Secret censorship—forms of censorship that come from the family, street, from language.
Is feminism still a motivating force?
More than ever. You hear the word post-feminism but never the word post-democracy.
What about new kinds of resistance?
Resistance comes in stages—earlier people said it’s unnatural and unnecessary; now they say, it was necessary but not any more.
What’s your take on ‘lipstick feminism’—younger women asserting themselves by role-playing sexist behaviour?
To follow the metaphor, women of my time chose to escape lipstick. If today they choose to wear it to be fun or self-empowering, it’s fine.
Aren’t those choices deceptive in patriarchy?
True, it’s not easy to recognise the pressures. It’s relative—we’ve increased the power to make choices and discover new choices.
You’re very undogmatic.
We’re not fighting to have more dogmatism! We’re fighting for more unique individualism and a community that is supportive of it.
Naomi Wolf says the movement is going off track with Victim Feminism. Your thoughts?
That accusation can be used to silence women who’ve had bad experiences. But it’s true, it has been made easier for us to sing the blues.
’Western Feminism’ is often used as a foil to women’s traditional position in societies. Do you think it needs to be rehabilitated?
It’s interesting that people accuse feminism of being Western, but Marxism is fine. Every country has its own indigenous feminist traditions.
What is the main obstacle to journalism becoming an agent in progressive change?
The pernicious influence of advertising and the false notion that there are only two, opposed sides to every question.
You follow the women’s movement here?
I do. We need to cooperate. Issues like sex trafficking know no boundaries.
