Leading Post: The Power of Feminist Curiosity

Cynthia Enloe’s introductory chapter, “Being Curious about our lack of Feminist Curiosity”, emphasizes the importance of curiosity in investigating issues further, particularly the system of patriarchy which, as she articulates, pervades nearly all facets of society. She explores the many power structures which are dependent on our continuing lack of curiosity, and encourages us to pursue the questions our feminist curiosity provoke in order to gain a better understanding of how masculinity is privileged, and how that privilege depends on the controlling and/or complicity of women. Furthermore, she acknowledges energy-saving purposes that certain words we take for granted entail, such as “natural”, “traditional”, and “always; and how these words provide protection and immunity to bothersome questioning. Her analysis of the system of patriarchy and its dependence on feminized roles proved very insightful.

The following chapter, “The Surprised Feminist”, Enloe emphasizes the importance of acknowledging and admitting surprises, a feminist attribute which she contends to be highly undervalued and underutilized. She explains that we as a society are socialized to deny surprise, because acknowledging when surprises occur tends to undermine one’s credibility. However, she expresses that being open to surprise may be one of the most useful attitudes to prepare oneself for what lies in the future. As she quotes, “Whenever one is surprised, one most likely can manage to squeeze the new development into a comfortable, worn conceptual shoe.” Surprising gives us the opportunity to examine unanticipated developments through a conceptual framework, allowing us to integrate feminist theory to practical events.

I found it interesting how she acknowledged that no patriarchal system consists solely on just men or the masculine, and her analysis on the enduring and adaptive nature of patriarch helps illuminate how women are made to overlook their own marginal positions in society, providing a false sense of security, protection, and value. Patriarchal institutions need feminized constituents in order to operate; By taking women seriously and investigating these issues more thoroughly, feminists are able to see the influence of patriarchy embedded in broader social institutions and processes.