In this piece, Lugones and Spelman analyze the way in which cultural imperialism in connected to the feminist demand for a "woman's voice" by analyzing how women of different ethic and cultural identities experience oppression, and therefore liberation, differently. The demand for a "woman's voice" came about as a response to fact that men had been giving accounts of women and women had not had their own distinct voice to theorize about themselves. Feminists called for women to speak for themselves and make their own voices known as the only way to accurate represent themselves. However, in the process, white women became the dominant voice of all women within mainstream feminism and silenced the voices of women of color in the same way that men had silenced all women previously. The main binary that I picked up on was the distinction between "we" and "you" that the authors make. Many white feminists who use the term"we" think that they are speaking for all women, but in reality women of color recognize that these women are often speaking only about themselves. This binary can also be articulated as inclusion/exclusion and has unfortunately plagued mainstream feminism.
Lugones explains that Hispanic feminists are often presented with a choice between remaining silent or altering their consciousness to fit the dominant norm because in order to engage in feminist dialogue, they often must ignore certain parts of their identities, such as their native language. This simple fact that English is not everyone's language is a reminder that American feminism is not completely comprehensive. Similarly, other feminist theorists have also supported the notion that all language is patriarchal in nature and that a true feminist consciousness is impossible within the confines of language itself.
The authors also point out that the women who often have access to education and academics are the ones who are able to theorize about women's oppression. As a result the theory that emerges is not a one size fits all theory and may only be useful for certain groups of women, usually middle-class white, heterosexual women. This point is important to consider specifically within the context of an academic setting where it is crucial to remember our privileged position and the way our access to certain materials shapes our understanding.
Kelsey, I think that you did a great job on your blog post. I think that it is especially important that you pointed out that when privileged feminists use "we" they often fall into the trap of thinking that they can speak for all women. Furthermore, I think your concluding statement is something incredibly important to have in mind here at Emory. We are at a predominately white institution, yet there are a lot of international and minority students and it is important that people of color get to speak for themselves.
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