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ABSTRACT
Introducing the concept of Daoist–feminist hybridity to international relations (IR) scholars, this article makes a novel contribution to current debates over global feminism concerning the relevance and attractiveness of feminism in non-Western societies, the need to build transnational feminist solidarities, and the urgent need to decolonize feminism. Drawing upon the Daoist philosophy of Laozi’s Daodejing, which expresses an early and Indigenous form of non-Western feminism, the article constructs a model of Daoist feminist pacifist leadership as illustrated through the case of Jeannette Rankin (1880–1973), an influential women’s suffrage advocate and global peace activist who was the first elected congresswoman in the United States (US) and the only congressional representative to vote against US involvement in both World Wars I and II. As the article demonstrates, Rankin’s unwavering commitment to pacifism not only reflects core values of Daoist philosophy intermeshed with her twentieth-century feminism, but also illustrates the value of empathic engagement between Daoist thought and modern feminism, as making such connections can help to build alliances and partnerships among international feminist peace leaders today in the US, China, and elsewhere.
Acknowledgments
The author would like to express sincere gratitude to shine choi, Brooke Ackerly, and Elisabeth Prügl and to the journal’s anonymous reviewers for their many helpful comments and suggestions. The author is also deeply indebted to Ben Woolhead and Deborah Ring for making the text flow much more smoothly, and to the many scholars whose pioneering studies on the relationship between Daoism and feminism have enriched his own understanding, including Karyn Lai, Robin Wang, Livia Kohn, Hans-Georg Moeller, Catherine Despeux, Lin Ma, Ann Pang-White, Kyoo Lee, Sharon Rowe, James Sellman, and Ethan Mills.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1 Scholars have noted how, paradoxically, those whose lives most embody Daoist qualities are often not consciously aiming to be Daoist (see for example Ivanhoe Citation2011; Joshi Citation2021).
2 The Daoist perspective has led many to conclude that things often work best (including in IR) when potentially competing forces are in balance and harmony (see for example Chen and Chen Citation2021; Ling Citation2014).
3 Lai (Citation2000, 46) argues that in Daoism, femininity and masculinity are distinct, not mutually exclusive, interdependent, not static concepts, and “non-reducible each to the other.”
4 While knowing when to take action or stay passive may come intuitively to Daoist sage leaders, Bai and Morris (Citation2014, 178) argue that these decisions are also shaped by the life cycle of a project or organization, since “each stage of its development requires a different style of leadership (proactive or passive).”
5 In this sense, Daoist leadership differs from Confucianism in that the latter presumably requires conscious and active learning of a particular tradition (see for example Neville Citation2000). By contrast, some Daoist texts emphasize that the best way to follow Dao is by unlearning, being natural, and following one’s inner dictates.
6 Childs and Krook (Citation2009, 138) define “critical actors” as “those who initiate policy proposals on their own, even when women form a small minority, and embolden others to take steps to promote policies for women, regardless of the proportion of female representatives.”
7 Rankin was maligned by the US press, but the letters that she received from “Canada and South America overwhelmingly were in favor – by ten to one – of her stand against war” (Giles Citation2016, 329).
8 Quotations from Laozi in this article appear in the form “DDJ 12,” referring to Chapter 12 of the Daodejing as translated by Ivanhoe (Citation2002).
9 This resembles the Daoist sage’s commitment to the yangsheng project, whereby one should first of all cultivate an attitude of care, like the love of an artist for the painting or the love of a parent for the child … This attitude of care is directed to the safety of the project because it needs protecting from potential threats or anything that can create obstacles for its future success. (Michael Citation2015, 187)
10 While Rankin’s framing here will strike many contemporary readers as essentialist and reflective of the “difference feminism” prominent in her era, it does not necessarily imply that only women should work to raise human beings or that women must necessarily do so. Likewise, while Daoism supports the work of nurturing lives, it does not rigidly assign this task only to women but rather sees it as a value and practice for all humans to engage in and support.
11 Rankin campaigned in favor of multiple reforms to make democracy more participatory and representative, including the popular initiative, referendums, recall, multimember congressional districts, preferential voting, instant runoff voting, ballot rotations, a unicameral Congress, preferential direct election of the president (eliminating party presidential primary elections), and the abolition of the Electoral College (cf. Giles Citation2016).
12 The model developed here is a plausible reading of Daoist leadership in a feminist light, but not the only possible reading. As Ames (Citation1994) notes, the spirit of Daoist thought is to encourage multiple interpretations as opposed to rigidly insisting on only one correct reading.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Devin K. Joshi
Devin K. Joshi is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Singapore Management University, Singapore. Previously, he was Associate Professor at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, USA. He received his BA from Stanford University, USA, and his PhD from the University of Washington, USA. He is the co-editor of the book Substantive Representation of Women in Asian Parliaments (Routledge, 2023) and has written more than 40 peer-reviewed journal articles, with recent work appearing in International Studies Quarterly, the Journal of Daoist Studies, Politics & Gender, and Women’s Studies International Forum.