I began this skim in an attempt to find articles relevant to Judaism and feminism, but I was left empty-handed. All of these articles discuss Islam, Hinduism, Catholicism (the only "white" religion that I saw being discussed), the role of African-American women in religion, and other facets of these.
Where are the Jews?
In fact, if you type "Judaism" into the search engine, only one article comes up. It's this one.
Is it just that there are no Jewish feminists working on the Feminist Wire team, or is that, as Jews, as "white," we think there is no place for us within feminism? Have we begun to realize that by dominating other ethnic and cultural minorities, we have come to participate as oppressors when for so long, we were a huge portion of those oppressed?
I don't say this to stigmatize this publication, because as I said before, I love it. I check the website daily and all of their articles are amazing, all of those affiliated are doing things to change the world radically. I don't say this as an attempt to set Jews aside as exclusive, or put them (us) on a pedestal. I simply feel that this absence from contemporary feminist discourse, especially on a site as popular and trafficked as the Feminist Wire, is potentially damning to Jewish women. Maybe it is that those who don't identify as Jews don't realize that there is still very much an issue of sexism within Jewish denominations, or maybe it's that those who do identify as Jews don't see it as a problem because it is in the name of tradition. If not, then I can only assume that we are scared to speak up because we might be seen as "petty oppressors." Perhaps there is a fear that by being culturally "white," a backlash for demanding gender equality will be felt from those who see us as just an accessory to their own oppression.
Is there not enough cross-cultural or interfaith dialogue going on between feminists for them to see that the very thing we are fighting still exists within a "traditional" institution such as Judaism, even we are "white"? When I identify Jews as being "white," I keep it in quotations because I don't think it is correct. I may have fair skin but I don't identify with the white privilege that brings. I grew up in a working-class home, and I have been discriminated against as the only Jew in a series "non-denominational" (read: Christian) private schools. I have been discriminated against within Judaism for being a woman, and for being a lesbian. I am fully aware that it's the 21st century and it doesn't seem like this should be an issue, but when it is seen as the responsibility of all Jews to commit unconditionally to a male G/g-d, male superiors (Rabbis, elders, other religious leaders), and for Jewish women to remain in the home and not take part in public religious traditions in the synagogue, I can't help but say, "hi, we're Jewish, we're women, and we're still suffering. Please include us and pay attention to us just as we have to you." I do not intend to diminish the necessity for feminist advocation of other religions or cultures, I simply mean to re-introduce the need for Jewish feminism to a culture and generation that seem to have all but forgotten it.
I am not saying this as a member of the "chosen people," but as an individual who still very much faces oppression at the hands of "white, male privilege" and the traditions that embrace that superiority.
I am very fortunate to have the privilege of knowing two amazing Jewish feminist instructors in my studies who are out there advocating and teaching and approaching the topic, even among all of their other areas of study. These two women have very much been an inspiration to me, in integrating their traditional upbringing with the curriculum and cross-cultural subject matter they study.
It is important to note that I am not naïve enough or appalled enough by this absence to not see multiple views. I see very clearly that this is absence is as much a possible result of exclusion on the part of others, exclusion of Jewish feminists, but that it is also possibly the result of a Jewish separatist movement within the larger realm of general feminism. It is possible that Jewish feminists are excluding themselves, either on the basis of being a "chosen" and therefore separate people, or simply because they are attempting to address their own issues separately. I do not mean to place blame on anyone, but rather attempting to establish a framework and theorize about the absence of Jewish feminist voices in the mainstream feminist movement.
This is a short post, but I entreat all of you to embrace your identity, and the privilege and oppression that come with it. I can appreciate that as a Jew, in the modern day, I am culturally white and that is what others think as well, but the fact is, it isn't true. There are still stereotypes and jokes made about my traditions, and when I say that I don't keep kosher, I am met with disdain and called out as a "hypocrite," because I only keep some of my heritage's and religion's laws. If I were to keep all of them, I would be (again) sacrificing a part of my identity, and a huge part at that. It is time for those of us out there who identify as Jewish feminists, or feminist Jews, to step up and reclaim our place in the movement and take up the fight for our rights as disadvantaged "women" in the movement. While Jewish denominations are becoming more inclusive on the basis of gender, the fight is nowhere near done, and as we begin realizing the prominence of queers in the Jewish community and vice versa, this is even more important.
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