By Marcelo Colussi.
Translated into English for Axis of Logic by Iris Buehler and revised by James Hollander, Tlaxcala
Oct 12, 2007, 03:46
http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/article_25337.shtml
How many women do you think got beaten up today by their partners? And how many men? How many women do you think had to be hospitalized today because of these beatings? And how many men have gone through the same thing?
How many women do you think have had to “pay favors” today to male superiors in an organization? How many men have experienced this with female bosses or superiors? Worldwide, what image do you think is more commonly used today in billboard advertising, TV ads, photos, etc.: half naked women to promote some product, or male bodies?
Who do you think are more often cheated on today by their respective partners: men or women?
Of all deals that might have been done today –sales of houses, cars, properties, purchases of shares, sales orders in international business, etc.– who would have more often signed on the dotted line as the new owners or authorized representatives: men or women?
How many men do you think have visited a brothel today when celebrating their bachelor’s party on the eve of their wedding? And how many women may have slept with a man who is not her future husband to celebrate theirs?
How many female babies have been subjected to amputation of the clitoris today to keep them from enjoying sexual pleasure as an adult?
Do you think any man in the world has suffered something similar today?
On a worldwide scale, how many men do you think have received their salary today as presidents, ministers, deputies, generals, admirals, brigadier generals, company managers, factory managers or conductors of a symphony orchestra? And how many women?
Do you think there were more women or more men will have gone home drunk today, kicking open doors and insisting on having sex even though their partners may not feel like it?
How many men do you think have today abandoned women who told those men that they were pregnant by them? In contrast, how many women do you think have abandoned their new-born son or daughter?
Who do you think have worked longer hours today, including both housework and non-housework: women or men?
And who you think have been more vehemently condemned by the priests of the different world religions as impure, diabolical, impious, sinners and blasphemers: women or men?
We men who are reading this and giving the right answers don't need to feel guilty. Or, at least, we don't need to flagellate ourselves to atone for our sins. That would certainly be of no help: it would only cause even more work for our women, for they would be the ones who would certainy cure our wounds and serve us our meals in bed, so we would only be causing them more problems. But it actually is a good thing to adopt a truly critical attitude: being a revolutionary does not mean putting on a shirt with the image of Che Guevara printed on it. Being a revolutionary is much more than that. Thus, the point is not to nurture a feeling of guilt for the ancestral sexism that constitutes us: the point is to discuss it in order to not to continue practicing it.
Within the Left - and we must acknowledge this – a generally male chauvinist attitude has predominated. But we must insist: this sexism is not due to some “sexist, partriarchal” essence of which we men are somehow carriers genetically. To the contrary, it is the many millennia of culture that weighs us down. Who said it would be easy to free ourselves from this burden?
In any case, if we take the matter of "being revolutionaries", of "being socialists" with any seriousness, then at least we must consider in depth every one of the questions posed above. What antidote should be opposed to male chauvinism? Guilt or self-accusation will not do: we just need to begin questioning it. Maybe we won’t achieve a different view of the problem –if we do, it would be all for the better– but our descendants certainly will. Is it really possible to be truly revolutionary without putting our machismo up for discussion?
Until well into the twentieth century, the issue of demanding women’s rights was practically a taboo among the left throughout the world. "Petty-bourgeois vice" was one of the most common terms used to name it. Whether it was "a distraction from the true class problem", "a secondary task", or "a problem that would be solved anyway once the triumph of socialism has been achieved,” it was in fact never part of the basic values in either revolutionary theory or in revolutionary practice.
But the time has now come to correct that mistake.
Although it is true that the topic has already been on the table for quite some time and that there actually have been major steps forward, sexism continues to be a pending issue on our agenda. For all of us, both the Right and the Left. Just to illustrate it with a very clear example: in "civilized" Europe –where women are not being circumcised or publicly stoned if accused of adultery, where they are not compelled to keep their head covered or remain silent when men are speaking– household violence by men continues to be the second cause of injuries and death among the female population. Although it is true that we have made advances, there's still so much left to do. Including –and maybe more than anything else– within the ranks of the Left, precisely because the Left is supposed to take the lead when it comes to the domain of ethics.
Half of the world population is female; therefore an improvement in the condition of women –always at a disadvantage to men, regardless of their socio-economic situation– would already mean in itself an enormous advance in the distribution of rights and benefits among all human beings. It may be true that the exploitation of women –because this is the problem: women live in a relation of subjugation to men– is of a different nature than the exploitation of the working class at the hands of the owners of the means of production (who, to be sure, are in mostly men). But abolishing that exploitation, starting to modify it and calling it into question could have an absolutely revolutionary value in the long run.
Socialist revolution is not only about improving the economic position of the huge masses of dispossessed; it also means ending each and every form of injustice. And gender inequality is one of the worst forms of injustice. If you think I'm wrong, then just ask the women.
Original Source in Spanish: Revolución socialista también es igualdad de géneros
Tlaxcala- Iris Buehler and James Hollander are members of Tlaxcala, the network of translators for linguistic diversity.
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