The case of Kamala Harris and feminism

The aesthetics of feminism have never been so trendy! Take the idea that the feminist struggle is one of individual emancipation – in that case, we can be delighted with what we’ve achieved: Women are conquering top management positions. They are now in the highest positions of politics – we have the first woman of color as the USA’s vice president. But are these real victories for the feminist movement that aims for systemic change of society?
The 7 February 2021 episode of the podcast On the Barricades represented a spirited discussion between Albena Azmanova, Associate Professor at Kent University, Maria Cernat, Associate Professor at the National School of Political Sciences and Public Administration and Boya Stanislavski, a Polish-based journalist. The discussion studied whether we should rejoice in Kamala Harris’s individual emancipation or, on the contrary, to see it as the expression of a “failure by success.” Since the ‘70s we’ve seen these tragic victories time and again – women are gaining their right to be equally exploited, but not the right to change systemic exploitation. We may have achieved emancipation in relation to men, but not in relation to capitalism. For that to happen, we definitely need to reframe the narrative and rethink the successes that we celebrate.
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Photo: Albena Azmanova (upper right), Maria Cernat and Boyan Stanislavski (source: The Barricade)
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