[Personal Anecdote / Introduction]
Family always had a strong influence in my life growing up. Fortunately, I grew up alongside the care and support of forty-five cousins, my grandparents, and a handful of aunts and uncles. I soon learned that respect for the elderlies is what ties families together; families are like cellular units in which each person has their own place and role. Every person in the family is valued. Blood is thicker than water. An individual not only represents himself, but their family as well. A family cannot function well without each family member upholding their duties, and a family cannot provide for each person without each individual embracing their identity according to where they stand in the family. Therefore, familial roles is a crucial aspect of family organization, harmony, and honor. It is through norms such as familial roles that values are reinforced in both household and society.
[Thesis]
In this blog, I will challenge Kate Manne’s view of misogyny by addressing cultural differences between Western and Easter cultures where the “oppressed” (women) feel more “empowered” by fulfilling an established role given to them in society. I will be addressing David Hume’s argument for morality in Treatise of Human Nature to reevaluate the political language of misogyny and instead redirect the focus to one that is societal and psychological, which may offer a possible answer as to why or how women could feel satisfied in patriarchal societies.
[Misogyny]
Kate Manne redefines misogyny by arguing that misogyny is structural in a way that patriarchal institutions that have been predisposed in society place all or most women “subordinate in relation to some man or more men.” (Manne, 45). For Manne, a naive conception of misogyny would be assuming that violence is necessary for misogyny. Instead, misogyny upholds the patriarchal hierarchy in society by upholding normative gender standards, expectations, and discriminations. Manne’s version of misogyny is more guileful and subtle that one could say it strategically penetrates through the psyche of agents in a society through normative identity markers ie. women are better off as housewives or nurses, while men are better suited for professional careers. These expectations over time becomes ingrained in young girls who would then grow to be the women in society who unknowingly embodies and upholds the patriarchal institutions through their behaviors and choices in life. From a feminist standpoint such as Kate Manne, this is misogyny by grooming men and women in society to follow the oppressive doctrine of societal norms. In other words, this is immoral.
[Hume’s morality]
According to David Hume, morality is a subjective judgment. However, even though morality is constrained in the subjective, there can still be “good” or “bad.” For Hume, morality revolves around justice, which is,
“Justice is certainly approv’d of for no other reason, than because it has a tendency to the public good: And the public good is indifferent to us [i.e. we don’t care about it], except so far as sympathy interests us in it. We may assume the like with regards to all the other virtues, which have a like tendency to the public good. They must derive all their merit from our sympathy with those, who reap an advantage from them” (Hume, 394).
Respecting each other’s property (one’s right to own), whether one is in use of it or not, is crucial in establishing a just society. Hume argues that people are sympathetic to each other’s needs, desires, and feelings. When one feels down, the other person feels it to. Hence, society’s approval of the “right action” is beneficial to the good feelings of one person, and if this person feels appreciated in this society, their feelings would resonate to the rest of society. So a happy individual is a good citizen. Because of this, Hume argues that although people may choose altruistic or moral actions, ultimately, people are doing it because they expect other people to do the same for them. Hence, people playing out the role of what has been given to them in exchange for security and approval far outweighs the possible punishment or ostracisation of society. It is an unspoken societal covenant or agreement that if we uphold our responsibilities and place in society, then we are able to securely hold on to something we consider our own through this deal.
[Connection]
By connecting Hume and Manne’s theories, we are able to examine why women would feel good about being put “down.” According to Manne, “misogyny essentially becomes too psychologistic a notion, on the model of a phobia or deep-seated aversion” (pg 49). This goes well with Hume’s theory of sympathy and morality (civic duty in upholding property rights). If misogyny is structural, and if something structural is “deep-seated” in societal standards, then according to Hume, people will behave accordingly because of this fear of losing their own property [note that property in this sense is not limited to a physical property such as land, but property may exist through one’s own rights to life and happiness]. Manne stated, “Patriarchal ideology enlists a long list of mechanism in service of this goal– including women’s internalization of the relevant social norms, narratives about women’s distinctive proclivities and preferences, and valorizing depictions of the relevant forms of care work as personally rewarding, socially necessary, normally valuable, ‘cool,’ ‘natural,’ or healthy” (pg 47). If women’s role is to provide emotional care, support, and work to men, then by Hume’s definition of morality, women will continue to believe that as long as their actions and behaviors are socially acceptable (by falling into the roles Manne stated). This is problematic because women will continue to believe that societal acceptance and the limited benefits offered to women in this patriarchal society is worth oppressing themselves within this ideal.
[Solution]
“Snapping,” a coin termed by Sarah Ahmed as a breaking of societal bonds or connection may be one solution to breaking the norms. For women to be able to realize the greater potential they have in society, those who are in a position of privilege may give way to snapping by listening and not taking for granted the many talents and skills that women can acquire. This does not mean that a career woman can leave her duty in the household, as a working man cannot neglect her duty as a father. If both women and men are truly equal, then we must “snap” this societal impression than there is equality in all sexes. We must listen to each narrative and find an ameliorative solution to the current problem.
Shared by: Uma Bernardo