WillNever
Valued Senior Member
Often, people (and particularly men) like to excuse the mistreatment of women in muslim societies, American polygamist communities, or any situation where women are routinely subjected to a life of subjugation and objectification, by declaring in a large bold voice: "it's their culture, they have a right to do that."
That only tells one side of the story though, because in the above examples, it is the men who control that society and decide what the culture will be, while the women at large really have no choice in the matter, having been born into such treatment. So when you say that muslim societies should be allowed to deny women an education, arrest them for undressing, or execute them for adultery, or any other cruel act of brutality, simply because "it's their culture," what you really mean to say is that it is the men's culture, because the men are the ones who shaped that patriarchal culture into the way it is now. The fact is that the women never volunteered for such treatment, nor do those women have the means to change the nasty way that they are treated in those chauvinistic hellholes.
Take those polygamist communities out in Utah for example. Saying "it's a different culture, so it's all okay" doesn't fly, because the choices of the women in those compounds is very limited as compared to the choices we have. The leaders of those communities are men, not women, so women don't get to decide the rules of that community. Additionally, the women in those communities cannot just up and leave whenever they feel like it, because they have children that do not belong to them only. Furthermore, those women are ill-equipped to free themselves from that culture, should they somehow abduct their children from their polygamist fathers, because they are (1) sometimes underage (2) always uneducated and (3) not financially independent, even as adults. Most of them have lived as homemakers for most of their lives. They don't have any money, any car, any place to live, or the history to get a job. The bottom line is that no self-respecting woman with an education and freedom in life would voluntarily subject herself to such a clearly exploitative lifestyle. The women who are born into those communities are indoctrinated from birth and as they come of age and bear children, they have no choice in the matter as to how they are treated in those villages and as to whether or not they can leave.
The point is that saying "it's their culture" makes for a very poor excuse when used to rationalize situations where male chauvinism is resulting in psychological and physical harm to women, in addition to denying freedom and education to women. Cultural relativism blows too. In those situations, it is usually just one side who controls that culture, while everyone else is stuck with it.
Who agrees?
That only tells one side of the story though, because in the above examples, it is the men who control that society and decide what the culture will be, while the women at large really have no choice in the matter, having been born into such treatment. So when you say that muslim societies should be allowed to deny women an education, arrest them for undressing, or execute them for adultery, or any other cruel act of brutality, simply because "it's their culture," what you really mean to say is that it is the men's culture, because the men are the ones who shaped that patriarchal culture into the way it is now. The fact is that the women never volunteered for such treatment, nor do those women have the means to change the nasty way that they are treated in those chauvinistic hellholes.
Take those polygamist communities out in Utah for example. Saying "it's a different culture, so it's all okay" doesn't fly, because the choices of the women in those compounds is very limited as compared to the choices we have. The leaders of those communities are men, not women, so women don't get to decide the rules of that community. Additionally, the women in those communities cannot just up and leave whenever they feel like it, because they have children that do not belong to them only. Furthermore, those women are ill-equipped to free themselves from that culture, should they somehow abduct their children from their polygamist fathers, because they are (1) sometimes underage (2) always uneducated and (3) not financially independent, even as adults. Most of them have lived as homemakers for most of their lives. They don't have any money, any car, any place to live, or the history to get a job. The bottom line is that no self-respecting woman with an education and freedom in life would voluntarily subject herself to such a clearly exploitative lifestyle. The women who are born into those communities are indoctrinated from birth and as they come of age and bear children, they have no choice in the matter as to how they are treated in those villages and as to whether or not they can leave.
The point is that saying "it's their culture" makes for a very poor excuse when used to rationalize situations where male chauvinism is resulting in psychological and physical harm to women, in addition to denying freedom and education to women. Cultural relativism blows too. In those situations, it is usually just one side who controls that culture, while everyone else is stuck with it.
Who agrees?