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There has always been division between feminists. Simply being a ‘woman’ is not enough common ground for individuals who are from different backgrounds, different social classes and different generations. So it should come as no surprise to anyone that the old divisions within the movement have resurfaced in the blogosphere.
Recently I became aware of the battle between feminist bloggers, Jessica Valenti from Feministing and Ann Althouse. I admit I have stumbled on this issue a little late because Liz Funk wrote about it on the Huffington Post back in October. But the controversy does illustrate what I have long believed about feminism. There is way too much division within the movement to achieve any of our common goals.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the controversy ignited by Althouse and Valenti, here is a brief overview:
Well it all started back in September when Jessica Valenti was invited to attend a luncheon, along with other political bloggers, with former US President Bill Clinton. After seeing a photo from the luncheon, Ann Althouse launched a personal attack on Valenti, criticising her pose in the photo and the way she was dressed. Althouse also referred to Valenti as “the intern”. But the academic lawyer didn’t stop there. Althouse then went on to criticise the very popular Feministing website referring to the blog as a “breastblog”. Understandably, Valenti was pretty ticked off and responded with a post of her own on Feministing.
Although I don’t want to discuss this particular case in great detail here, I will say Althouse was definitely the instigator and her personal attack on Valenti did more damage to Althouse’s reputation than to Jessica Valenti and Feministing. But the incident does prove that the old divisions within the feminist movement are alive and well in 2007.
As Erin Matson pointed out in Liz Funk’s article on the Huffington Post, this incident has reignited the debate of whether open expression of sexuality is empowering or harmful to women. And in an age when women of all ages are bombarded with sexual images everywhere they turn, the debate is more relevant today than ever before.
Like most women I have been affected by the sexualisation of women in the media and popular culture. I was still a young woman in my twenties when my marriage ended eleven years ago and I thought nothing of openly expressing my sexuality and yes, I did sleep with men I barely knew (and regretted it). Although all the messages I was receiving from the media and those around me seemed to say there was nothing wrong with how I behaved–it never ‘felt right’ to me. So based on my own experiences, I would have to say the sexualisation of young women does more harm than good. But I can’t speak for all women and I certainly wouldn’t attack the younger generation for the choices they have made. After all, we are all on the same side in the war against women–aren’t we?
