Gender and International Relation

Gender and International Relation
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Introduction
Entailed in this paper is an examination of four readings: J. Ann Tickner’s “On the Frontline or Sidelines of Knowledge and Power? Feminists Practices of Responsible Scholarship,” Spike Peterson’s “Feminist Theories Within, Invisible To, and Beyond IR,” Jennifer K. Lobasz’s “Beyond Border Security: Feminist Approaches to Human Trafficking,” and Lauren Wilcox’s “Gendering the Cult of the Offensive.” J. Ann Tickner’s article raises a question whether international relation scholars should directly engage in the policy making process or remain at a critical distance from it. Spike Peterson’s article talks about feminist theories and discusses how gender is deployed. Lauren Wilcox’s essay argues that gender may be the missing link in explaining the misconception of the offense-defense balance and suggests three possible areas of investigation. And Jennifer K. Lobasz’s article argues that feminist approaches to human trafficking are essential for understanding and combating the phenomenon.
This paper seeks to summarize the readings and provide a detailed analysis of the theories discussed in each reading.
J. Ann Tickner, in her essay titled “On the Frontline or Sidelines of Knowledge and Power? Feminists Practices of Responsible Scholarship,” raises a question whether international relations scholars should directly engage in the policy making process or be banned from it. Using the metaphor of sidelines and frontlines, her article presents several feminist reformulations that are said to contribute toward a more inclusionary practice and theory. Six main points of feminist view are highlighted in the article: the direct relation between the increasing gap between the rich and the poor and gender inequality, the silencing of discord on critical policy issues and the so-called erosion of academic freedom, the re-emergence of warrior masculinity through the issue of War on Terror, the genuine objective of feminism, feminist beliefs that generally, religions are bad for women, and the notions held by the Cartesian and feminists’ effort to ‘deconstruct’ it.
Tickner begins by discussing Morgenthau’s notion on suitable relationship of international students to the policy, which is ‘to look over the shoulder’ (Tickner 2006, 385). Feminists, just like critical theorists, claim that a theory should be neutral. They do not accept that a power relationship can be granted and always brings them into question. Thus, feminists push and redefine the boundaries of knowledge in new ways by emphasizing that the significance of listening to new voices (Tickner 2006, 368). Second, feminism is purposed to mobilize the political commitment which is required to bring an end to women’s subordination. According to Boxer, this is the underlying goal to which all scholarship engagements should be aimed at (1998). However, we can observe that in recent developments, feminists have widened their field work and cover a broad spectrum of problems that involve marginalized groups.
Third, the author scrutinizes Cartesian divisions between ‘the West and the rest, subjects and objects, whites and non-whites, and men and women’ (Tickner 2006, 390) According to her, acts of power can be observed through the process of analyzing, cataloguing, and displaying words. Feminists are post-culturalists who are driven by empirical efforts and linguistics and aim to look beyond these divisions. Fourth, the author criticizes the civilizational divisions that are present in the fight against Terror along with the knowledge they suppose. According to Tickner, this raises the reoccurrence of warrior masculinity. The old notion in which strength, rationality, power, protection and warrior are inherently linked to masculinity is held back. Their opposites such as emotionality, weakness, passivity, and protectiveness are again linked to femininity. With empirical cases, Tickner proves that is false because some women are warriors and some men become peacemakers (Tickner 2006, 390).
Fifth, most feminists hold the belief that all conventional religions, including Islam and Christianity are not good for women. Translations of the Bible, the Quran and other religious texts have been dominated by male scholars who enforce harsh behavioral codes on women. Sixth, the author addresses the increasing gap between the rich and the poor. Poor working conditions and low wages have been unfairly vindicated on the basis that home-based work does not count as work. Tickner finally concludes that feminist scholars in international relations have decided upon themselves to offer us a glimpse into the lives of individuals who have not been highlighted in history and who get disregarded when deciding what counts as knowledge concerning global politics” (Tickner 2006, 393). Tickner’s argument should be considered a valid one considering how the article has proven that feminists serve as ‘scholar activists’ who try to implement legislation and redefine the meaning of human rights. However, she fails to specifically suggest that feminists should directly engage with the ‘frontline’ or remain in the ‘sidelines’ and engage in critical skepticism.
In Spike Peterson’s article titled “Feminist Theories Within, Invisible To, and Beyond IR,” the article clarifies the author’s understanding of feminist theories and their correlation to theorizing ‘beyond’ and ‘within’ mainstream IR. The article addresses various questions posed by the editors but it begins by addressing the main question, “What is feminism theory?” To help clarify how feminist theories contribute to a broad spectrum of analytical and political positions, the article identifies three overlapping feminist knowledge projects in relation to IR.
The author argues that feminist theories are narrowly understood within IR and that feminists’ most tran...