Transnational feminism(S)

Defining transnational feminism(s)

The term “transnational” can be understood as moving beyond the official nation-state border as a differentiating factor or category of comparison. Instead of comparing or categorizing based on residence in a particular country, transnational looks at how the process of globalization has led to different privileges for, and oppression of, women around the world politically, socially, and economically (Blackwell, Briggs, & Chiu, 2015; Molony & Nelson, 2017; Naples, 2002). Transnational feminisms highlight the differing inequalities women experience but with shared contexts (Alexander & Mohanty, 2010). Transnational feminism(s) critically decenter(s) the westernized approach to feminism of the 1960s and 1970s. This framing moves beyond the idea of a global sisterhood, recognizing that what defines the struggles and goals of Western women advocating for feminism likely does not align with the histories, struggles, and goals of women living in the numerous regions outside of the West. What is shared, among all these people, however, is the context of identifying as female. In this way, transnational feminism shifts the focus from being a singular shared experience of femininity to understanding the lived realities of women around the world.

References

Alexander, J., & Mohanty, C.T. (2010). Cartographies of Knowledge and Power: Transnational Feminism as Radical Praxis. In A. Lock Swarr & R. Nagar (Eds.), Critical Transnational Feminist Praxis (pp. 23–45). Albany: State University of New York Press.

Blackwell, M., Briggs, L., & Chiu, M. (2015). Transnational Feminisms Roundtable. Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, 36(3), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.5250/fronjwomestud.36.3.0001

Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics. The University of Chicago Legal Forum, 139–168.

Molony, B., & Nelson, J. (2017). Introduction. In B. Molony & J. Nelson (Eds.), Women’s Activism and “Second Wave” Feminism: Transnational Histories (pp. 1–11). London: Bloomsbury Academic.

Naples, N. A. (2002). Changing the Terms: Community Activism, Globalization, and the Dilemmas of Transnational Feminist Praxis. In N. A. Naples & M. Desai (Eds.), Women’s Activism and Globalization: Linking Local Struggles and Transnational Politics (pp. 3–14). New York and London: Routledge.