in different parts of the world. As discussed,this
has long been recognized within feminist and
anti-colonial debates, but perhaps less so within
cultural geography. The failure to engage in
these debates, which are essentially about power
and knowledge, (re)produces the ethnocentric
cultural geographies that Mitchell castigates,^10
but then does little to address.
A politically relevant feminist cultural geo-
graphy needs to engage with cultural politics, but
these are not merely confined to western con-
texts. Instead, there should be a focus on cultural
politics across cultures, a global as well as a local
perspective on these politics, and recognition of
the existence of diverse cultural geographies. It
is significant also that the theoretical and empir-
ical shifts outlined in this chapter have had some
impact within cultural geography and some
feminist geographers are producing precisely the
kind of research that disrupts problematic ethno-
centricities. In particular, the work on translocal
and transnational geographies and the experi-
ences of diasporic groups of women is signifi-
cant. Gerry Pratt (1999), for example, uses
poststructuralist theories of the subject and dis-
course analysis to explore the experiences of
Filipinas in Vancouver. She examines how dis-
cursive constructions of ‘Filipina’ influence
identities and impose limitations on occupational
options, resulting in highly skilled and educated
women becoming domestic workers on migra-
tion. Similarly, Alison Blunt (forthcoming)
explores the geographies of home and identity of
Anglo-Indian women. Blunt considers the spatial
politics of home and identities on domestic,
national and transnational scales, extending
feminist and postcolonial theories through an
exploration of the intertwined and contested geo-
graphies of ‘domicile and diaspora’ and their
embodiment by Anglo-Indian women in India,
Australia and Britain. Her approach is a produc-
tive engagement with feminist and postcolonial
theories and a significant contribution to the
exploration of the ‘messiness of actual race poli-
tics’ (Jackson and Jacobs, 1996: 3) and their
material geographies.
Clearly, the lessons learned from the engage-
ment between western and ‘other’ feminisms
are beginning to inform contemporary cultural
geographies and open up exciting avenues for
research. From a historical perspective, there are
possibilities for revealing alternative cultural
histories that challenge the selective memory of
parochial and univocal history and recognize the
imbrications of these alternative histories in the
global social formations fashioned by imperial-
ism and colonialism. Feminist cultural geo-
graphies are also beginning to contribute tounderstandings of common global problems,
cultural politics and the lessons drawn from
international feminism. They are beginning to
draw, for example, on the numerous instances of
contemporary mobilizations of women and femi-
nists in various women’s and new social move-
ments around common global problems (see, for
example, Clark and Laurie, 2000; Laurie, 1997;
Nagar, 2000). These are less interested in rela-
tions between nations and have the capacity to
cross borders in their analyses and demands,
whether these borders are those of gender, race,
class or culture. Examples include the common
bonds being forged by women workers in the
global economy, ecological and environmental
degradation, broad alliances against various
forms of religious chauvinisms and fundamen-
talisms, and international campaigns around
women’s rights as human rights. Cultural geo-
graphies have the potential to explore examples
of ‘globalization from below’, where there is a
linking together of both diverse histories and the
potential for cross-cultural alliances. In the realm
of global cultural politics, there is also potential
to explore alternative south–south linkages, not
only because of their increasing significance
within these contexts, but also to disrupt the
hegemonic position of the west as frame of
reference (John, 1999: 202).
By drawing on feminist insights and attempts
to dislocate western centrism, cultural geo-
graphers also have the potential to contribute to
new understandings of international feminism.
As Alexander and Mohanty argue, the problem
with the term ‘international’ in international
feminism is that:
To a large extent, underlying the conception ... is a
notion of universal patriarchy operating in a trans-
historical way to subordinate all women... ‘International’,
moreover, has come to be collapsed into the culture and
values of capitalism. (1997: xix)As recent research suggests (Pratt, 1999), femi-
nist cultural geographies can contribute to new
ways of thinking about women in similar con-
texts across the world, in differentgeographical
spaces, rather than as allwomen across the
world. Feminist research in global contexts
involves shifting the unit of analysis from local,
regional and national culture to relations and
processes across cultures, and cultural geography
is ideally placed for this kind of analysis.
Grounding analyses in particular, local feminist
praxis is necessary, but there is also a need
to understand the local in relation to larger,
cross-national processes. Feminist cultural geo-
graphers are beginning to respond to Alexander
and Mohanty’s call for a ‘comparative, relationalTHE WEST AND OTHER FEMINISMS 4153029-ch21.qxd 03-10-02 11:01 AM Page 415