Feminism has done it again

I usually don’t comment on Racialicious posts two days in a row, but I felt like I had to do so with today’s post by guest columnist Thea Lim, especially the response by Britta.  Britta’s response, which can be found here,  somehow alludes that only white, middle class women have the privilege of mainstream feminism.  Well, that may be the case in certain geographic areas.   This is something I pointed out in a post dated April 28.  I don’t see how or why some non-white people, whether they’re in the west or in the old country can’t feel that they have more in common with so-called “mainstream” western feminism or vice versa.  Britta goes on about women “bragging about their cheap nannies and hired help.”  Is she saying that only wealthy WHITE women have hired help?  The last time I checked, many nannies work for non-white women as well.  And at least nannies in North America have more rights and get relatively decent pay compared to their counterparts in places like Hong Kong (where most of the people who hire help are, guess what?  CHINESE.  It’s not expats who exploit local women.  Not anymore.)

Personally, I don’t always identify with mainstream feminism not because I’m non-white, but because they seem to want things to happen quicker than things CAN happen.  A little too impatient, IMHO.

Students at Religious Schools who are of Different Religions

As you’ve probably read in previous posts, high school was (and still is) affiliated with the Anglican Church of Canada. We had to go to regular services, regardless of what our faith.  Our services weren’t overtly religious, though hymns were sung, prayers said and Scripture read.  Parents send their kids to the school knowing that services are a part of the school’s culture, so they generally don’t have a problem with it.  The people who DO have issues are outsiders.  Some are even SHOCKED to hear that say, Muslim or Jewish parents would even think about sending their kid there.  They seem to think religion first, academics second. Is religion really more important than what the kid learns in school?  Except for two years of religious education in Grades 7 and 8, nothing outside of mandatory services is religious based.  Do people automatically think “religious school” as soon as they hear about mandatory services?  Just because a school has historical connections to a church doesn’t mean that it’s a true “religious school.”  Schools under the Roman Catholic school board are probably more religious than my alma mater, and these schools, at least the high schools aren’t really religious!  In fact, the school often has “talks” or presentations by students and staff who are of different faiths.  It was very normal for us.  In any case, many “traditional” private schools tend to have some sort of connection to a church.  Even those that don’t, such as Toronto’s Upper Canada College, still has a school hymn and/or prayer.  I guess people need to do their homework!