Bananas, Beaches And Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics

“That is, making useful sense—feminist sense—of international politics requires us to follow diverse women to places that are usually dismissed by conventional foreign affairs experts as merely ‘private,’ ‘domestic,’ ‘local,’ or ‘trivial.’”

Women are invisible in mainstream accounts of international politics. Understanding the workings of international politics requires exposing the gendered power structure operating in governance and industry. Women play crucial roles in international politics, but their work is poorly paid or even unpaid.

“Too often gender incurious commentators attribute women’s roles in international affairs to tradition, cultural preferences, and timeless norms, as if each of these existed outside the realms where power is wielded, as if they were beyond the reach of decisions and efforts to enforce those decisions.”

Enloe argues that intentional policies and actions of stakeholders in the patriarchal system result in the placement of women in subordinate positions. Sustaining the hierarchy of power requires effort. Repeatedly, Enloe highlights The Role of Human Agency in National and International Politics.

“That is, the common assumption is that one-half of the world’s population is equivalent to, say, logging companies or soccer clubs.”

Criticizing mainstream media for failing to cover and publicize the work of transnational feminist organizations, Enloe exposes the absurdity of the excuse for this failure. The media deems feminists a special interest group, akin to other narrow groups pursuing self-interests. However, by challenging the elite power structure, which men dominate, feminists are working on behalf of all women and, for that matter, most men.