Synopsis:
In this article, the feminist professor and author Cynthia Enloe is discussing her newest book, The Big Push—Exposing and Challenging the Persistence of Patriarchy. She talks about her journey as a feminist as first being pushed by her young female students to open her mind to the pressing issues of gender, as well as race and class. As well she discusses the first conversations she heard about sexual harassment, and it was as though this was an entirely new language, which led to a different reality for some women as they could bring forward these claims in court. Enloe sees this as great progress but doesn’t want us to get too carried away with self-congratulatory rhetoric. She sees the many great ‘tipping points’ that have occurred in the past several decades and systemic change is still extremely difficult to achieve. Despite this, she points to the increasing use of transnational feminisms in connecting women and feminists of all genders across national boundaries.
Rationale:
I wanted to include this article because it is accessible and also talks with one of the biggest names in feminism in the past 30 years. Cynthia Enloe’s work in feminist politics, as well as international relations is integral to the beginnings of transnational feminist theorizing. The start of her feminist consciousness also coincided with the American War with Vietnam, and so has a background in thinking about the gendered effects of increasing militarism. This is important to note and make connections to the broader goals of transnational feminisms which must include de-militarization, as well as anti-capitalism and decolonization. This article is an accessible introduction to Cynthia Enloe’s feminist consciousness and connections to her work on increasing “feminist curiosity” the world over.
Keywords: transnational feminism, Cynthia Enloe, feminist curiosity
Author: Steven
Thanks for introducing me to this body of work. I actually had not encountered Cynthia Enloe's literature before. I agree with you that the Me-Too movement could create an erroneous perception that we as society are "fixing" sexual harassment. Though illuminating the severity and commonality of the problem is essential, it is not actually substantive action that reduces the problem. For this reason, I think Cynthia Enloe’s seasoned opinion is critical for our current discourse on gender equality. It makes me hopeful that this older cis-gendered women with all the privileges of her class and race is an advocate for critical transnational feminist thinking and collective action. However, I find the interview to lack depth in exploring what transnational feminis…