Jim Devine wrote:
>Sometimes, leftists lean toward the cultural determinist side, because
>they >hope that by changing society, it will get rid of the perceived
obnoxious >aspects of masculinity and femininity. Of course, this isn't
the only >road. >For example, in her utopian novel, WOMAN ON THE EDGE OF
TIME, Marge >Piercy's utopians have been biologically altered to encourage
equality >and >democracy: biological men breast-feed babies, babies are
produced by >incubators, etc.
Jim, from what I see, Marge Piercy is not a Marxist feminist. Thus, it is
difficult for me to understand what her relevance to leftism is, because
she evidently suffers from biological essentialism. Feminists like Marge
Piercy belongs to what we know as radical feminist tradition. The big
problem with her argument is that she assumes "gender inequality" stems
from "biological inequality", the type of argument proposed by Schulamit
Firestone in the 70s in the _Dialectics of Sex_. Since she sees the
problem in the biology, but not in the gendered system, she offers
"biological alteration" as a form of "cultural solution" to inequality
problem--the problem which does not originate in biology to begin with
(men and women may be biologically different but not unequal!!!). so she
effectively perpetuates the sexist biological discourses.. Piercy is also
naive to expect technology to liberate women or socialize men into
feminine practices.
We (socialist feminists) want MEN to feed babies not because they should
be "biologically recreated" to do so (since the problem is NOT in the
biology), but because it is "desirable" that men and women share mothering
equally!! Mothering is a social function, it does not lie in women's
biological disposition. I refuse Marge Piercy type of feminist
discource that idealizes and radicalizes motherhood as a form of new
intimacy!!
Mine
