Nationalism is Always Gendered

Michael Hoover hoov at freenet.tlh.fl.us
Thu May 6 10:15:27 PDT 1999


in first days/weeks of US/NATO bombing, this list had a lot of

traffic about nationalism, rights to self-determination, Kosovar

Albanians, etc...a topic missing - with a few exceptions - from

discussions about the war is how nationalism is always gendered.

..I'm thinking, for example, of works by Cynthia Enloe and Anne

McClintock..

the nation-state was developed by men, largely for men...state-making

has been bound up with war-making which has been monopolized by men...

revolutionary armies (including Yugoslavian Partisan movement during

WW2) provided exceptions, although evidence points to regression

towards stereotyped gender roles following victory in a number of

instances...

state-making has also been bound up with wealth-making...capitalism,

in part, resulted from opportunities for power and profit generated

by gender relations (and continues to do so, obviously)...

international politics has dealt - and continues to deal - mainly

with state-making and wealth-making...women continue to be mostly

invisible there leaving it a bastion of male power and privilege

(not withstanding a few Thatchers & Albrights in decision-making

circles)...

state-makers have used nationhood (which Marx called an 'illusory

community') to foster a solidarist 'us' and alien 'them'...thus,

male domination of international politics ('high' politics as IR

types are wont to say, in contrast to so-called 'low' politics

which includes 'unimportant' issues such as health) exists as

if in some gender-neutral realm...Michael Hoover



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