Katherine Watier

February 24, 1998

The Power Structure and Feminism

When discussing the impact of feminism on political movements one must be aware of the fact that the standards one uses in their analysis are colored by the social power structure. In American culture that power structure is dominated by a male hierarchical ideals of what it is to be powerful and what it is to be knowledgeable. This argument is well outlined in the MacKinnon article Desire and Power. MacKinnon specifically looks at the role of epistemology in the analysis of gender relations and the origin of current feminist ideals. Her observations were insightful and useful the critiquing of the articles that were to follow.

Epistemology is specifically concerned about such issues as "what is knowledge?" and "how do I know what I know?". The fascination with these issues in Mackinnon's opinion are a result of a male dominated field, and essentially they are questions that only men are prone to ask due to their position in our society. "Cartesian doubt-this anxiety about whether the world is really there independent of our will or of our representations, if I can doubt it, maybe it doesn't exist-comes from the luxury of position of power that entails the possibility of making the world as one thinks or wants it to be." (58) Only men have the power to distance themselves from reality in such a way as to imagine themselves in control of what is real and what isn't. Since women approach the issue from a position of relative powerlessness, the prevailing notion is that the world exists- now how can we modify it or our reaction to it?

MacKinnon's argument concerning current feminism takes into account the society in which it arose. When one considers that most of the feminist movement has been involved in becoming equals with men from within the current power structure, that ideal of equality has often meant becoming less of what is considered feminine (and intrinsically weak) and adapting more masculine characteristics. One can't help but wonder if this is this true feminism and how women can be content with this compromise. This is not to say that this type of modifying of one's self to gain power from within the current power is an inefficient way of doing things. The success of this type of modification of personality is clearly outlined in the article Just Heartbeats Away by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy in which the lifestyles of two powerful women (Elizabeth Dole and Hillary Clinton) are compared. The similarities between the two are found by the author to be surprising (considering their opposite political views) but considering the fact that they both struggled to retain aspects of their feminism while at the same time portraying a more masculine persona that allowed them to gain respect, prestige, and power from within the US government. They both changed their political affiliation to match their husbands, and both gave up their goals of either having a family or furthering their career in order to support their husband's political efforts. Interestingly, they did not become involved in issues that were male dominated. Instead, the projects that they both tackled were ones in which affected the internal environment of the home and family and issues that required compassion (like Hillary's health care and Elizabeth's Red Cross projects). Both supported the notion of a femininity that encouraged women's support for their husband and family's endeavors, but never take center stage. In fact, the times that Hillary has outshone her husband or acted without his vocal support of her endeavors, the US public has responded unkindly. As Elizabeth has phrased the feminist movement, "What we women fought for was the ability to make decisions as to what we feel is best for ourselves and our family." (37) Her statement only supports MacKinnon's opinion that the feminist movement did not overturn the present patriarchal power structure, it only discovered ways in which women could work within the structure to accomplish their own agenda.

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