Navigating Feminist and Multiculturalist Desires For Minority Cultural Members: Identity, Voice, and Exit
by Ashley Falzetti
Abstract
Entering into the dialogue between feminist and multiculturalist concerns for groups’ rights, as represented by Susan Moller Okin and William Kymlicka respectively, I press the tensions that exist between these traditionally liberal stances. I use Okin’s discussion of the functions of voice and exit, along with Christine Korsgaard’s notion of practical identity, to conceptualize the conditions necessary to satisfy both feminist and multiculturalist aspirations in a liberal society. My central concern is that an individual in a cultural group may be forced to choose between her self-identity within her culture and the basic rights and freedoms allotted in a politically liberal society. Insofar as we cannot simply choose to negate our identities, I argue that such an individual would still be vulnerable to exploitation within her cultural group even if she had the formal right and material means to exit.