A Killjoy Manifesto: Exposing Gender Inequality and Violence - Essay Sample

Introduction

Sarah Ahmed, the author of the article "A Killjoy Manifesto," is a feminist and a queer person who advocates for the rights of the minority groups, which include queer persons and women. The feminist explores the different aspects which have been used by men to deny women equality and the pursuit of their full potential. She states that for changes to be made, there has to be disturbance through what she calls a manifesto. Ahmed explains that a feminist manifesto exposes the violence of those in power.

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One way through which feminism saturated with unhappiness is through the intervention of denying inequality, which has been hidden in the principle of equality. Feminism exposes such lies and replaces it with the truth making others unhappy. The author states "a killjoy manifesto shows how the denial of inequality under the assumption of equality is a technique of power,.."(Ahmed 2), it is the truth of the real situation of exposing hidden facts underlies that causes unhappiness and makes the word feminism to be saturated with unhappiness.

Feminism is also saturated with unhappiness because the feminists enact the world they intend to occupy. In this regard, it is the world that is dominated by men, and when they see the praxis of feminists, they are threatened and become unhappy as they are aiming at the world in which they are comfortably dominating. Killjoys have laid strategies that will enable them to reach great heights and explore new angles. The author states, "It is from what we come up against that we gain new angles on what we are against" (Ahmed 5). It is what the women are against that kill the joy of men because it will push them out of the angles of dominion. It is a problem because men want to continue taking charge and ruling over women.

Similarly, feminism is saturated with unhappiness because it has chosen to follow the praxis of not being silent anymore. Initially, the silence was used to avoid violence, and when women kept on being silent, the men enjoyed to rule over them because their silence could not help. Ahmed explains that women are now speaking and killing the joy because they are causing violence against men. The author states, "Over time, the time of being a feminist, we might call this feminist time, I have come to understand, to know and to feel, the costs of speaking out"(Ahmed 10). It is the speaking out that causes unhappiness to people because women can air out their views, including those of oppression. It is a problem because men will no longer have a chance to oppress them as they can speak out for themselves.

Feminism has also brought unhappiness to other people because of the feminists' unwillingness to give up in following their course. She explains that others are unhappy and blames the feminists for hindering the progress of reconciliation because of their resilience in pushing for their grievances and accepting to carry the blame of un-healing wound. Ahmed states, "When it is not over, it is not the time to get over it" (Ahmed 12). It is a declaration of no retreat, a thing that angers others, causing unhappiness.