Chapter III
Feminism, Eutopia
'Only a different vision, different values, a change in power
relationships, and a change in the social construction of [gender]
identities—to be grounded no longer in dominance and submission but in
harmonized acceptance of differences—can bring about harmony and a future of
life and hope, instead of wars and nuclear holocaust.' (Evelyne Accad)
Chapter 3, ‘Feminism, eutopia[i]: Challenging patriarchy and androcratic masculinities’, discusses the role gender identities play in the waging of war and other acts of collective violence. Some long-lasting debates on the gendered division of life-giver and life-taker roles are reflected upon, introducing the latest concepts from gender studies that are relevant for rethinking of gender–war/violence–peace connections and describing alternative nonviolent ways to conceptualise gender roles and identities. This chapter connects the social practice of androcratic–hegemonic masculinity with the doing of war, arguing that the ‘doing of gender’ remains one among several key variables in the doing of war/violence. The in stories are the personal experience of some members of the author's family, once again providing links between the personal and the political and showing ways in which the themes discussed in this chapter manifest in the lived experiences of concrete individuals.
[i] Eutopia here means a ‘better and improved’, decidedly not ‘perfect’, ‘society’.
Chapter 3, ‘Feminism, eutopia[i]: Challenging patriarchy and androcratic masculinities’, discusses the role gender identities play in the waging of war and other acts of collective violence. Some long-lasting debates on the gendered division of life-giver and life-taker roles are reflected upon, introducing the latest concepts from gender studies that are relevant for rethinking of gender–war/violence–peace connections and describing alternative nonviolent ways to conceptualise gender roles and identities. This chapter connects the social practice of androcratic–hegemonic masculinity with the doing of war, arguing that the ‘doing of gender’ remains one among several key variables in the doing of war/violence. The in stories are the personal experience of some members of the author's family, once again providing links between the personal and the political and showing ways in which the themes discussed in this chapter manifest in the lived experiences of concrete individuals.
[i] Eutopia here means a ‘better and improved’, decidedly not ‘perfect’, ‘society’.