tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8566317761793185393.post607833326400118651..comments2023-07-01T00:33:55.165-07:00Comments on Ben Efsaneyim: Foot-Binding Ain't So BadBen Efsaneyimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001682865274251483noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8566317761793185393.post-60066243383084846362016-01-14T23:29:24.953-08:002016-01-14T23:29:24.953-08:00CuteCuteAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8566317761793185393.post-38974983745423957802010-12-05T11:03:00.002-08:002010-12-05T11:03:00.002-08:00"Note that I said Asian feminist. As for Asia...<i>"Note that I said Asian feminist. As for Asian American feminist theory. Well. On that front, there isn't a whole heck of a lot of text or discourse. PERIOD."</i><br /><br />That then is the issue. I'm surprised, yet not very. Why would you say that this is the case?Ben Efsaneyimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16001682865274251483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8566317761793185393.post-14747256672330625772010-12-04T16:34:49.858-08:002010-12-04T16:34:49.858-08:00@ Ben:
There is that kind of debate, especially i...@ Ben:<br /><br />There is that kind of debate, especially in Asian feminist theory. It's a hot button issue that has polarized the Asian feminist school into two camps, the post-feminist Asian femininsts, who tend to be those who believe in sexual liberation, blah blah, and for some very peculiar reason ends up manifesting itself as sexual promiscuity with white men, and then there are the Asian feminists who talk about imperialism and oftentimes hand in hand are frighteningly patriotic (of China, for example). <br /><br />Note that I said Asian feminist. As for Asian American feminist theory. Well. On that front, there isn't a whole heck of a lot of text or discourse. PERIOD.tznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8566317761793185393.post-7871412000459810962010-12-04T14:06:02.614-08:002010-12-04T14:06:02.614-08:00Hi TZ
I agree, choice is the biggest difference, ...Hi TZ<br /><br />I agree, choice is the biggest difference, and I was going to mention that in the post but realized that choice is actually a relative concept in the case of cosmetic surgery and may not be much of a choice at all.<br /><br />I really see the subject as a classic example of the tension between ontology and epistemology - that is, what do we have and how can we really know that is in fact what we do have. When ideas become stuck in an ontology without epistemological enquiry they become dogmatic. And that's really what I'm seeing with much of the popular expression of Asian feminism.<br /><br />The conversation over at BWW about Butler made me wonder if there is that kind of debate going on amongst Asian feminists. If not, the question is why? For any entity interested in change or social evolution (which I presume Asian feminism is) that kind of debate is essential. Yet, just about everyhwere I see the popular interpretation of Asian-American feminism I see some really bland and unoriginal ideas being regurgitated.<br /><br />Like I've written elsewhere there is very much a disconnectedness in the way Asians view themselves. It's like there is a truth that we refuse to acknowledge and I think that the basis for this is being fearful of our own power. This I think is especially true for Asian women. I think the reason that so many Asian women focus on the trite (in my opinion) is that they may actually be afraid of their own power. I say bring it on.Ben Efsaneyimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16001682865274251483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8566317761793185393.post-85974153869143207792010-12-04T10:10:32.616-08:002010-12-04T10:10:32.616-08:00The fundamental difference is the autonomy issue. ...The fundamental difference is the autonomy issue. <br /><br />I do have to say, though, that this whole recent discussion on footbinding is the first time since maybe, I dunno, AP World History in high school? that I had any at-length discussion about the subject. <br /><br />As a feminist theorist involved in discussions of such nature, what comes up more frequently is female genital mutiliation, a practice that takes place in several parts of the world, from Egypt and various other parts of Africa to Southeast Asia. Since it did happen in Southeast Asia, it's interesting to note why it wouldn't come up as frequently as footbinding in discussions by Asian feminists. Maybe it does and I just don't know about it.tznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8566317761793185393.post-81663555643906769202010-12-03T22:38:07.271-08:002010-12-03T22:38:07.271-08:00Hi BWW
Sure thing! I look forward to the podcast....Hi BWW<br /><br />Sure thing! I look forward to the podcast.Ben Efsaneyimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16001682865274251483noreply@blogger.com