How does globalization relate to our course material?

Is there a link between Globalization and feminism? Can we find a commonality between Women & Gender studies and Naomi Klein’s work? I think there are connections that can be made.

If we look back to the roots of feminism and analyze the role it took years ago we will see that feminism was very involved in the anti-sweatshop movement. Why? Because the sweatshops were predominately comprised of women (and children) of color in Third World countries, they were (and still are) the ones being exploited and abused by the system.
Feminism was also at the foreground of anti capitalism and consumerism back in the late 80’s around the time when branding was starting to get popular, and in the mid to late 90's "The Year of the Sweatshop" we saw an enormous interest in anti-capitalist movements as they opposed the exploitative labor practices of popular multinational corporations.

A connection can also be made with Queer and Transgendered struggles, where the crossing of borders across the globe has had an irreversible effect. There is a debate among researchers that argue whether globalization has benefited or hindered queer and transgendered identities/orientation. Some argue that globalization has liberated queer and transgendered communities because it incorporates their lifestyles and practices on a global scale. 'Queer Globalization: Citizenship and the Afterlife of Colonialism' by Martin Manalansan discusses the idea of an emergence of queer identities and cultures on a global scale via globalization.

On the other hand, there are some researchers who disagree and argue that globalization has actually created tension for queer and transgendered communities claiming globalization has brought one system of the gay-lesbian language into contact with another (i.e the West vs East), who have opposing ideas on the issues surrounding sexual identity. Some argue that a Western hegemonic view of bisexual, gay, transgender and lesbian identity has been exported to traditional societies (via globalization), thereby destroying the delicate cultural and sexual identities and diversities of some indigenous groups in Third World countries. The novel 'Speaking in Queer Tongues' edited by William Leap and Tom Boellstorff discusses this idea.

Globalization can also be linked to issues regarding environmentalism and Eco-Feminism. Eco-feminism is a social and political movement that recognizes the parallels between the oppression of women and society and the degradation of nature, through a systematic hierarchy of power, where one group has power over another. This hierarchy of power can be seen in the relationships between men and woman, culture and nature, white and black, and in the capitalist systems that allow the domination and exploitation of the Global South by the North.

Globalization can also be connected to transnational feminism, which has been built on the global networks of communication. Globalization has "shifted" the borders and allowed for more dialogue between feminist around the world, making room for a better understanding of the differing cultural norms and feminist approaches of the Global South. However, it can also be argued that globalization has brought with it capitalism and militarism both crucial issues which transnational feminist are strongly opposed to and are known to critically critique.

Information from:
Bad Mood Rising by Naomi Klein
http://www.nyupress.org/product_info.php?cPath=12&products_id=2836
http://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/74qxk7rh9780252028717.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transnational_feminism
http://www.iiav.nl/nl/iiav/nieuws/feminism-is-my-dj/feminism_cscholl.html