Men’s violence

The links between patriarchy and imperialism

Summary: Campaigning to end men’s violence against women cannot ignore the links between imperialist violence and patriarchy. Men kill women, and governments slaughter nations. They are LINKED. Crossposting this caption from my instagram with a link to my latest podcast episode.

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I’ve released a new episode of my podcast “Untethered” (you can listen at the button), and I’m laying down a challenge to white Australian women who have a lot to say about domestic homicide here yet nothing to say about the slaughter of Palestinian women and children.

An excerpt:

This isn’t a moral criticism. I share everyone’s rage about the escalation of men’s violence against women that led to the weekend’s national rallies. As someone who’s been writing about and campaigning against men’s violence for years, I know how prevalent the problem is and how unsatisfactory the response ALWAYS IS.

But it is GALLING to see a) the same arguments being made by the same players with no progress at all (from both policy makers and feminists alike) while b) ignoring the Inarguable links between patriarchal abuse and imperialist oppression.

Men don’t kill women solely because male entitlement and misogyny makes it easy for them to do so. You cannot call on policy makers to “end male violence” if you’re not also calling for the end of imperialism, white supremacy and execution of state sanctioned violence against entire nations. The decades long oppression of Palestinians - which has seen an unending number of women and children (and yes, men) murdered by western, white imperialist violence, is not separate to men’s violence against women in domestic settings. It is CORE to it. It’s the source from which this violence and entitlement flows, not to mention the blueprint from which individual men build their own private autocracies. Until that blueprint is destroyed, you won’t stop men from replicating those same power structures for themselves.

If you've been silent about Palestine yet extremely vocal about men's violence against women in Australia (or whichever nation you’re reading this from), it's worth reflecting on whether or not you're partly motivated by a sense of shame. You KNOW you've said and done nothing, and you've allowed either fear or laziness to enable your silence. So to counter that, you've especially thrown yourself into the narrative of "STOP KILLING US" that's playing out right now, demanding that politicians prioritise OUR SAFETY while not caring at all about the money and support they're giving Israel to slaughter Palestinian women *and their children*, even as Palestinian MEN are also being slaughtered WHILE DEMONSTRATING WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE TO ACTUALLY FIGHT FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN.

This last point is key. Palestinian men are showing up for women and children in contrast to the ways in which western women feel abandoned by their male contemporaries. Yet instead of supporting them, learning from them or creating a new blueprint, many of us are endorsing their slaughter.

For years, I shared the sentiment that women in Australia needed to stage a revolution to end MVAW. It’s definitely a popular call to arms, with so many of us imagining we’d be at the frontlines. But honestly, the abject disinterest from so many of us - and I mean now women specifically who look like me and have the kind of social mobility that gains us entry to places other women are denied - in even standing up for Palestinians let alone collaborating in their liberation makes it clear that we’re not fucking brave enough for revolution.

Put that on a placard.