opvoedingsproblemen - gedragsproblemen - jeugdcriminaliteit - orthopedagogiek - politiek voor de 21ste eeuw   

In this short essay, it is demonstrated how feminism has led women astray.

It is undeniable that feminism has given an enormous boost to the emancipation of women. Women were liberated from a stereotypical role, from male dominance, and from reduction to an object. That struggle is far from over, but the question is what has taken its place and whether the basic assumptions of feminism pave the way for the true liberation of women.

The assumption of Simone de Beauvoir, one of the most important feminists who has inspired millions of women in the West, is that "one is not offered as a woman, one becomes one." One becomes one through the power of societal determinisms. Women have become alienated by the role society wants them to play. They must respond to the desires of men. They become the Other. Women are defined in relation to men; they are incomplete. They are sex. The man is not defined in relation to her. She is not essential to the essential. He is subject, he is absolute, she is the Other.

According to de Beauvoir, the woman must take her destiny into her own hands and define herself in order to escape the sociological alienation from the eternal feminine. There is no essential difference between man and woman.

We must view the rise of feminism within the zeitgeist that favors a dynamic vision of the world. In it, there is no longer any place for "the eternal feminine." So many terrible events took place in the 20th century that it was time to deconstruct existing structures. The irony of de Beauvoir's radical feminism is that the female body is denied in order to align as much as possible with the capabilities of the man. Therein lies precisely the perversity of this feminism: Progress is masculine, and women must participate in it too. This means even more conquest of the world and even more depletion of our planet, resulting in climate change, the extinction of plants and animals, the destruction of landscapes, the pollution of the oceans, and ultimately, due to the low birth rate, the extinction of the human species. Contrast this lust for conquest and the dynamism of the man with a more passive, caring attitude that characterizes the feminine. It is precisely therein that the solution to the catastrophes just mentioned lies. The woman can save humanity.

Another, non-perverse feminism would, in fact, offer more opportunities to the deeper possibilities that the feminine provides. It should not be solely about determining one's own destiny; there is also such a thing as welcoming new life, hospitality, patience, the power of the non-verbal, and modesty. Limiting or banishing these possibilities means an impoverishment of social life. Anything that does not lead to recognition from others then loses its value. The possibilities inherent in the feminine open the way to transcendence. According to Levinas, the feminine breaks the circle of the Self in order to open it to transcendence. I will clarify this further below.

A new feminism is emerging in which the concept of 'care' is central. Values ​​labeled as feminine, such as care, concern, and attention to the other, are activities that can restore our world thanks to greater safety, more care for the environment, and recognition of the dignity of workers (whose status is seriously threatened by AI and robotization). These activities and goals must be given priority in politics and ethics. This will only succeed if feminism means that the man must give the feminine within him a chance, thereby enabling a genuine relationship with the other, his wife, and his fellow human beings.

The feminine as described above is very vulnerable, but becomes an enormous force when negotiation replaces the exercise of power, when mediation replaces violence, and when solidarity replaces competition. This is a revolutionary force that is infinitely more powerful than the eternal resentment of the oppressed towards the oppressor.

more texts: