Is Women’s Soildarity Possible?

Women and Power Dynamics

Women in the World March 26, 2014

A response to Dr. Nancy Neinhaus and Rev. Tsitsi Nakoma Moyo

HiRho Park, D. Min., Ph. D.

See the video of Dr. Park responding to Rev. Moyo and Dr. Nienhuis here.

It runs from approximately 46:00-1:50:00.

First of all, I want to express my appreciation to Dr. HeeAn choi, for her leadership for the Anna Howard Shaw center and her scholarly work of empowering women in and around the world.  It is my honor to be invited in this conference with women who care about justice and equity of all people.

1.How do you feel we’ve gotten over these barriers in our own relationship?

Not very well.  I work with UMC clergywomen and we are having a seminar about women’s leadership in May.  The theme of the seminar is “Where Grace Meets Power – Standing for Each Other’s Greatness,” which we adapted from the book, Women, spirituality, and transformative leadership (Kathy Schaaf, Kay Lindhal, Kathleen Hurty, and Guo Cheen, 2014).  The reason for this seminar is that I have observed that even among UMC clergywomen, there is stratification within – between Caucasian majority and racial-ethnic clergywomen, between ordained and not ordained (local pastors), between elders and deacons, between older and younger, between those who serve local churches and extension ministries.  And our goal for this seminar is to find a way to advance UM clergywomen’s status within the Church together since I am convinced that we cannot change the system unless we work in solidarity as women.  Because of this observation, I agree with Dr. Nienhuis that systems of power and oppression undermine solidarity:  Women’s issues are not solely about androcentrism, they never have been: according to Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, it is deeper and wider than that.  Women just cannot assume that we are all together for women’s rights based on our ideological understanding of gender (masculine/feminine).  Our identity as women is constructed based on interstructured and multiplicative of power dynamics, which Schüssler Fiorenza expressed well through the concept of Kyriarchy, which represents the workings of the dominant oppressive power of empire.  While patriarchy represents more “binary gender  dualism,”  Kyriarchy explains why it is so difficult to be in solidarity among women: it is because the workings of empire is within and around us, political, social, economic, cultural, sexual and linguistic dominations of power have shaped who we are today.  Dr. Nienhuis mentioned that “most of us are affected by more than one system of power and oppression at any given time.”  Unless we acknowledge the impact of internalized kyriarchal ethos within each of us, I believe that solidarity among women would be far reaching idealism.  Kyriarchal exclusion happens even within the church and theological academia.

Is it possible for women to draw a radical emancipatory egalitarian vision among women?

Here ‘women’ for me are not representing an ideological and philosophical term, but rather ‘those who seek “Ubuntu” for all humanity” in a sociopolitical term who seek economic politics of redistribution, cultural politics of recognition, and representation of all people.  Africa University in Zimbabwe, where Rev. Moyo is from, broke ground to build the “Ubuntu Center” last week.

According to Bishop Tutu,

“A person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed.  Ubuntu also speaks for the essence of being human.  It speaks particularly about humans as relational self that a human being cannot exist in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness.”  (citation)

This is what we need to bring out from each of us, Ubuntu.  To be bridges of power and to stand for each other’s greatness, we should be women who seek Ubuntu for all humanity.  As Dr. Nienhuis said, either we transform these barriers together or we parish together in front of these barriers.

2. What do we want to convey to other women who are in the same position about how to learn to cross these boundaries of difference?

“I find myself at the very bottom: My education can give me a job, a title, but it does not take me any further: wherever I go, I start with zero points: I have accepted that this is the way it is and this is the way it is going to be.  The maze of power dynamics that I have to walk in and negotiate every day…”

Rev. Moyo’s statements brought tears in my eyes as I was reading them, since she answered the question, “How do “kyriarchal power dynamics” affect a woman’s life?  Her statements describe how much violence of dominations of power crushes one person’s cultural and religious consciousness and spirit.  The kyriarchal systems of power objectify women.   After determining women’s sociolopolitical subjectivity, which imbricates with gender, race, class, age, nationality, language…. and incarcerate a person in a box of conformity that is set by empire.

I thought it was interesting how she described power dynamics as a maze rather than a pyramid, which is an indicator that she perceives power dynamics as power-with rather than power-over, from her perspective what we have to do is to negotiate our differences rather than deconstruct the pyramid.

Sexism and misogyny should be examined in the political matrix: so we need to ask this question:  “How the power of empire has shaped and affected my self-understanding today?”  As Schüssler Fiorenza asserts, we women first should examine ourselves through conscientization, detoxification, and decolonization.

Nelson Mandela spoke about Ubuntu from an individual perspective in relation to a community:  He says, “The question is: Are you going to do so in order to enable the community around you to be able to improve?” (citation)

As a racial-ethnic woman I have learned about power standing in the periphery of a dominant culture most of the time in the U.S. based on a global context in four ways:

1. Power of understanding who you are:

I learned power is within you, it never comes from outside: this is what it means “the kingdom of God is within you.”  The Confucian understanding of relationality of an individual is described in this way: “When an individual is firmly grounded in knowing who he/she is, that individual will be able to tend the family, then will be able to influence the nation, and will be able to rule the world.”

2. Power of action/practice

True power is a transformative verb.  I learned to build my power by actions rather than theories, words or arguments

3. Power of silence

Many feminists criticized the silence of women as powerless. I would agree, if a scholar sees silence as avoiding an opportunity to speak up about injustice.  Yes, it is important not to ignore an injustice situation due to fear.  However, silence can contain power until it should be released; it is like a reservoir where energy of conversion reserves until the right timing, that is how MinJung practice their power in my culture according to MinJung Theology.

Women in the Korean culture exercise the power of silence.  It is a demonstration against indignation.  Power of silence manifests dignity and integrity when it is released.

4. Power of generosity

Korean culture is a gifting culture.  I experienced the genuine gifting of Christian hospitality, which breaks barriers and builds relationship.  Giving generously is about affirming abundance of God’s grace upon all people.   It is an expression of Ubuntu.

Thank you.