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Femonazionalismo
Il concetto di femonazionalismo, coniato da Sara R. Farris in questo libro, è già diventato una categoria analitica di riferimento per molte pubblicazioni e dibattiti femministi. Una cornice teorica per leggere un fenomeno inaspettato dell’epoca contemporanea: l’uso da parte dei partiti di estrema destra della rivendicazione dell’uguaglianza di genere per portare avanti politiche islamofobe e razziste.
Oggetto di indagine sono le strategie comunicative della Lega di Matteo Salvini, del Front National francese di Marine Le Pen e del Pvv di Geert Wilders nei Paesi Bassi. Le loro retoriche insistono sull’idea che gli uomini migranti siano un pericolo per le società occidentali dato il loro atteggiamento oppressivo verso le donne. Una narrazione di cui troviamo ricorrenze storiche nelle politiche coloniali impegnate a rappresentare gli uomini Altri come minacce sessuali e le donne Altre come proprietà dei “salvatori” bianchi.
Ma il femonazionalismo è una ideologia che scaturisce da un’inedita intersezione tra nazionalisti, politici neoliberisti e alcune associazioni femministe e donne delle istituzioni. Una convergenza che nasce dalla volontà di mantenere la catena materiale della produzione e della riproduzione sociale. Nascondendo le disuguaglianze strutturali dietro conflitti culturali il femonazionalismo contribuisce alla riorganizzazione neoliberista del welfare. Se gli uomini migranti sono accusati di “rubare il lavoro” o essere dei “parassiti del welfare”, le donne migranti invece permettono agli europei e alle europee di lavorare nella sfera pubblica garantendo quel lavoro di cura che le ristrutturazioni neoliberiste hanno mercificato: lavori domestici, baby sitting e assistenza per anziani e disabili.
Ne viene fuori una contraddizione di fondo: si sostiene di voler emancipare le donne non occidentali relegandole in quella sfera lavorativa da cui i movimenti femministi hanno storicamente cercato di liberare le donne. E riducendo il tema dei diritti di genere a uno scontro di civiltà si legittimano le molteplici forme di oppressione che ancora colpiscono le donne.
Oggetto di indagine sono le strategie comunicative della Lega di Matteo Salvini, del Front National francese di Marine Le Pen e del Pvv di Geert Wilders nei Paesi Bassi. Le loro retoriche insistono sull’idea che gli uomini migranti siano un pericolo per le società occidentali dato il loro atteggiamento oppressivo verso le donne. Una narrazione di cui troviamo ricorrenze storiche nelle politiche coloniali impegnate a rappresentare gli uomini Altri come minacce sessuali e le donne Altre come proprietà dei “salvatori” bianchi.
Ma il femonazionalismo è una ideologia che scaturisce da un’inedita intersezione tra nazionalisti, politici neoliberisti e alcune associazioni femministe e donne delle istituzioni. Una convergenza che nasce dalla volontà di mantenere la catena materiale della produzione e della riproduzione sociale. Nascondendo le disuguaglianze strutturali dietro conflitti culturali il femonazionalismo contribuisce alla riorganizzazione neoliberista del welfare. Se gli uomini migranti sono accusati di “rubare il lavoro” o essere dei “parassiti del welfare”, le donne migranti invece permettono agli europei e alle europee di lavorare nella sfera pubblica garantendo quel lavoro di cura che le ristrutturazioni neoliberiste hanno mercificato: lavori domestici, baby sitting e assistenza per anziani e disabili.
Ne viene fuori una contraddizione di fondo: si sostiene di voler emancipare le donne non occidentali relegandole in quella sfera lavorativa da cui i movimenti femministi hanno storicamente cercato di liberare le donne. E riducendo il tema dei diritti di genere a uno scontro di civiltà si legittimano le molteplici forme di oppressione che ancora colpiscono le donne.
304 pages, Paperback
First published April 28, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
November 25, 2020
In my opinion, this is one of the most relevant books about women and politics of the last decade. Farris explores the conjunction between neoliberal feminism and nationalism, showing how right wing politicians use the topic of "women's safety" to actually promote a nationalist and xenophobic agenda. While doing so, they completely erase the specific issues regarding women refugees and migrants, such as the massive exploitation in domestic labour. A must read for everyone interested in women's rights and intersectionality.
December 23, 2021
Phenomenal. Meticulously researched, Farris does a tremendous job explaining the ideological formation and socioeconomic underpinning of western feminism's convergence with nationalist movements in Italy, France, and the Netherlands in fostering an anti-Muslim ideology. Using a fundamentally Marxist analysis of class relations and accumulation, the identification of Muslim women as "redeemable victims" of Muslim men's innate misogyny is linked decidedly beyond "populist" appeal and instead aligned with nationalism as a byproduct of (racist) colonialism. I can't recommend this enough.
August 15, 2017
Excellent book on the ways in which various forces in Europe are using women's rights to enact racist policies. Must read!
August 12, 2022
dai, ce l’ho fatta: it’s a 10, ma ho dato 4 stelline perché:
– non ha una conclusione vera e propria (un paio di pagine non bastano per me)
– è abbastanza ripetitivo, fate finta di leggere 5-6 articoli sull’argomento. Sempre per questo motivo, a tratti mi ha persa. Ce l’ho messa tutta, eppure mi sarebbe piaciuto avere conoscenze pregresse di filosofia e sociologia
– le note sono mooolto interessanti, ma sono separate e scritte in piccolissimo. Avrei apprezzato almeno una parziale integrazione delle note nel corpus del testo
– non ha una conclusione vera e propria (un paio di pagine non bastano per me)
– è abbastanza ripetitivo, fate finta di leggere 5-6 articoli sull’argomento. Sempre per questo motivo, a tratti mi ha persa. Ce l’ho messa tutta, eppure mi sarebbe piaciuto avere conoscenze pregresse di filosofia e sociologia
– le note sono mooolto interessanti, ma sono separate e scritte in piccolissimo. Avrei apprezzato almeno una parziale integrazione delle note nel corpus del testo
June 19, 2022
Libro interessantissimo! Era da un sacco che volevo leggerlo e non sono rimasta delusa! L'autrice prende ad esame 3 paesi (Paesi Bassi, Francia e Italia) e mostra come le donne musulmane principalmente, ma in generale le donne non occidentali vengano usate per propaganda razzista, fingendosi preoccupati per la loro situazione. Ho trovato davvero interessante il capitolo "sessualizzazione del razzismo e razzializzazione del sessismo"! In fondo c'è anche una ricchissima bibliografia! Molto consigliato!
November 3, 2017
It's not quite new year's eve yet, but I can say without hesitation that this is the best academic book I've read in 2017. It is academic, yes, but the kind that provides tools for understanding everyday discourse that I come across in the media and on Facebook regularly.
Sara Farris tackles what might be the most important, worrying, and depressing aspect of the current anti-immigration and anti-Islam flood: the drive to represent immigrant (especially Muslim) women as people who need to be saved from the shackles of their oppressing cultures (and men) by superior western values.
For the far right parties--who otherwise would like to see gender equality return to where it was around 1850--this 'femonationalism', as Farris aptly calls it, is simply cynical. Yet, the most depressing part of the analysis discusses western feminists who've jumped the racist and Islamophobic bandwagon wholeheartedly. In their case the intentions are not overtly racist, of course (although there are cases of this as well), but the outcome of their discourse is squarely in the Pegida camp. You can do a bit of reception research yourself: who applauds the femonationalists' discourse? Feminists are divided, but there is no ambiguity regarding support on the racist right.
Farris clearly shows the two insidious effects of femonationalism: First: it is racist because it generalises certain behaviours ('cultural traits') to encompass an entire population (Muslim, non-European). Also, in this scheme non-European women have no agency. They are simply the victims of oppressing structures. Only a 'conversion' (my term, not Farris's) into superior western culture (e.g. ditching the headscarf) imbues immigrants with agency. Second, femonationalism functions as misdirection, drawing attention away from the very real gender inequalities in the supposedly superior western/European societies and cultures. Farris does not discuss this, but ironically, the rise of gendered violence seems to correlate with the rise of the far right, whose femonationalism well-meaning feminists reproduce.
Finally, Farris doesn't stop at analysing discourse, but provides a compelling and refreshing analysis of the political economy of femonationalism. It might be a far right speciality, but neoliberalism perpetuates is: Europe needs an 'army of labourers' for the labour-intensive service work that cannot be relocated, i.e. cleaning and care. The three countries in Farris's study (Netherlands, France, Italy) all have policies in place enabling the hyper-exploitation of migrant women in the labour market. The future of gendered work, Farris convincingly argues, needs to take into account the racialised hierarchies of the labour market as well.
A dynamite of a book, highly recommended.
Why then not 5 stars? The book could have used another round of edits. There is quite a lot of repetition. There is an inordinate amount of signposting: almost every page says something like 'this will be discussed in the next chapter', or 'as was discussed in the first chapter'. That is really tiring after the 36th time. Substantively, the references to Derrida and other gobbledygook were superfluous to the argument, but luckily they make only a brief appearance.
Sara Farris tackles what might be the most important, worrying, and depressing aspect of the current anti-immigration and anti-Islam flood: the drive to represent immigrant (especially Muslim) women as people who need to be saved from the shackles of their oppressing cultures (and men) by superior western values.
For the far right parties--who otherwise would like to see gender equality return to where it was around 1850--this 'femonationalism', as Farris aptly calls it, is simply cynical. Yet, the most depressing part of the analysis discusses western feminists who've jumped the racist and Islamophobic bandwagon wholeheartedly. In their case the intentions are not overtly racist, of course (although there are cases of this as well), but the outcome of their discourse is squarely in the Pegida camp. You can do a bit of reception research yourself: who applauds the femonationalists' discourse? Feminists are divided, but there is no ambiguity regarding support on the racist right.
Farris clearly shows the two insidious effects of femonationalism: First: it is racist because it generalises certain behaviours ('cultural traits') to encompass an entire population (Muslim, non-European). Also, in this scheme non-European women have no agency. They are simply the victims of oppressing structures. Only a 'conversion' (my term, not Farris's) into superior western culture (e.g. ditching the headscarf) imbues immigrants with agency. Second, femonationalism functions as misdirection, drawing attention away from the very real gender inequalities in the supposedly superior western/European societies and cultures. Farris does not discuss this, but ironically, the rise of gendered violence seems to correlate with the rise of the far right, whose femonationalism well-meaning feminists reproduce.
Finally, Farris doesn't stop at analysing discourse, but provides a compelling and refreshing analysis of the political economy of femonationalism. It might be a far right speciality, but neoliberalism perpetuates is: Europe needs an 'army of labourers' for the labour-intensive service work that cannot be relocated, i.e. cleaning and care. The three countries in Farris's study (Netherlands, France, Italy) all have policies in place enabling the hyper-exploitation of migrant women in the labour market. The future of gendered work, Farris convincingly argues, needs to take into account the racialised hierarchies of the labour market as well.
A dynamite of a book, highly recommended.
Why then not 5 stars? The book could have used another round of edits. There is quite a lot of repetition. There is an inordinate amount of signposting: almost every page says something like 'this will be discussed in the next chapter', or 'as was discussed in the first chapter'. That is really tiring after the 36th time. Substantively, the references to Derrida and other gobbledygook were superfluous to the argument, but luckily they make only a brief appearance.
January 22, 2022
Excellent, complexe et éclairant. À lire pour une meilleure vision de l’exclusion musulmane dans nos sociétés occidentales.
April 16, 2022
Une étude qui s'inscrit parfaitement dans l'actualité avec la multiplication des mesures mise en place en Europe et plus particulièrement en France au nom des droits des femmes de la laïcité et du séparatisme.
L'autrice nous développe ici son analyse sur les politiques en France, en Italie et aux Pays-Bas et plus précisément les dispositions détournées au nom des femmes utilisées de manière exagéré avec pour cœur une lutte anti-immigration et anti-islam.
Elle nous parle de la convergence entre les partis nationalistes, les néolibéralisme et les féministes pour combattre un ennemi commun, pour cela elle parle de femonationalisme.
Un livre un peu compliqué à prendre en main avec beaucoup de références. Le sujet est hyper intéressant mais il faut s'accrocher pour aller au bout des analyses faites par l'autrice. Si vous recherchez une étude ou si vous souhaitez simplement mieux comprendre le contexte et les intentions des politiques sur le sujet il est très bien expliqué.
L'autrice nous développe ici son analyse sur les politiques en France, en Italie et aux Pays-Bas et plus précisément les dispositions détournées au nom des femmes utilisées de manière exagéré avec pour cœur une lutte anti-immigration et anti-islam.
Elle nous parle de la convergence entre les partis nationalistes, les néolibéralisme et les féministes pour combattre un ennemi commun, pour cela elle parle de femonationalisme.
Un livre un peu compliqué à prendre en main avec beaucoup de références. Le sujet est hyper intéressant mais il faut s'accrocher pour aller au bout des analyses faites par l'autrice. Si vous recherchez une étude ou si vous souhaitez simplement mieux comprendre le contexte et les intentions des politiques sur le sujet il est très bien expliqué.
March 29, 2020
Great book with a totally unexpected insights about the broader perception of brown women as victims to be rescued. This book does not only analyses why far-right racist use feminism to advance anti-immigrant stances, but how actual liberal feminists end up defending the same position.
The only problem of this book is that it presumes that reactionary sentiments are not greater among Muslim immigrants than in Western European men. So this book jumps over that uneasy question and analyses other factors behind the racist perception. It would be good if this book tried to debunk myths about Muslim "rape games" and how they are used to demonise all Muslim men. But still this book shows how far-right feminist rhetoric is just window dressing to hide their reactionary views.
The only problem of this book is that it presumes that reactionary sentiments are not greater among Muslim immigrants than in Western European men. So this book jumps over that uneasy question and analyses other factors behind the racist perception. It would be good if this book tried to debunk myths about Muslim "rape games" and how they are used to demonise all Muslim men. But still this book shows how far-right feminist rhetoric is just window dressing to hide their reactionary views.
November 5, 2019
This dense but thought-provoking little book looks at the question: Why have right-wing political parties and some European feminists united in criticizing Islam, and specifically the idea that Muslim women need to be saved from Islam? The answer, the author posits, is economic: Muslim women have become an integral part of European economies as caregivers and domestic labor, so there’s good reason to want them to “integrate”, whereas Muslim men compete more with European men for jobs and therefore are just seen as threatening. It was an interesting read that I felt made some pretty compelling points about the nature of domestic labor!
September 16, 2020
Un lavoro illuminante che combina accuratissime ricerche, lucidità analitica e il desiderio politico di affrontare un argomento troppo a lungo relegato ai margini del dibattito femminista.
Un tema complesso che ha richiesto a Farris di sondare le più impervie nicchie del disastro neoliberista, per incorporare un'analisi socio-ecobonica di un fenomeno superficialmente relegato alla sfera politico-populista.
Un lavoro egregio.
Un tema complesso che ha richiesto a Farris di sondare le più impervie nicchie del disastro neoliberista, per incorporare un'analisi socio-ecobonica di un fenomeno superficialmente relegato alla sfera politico-populista.
Un lavoro egregio.
March 1, 2020
Farris's book has been life changing. She has put into words things I have observed but been unable to understand the connections. I am able to see so many more instances in which femonationalism effects systemic approaches under the guise of "women's rights initiatives". I recommend this book to everyone I know who works within the social sciences or women's rights organizations.
June 22, 2022
Nel terzo millennio il femminismo o è intersezionale, o non ha ragione di essere. A questo proposito, Femonazionalismo riesce a mostrare con grande chiarezza le intersezioni tra questione di genere, di razza e di ceto sociale. In più è scritto in modo chiaro e sintetico, e con una solida ricerca alla base.
June 4, 2017
A necessary read. Review forthcoming.
January 25, 2019
Very decent feminist analysis
April 6, 2019
A very fascinating read on how right-wing nationalist parties in Europe use feminist discourse in their anti-Islam, anti-immigration and xenophobic campaigns.
February 5, 2024
4.5 a truly exhaustive dive into neolib feminism, got my gag reflex going. Great book.
May 17, 2025
Probabilmente il saggio più utile che abbia mai letto.
December 28, 2024
online reading https://www.fnac.com/livre-numerique/...
Simple, rapide, efficace
Pertinent et bien documenté
Simple, rapide, efficace
Pertinent et bien documenté
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews