I lifted the title of this blog from Susan Moller Okin who wrote a seminal article on the topic almost ten years ago. Ten years later it’s still as relevant as ever, as society grapples with issues such as the Texas polygamy scandal, the Taliban, and widespread efforts to diversify schools, organizations, and political parties.
As the so-called “melting pot” of the world, America has never been pro-assimilation when it comes to cultural traditions. While individuals might disagree with each other, the government itself has tried its best to promote an atmosphere of inclusion. Layered on top of our multicultural ideals is an additionally strong belief in fairness and justice for all. America has a long way to go in terms of gender equality, but the overarching law of the land is that nobody ought to be discriminated against because of their sex – or their culture. But what happens when those two things collide?
In April 2008 a polygamist ranch in Texas was ransacked by police for suspected widespread child abuse. As details of the sect emerged to the public, controversy was set in motion as members of the sect defended their right to live as they pleased (allegations of child abuse were strongly denied). Polygamy, which some believe is oppressive to women, is condoned by several states in the name of religious freedom. Scandals such as these put Americans in a sticky situation, where they are forced to choose between two cherished ideals: cultural tolerance and religious rights.
In some parts of the Middle East, family members are culturally obligated to murder female relatives who engage in adultery. In certain cases, women have been murdered because they were raped through no fault of their own. For some cultures, allowing a violated woman to live could destroy the honor of the entire family. In extreme cases like this, one belief (the sanctity of life) might seem clearly outweigh any support for cultural beliefs about the consequences of women’s purity. They also seem relegated to other countries that value gender equality far less than Americans. But similar incidents have occurred in the United States and surprisingly, culture has been successfully used as a justification for murder. In her original article, Okin discusses a case wherein a Chinese immigrant man living in New York battered his wife to death for committing adultery. A defense based on cultural beliefs and traditions successfully softened first-degree murder changes to charges of involuntary manslaughter.
Americans have by no means chosen the inherent rights of women over support for tolerating different cultural beliefs. We have struggled, and will no doubt continue to struggle, with finding a balance between respecting different cultural backgrounds and protecting people from abusing one another. Here is an arena where even so-called “liberal” attitudes that typically encompass multiculturalism can end up seeming anti-feminist. As Okin writes, “When liberal arguments are made for the rights of groups, then, special care must be taken to look at within-group inequalities.”
Some feminists argue that Western culture itself is contradictory in its beliefs; on the one hand we support women’s equality, but on the other, we espouse cultural ideals that over-value women for possessing beauty and thin bodies. I’m very much interested in hearing others opinions on this. Do you think that Western cultural ideals are similarly oppressive towards women? If so, should there be efforts to limit those ideals? And finally, in general, how can we reconcile our cultural beliefs with our ideals that support gender equality?
