Week Three Blog
This week we read a work by Val Plumwood describing power as a dualism. A dualism is not the same as a difference, due to the value placed on one member of the dualism. She states, “A dualism…results from a certain kind of denied dependency on a subordinated other.� She outlines five aspects of a dualism: backgrounding, radical exclusion, incorporation, instrumentalism, and homogenization. Backgrounding is when the superior is dependent on the inferior, but makes it look like he is not. Radical exclusion is making the inferior and superior so very different, so that it is obvious that the superior is definitely not close to the inferior. Incorporation is defining the inferior in terms of the superior. Instrumentalism is similar – the inferior is only needed for the superior’s needs, and essentially does not exist outside of that. Homogenization basically is the aspect where differences among the inferiors do not matter.
A few examples of this power structure can be seen predominantly throughout history. For example, a slave’s relation to his master in early America is filled with dualism. Slaves were not thought of as individuals (homogenization), and their one purpose was to help the master (instrumentalism). Slaves were also defined in relation to their masters – that’s the point of a slave (incorporation). They were said to be uneducated or civilized, unlike the white masters (radical exclusion). At the same time, they were also expected to be grateful to their masters for “taking care� of them and providing a place for them, while really, the master needed his slaves in order for his plantation to function (backgrounding).
Dualisms are also present in the way we act gendered subjects. Although not as predominant today, there still exists a dualism between men and women. This dualism has been present in our culture for centuries, and so it is not so easily erased. For example, masculinity and femininity are still defined as being very different. This is an example of radical exclusion. Not only that, but masculinity is valued more than femininity.