Shortcomings of American Feminism

Hello, I am slow but I just came across this piece by Lisa Jervis on Lip Magazine about the short-comings of American Feminism. She totally breaks it down and although I think many feminist writers are attempting to juggle newer conceptions of a feminism to include gender (as opposed to women only)-analysis, along with looking at how race and a capitalist society create a much more complicated understanding of oppression, her analysis is necessary for us to move to more radical feminist stance.

A transformative progressive feminism envisions a world that is different from the one we currently inhabit in two major and related ways. Most obviously, this world would be one in which gender doesn’t determine social roles or expected behavior. More broadly, it would also be one in which people are not sacrificed on the altar of profit—which would mean universal health care, living wages, drastically reduced consumption, and an end to the voracious marketing machine that fuels it. The link between these two elements is clear: Both gender and race, as they currently exist, are socially enforced categories that shore up a consumer capitalist system by providing opportunities for both marketing and exploitation.
But much of the contemporary American feminist movement is preoccupied with the mistaken belief—call it femmenism—that female leadership is inherently different from male; that having more women in positions of power, authority, or visibility will automatically lead to, or can be equated with, feminist social change; that women are uniquely equipped as a force for action on a given issue; and that isolating feminist work as solely pertaining to women is necessary or even useful.

I still think it is useful for women to come together on certain issues that pertain to their own lives. Bottom line is we still live in a society that is gender binary where a male dominated government is taking away women’s rights. But I think her point is really important for us to think about. Men should be as concerned about issues pertaining to women and their choices and feminists should be equally concerned about immigration rights as they are about the issue of a wage gap.
She continues…

Furthermore, the most pressing issues facing women worldwide—slave wages, inadequate health care systems, environmental degradation, the endless war and surveillance society of Bush-era neo-conservatism, and rampant corporate profiteering involved in all of the above—are a) no less important to feminists just because they also happen to be the most pressing issues facing men and b) directly related to the particularly ruthless brand of global capitalism we’re currently living under.
This vulture capitalism would not magically disappear if women were in charge of more stuff. Racism would not go away. Hell, sexism itself would probably be alive and kicking. God knows the gender binary would be stronger than ever. In short: The actual workings of power will not change with more chromosomal diversity among the powerful.

Thoughts?