Identity politics

The ’60s may have seen the dawn of identity politics, but it wasn’t until recently that identity politics became so ... political. Unfortunately, the choice between Democratic frontrunners has commonly been portrayed as a battle of allegiances: either you’re for women or for the black community.\nThe black vs. woman battle has been played out on the 24-hour news circuit, but no less complicit in the creation of this divisive atmosphere are second-wave feminists and those influenced by them.\nBack in the ’60s, second-wave feminists were at the front lines of introducing identity politics to American society; their motto was “the private is political,” and they fought for women’s reproductive rights, equal pay and less confining societal roles for women. Today there is disagreement on exactly what “wave” feminism is in; I prefer to think we’re in the third wave, which emphasizes the arbitrariness of gender roles. Feminists face a different society today than the one in the ’60s, and it is our time to rise to political relevance without the second wave overshadowing us.\nThe generational divide was first made obvious in Gloria Steinem’s op-ed piece in The New York Times back in January. Steinem, the most notable proponent of second-wave feminism, argued that Sen. Hillary Clinton receives undue media scrutiny because of her gender, while Sen. Barack Obama is left unmolested because mainstream America is willing to pay lip service to a black male. She adds that gender trumps race as the most debilitating social factor in America, and that Obama could never have risen to power as a woman.\nAs we all remember, Geraldine Ferraro echoed a similar sentiment a few weeks ago. The former vice presidential candidate claimed that Obama would not be a front-runner had he been a woman.\nNever mind that class and not gender or race is the most debilitating factor in American society. Steinem and Ferraro played the second-wave card, saying that women are bigger victims to societal discrimination than anyone else.\nThe mother of all insults to young feminists came from another ’60s windbag, Robin Morgan. In a rehashing of her ’60s essay “Goodbye to All That,” her new piece “Goodbye to All That (#2)” attempts to broach a few third wave ideas (that feminism applies to women of color, for example) while actually betraying many feminist considerations. \nShe accuses young women of supporting Obama because they are afraid of male disapproval, therefore assuming an insulting lack of intellectual agency on the part of young women. Her insults illustrate the way in which second wavers are desperately grasping for any last shred of power. \nAlthough Morgan’s essay declares a “goodbye” to the generational divide between feminists, she is only undermining the views of the third wavers.\nFeminism should be a critique of power; it should be wary of any group or ideological standpoint that dismisses other groups (such as the black population or young feminists) in the name of furthering its cause. \nNewsflash: Young feminists want to move beyond victimization. We want to overcome labels such as “race” and “gender.” We don’t need ’60s ideology telling us to vote for the biggest victim.