Feminist Security

Perhaps the reason why international politics has simply ignored feminist ideas is that for so many centuries, in so many cultures, it has been seen as a typical 'masculine' habitat. It was imagined that only men, not women or children, could have the sort of public determination that international politics is supposed to require. It is written about external issues with complete disregard for the truths that feminism reveals about how power depends on the maintenance of concepts of masculinity and femininity...

Feminist international relations theorist Cynthia Enloe asks in her groundbreaking work, Bananas, Beaches, and Military Bases: International Politics from a Feminist Perspective, "Where are the women?" The question paved the way for a different way of thinking and discussing international politics and its various subfields, such as security, foreign policy, political economy, war, and peace. In this context, feminist theory's approach to the concept of security is different from mainstream theories.

Whose security? Whose security does feminist theory mean when it says security? In light of these questions, feminist theory contributes a new analysis and critical approach to international relations.

It can surely be said purely that there is a relationship between the masculine point of view and insecurities, on which feminist security understanding is based. The privilege of patriarchal thought and the control mechanisms at every level it permeates try to legitimize all kinds of violence.

The first thing that comes to mind minds as it is talked about security is states or strong armies but military-based security on patriarchal thought emerges as insecurity itself while feminist security advocates a common understanding of security.

"As a woman I have no country. As a woman I want no country. As a woman, my country is the whole world."