces? Contact us with your suggestions!
Filed under: uncategorized on October 23rd, 2010 by Anna Lisa
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