New Developments

Chandra Mohanty is a feminist writer I really like.  In "Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourse," she talks about how Western feminists have created a "third world woman," a monolithic, homogeneous and singular figure who is generally considered to be ignorant, poor, victimized, etc.  The referent in this is the supposedly educated, free Western woman.  This generalization and ignorance of the many conflicting and varied layers of existence for Third World women holds them in the status of "object." The word "developing" implies that they are not as evolved as the rest of the world, and assigns them a value that reinforces the inequity of first/third world connections.

Why am I bringing this up?  When we hear of desperate stories out of Third World countries, we often respond from a position of wanting to swoop in and fix everything for "those poor people."  There is no denying that there are people in the Third World who are oppressed, and that we need to stand with them against that oppression.  What this article reminded me was the way in which we think of these fellow humans.  In reaching out a hand to help them, we often shove them back down. When people become the objectified other, relationships become dysfunctional and hurtful.  In a book called When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor and Yourself, we are reminded that we are all broken in some way, and need healing in some area of our life.  First world people are broken in different ways, but broken, nonetheless.

I love the way Tashmica introduces us to her friends at Nyaka.  We meet them as the people they are, who have great ideas, love to sing and dance, work hard, like getting letters, make lovely art, and worry about their kids.  The grandmothers are inspiring women.  I wonder how I would respond if life's circumstances left me penniless and caring for seven grandchildren at an age when I could be kicking back and enjoying retirement.

 Third World people are not the only ones we see as "underdeveloped"; we often dismiss people in our cities, in our neighborhoods, in our families.  Sometimes I relate to my children in ways that assumes I occupy a higher state of existence and chip away at their dignity.  I am broken too, and though I am their mother and have responsibility for them, I am also still in need of further development.  Sometimes, if I let it happen, my children inspire me. When we allow people we think we should bring healing to bring healing or inspiration to us, we are treating them as equals, acknowledging their unique value and dignity.

I wonder who I will let inspire me or bring a bit of healing to my soul today....