Feminism
SSE Riga Debate Society
Agenda
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Important things to remeber
Hostile & benevolent sexism
Waves of feminism
Movements: slutwalk & femen
Where in debates?
ALWAYS start from the most tolerant standpoint
imaginable
-> If you think something might sound ‘wrong’,
do not say it
If it’s a debate about feminism/women’s rights,
you ALWAYS support it
-> Even when the motion is THW force women
in executive positions take maternity leave
Don’t make essentialist arguments (biological
differences)
Hostile & Benevolent Sexism
Benevolent & Hostile Sexism
– Hostile sexism: blatant, believing that
women should be subservient
– Benevolent sexism: it argues for women’s
special niceness and purity but emphasizes
that women are different from men.
Waves of Feminism
Waves of Feminism
• 1st wave: equality under law, political rights,
divorce rights
– State is obliged to create formal equality &
consent, otherwise we are free to choose
Waves of Feminism
• 2nd wave: law is not enough, stands for actual
equality, identity of women constructed by
institutions
– Your identity doesn’t magically appear-> identity is
socially constructed
– State is not interested in formal, but actual
equality
Waves of Feminism
• 3rd wave: various definitions, feminism is not
about women becoming like men (e.g. getting
in the parliament/army) but about redefining
how we value women
THW make all education from kindergarten
up gender neutral
THW make all education from kindergarten
up gender neutral
Proposition
Opposition
2nd Wave
3rd Wave
-‘Feminity’ is inherently opressive
and will always remain that way
-Gender identity is just like any
other social indentity & not
inherently bad
THW make all education from kindergarten
up gender neutral
Proposition
Opposition
2nd Wave
3rd Wave
-‘Feminity’ is inherently opressive
and will always remain that way
-Gender identity is just like any
other social indentity & not
inherently bad
Most debates are post-1st wave (but not all
of them)
THW supports gender quotas in parliament
THW supports gender quotas in parliament
Proposition
Opposition
1.Representation (special
interests)- rights over votes
1.Narrative of women as
incapable only gets reinforced
2.Cycle of opression arguments
2.Parliament with the
assumption that men can’t think
of ‘women’s stuff’ -> reinforce
gender roles
3. Informal barriers->role models
THW give women equal grounds in
war
THW give women equal grounds in
war
Proposition
1. Status quo promotes a mindset
that women are weaker-> role
models
2. Protection of country is
important for identity and
fullfillment for some
3. Mysoginistic narrative within
military is bad and needs to be
broken down
Opposition
1. Continues to involve women in
the glorification of masculine
traits and professions-> they
assimilate not change the
environment
2. More pressure as they will
probably stay a minority
3. Men will want to ‘save’ and
‘protect’
4. Increased risk in terms of sexual
violence
Movements
Slutwalk
Slutwalk
Rape Culture
-links sexual violence to
culture and society
-victim blaming (‘she was
asking for it’)
-Teaching women how to ‘not
get raped’
Sexual liberation
-Female sexuality/nudity is not
degrading/discusting/
humiliating
Femen
Against:
1) Sexism
2) Religion
3) Dictatorship
4) Sex tourism
...
Femen
Against:
1) Sexism
2) Religion
3) Dictatorship
4) Sex tourism
...
THBT feminist movements should not
use nudity to achieve their goals
THBT feminist movements should not
use nudity to achieve their goals
GOVERNMENT:
-Alienation
-Bad kind of attention
-Media narratives
...
OPPOSITION:
-Power of the image
....
THBT feminist movements should not
use nudity to achieve their goals
GOVERNMENT:
-Alienation
-Bad kind of attention
-Media narratives
...
OPPOSITION:
-Power of the image
....
-conforming to a patriarchic form of
expression
-Homogenizes the feminist movement
under one image
-The limitation homogenizes the
feminist movement
-Sexual liberalization
Where in Debates?
Where in Debates?
EVERYWHERE
Where in Debates?
• Anything concerning sexuality or beauty
standards
THW ban the advertisment of beauty products
THW ban all pornography
Where in Debates?
• Arguments about opression and how hard it is to
change can be made in many debates, same for
stereotyping and restrictive social roles
• Feminist arguments can appear in random places
THBT the state should fund print media
THBT primary education in African countries
should be done in English
Some Debates
• Sexual imagery
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oinYCaeq9mg
• Slutwalks http://vimeo.com/30034468
• Politically active first lady http://vimeo.com/34834587
• Cosmetic Surgery
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm3wClAFzUU
• Hook-up Culture http://vimeo.com/52977055
• Cosmetic Surgery
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm3wClAFzUU
General Stuff
• Goodle Drive, debate stuff (request access)
https://drive.google.com/a/sseriga.edu/?tab=mo
#folders/0B2WNq-ZtnROuUlFjWVhGRGRoeFE
• Debate Videos
http://debatevideoblog.blogspot.com/
• Alfred Snider on Vimeo
http://vimeo.com/user1244229
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
http://plato.stanford.edu/