Rooftop Feminism : Constructed and Deconstructed

It has been a while since I have put my thoughts in more than 140 characters and it has been a woefully long time still since I have articulated topical issues with objectivity and the intent to educate rather than to fuel controversy. It is against this backdrop that I am pleased to return to you the thoughts of a complex mind, fighting a lost cause , given via a wandering  voice that only wishes  to remind us all about the golden rule to  life: that life like love is a two way thing, reciprocation is key.

Rooftop Feminism : Constructed and Deconstructed.

I am a feminist.

I believe that women ought to be treated equally,

I believe that the rights that accrue to women are the same that accrue to men and should be protected and enforced correspondingly.

I believe feminism is a mixture of numerous theories of varying origin that cannot always be categorised or distinguished,

And I believe that not all forms of feminism are universally applicable in universally diverse circumstances.

I believe in feminism.

Rooftop feminism is a term used to describe  a brand of separatist feminism .The term rooftop has been adopted as this type of feminist  often seems detached from reality and metaphorically speaking appears to shout drunken messages of hate and contempt at the world below,from an elevated moral standpoint,ie, a rooftop.Rooftop feminism has as its main aim the expansion of the female moral code to include any and all activities that are considered to be within accepted male behaviour. The female moral code is the standard moral value regime female Africans are bound and expected to behave in accordance with. The female moral code was designed ,conceived and is owned by the patriarchy.

 Rooftop feminists essentially aim to conquer male dominance by forcing their ideology upon anyone and everyone without negotiation, without compromise and essentially without a plan. The main  proponents of rooftop feminism  are 16 – 40 year old women, their belief In essence is that  to be a feminist is to prove  you do not need a man and can do anything a  man can do, and better. Characteristics of rooftop feminists include, but are not limited to,an entitlement to the feminist movement and a belief that they own feminism, a strong inclination to alcohol and promiscuity, anger management issues, a patent need to deride and push men down  and an aggressive disdain for criticism.

Rooftop feminism by its nature  excludes reasonable cogent measures aimed at uprooting the causes of the existence of these moral codes that oppress women and aims mainly at  making  a lot of hullabaloo about how evil men are and how downtrodden women are, it speaks nothing about how to deal with the real problem, which is an entrenched patriarchy.

Rooftop feminism places the utmost importance on freedom and liberty of the woman, yet confuses this superficial liberty with achievement in attaining the feminist goals. In as much as liberty is an essential ingredient for the attainment of the feminist goal, Liberty itself  is not the ultimate goal of feminism. The rooftop feminist associates the  ability of a woman to maraud the streets at night  drinking and smoking as an advancement in  the feminist cause in Africa. Although there is nothing in these activities that changes societal perception of women or enhances the chance of society accepting women as equals or empowers them to be afforded equal employment opportunities or protection of  their sexual rights, the rooftop feminists places these 'freedoms' ahead of common sense and convention. Feminism has many forms, but the efficacy of Rooftop feminism in an entrenched cultural society is more than questionable.

 Rooftop feminism in its entirety does not award the African female any new rights  or any real power  nor does it postulate reforms, lobby for policy change nor does it  advocate for the education of  society on the problems that patriarchy brings. The rooftop feminist opts rather to devise radical ways of expressing their perceived freedom such as renouncing perceived female obligations and duties such as home making, marriage and cooking and adopting an aggressive , pseudo – enlightened, prima facie male attitude . They go out ,not to say  this is intrinsically evil, but do so more as an act of defiance and like their male counterpart ,they behave promiscuously ,rowdily and in an unruly fashion, with the reasoning simply being, that if a man is not questioned much for any such behaviour, then a woman should never be questioned too. They believe in the power of silly meaningless mantras like ‘pussy power’ ,which unfortunately are just that, mantras  with no real meaning. The point they attempt to make ,objectively speaking maybe a  fair point…it  is, however  always blurred under a haze of cigarette smoke…

The problem that arises for the Rooftop feminist in Africa,  is that society, this male dominated society judges the  rooftop feminist, and the  verdict  usually given is that she is crazy. Based on the expected behavioural codes that the patriarchal system has designed for  women, the behaviour and general attitude of the  rooftop feminist is simply a crazy one. The easiest example to show societal reaction to the rooftop feminist is where marriage is concerned.

In the event that a rooftop feminist is married to an African man, they are expected by both sets of families and the society in general   to conform to the established moral guidelines they are given.  To not conform is to declare oneself a social leper. The traditional African marriage has more requirements than a nuclear launch sequence and is so manifestly oppressive to the African woman that it becomes untenable for a rooftop feminist to aspire to be in one. I will not elaborate in this treatise on the oppressive nature of the African marriage policy, it is a dogs breakfast… In  an attempt by the feminist to avoid the ills of traditional marriage the rooftop feminist opts to do away with marriage and proudly proclaims that they are independent, single and so happy to remain that way, whether this is in fact or in fantasy.


 Unfortunately however, society refuses to acknowledge a single woman as a complete woman and again looks at the single feminist as a social leper. In defence of what she believes is correct and right ,the feminist attempts to defend her status ,such defence society then looks at as bitterness and anger, so now the rooftop feminist ,exercising her God given right to be single is labelled a crazy bitter and angry social leper.

There is a third option that rooftop feminists adopt , this is the decision to marry any man except an African man. The rooftop feminists looks to interracial marriage in the not so farfetched hope that  he is from a more enlightened world. This works out until the rooftop feminist  must show  her spouse to her family .More often than not, the declaration from them and society is recurring, she is obviously  crazy and is a social misfit.

The major  problem that rooftop feminists have is more simple than it is complex however, the problem is not necessarily the message, for it is true in the greater scheme of things that  women can do anything better than a man ,they can drink freely as men do and they can, despite the risk behave just as promiscuously as men do if they so choose and should  be treated and judged the same way men are in all contexts ,the problem  simply stated is the motive of the messenger and the manner in which she is delivering this message.

In an overtly  patriarchal African society that has declared the rooftop feminist as crazy,the approach to take is not one of aggression, screaming and or hurling  insults at the average men and women who clearly  do not understand what an angry under dressed , drunken and half stoned woman  is doing way up there on a rooftop declaring she owns the world. Which world?is the question  that this society,  hypnotised to the core by the doctrines of patriarchy asks. Cuckooland?

The solution, for there is always one, is for the rooftop feminist to come down from her roof without a blazing anger against men, without being armed to the teeth with weapons of reverse sexism  without carrying their elitist conventions and to engage  this male dominated society at a level that it understands.

Feminism in Africa is about changing the societal view from worshipping patriarchy to embracing the fact that men and women  are equal and must both be governed by the  same moral code ,which  does not discriminate against anyone based on their gender. The solution lies not in trying to change the female moral code but rather in attempting  to write a singular code and create a moral value system that respects a woman’s independence from men, that does not shun  a woman if she so decides not to marry nor declare that a woman’s place as strictly in the home. 

Rooftop feminists must engage the sexist rather than continually taunt and insult him or her, for the current headlong direct confrontation only increases resistance to the feminist movement.  Male domination is not a  problem that can be replaced and ousted  by a generation of seemingly perpetually angry women for nobody will listen to that, no one will listen until these women act  first  and actively  seek societal reform. Patriarchy ,be it a monstrosity, or a flawed  societal system serves many men and women  and is so deeply entrenched  that merely launching into tirades  about how negative it is will not compel those with dominion over it, nor its beneficiaries to simply yield this power  that patriarchy gives over women. When patriarchy is asked to back off by elements it already perceives as unruly and out of the normal, the answer it simply returns is no. 

Rooftop feminists indeed have a loud voice  and perhaps a good message, but they must re-assess  whether their actions and voices are being heard correctly and whether this scream and drunken shouting game is achieving the desired results or perhaps whether a new strategy is  required . There must be a sober minded strategic fight to defeat the vile of  patriarchy. At present, because rooftop feminists have the loudest voices and are the most notorious of feminists out there, the image of feminism as a whole has been soiled, feminism is now derided and considered a dirty immoral protest by whores and sluts that is led by angry , single, desperate women. The feminist message has been lost in translation (and an interpreter is required, not one from South Africa though!) to put right the message that the rooftop feminist  has so wrongly contorted .

There are many women and men, radical and liberal, feminist of all manner and description who have their feet firmly on the ground and are changing societal view and ensuring the better treatment of  women without having to make a distasteful display of themselves. These men and women  suffer the most  from the nuisance of rooftop feminism for instead  of fighting against male dominion ,they  must now fight to defend their views and image against the accusations elaborated above that are now daily thrown against genuine women’s rights activists.

 Ultimately, all female feminists ,rooftop or otherwise must accept that feminism is not a realm that belongs exclusively to them, feminism is for everybody  as long as they espouse the Ideal that women and men  should be treated equally, respected in equal terms  and afforded the same rights that accrue to all human  beings. Monopolising feminism will do nothing for feminism. For the feminist struggle to be a success every person must be knowledgeable about it and must participate as they are a part of society and depending on how feminists approach them, can be either a help or a hindrance to the feminist cause. Either way, a separatist feminism is simply  fatal to the cause.

Feminists too must accept criticism of their work, and  they must acknowledge that nothing they do is beyond reproach. They must examine and re-examine themselves constantly before rushing to defend themselves against criticism which at times if accepted ,would lead to greater  acceptance of the feminist movement  and yield much more tangible results. Criticism of feminists is not the evil, feminist policies that lead to hate and criticism perhaps are. Introspection is required of all feminists.

Moreover,  rooftop feminists must get off their  high horses  and desist from their intellectual snobbery riddled  with elitist dribble and repugnant aristocratic jargon that women at grassroots level cannot understand. They must understand that it is virtually pointless to discuss the technicalities and modalities  of neo-liberal feminism and sexuality , pomosexuality and theories of  anti – debunctive  feminism   in their comfortable  middle to upper class apartments and then jump on the roof to  regurgitate  these conceptions, snooty faced and all  and expect the ordinary person to understand whatever the hell they will be talking about. Feminism, if all it costs you is data bundles and megabytes is meaningless, it has to be more than that ,it has to be practical, it has to be your sweat and tears, for  the results will not be achieved through any other way. The time for big words and zero action is past.

Lastly,If you are a feminist or claim to be one thereof,and  your  brand of feminism does not empower or educate the woman that matters, being the woman on the ground, on the street, the one really feeling the weight of an unfair societal system, then, with the greatest respect, get your ass off from that rooftop and get some real work done!