Is “cultural difference” an excuse for sexism?
There was a discussion at Workers’ Liberty’s ‘Ideas for Freedom’ discussion weekend about ‘The Left and Cultural Relativism’. The two speakers were Janine Booth and Peter Tatchell. These are the notes from Janine’s contribution. AWL is a socialist organisation. We are part of ‘the left’. For us, that means we unequivocally support women’s rights, freedom and equality. Similarly, we unequivocally oppose racism and homophobia. For us, it is quite straightforward – no socialism without liberation, no liberation without socialism. We oppose oppression and bigotry wherever it comes from. For some others on the ‘left’, though, it is not so straightforward. They argue that we should equivocate on these issues when the oppression comes from ‘other cultures’. eg.1 A Sikh woman wrote a play, Behzti (‘Dishonour’) addressing issues of rape and ‘honour’ within her community. Protesters demanded that it be banned on grounds of religious offence – the Birmingham Rep theatre agreed. A local Labour cou
