Uncloaking the universal civilized/cultured man: Exposing the hidden dimension of gender in philosophy and contemporary discourses on civilization and culture

• Main Author: Manauat, Natividad Dominique G.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2024
• Subjects: Philosophy
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/12272
• Institution: De La Salle University

Contemporary discourses on civilization and culture are rife with familiar terminology such as "globalization," and its pervasive impact on nations and individuals. In our quest to rethink and clarify the interconnections between these two concepts, this paper will concentrate on the often neglected dimension of gender. As claims of false universals are disputed when we closely scrutinize various notions that could be deemed as "Western" in orientation, the same could also be said about so-called "non-Western" categories. However, the West versus East dichotomy (or more recently, the "North" versus "South" dichotomy) still leaves other categories unexamined, as some maintain that gender critiques are Western in origin, and are therefore not applicable to developing cultures.Th author's main claim is that any attempt to rethink and clarify social issues, especially those that are global in scope, is deficient, without closely looking into the important but often ignored aspect of gender. First, of all, the author makes some clarification about people's (mis)understanding of feminisms (not plural), as she refuses the mistaken claim that feminism is "Western." Feminism/s as a movement had taken roots almost everywhere including the Philippines and although its origins are attributed to the West (as is the discipline of philosophy) its practitioners in the academe, as well as those coming from the grass-roots level, are all over the globe. Second, the author will highlight the deficiency in doing analysis of global culture and civilization without the perspective of gender, as this had already been prevalent with the "canon-building" (great works) of philosophy. The exclusion of women (who make up half of the world's population) whether overtly or covertly had resulted in a lopsided view of "human nature" and in turn, had affected in the way that philosophers, policy makers, and stakeholders in formulating means to address important human needs and concerns. Third, the author aims to show how global issues, especially labor and migration are directly impacting the way that marginalized genders live. This pertains not only to "women" but it is vital to acknowledge the entire spectrum of gender/s and sexulatity/ies. Hence, they need to be addressed accordingly. Feminists and activists have responded to this need in different modes as they have tried to fill the gaps. Lastly, the author argues that although postmodernism (critiques the notion of progress) and post-colonial (critiques the notion of race, hegemony) discourses may be valuable, it is truly wanting without a closer look at shifts and trends in gender/s and sexuality/ies as they impact human relations.