Is Feminism Good for Multiculturalism? Lessons from Iris Marion Young

In the philosophical debates about multiculturalism, a feminist critique has been growing about the oppressive effects that multicultural rights and policies may have on women, since they are likely to encourage the preservation of patriarchal traditions. Some attempts have been made among political theorists to reconcile feminism and multiculturalism Iris Marion Young is well-known in multiculturalists’ circles for her defense of a “politics of difference” that pleads for the institutional voicing of oppressed groups. But her model of differentiated citizenship grew out of her experience as a feminist activist and was inspired by her phenomenological reflection about the “lived body ” and gender. This paper intends to reconnect Young’s approach of cultural difference with her feminist considerations on the female body experience. The description of the female lived body enlightens the way in which culture operates both transversally (at the level of the whole society) – through the shared meanings about gender roles that are internalized by men and women and hinder the self-development of the latter – and internally (within the minority), through the process of double consciousness that creates a possibility of positive recognition among women (or members of other oppressed groups) and offers a source of group solidarity between them. As Young’s later distinction between “seriality” and “social group” suggests, the solidarity fostered by the group’s cultural affinities only occurs once the meaning of such group difference is politicized. Therefore, Young’s feminist lens provides a stimulating framework to rework the ideal of multicultural citizenship in a critical way. Instead of justifying it in virtue of the a priori moral value of cultural membership, as liberal multiculturalists do, Young does not disconnect the public recognition of cultural difference from the democratic process of contestation in which minorities are engaged and through which they can re-signify positively their experience.