people, beyond the myth of Aryan invasion feminist
Martha C. Nussbaum, studiosa di filosofia e consulente per la ricerca al World Institute for Development Economic Research (Wider), un istituto United Nations University, has written a very important book (2000, Become people, trad. com. Il Mulino, Bologna, 2001) which I would like to highlight some aspects.
First we should remember the use of the "capabilities approach" in assessing the quality of people's lives. The author mutual approach from the work of Amartya Sen (see Sen, 2009, The idea of \u200b\u200bJustice, trans. Com. Mondadori, Milan, 2010), to develop it further. One of the most important issues treated in this approach is the social position of women both in the West, both in the in via di sviluppo. Tale ricerca costituisce, dal mio punto di vista, sia un indiscutibile merito, sia un limite della riflessione della Nussbaum. Un merito perché le sue riflessioni e i fatti accuratamente da lei documentati evidenziano una piaga semplicemente scandalosa e inaccettabile, oltre che radicata ed estesa, della nostra e di altre società: qualsiasi contributo volto alla comprensione e al superamento di tale piaga, soprattutto se qualificato come quello dell’Autrice merita il dovuto riconoscimento. Tale merito è però anche il limite della riflessione dell’Autrice perché l’idea di voler presentare “una sequenza lineare di argomentazione femminista” (p. 8) di fatto impedisce sia una comprensione davvero deep problems, and the search for truly radical solutions.
my remarks I will try to develop gradually because the seriousness of the approach of the Author least make inappropriate comments purely polemical.
Here is the first page of the introduction to the book, because it is, in my opinion, ruthlessly truthful and fully shared by any person with common sense and a minimum of human sensibility.
"In many parts of the world, women lack support for fundamental functions of human life. They are in fact less nourished than men, less healthy, more vulnerable to physical violence and sexual abuse. It 's harder to be secularized, and it's even rarer to have a vocational or technical training. If they decide to enter the world of work facing serious obstacles, including intimidation by the family or the husband, gender discrimination in recruitment, sexual harassment in the workplace, often without the possibility of using the law effectively. Most of the time similar obstacles impede their effective participation in political life. In many countries women do not enjoy full equality before the law: they have the same rights as property of men, the same rights to contract, the same rights of association and mobility religious freedom. They are overwhelmed, often from the 'double work day' that the sum of external work hard with full responsibility for housework and child care, so that there are playful and expressive intended to cultivate their imaginative and cognitive faculties: all these factors affect their emotional well-being. Women have fewer opportunities than men to live without fear and enjoy with paid, especially when, as often happens, are given in marriage during childhood, with no choice and no escape in the event of a bad marriage. In all these ways, unequal social and political conditions give women unequal human capabilities. One could summarize this by saying that too often women are not treated as purpose in its own right, as people with dignity, worthy of being respected by the laws and institutions, they are treated as mere instruments of ends others, or as breeding, caregivers, sexual objects, agents of the family general prosperity "(p. 15:16).
Without wishing to criticize this text that I fully agree with the contents and to the indignation expressed or implied, I would propose a kind of repetition of the picture in question, but refers to the children, rather than to women. The following text is therefore mine, even though many words echo those of the author.
In all parts of the world children do not make contact experiences necessary for their emotional and psychological maturity in some parts of the world does not even get what you need to complete their physical development. Their dependency and fragility in some circumstances leads them to suffer physical violence (child labor, early marriage, sexual abuse).
normally undergo psychological blackmail and intimidation by the mothers, fathers, teachers and religious authorities and have no chance to react, especially since in many cases parents wholeheartedly support the schools and religious organizations. In the worst situations were pressured and intimidated by their parents, prompting them to enter early in the working world, or in another environment in which both suffer serious forms of exploitation, intimidation and coercion is that they can not resist. In these cases can not receive even basic education.
They suffer any aspect of social organization because only adults can play an active role in social decision-making processes.
Often, even in the richest societies and the wealthiest families have no chance to live without fear and receive emotional support. All these restrictions force them to stiffen, to dissociate to produce internal divisions that make them less sensitive, subject to relational disorders and psychosomatic and therefore lacking in terms of their psychological development. Under such conditions are expected to become people (men or women), rigid character, sexually inhibited or disturbed, unable to create relationships between couples of equal and adequate care for children on the emotional level.
One can safely say that in many cases, children are not treated as purpose in its own right, as people with dignity, worthy of being respected. Are treated as instruments purposes of others, or as victims of psychological abuse (even when no physical or sexual). Psychological abuse most common are to fill the need there mothers and fathers who feel their life is empty, in having to suffer mild or severe neglect by adults with little available, in having to suffer mild to severe repression by the parents deep emotionality and educators terrified that they tend to demonstrate.
This picture may not be clear to everyone, because in our society (but also in other cultures), the family is mythologized as "space devoted affection and care of children." Yet it is quite evident if one is freed from the mythology of the family. Adults who should in theory take care "adequately" children are experiencing the same religious and political fanaticism, which manifest sexual inhibitions or promiscuous sexuality, who support war and patriotism, who vote for politicians that no one would trust even the maintenance of a bicycle, which express racist, bigoted and fail to separate from the TV. Men and women laid down by the rude health, competitive and eager men and women victims and resentment, both men and women easily prone to depression, psychosomatic disorders. People (men and women) have no critical sense that almost always profess the religion which absorbed in childhood or prevailing in their country.
The plight of children is universal and it is understandable if we place ourselves on a human level and not on a "plan child." It 'also very serious because children have no way of responding to bullying, but even if the children were quite aware, autonomous and strong to react, could be freed from their chains only releasing even mothers and fathers from their own chains. In practice, they would find a way out by saying all adults available to the principle of a better society and not saying a hypothetical ideal "children."
So far I have framed the question implicitly posed by Nussbaum as a matter of social liberation and not a general problem "of women." I did the same, explicitly, summing up another serious problem as that of children. I think at this point, for completeness, of having to consider the problem of male people that I think serious, although apparently less significant than that of women or children.
No study has shown that boys receive maternal care wherever appropriate and that girls receive worse treatment even though in some less developed countries to allow children gambling opportunities denied to young girls (early employed in domestic work). This suggests that the psychological development of males and females are still distorted and incomplete. This is particularly the forces also think that the same behavior "macho" are the manifestation of un'incompiutezza e non l’espressione di una "libera scelta di sopraffazione": qualsiasi lettura moralistica di molti atteggiamenti maschili costituisce, infatti, una rinuncia ad una loro comprensione razionale.
D’altra parte, i maschi in tutte le epoche e in tutte le culture hanno pagato caro il prezzo della loro “superiorità”, sul piano interpersonale e sullo stesso piano fisico. La perversa logica della competizione maschile ha reso ovunque gli uomini iper-responsabili verso la famiglia oppure soggetti a tensioni interne finalizzate alla loro “affermazione” nella società. Non solo, ma in tutti gli scenari bellici (se si escludono quelli recenti in cui le armi nucleari o chimiche hanno colpito tutti) le persone men have paid with death or mutilation of their "superiority".
The concept of "male-dominated society" is a concept fundamentally ambiguous because it connects the idea (indisputable) of a "female poverty" completely fanciful idea to a convenient "male abuse." On the human level of the relationship between the sexes does not include "zero-sum games" as the top economic relations, but it is a plan in which either all win or all lose. As a company, the higher profits and lower the wages (and wages are higher, the lower the profits), in a couple relationship non vale la stessa logica: nel caso di una violenza sessuale non è vero che la donna perde un piacere e che l’uomo ottiene un piacere maggiore, ma è vero che entrambi vengono privati della loro compiuta espressione sessuale e vengono avviliti nella loro dignità. E’ OVVIO che in uno stupro c’è una violenza fisica attuata dal più forte, ma è decisamente poco plausibile l'idea secondo cui tale violenza possa produrre un reale vantaggio per il violentatore. Se il violentatore non fosse già mentalmente dissociato e quindi represso nella sua capacità di esprimersi sessualmente, non proverebbe nemmeno eccitazione di fronte alle proteste o al silenzio carico di odio di una donna non partecipe. Con questo, non voglio dire che the rapes (including within the family) are not a problem: they are a tragedy for both and only the most superficial manifestations may appear to be "beneficial" to humans. Not only that: the problem of violence against women can be immediately buffered with repressive measures, but can be overcome only by appropriately authentic sexual liberation of women and men.
The problem is not understood by feminists is precisely constituted by psychological misery shared by men and women and is also the basis of the more obvious social and economic inequalities. This psychological distress has its roots in the normal psychological abuse committed against children, both male and female (and often responsibility, attributable more to mothers than to fathers). The personality disorders and disorders of sexuality, in fact, affect both males and females. There's no advantage to suffer from impotence or erectile vaginismus, but there is also no advantage to suffer from disorders not classified as such but these are: a weak sexual desire or a wish dissociated. For reasons not at all biological, but cultural, males and females are raised in a climate that leads sessuorepressivo however many females in an inhibition of their sexuality and many males to ostentation of their sexuality. This means that, always but often, in their development of women themselves and men weak eroticism sexuality dissociated (in practice, "she would make it even less" and "he would penetrate anything"). Only in this unhealthy climate models are developed for women "house church" and of man "wing." In both models there is an upstream a significant emotional and sexual repression, and these models lead only "downstream" in the most obvious problems. The most serious are formed by sexual violence (against women), but from what I call "counter-sexual violence" (men). From a psychological point of view the two phenomena are perfectly assimilabili anche se ha (e DEVE avere) un rilevo di tipo penale solo il primo. Sono assimilabili in quanto implicano dell’odio (spesso inconscio) e producono effetti distruttivi sulle donne o sugli uomini che si trovano nel ruolo di vittime.
Quella che chiamo contro-violenza sessuale è un fenomeno molto diffuso che consiste in pratica in una frode legalmente non rilevante ma umanamente devastante. Alla base c’è una “fame di maternità” nelle donne che le rende aggressive sessualmente quanto basta per sedurre un maschio, per raggiungere il matrimonio, la gravidanza e per fare l’esperienza della maternità. Da quel momento la donna inizia una manovra di allontanamento del marito che si spiega con un attaccamento morboso al figlio. Il figlio (o la figlia), in questi casi non ottiene un reale appagamento dei propri bisogni affettivi ma un accudimento appiccicoso, inappropriato, o anche scadente ma apertamente esibito. L’uomo viene “trascurato” proprio perché la compagna (in genere, “la moglie”) è molto “presa” dalla prole. Se i figli sono più di uno i rapporti sessuali da rari diventano rarissimi. L’uomo si trova violentato non nel corpo ma nel suo progetto di vita: aveva immaginato una vita con una compagna e si trova solo. Aveva immaginato una vita con dei figli, ma questi diventano i figli della sua compagna. Aveva immaginato una vita sessuale e questa è cessata: non completamente, ma quanto basta per farlo sentire non voluto, non accettato e non appagato. Non solo: è “incastrato” in una situazione famigliare impegnativa, per il mantenimento della quale deve lavorare tutto il giorno.
Se gli uomini non fossero normalmente corazzati e nevrotici soffrirebbero terribilmente per questa situazione e cercherebbero un’altra compagna. Si è sviluppata di recente una tendenza in tal senso, ma tradizionalmente gli uomini si sono “difesi psicologicamente” subendo questa situazione in vari modi: a) fingendo di accontentarsi e facendo sesso solo nei giorni “consentiti” (e ovviamente scindendo l’impulso sessuale dal sentimento di dolore o di rabbia nei confronti della compagna), b) cheating on his wife and creating the classic triangle without express deep feelings or his wife or lover, c) thinking about something else (for example, devoting himself to his career).
In a logic "feminist on the contrary" should affirm a (weird) "male self" to leave the "poor boys" from this "existential violence." In reality, they are responsible for choosing an inappropriate partner for the construction of a nuclear family and still are responsible for having given an answer to the problem of victim (Women Talk About the barber and "fuck all", or complaining about women in the barbershop and resign ). These uomini non hanno motivo di sentirsi maltrattati, perché se non lasciano la moglie in genere evitano tale scelta soprattutto perché provano un terrore irrazionale di perdere la “stabilità” che comunque cercano nella famiglia. Questi uomini hanno sbagliato molte cose, come le loro mogli, e le radici ultime dell’irrazionalità delle loro azioni e dei comportamenti delle stesse mogli si trovano nelle famiglie di provenienza di entrambi. Entrambi si sono adattati nell’infanzia ad una famiglia infelice, riducendo o distorcendo la loro vitalità e la loro sessualità per avere una parvenza d’affetto da parte di genitori inadeguati.
Quando in una famiglia povera dell’India la nascita di una bambina is considered a disaster because the family must put aside the money for "dowry" and because the child, once grown, will be the servant and not the mother-in-law's mother, is a tangle of ideas and customs bust absurd result in parenting behavior unjust and violent girls receive less appreciation, less attention and less physical care than males. Facts like these are very serious because they lead to disastrous consequences too. Above all indicate a very serious problem a human one and not a "masculine".
It's time to end this war among the poor (between female and male) and that started a war between people and very articulate society. A society which is authoritarian and not simply "patriarchal", a society based on the myth of the family and not on the realities of the people, a society that deprive women and men their dignity and above all deprive women the opportunity to have a good male companionship and men to have a good female company. A society in which sexuality does not develop harmoniously in the first months because the affective sphere is affected by mothers little available to mothers and fathers emotionally weak, mothers and fathers who hate instead of love and family in seeking a "stability" rather than psychological and sexual intimacy; mothers and fathers who are not parents.
At this point, Nussbaum's book, it is very important, but equally dangerous.
The book is important because we really need to rethink the criteria by which we evaluate a company: the criterion of ability and it seems at the moment, the better. A company not only works well if everyone votes, but if everyone has the means to freely decide whom to vote. A company not only works well if we all work and eat, but even if everyone has the opportunity to use their leisure time in creative ways. A company not only works well when it guarantees freedom of thought, but if it respects the dignity of all the people who make up in people and promotes the ability to think.
The book is dangerous because the conceptual flaw of feminism undermines the depth of the analysis made and the prospects outlined. The author says "the idea that every human being is the formulator of his life project and that everyone should be treated as an end and none as a mere instrument for the purposes of others" (p. 336). On this we agree, is when the author considers social situations in general, and when it focuses on the opportunities denied to women in various countries, and deepened when the condition, particularly dramatic, women in India. Here, however, options are emerging understandings and proposals that deserve to be scrutinized. So I want to bring along a song that I feel make this clearer.
"As noted by Sen, a person who does not know that value and believes that others have goals more worthy of his will not be strong in the contract. As I argued in Chapter Two, this is a significant problem for women within the family.
As you can effectively combat this inner sense of inadequacy? Both governmental and non-government programs are usually devote much time to explain to women the importance of their rights, their status as citizens with the right to demand services dal governo, oltre che dei loro programmi e progetti. (…) Ma ci sono altre più concrete strategie. L’istruzione ovviamente svolge un ruolo importante a questo punto, in due modi: come fonte di immagini di valore e di prospettive e anche come fonte di formazione che trasforma il possibile in realtà. (…) E infine incontrarsi con altre donne all’interno di gruppi è assai importante per conquistare un senso di sicurezza e di iniziativa efficace. (…) Il potere di contrattazione contro il maltrattamento domestico viene chiaramente rafforzato dalla presenza del gruppo, che può agire nei confronti di un uomo che si comporta male, ma viene anche rafforzato dal senso di potere e dignità che una donna deriva dal gruppo, making it intolerant of iniquity that would tolerate the first (pp. 339-340).
is not easy to make distinctions and clarifications, if you imagine situations of human degradation as described by the author, but requires a deep solidarity of rigorous reasoning. Those are so widespread mistreatment offend women who suffer them, but they offend women as persons and are understood by any person. Paradoxically, women could be minimized by very conservative and sensitive men produce outrage. Some things are unjust, and justice may be affirmed or denied by anyone. Women who suffer maltreatment in the family have the problem of being isolated and not be isolated from other women. Those women in need, while the costumes will not change, human solidarity and not of female solidarity. In one of those groups play a more constructive role in a sensitive and cultured man or woman traditionalist?
The idea of \u200b\u200bwomen's groups, such as that now "historical" group of "self" is an idea that stems from an oppositional mentality and imagination of a reaction to male power. " The groups "of women" never been used much, even if they were able to make counter-proliferation of prejudice.
A reference group consisted of men and women who affirm the value the person, the fine would protect battered women and might even do something for the men who abuse after being brutalized by the same traditional culture and violence. It 'obvious that "some men with" no reason (and there could even think of wise men), but also some women with no reasons. What is taking place in situations of degradation is a general debasement of the dignity of people and what needs to be pursued is a high level of awareness of all. To the extent possible.
compact
In traditional cultures, the victims are attached to their role as persecutors. But when he took over elements of a crisis or challenge can happen that those who have the role of victim is more likely to "awaken from slumber." If it does so without adequate tools, moves from resentful resignation to recover without any awareness of the negative feelings expressed previously, unknowingly, and recover without any consciousness of weakness and deep laceration of people who are in the role of persecutor. From a personal situation of degradation can only really go out with the conviction dell'inaccettabilità the whole situation for every participant. If you start with the "collective of women ex-victims" will jump for the possibility of a deep awareness in women, is a jack di coscienza negli uomini.
Nelle conclusioni, l’Autrice sottolinea l’importanza dell’approccio delle capacità e ne riassume i vari meriti. E’ però davvero un peccato che le ultime quattro righe di tali conclusioni e quindi del libro siano proprio queste: “In questo modo, mi sembra, l’approccio può legittimamente rivendicare il diritto di portare un contributo specifico alla ricerca concreta della giustizia di genere” (p. 363). E’ davvero un peccato che il concetto di “giustizia di genere” costituisca lo sbocco di una ricerca tanto accurata. Sono così abituato a sentire banalità femministe che accuso ancora il colpo quando una donna intelligente e impegnata come Nussbaum takes the liberty of throwing a contribution so valuable on the altar of feminist religion.
Since women have become aware of the fact that in many respects did not have the same opportunities as men, have questioned many things but not "opportunities" for men. They never really understood that such "opportunities" are a form of slavery such as that suffered by them, although in some material respects may result in material privileges. They never really understood that women live (like humans) bad relationships between couples in a world ruled by a major collective madness. He was more humbled the gladiator who perished in a fight or what che vinceva e veniva applaudito? Io penso che fossero umiliati entrambi perché avevano cose più interessanti da fare che stare in un’arena a scannarsi per il divertimento dei loro padroni. Le donne tendono a vedere la spada che le trafigge e non vedono la privazione dell’abbraccio che avvilisce entrambi i “contendenti”. E continuano a collocarsi in modi oppositivi anziché libertari in un’arena sociale o solo mentale, senza capire che l’unica lotta vincente è il rifiuto di una contrapposizione distruttiva e irrazionale fra donne e uomini che fa male a tutti.
Gianfranco
