In this article, I examine how contemporary Finnish Jewish women understand their roles and identities as women in a small Orthodox Jewish community, on the one hand, and as members of a tiny minority in largely secular and predominantly Lutheran/Christian Finland, on the other. How do Finnish Jewish women negotiate their identities in relation to their community, strongly organised along gender lines, and in relation to Finnish society and especially its equality ideals and norms? I divide my article into four (...) sections. First, I give a short overview of the theory of intersectionality, concentrating on its possibilities and limitations for the study of religion and gender in general, and for the study of Judaism, specifically. Second, I focus on my informants’ views of the gendered practices of their Orthodox Jewish community, which, by many standards, is a very specific form of Orthodoxy, which could be called ‘Finnish Orthodoxy’. Third, I analyse my informants’ views on how they perceive being Jewish women in contemporary Finland. The intersection of the last two broad themes will highlight the realities of Finnish Jewish women in contemporary Finland. Fourth, I discuss possibilities and limitations of intersectional theorising in the light of my data. (shrink)

Enrique Dussel's writings span the theology of liberation, critiques of discourse ethics, evaluations of Marx, Levinas, Habermas, and others, but most importantly, the development of a philosophy written from the underside of Eurocentric modernist teleologies, an ethics of the impoverished, and the articulation of a unique Latin American theoretical perspective. This anthology of original articles by U.S. philosophers elucidating Dussel's thought, offers critical analyses from a variety of perspectives, including feminist ones. Also included is an essay by Dussel that responds (...) to these essays. (shrink)

This article looks at how religious fundamentalism is aiming at influencing the international discourse on women's rights, especially reproductive rights. Simultaneously, we are witnessing the rise of something we could call transnational feminism(s). Much of the recent academic discussion on universalism, anti-universalism and cultural relativism is centered on Islam, but this discussion has larger relevance, for example in Latin America and in the context of Catholicism, which provide the concrete examples in the article. Feminist critique of religion is central in (...) the deconstruction of religious fundamentalism, but is not usually very well known by feminist social scientists. Transnational feminism(s), as a wide political movement, is developing new approaches to formulating intercultural criteria for human rights, especially women's rights, and for the truth claims these are based on. (shrink)

This article looks at how religious fundamentalism is aiming at influencing the international discourse on women's rights, especially reproductive rights. Simultaneously, we are witnessing the rise of something we could call transnational feminism. Much of the recent academic discussion on universalism, anti-universalism and cultural relativism is centered on Islam, but this discussion has larger relevance, for example in Latin America and in the context of Catholicism, which provide the concrete examples in the article. Feminist critique of religion is central in (...) the deconstruction of religious fundamentalism, but is not usually very well known by feminist social scientists. Transnational feminism, as a wide political movement, is developing new approaches to formulating intercultural criteria for human rights, especially women's rights, and for the truth claims these are based on. (shrink)