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| Enough With Crumbs — I Want the Cake | Enough With Crumbs — I Want the Cake |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Like a lot of Black women, I have always had to invent the power my freedom requires. — June Jordan, “On Call: Political Essays” (1985) | Like a lot of Black women, I have always had to invent the power my freedom requires. — June Jordan, “On Call: Political Essays” (1985) |
| I am a feminist. I am an anarchist. To me, any discussion of power is essentially one about freedom, and talk of freedom is impossible without a reckoning with power. | I am a feminist. I am an anarchist. To me, any discussion of power is essentially one about freedom, and talk of freedom is impossible without a reckoning with power. |
| In “Rethinking Anarchy,” the Spanish social theorist Carlos Taibo reminds us that “anarchists have frequently defined themselves first on the basis of what they reject — the state, capitalism, inequality, patriarchal society, war, militarism, repression in all its forms, authority.” | In “Rethinking Anarchy,” the Spanish social theorist Carlos Taibo reminds us that “anarchists have frequently defined themselves first on the basis of what they reject — the state, capitalism, inequality, patriarchal society, war, militarism, repression in all its forms, authority.” |
| So what is the power that my freedom requires? | So what is the power that my freedom requires? |
| As a woman of color, I define power initially by what it is not. To be powerful is not to be what a man can do or be. Men are not my yardstick. If men themselves are not free of the ravages of racism, capitalism and other forms of oppression, it is not enough to say I want to be equal to them. As long as patriarchy remains unchallenged, men will continue to be the default and the standard against which everything is measured. | As a woman of color, I define power initially by what it is not. To be powerful is not to be what a man can do or be. Men are not my yardstick. If men themselves are not free of the ravages of racism, capitalism and other forms of oppression, it is not enough to say I want to be equal to them. As long as patriarchy remains unchallenged, men will continue to be the default and the standard against which everything is measured. |
| Being powerful must mean more than doing what men do or being what men can be. I do not want what men have. I want much more. I want to be free. | Being powerful must mean more than doing what men do or being what men can be. I do not want what men have. I want much more. I want to be free. |
| To be free, I must defy, disobey and disrupt. | To be free, I must defy, disobey and disrupt. |
| “Civil disobedience … was not the problem, despite the warnings of some that it threatened social stability, that it led to anarchy,” the author and activist Howard Zinn wrote in “You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times.” “The greatest danger … was civil obedience, the submission of individual conscience to governmental authority. Such obedience led to the horrors we saw in totalitarian states, and in liberal states it led to the public’s acceptance of war whenever the so-called democratic government decided on it.” | “Civil disobedience … was not the problem, despite the warnings of some that it threatened social stability, that it led to anarchy,” the author and activist Howard Zinn wrote in “You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times.” “The greatest danger … was civil obedience, the submission of individual conscience to governmental authority. Such obedience led to the horrors we saw in totalitarian states, and in liberal states it led to the public’s acceptance of war whenever the so-called democratic government decided on it.” |
| Power for a few exceptional women is not equality or empowerment for all, and it is no reason to celebrate. We must define power in a way that liberates us from patriarchy’s hierarchies. That is why I am an anarchist — why I defy, disobey and disrupt. We must imagine the world we want so that we can redefine what power is, what a powerful woman looks like and how power can be used to subvert rather than uphold patriarchy. We must imagine better. We can imagine better. By imagining that better world, we invent the power required for our freedom. | Power for a few exceptional women is not equality or empowerment for all, and it is no reason to celebrate. We must define power in a way that liberates us from patriarchy’s hierarchies. That is why I am an anarchist — why I defy, disobey and disrupt. We must imagine the world we want so that we can redefine what power is, what a powerful woman looks like and how power can be used to subvert rather than uphold patriarchy. We must imagine better. We can imagine better. By imagining that better world, we invent the power required for our freedom. |
| A shining example of powerful women came to me in 2014, ironically while watching the world’s grandest men’s sporting event, the soccer World Cup. | A shining example of powerful women came to me in 2014, ironically while watching the world’s grandest men’s sporting event, the soccer World Cup. |
| My father and I were in a Cairo cafe to watch the World Cup final, featuring Germany and Argentina playing in Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanã Stadium. Germany won its fourth championship that night, and during the ceremony to hand the cup to the winners, a boy sitting with his family at the table next to ours pointed at the television screen where two women were standing at a podium, awaiting the players. | My father and I were in a Cairo cafe to watch the World Cup final, featuring Germany and Argentina playing in Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanã Stadium. Germany won its fourth championship that night, and during the ceremony to hand the cup to the winners, a boy sitting with his family at the table next to ours pointed at the television screen where two women were standing at a podium, awaiting the players. |
| “Who is that woman, Baba?” the boy asked. | “Who is that woman, Baba?” the boy asked. |
| “That is the president of Brazil,” his father replied. | “That is the president of Brazil,” his father replied. |
| “A woman can be president?” | “A woman can be president?” |
| I jumped into action, explaining that the two teams we had just watched had women leaders, as did the country where they had played. Dilma Rousseff, the president of Brazil, and Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, were giving out handshakes and hugs — only Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was absent. | I jumped into action, explaining that the two teams we had just watched had women leaders, as did the country where they had played. Dilma Rousseff, the president of Brazil, and Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, were giving out handshakes and hugs — only Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was absent. |
| I wanted the boy and the two girls sitting with his family to know that women could be presidents and leaders. Much as with ambition, you need to see what you want to become. Egypt once had a queen called Hatshepsut who ruled for more than 20 years during the 15th century B.C. She was, for a time, the most powerful person in the ancient world. But I wanted someone who was still alive to point to as a reminder that women could be powerful. | I wanted the boy and the two girls sitting with his family to know that women could be presidents and leaders. Much as with ambition, you need to see what you want to become. Egypt once had a queen called Hatshepsut who ruled for more than 20 years during the 15th century B.C. She was, for a time, the most powerful person in the ancient world. But I wanted someone who was still alive to point to as a reminder that women could be powerful. |
| Had there been more time, I would have told those children that power is more complicated than presidents and chancellors. That power lives in more places than the presidential office. That there is a difference between power wielded in service of a few and power wielded in service of all. | Had there been more time, I would have told those children that power is more complicated than presidents and chancellors. That power lives in more places than the presidential office. That there is a difference between power wielded in service of a few and power wielded in service of all. |
| In the intervening years, two of those countries that were led by women during the 2014 World Cup have served as reminders that when it comes to patriarchy and power, the truth is much more complicated than simply asking “Can a woman be president?” We must ask equally pertinent questions: Is that woman feminist? Is she invested in dismantling patriarchy? Will she use her power to uphold or diminish patriarchy? Both Brazil and Germany have given us complicated answers. | In the intervening years, two of those countries that were led by women during the 2014 World Cup have served as reminders that when it comes to patriarchy and power, the truth is much more complicated than simply asking “Can a woman be president?” We must ask equally pertinent questions: Is that woman feminist? Is she invested in dismantling patriarchy? Will she use her power to uphold or diminish patriarchy? Both Brazil and Germany have given us complicated answers. |
| Brazil might have once elected a female president, but it remains solidly patriarchal. In October 2018, the far-right Jair Bolsonaro became the president of Latin America’s largest democracy. | Brazil might have once elected a female president, but it remains solidly patriarchal. In October 2018, the far-right Jair Bolsonaro became the president of Latin America’s largest democracy. |
| The antithesis of Mr. Bolsonaro was Marielle Franco, a young queer woman who was one of Brazil’s few black female politicians. Franco, a member of Rio de Janeiro’s City Council and a human rights advocate against the paramilitary gangs that control the city’s favelas, was murdered, possibly by a former police officer with connections to Bolsonaro, seven months before the presidential election. | The antithesis of Mr. Bolsonaro was Marielle Franco, a young queer woman who was one of Brazil’s few black female politicians. Franco, a member of Rio de Janeiro’s City Council and a human rights advocate against the paramilitary gangs that control the city’s favelas, was murdered, possibly by a former police officer with connections to Bolsonaro, seven months before the presidential election. |
| Queer women of color — marginalized and too often disempowered because of their race, gender and sexuality — are most astute in their definition of what power is. | Queer women of color — marginalized and too often disempowered because of their race, gender and sexuality — are most astute in their definition of what power is. |
| That Franco — a young, black, queer woman who was outspoken in her condemnation of police brutality — was killed and Bolsonaro — a misogynist, racist, homophobic white man who champions guns and greater police powers — is president, is a shocking reminder of what Brazil is today. | That Franco — a young, black, queer woman who was outspoken in her condemnation of police brutality — was killed and Bolsonaro — a misogynist, racist, homophobic white man who champions guns and greater police powers — is president, is a shocking reminder of what Brazil is today. |
| A 2017 study into right-wing populist voters in Germany, France, Greece, Poland, Sweden and Hungary by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, which is affiliated with Germany’s center-left Social Democratic Party, found that women are increasingly drawn to right-wing populist parties. | A 2017 study into right-wing populist voters in Germany, France, Greece, Poland, Sweden and Hungary by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, which is affiliated with Germany’s center-left Social Democratic Party, found that women are increasingly drawn to right-wing populist parties. |
| Tellingly, the study found that while many right-wing populist parties have prominent female figures among their leadership — such as Marine Le Pen in France, Beata Szydlo in Poland and Alice Weidel in Germany — women are conspicuous in their absence elsewhere. Most of the right-wing parties’ parliamentary representatives are male. In Germany, for example, just 10 women are included in the far-right Alternative for Germany’s 91 seats in Parliament. | Tellingly, the study found that while many right-wing populist parties have prominent female figures among their leadership — such as Marine Le Pen in France, Beata Szydlo in Poland and Alice Weidel in Germany — women are conspicuous in their absence elsewhere. Most of the right-wing parties’ parliamentary representatives are male. In Germany, for example, just 10 women are included in the far-right Alternative for Germany’s 91 seats in Parliament. |
| “These women are there to give these parties a more open, modern guise and to appeal to female voters,” Elisa Gutsche, who edited the study, told Deutsche Welle. “These are not progressive parties; there is no real gender equality.” | “These women are there to give these parties a more open, modern guise and to appeal to female voters,” Elisa Gutsche, who edited the study, told Deutsche Welle. “These are not progressive parties; there is no real gender equality.” |
| Those populist women’s race matters, too. They are almost all white. That gives them a certain proximity to power that shields them and lets them vote against their own interests without fear of too many negative side effects. In the United States, that dynamic explains why the majority of white women voters voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and for Roy Moore, who was accused of sexual abuse and child molestation, in Alabama in 2017. More recently, it explains why a white woman in Alabama sponsored the Human Life Protection Act, the most stringent abortion bill in the United States, and a white woman, Governor Kay Ivey, signed the bill into law. Those are women who uphold, not dismantle, a patriarchy that remains mostly white. | |
| Patriarchy too often throws women crumbs in return for a limited form of power. Women who accept those crumbs are expected in return to uphold patriarchy, internalize its dictates, police other women and never forget that power bestowed is power that can be retracted. Patriarchy will allow a few women into places they have not been allowed before and call it progress, while at the same time demanding that we not point out that power remains in the hands of those throwing us crumbs. | Patriarchy too often throws women crumbs in return for a limited form of power. Women who accept those crumbs are expected in return to uphold patriarchy, internalize its dictates, police other women and never forget that power bestowed is power that can be retracted. Patriarchy will allow a few women into places they have not been allowed before and call it progress, while at the same time demanding that we not point out that power remains in the hands of those throwing us crumbs. |
| I don’t want crumbs; I want the whole cake, and I want to bake it myself. I want, as June Jordan wrote, “to invent the power my freedom requires.” | I don’t want crumbs; I want the whole cake, and I want to bake it myself. I want, as June Jordan wrote, “to invent the power my freedom requires.” |
| Now in print: “Modern Ethics in 77 Arguments,” and “The Stone Reader: Modern Philosophy in 133 Arguments,” with essays from the series, edited by Peter Catapano and Simon Critchley, published by Liveright Books. | Now in print: “Modern Ethics in 77 Arguments,” and “The Stone Reader: Modern Philosophy in 133 Arguments,” with essays from the series, edited by Peter Catapano and Simon Critchley, published by Liveright Books. |
| The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com. | The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com. |
| Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. | Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. |