Academic

Feminism As Wal-Mart

By Ann Bartow

Rebecca Walker writes:

 … Simply put, if Feminism was Wal-Mart, and had as many decades-old unresolved grievances against it, it would have long ago been bankrupt. …

…  The rise of Women for Obama then, to some extent has to do with Feminism’s creation of a vacuum. This is why, for instance, a Wal-Mart would “go green” at the insistence of its customers. If Wal-Mart did not respond to the messages of its base, its base would go elsewhere. To a consumer environment that better suits their sensibilities an aspirations, perhaps. The same could be said about Feminism. …

…  To continue the analogy, if Wal-Mart claimed it had made the switch to green, but the products on its shelves were, in fact, not reflective of that claim, Wal-Mart would lose the faith of its customers and again, over time, be forced into bankruptcy.

4. Based on the above, I am not entirely certain that the calls decrying Feminism’s death are incorrect or even undesirable. Perhaps a Feminism that has not responded to the needs of its constituents needs to die. Perhaps Obama is unintentionally killing feminism and facilitating the rise of “feminisms.” We shall see. …

Full post as published by Feminist Law Professors on April 14, 2008 (boomark / email).