Of Snubs and Essentialism: The Non Critical Thought of American Feminism

What snub?

This is a reasonable question, actually, though the title here is certainly provocative, and meant to be. From a certain ideological vantage point , it could look like a snub, but from the same spatial vantage point, Hillary Clinton is looking at Senator Kennedy, and shaking his hand, and Senator Obama is looking at Governor McCaskill. Neither are looking at each other. Big deal.

However, the photograph in the ABC piece can and has been spun as a spun[snub], and that Kennedy and Obama are, once again, ganging up on "poor" Hillary. Certainly, the meme firmly established during the New Hampshire Primary, where Hillary produced some crocodile tears and thus was the victim of male bulliess (who, of course, were running for president as well).

Wonder if this has anything to do with a certain prominent endorsement:
"Women have just experienced the ultimate betrayal. Senator Kennedy’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton’s opponent in the Democratic presidential primary campaign has really hit women hard..."

The National Office is only slightly more nuanced in their horror that the heir apparent isn't everybody's choice.


Underlying this is the old essentialist dodge that underpins the core of "American" Feminism: That people are defined, a priori, by their genitals because these genitals produce a kind of metaphysical and transcendent reality in which women are nurturers, and thus, less warlike, than men. This ignores the kind of social and economic conditioning that actually creates and perpetuates gender roles and stereotypes.

Lest I be mistaken for a neanderthal, let me say what should go without saying: I support women's equal rights. I support women's right to total bodily control. I support, in fact, all people's struggle for equal rights and bodily control. What I do not support, however, is shoddy philosophic thinking. Let's be clear: Essentialism is the the root of both the patriarchy and the WASP capitalist hegemon, because it assumes a metaphysical and transcendent superiority over other genders, sexualities, and ethnic groups by virtue of its possession of a penis(see Frank Zappa's "Penis Dimension"). But I shouldn't have to say this.

At the end of the day, if we understand that feminism is about smashing the capitalist underpinnings of the racist/sexist patriarchy, and working for human rights, then the genitals of the candidates have nothing to do with this. After all, who voted iniatially for that ultimate expression of the patriarchal death trip to fire up the war machine. I'll give you a hint: It was the one who was a mother...