From Moscow to the Manosphere
A new book on Russian history traces how authoritarianism depends on restoring the patriarchal order. The American right believes American democracy depends on doing the same.
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We’re at the end of another whirlwind of a week. Donald Trump is literally wrecking the East Wing of the White House, while he works to pilfer the US treasury of $230 million he believes is owed to him for all those lawsuits. The US government remains closed. The Israel-Hamas ceasefire holds on by a thread. Russia hasn’t moved on ending its war on Ukraine—even as Trump has leveled new sanctions on Russian oil companies. The US is escalating tensions with Venezuela, perhaps at the behest of Marco Rubio. Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants who fled from Castro and communism, has been eager to topple the regime in Havana. Get rid of Maduro in Caracas, you get ride of Cuba’s key patron—at least, that’s the thinking. As Trump heads to Asia, all eyes will be on his meeting with Xi and what happens next in the US-China trade war. Over night, Trump is ending trade talks with Canada.
Amid all this, I was putting the finishing touches on a review of Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia by Julia Ioffe that I wrote for Ms. Magazine. (You can enter my drawing to win a copy below!)
In it, I write that Ioffe, a seasoned journalist who reported out of Moscow, “recounts the role that women, at times as actors and more than often as subjects, played in shaping modern Russia.” Russian women ignited the 1917 revolution that toppled the tsarist regime and ushered in abortion rights—the first worldwide—marriage equality, and equal wages. Yet as time passed, these rights, and the women themselves, slowly began to disappear. Vladimir Putin and his violent, hypermasculine state are the culmination of that story.
Ioffe draws a line from Stalin to Putin, tracing how authoritarianism depends on restoring the patriarchal order. Which is why, as I read David French’s latest piece in The New York Times about Helen Andrews, a conservative pundit, I was struck by how much she believes American democracy depends on doing the same.
French dissects a speech Andrews gave at the National Conservatism conference and a follow up piece she wrote for Compact Magazine. Both focus on “Overcoming the Feminization of Culture.” Her complaint: women have taken over the workplace—law, medicine, journalism, book publishing, academia, and psychology—and have weakened it. They’ve become “feminized,” which she says, with two men looking on, has made it unwelcoming to men. That is not only bad but a threat to civilization. Her solution: Fire the HR ladies! Stop policing behavior. Donald Trump, Andrew Cuomo, Charlie Rose, Matt Lauer, and Harvey Weinstein couldn’t agree more.
The data tell another story. Only one in ten Fortune 500 CEOs is a woman. In Congress, fewer than a third of lawmakers are female. The New York Times, which she points out became a majority female newsroom in 2018, still has a masthead overwhelmingly male. Law schools may now be majority female, and women may make up most associates, yet only 28 percent of partners are women. The same holds true in academia, where women are a majority of faculty but just a third of college presidents.
The notion that women have “captured” the workplace is nothing but gaslighting. And yet it is fueling a movement determined to push women back and contain their power. After reading Ioffe’s book, I fear it is pushing us towards a troubling future.
Ioffe notes that Stalin, and later Khrushchev, eager to replenish the population, pushed pronatalism. Soviet propaganda glorified “hero mothers” while sidelining actual heroines. Putin’s Russia repeats the pattern, recasting feminism as moral decay and masculinity as national identity.
The American right is channeling the same anxiety. They are pushing the manosphere and “defeminization.” They tell young men that masculinity is under siege and that restoring male dominance is key to social order. It’s the same logic Putin deploys when he rails against the “decadent West” and goes on to ignore rules, rights, or accountability. Sound familiar?
The real danger isn’t feminization. It’s the authoritarian temptation that comes from fearing it. Ioffe makes that clear in Motherland, tracing how patriarchy and repression march hand in hand. The same story seems to be unfolding here.
What the right calls “feminization,” most of us would call a necessary correction to centuries of imbalance. Or, more simply, progress. —Elmira
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Enter the drawing to win a copy of Julia Ioffe’s book, Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia. Submissions close on Monday, October 27, 9:00am ET. And if you don’t win a copy, get it on Tertulia! A woman-run alternative to Amazon. Let’s support women.
Elsewhere in the World.....
On our radar...
There’s a lot to be depressed and worried about ladies. Women’s rights are being erased. A number of countries that had previously declared a feminist foreign policy have rolled that back, including Sweden, the Netherlands, and Argentina. But it’s too early to write our obituary, says Interruptrr gal pal Lyric Thompson. Women, particularly in Latin America and Africa, have made considerable strides, especially when it comes to the FFP movement. (Foreign Policy)
Here is a link to the report that the Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative launched this week. You can watch the video of the various panels from this past Tuesday here.
Meanwhile… 31 countries adopted a declaration on feminist foreign policy at the 4th Ministerial Conference on Feminist Foreign Policy in Paris.
Venezuela
Listen: This week in “Is the US going to war with Venezuela?” As Tess Bridgeman notes, so far the US has attacked seven vessels, killing about 30, under the premise that they were carrying drugs—possibly to the US, but that’s not clear. Trump has deployed about 10,000 troops to the Caribbean to fight what he calls “narco-terrorists.” She talked to Rebecca Ingber and Brian Finucane on what’s happening, its legality (spoiler: it’s not), and what’s to come. (Just Security)
The WSJ ran an interesting piece this week, entitled, “Marco Rubio Is Leading Trump’s Pressure Campaign Against Venezuela,” by Lara Seligman, Vera Bergengruen, and Kejal Vyas. Over at The American Conservative (no, I haven’t lost my mind) Kelley Beaucar Viahos says that it’s really the other way around; that Trump has long had his eyes on toppling Venezuelan leader Nicholas Maduro and that Rubio is his useful idiot. (She doesn’t say that, I do…) (American Conservative)
Israel-Palestine
JD Vance traveled to Israel this week, not to “babysit,” the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which has already been breached. Frankly, babysitting is probably the only way to make peace work in the region. He did feel “insulted” that the Israeli parliamented voted to annex the West Bank. He should also feel insulted that Israel is not abiding by the 20-point agreement and letting in humanitarian aid.
That vote is not a promising omen for where Israel’s leader may take the country. Hadley Gamble questions whether Israel can survive another four years of Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership, who seems to win on national security matters. (The National)
For Trump’s 20-point plan to work, there needs to be a serious focus on deracialization, say Neomi Neumann and Devorah Margolin. They look at how to address the social, educational and cultural drivers of extremism. (Washington Institute)
Ukraine
There are actually three sides to Russia’s war on Ukraine: Russia, Ukraine, and Donald Trump. He’s flipped again, from last week where he apparently exchanged harsh words with Ukrainian president Zelensky, telling him that Ukraine will have to concede territory to Russia. On Wednesday, he slapped sanctions on Russian oil companies, after Russia launched unleashed a deadly attack on Ukraine. Susie Blann, Fatima Hussein and Aamer Madhani have the details. (AP)
Japan’s New PM
Sanae Takaichi became Japan’s prime minister this week—the first woman to hold the post. There was some concern that it wouldn’t happen after the ruling LDP party’s coalition partner pulled out. Given the multitude of challenges Japan faces, she’s got a lot to juggle: taming inflation, fending off China’s rise, and dealing with Donald Trump. Takaichi will welcome Trump to Tokyo next week. Sheila Smith has a rundown on what’s in her inbox. (CFR)
As I previously noted, Takaichi may be a woman, but she’s far from a feminist. She is opposed to married couples having different last names and holds Margaret Thatcher up as an idol. Not sure Maggie would approve of her heavy metal and motorcycle riding proclivities, but I digress. It is important to point out that upon taking the prime minister’s office, she named Japan’s first female minister of finance. Also, fun fact: Takaichi came to the US in 1987 as a “Congressional Fellow” where she worked with Colorodo representative Patricia Schroeder, who was a Democrat…
Le Heist
Yeah, yeah, it was like a movie. You’ve heard about the jewelry heist at The Louvre. Sunday morning, 9:30. Two guys climb a ladder, break a window and take off with several priceless pieces that date back to the 16th century. Laura O’Brien has a helpful look at the history of the jewels. (The Conversation)
The French should get CVS or Walgreens, where toothpaste and shampoo is locked up, to advise them.
US
So China put export controls on rare earth minerals. We can get them Down Under! This week, Donald Trump welcomed Australia’s Prime Minister and signed a deal on rare earth minerals. But, as Melanie Burton sees it, that won’t shake China’s dominance. China accounts for 90 percent of the world’s refining capacity for rare earths and controls 69 percent of global rare earth mining. (Reuters)
What’s in the US-Australia agreement? Gracelin Baskaran and Kessarin Horvath unpack it. (CSIS)
All sorts of “yessssss” on this piece that looks at how Trump is remaking the global order, that Rebecca Lissner and Mira Rapp-Hooper point out only works with US leadership. (NYT) It’s a gift article. You’re welcome.
Africa
As noted last week, in Kenya, Raila Odinga passed away at 80. Leslie Ann Warner notes that his death complicates incumbent President Ruto’s path to a second term in 2027, “due to Odinga’s key role” helping galvinize ethnic and regional votes. That’s especially important, she points out, given Kenya’s growing economic woes and an increasingly restless Gen Z. (World Politics Review)
Americas
No MAS…. In Bolivia, Rodrigo Paz won last Sunday’s presidential election, ending two decades of the leftist Movement for Socialism (MAS) rule, which makes for endlessly bad puns…He had campaigned for better ties to the US and on “capitalism for all”—leaving many to say that Bolivia is moving to the right. But as Khalea Robertson and Carin Zissis point out, it’s “hard to pin him down on the political spectrum.” They look at Paz’s path to victory, MAS’ decline and the challenges that await the new president. (AS/COA)
Meanwhile… all eyes will be on Argentina this weekend, as the country votes in midterm elections. Trump has promised Javier Millei $20 billion to help prop up the peso, which has not fared well in Millei’s economic overhaul. American farmers and bankers are not happy about this deal. Let’s see how Argentinians feel. If he fails to win them over, Millei won’t be able to make further strides on his agenda, says Liz Wolfe. (Reason)
And Colombia has recalled its ambassador to the US as Trump’s feud with Colombia’s president escalates….
Middle East
As the Women, Life, and Freedom protests took shape in Iran in 2022, following the murder of Mahsa Amini, the Islamic regime, in true authoritarian fashion, throttled mobile networks and the Internet. Reid Newton on Cyrus, who tested Starlink, and kept the resistance going. (Middle East Uncovered)
Europe
In Northern Cyprus, Tufan Erhürman scored a landslide victory in last Sunday’s presidential election. He unseated hard-line incumbent Ersin Tatar, who was considered Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s favorite, sparking hope that reunification talks could resume, writes Nektaria Stamouli. (Politico)
Portugal passed a ban on full face coverings for women in public places. So much for choice. Cecilia Akoko Attiogbe Atayi has more. (Jurist News)
There are a lot of things I love about this newsletter. Finding outlets like Jurist News, which is put together by law students, is just one of them.
Opportunities
If you’re a screenwriter or director who is Muslim or work with and within Muslim communities, apply for this Pillars Art Fellowship, which opened up this week.
Foreign Policy for America is a terrific organization. Applications for its Next Gen program have opened. If you’re between 21-35, apply!
iDE is on the hunt for a CEO.
Go be a Program Director for the Global Dialogue program at The Heinrich Böll Foundation.
Human Rights Watch is hiring for a Researcher, Crisis, Conflict, and Arms.
Editorial Team
Elmira Bayrasli - Editor-in-Chief
Great newsletter as always, and a fantastic book review! Damn straight feminization = progress. Well said!