The “what” and “who” of co-optation: gendered racialized migrations, settler nation-states and postcolonial difference

ABSTRACT

In this article, I focus on the management of postcolonial difference and the production of belonging in a white settler nation-state in order to rethink the notion of co-optation. I first develop a theoretical framework for understanding co-optation by separating the “who” and the “what” of co-optation: actors who embody diversity in public, political debate become the “who” of co-optation, as their agency is shaped by gendered and racialized processes of subject making. The “what” of co-optation revolves around particular conceptualizations of practices, rights and freedoms, associated in this case with “gender equality,” which is rendered an empty signifier in the process. I then illustrate this framework by drawing from research on the Sharia-based arbitration debate that took place in Ontario, Canada, between late 2003 and early 2006. I focus on the claims of two Canadian Muslim women activists to show that co-optation occurs as attempts to further liberation instead advance illiberal practices.

KEYWORDS:

• Feminist theory
• gender equality
• agency
• Islam and Sharia law
• Muslim women

Acknowledgments

The author thanks Sara de Jong, Susanne Kimm, Raka Ray, Hae Yeon Choo, Paulina Garcia-del Moral, Salina Abji, two anonymous reviewers and the editors of the IFJP for their insightful feedback.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Anna C. Korteweg is professor of sociology at the University of Toronto (anna.korteweg.wordpress.com).

Notes

1. The CCMW website can be found here: http://ccmw.com/, and Homa Arjomand's website here: http://www.nosharia.com/.

2. http://nawl.ca/en/about/mission-principles.

3. http://www.nosharia.com/.