Saturday, November 18, 2006
The Problem with Politics
I gave a copy of my group's zine to my friend and also to my mom. Their reactions made me think about the accessibility of political texts, manifestos, etc. Although both my mom and my friend loved the zine's aesthetic, there was so much of it that they did not understand, especially my mom. It made me realize that even the most inclusive and inviting political groups are in fact very exclusive at the same time. I'm sure my mom would completely agree and stand for so many of the feminist issues we address in our zine, however, she does not have the education or background to do so. Therefore, she it is pretty much a given that she would not participate in many of the revolutionary feminist acts-- the ones that Kipnis would like us all to take part in. I realize that there exists more accessible feminist texts that my mom would understand more readily, but there are so many more that she will never a) get a hold of or b) come close to understanding. So how can we recruit people to partake in feminist action who do not share the same level of eduction as we? Education is a privelege that many cannot access. I guess that is one of the many problems with politics.
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5 comments:
Hey Mal,
I totally agree with you, often political movements are very exclusive even if not intended. Many people, including myself at times, shy away from any type of political or radical involvement in fear of “not knowing enough.” The problem, however, is not created by a lack of formal education but rather a lack of interest in certain issues which can often be remedied with picking up a book, newspaper, or joining a book club etc. Attending university is a great opportunity that forces students to think about many issues that are often untouched by the “outside” world; however, a university education is only a tool of critical analysis and not a requirement of informed and political citizens. What an individual learns in university, for the most part, could be done outside this academic context but it is this task, however, which requires more initiative than a student simply being forced to learn about social theory etc in exchange for a grade and that esteemed piece of paper-a degree.
Kelly Mac.
I suppose that education does play a large part in revolution, of any type. Exibit A student demonstrations of the 60's, students from esteemed universities gathering together and changing the world. People who have considerably less then you or I have problems like; How to I cover my rent? Where is my next meal coming from? and Will I be able to afford a nice warm winter coat? These people have better things to worry about then how to overthrow the capitaist machine. Our education is, as you put it, a privilage and it is our responsiblity to use to to evoke change in the world. It is because we are educated that people listen to us, they take notice of what we say and how we say it. This is not to say that an education automatically brings power,it does not. Money does, but that is an entire differnet rant for another day. I suppose my point is this, education is important, and it is our duty as the educated to change the system so everyone(even our mothers) get it as well.
The personal is political. I think that despite the fact you were saddened by the responses you got for the zines that you passed to your mom and friend, it needs to be evaluated in personal political context. I think that is the thing with zines is about spreading the 'word' (gosh that sounds somewhat missionary-like) and to gain knowledge. The first time I was given a zine it was from a super anarchist, and I was really confused about the whole thing because I had no idea what a zine was. However I could still instructionally practice their anarchist acts - they would just have very different meaning to me.
I think your mom could participate in the revolutionary feminist acts- however they would have completely different meaning to her than they would to us who have read 10 articles. Zines are an underground movement or perzine, so although our zines were spiked with academics, I don't think the level of education matters to what Kipnis calls for because she realizes that sitting around and strategizing ideas is useless versus the interventions we should really be acting upon to create provisional interruptions.
** Tap this is my post reply for this week**
I had a similar experience when I accidentally forwarded a copy of our powerpoint presentation to my dad. Needless to say he was a little bit suprised, especially when he opened the manifesto page with the four ladies bums and thought one of them was mine.... Anyway, he wrote me an email back saying that he thought it was a clever piece of work and that he enjoyed it, but i'm pretty sure he had no idea what the hell we were talking about. The thing about taking political action, whether it is through our zines for feminist issues, or through other groups, is that they can be intimidating sometimes because if you don't really understand what you are partaking it, you don't feel connected to it. I agree that it is difficult to recruit people to partake in feminist action when they do not have the same level of education we do, and even if we manage to recruit them, there is the problem of keeping them there. Feminist political action, like many other types of political action can sometimes be exclusionary and elistist, leaving those who have not necessarily read 'all the right texts' out in the dark, and like they cannot take part. Which completely goes against the whole idea of political action as collective, and inclusive. I'm not sure how we go about addressing this issue, but I think part of it starts with what Bell Hooks was talking about with the reconsideration of the academic language directed towards other academics which we read and use to express our feminist values.
I agree with Ms. PJ that zines are pretty powerful are tools of interruption, regardless of whether the producer has a university education or not. Sure, there are references to old, dead, white men in our's, but I have a feeling that that is a bit unusual in most zines. So, I also agree with you that our education is privileged to those who can afford it, but that in no way takes away from the political identity of those who don't acquire degrees. I've met many people who are deeply passionate about their political stances/actions, and are more learned and experienced that I imagine I will ever be, and they have never stepped foot inside a university. Maybe your mum doesn't understand a lot of the references in the zine, but I bet she would understand the concepts if they were layed out/explained in a way that was a bit more relatable to her. The zine is largely meant to be a conversation starter, and conversing about this stuff is what breaks down false consciousness.
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