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Chauvinism |
Chauvinism (pronounced /ˈʃoʊvɨnɪzəm/) is extreme and unreasoning partisanship on behalf of a group to which one belongs, especially when the partisanship includes malice and hatred towards a rival group. A frequent1 contemporary use of the term in English is male chauvinism, which refers to the belief that men are superior to women.
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The term is derived from Nicolas Chauvin, a semi-mythical soldier under Napoleon Bonaparte who is supposed to have served in the French Revolution (1789–1800) and the Napoleonic Wars. Despite the unpopularity of Bonapartism in Restoration France, Chauvin was said to be an ardent supporter and was often seen wearing a violet in his lapel, the symbol of his deposed Emperor. According to the myth, he remained fanatically loyal despite his poverty, disability, and the abuse he suffered.
Many writers and historians falsely attribute to Chauvin the exploits of other Bonapartists. It is claimed that he served in the Old Guard at Waterloo, which is unlikely considering his age and the severity of his disabilities. When the Old Guard was surrounded and made its last stand at La Belle Alliance, he supposedly shouted in defiance to a call for their honorable surrender: "The Old Guard dies but does not surrender!", implying blind and unquestioned zealous devotion to one's country [or other group of reference]. This apocryphal phrase was in fact attributed to the Old Guard's commander, Pierre Cambronne who later asserted that his actual reply was "Merde!" ("Shit!").2
The origin and early usage indicate that chauvinisme was coined to describe excessive nationalism, which the original French term continues to do. The term entered public use due to a satirical treatment of Chauvin in the French play La Cocarde Tricolore (The Tricolor Cockade). cock
In "Imperialism, Nationalism, Chauvinism", in The Review of Politics 7.4, (October 1945), p. 457, Hannah Arendt describes the concept:
Chauvinism is an almost natural product of the national concept insofar as it springs directly from the old idea of the "national mission." ... (A) nation's mission might be interpreted precisely as bringing its light to other, less fortunate peoples that, for whatever reason, have miraculously been left by history without a national mission. As long as this concept did not develop into the ideology of chauvinism and remained in the rather vague realm of national or even nationalistic pride, it frequently resulted in a high sense of responsibility for the welfare of backward peoples.
The word does not require a judgment that the chauvinist is right or wrong in his or her opinion, only that he or she is blind and unreasoning in coming to it, ignoring any facts which might temper his or her fervor. In modern use, however, it is often used pejoratively to imply that the chauvinist is both unreasoning and wrong.
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Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (March 2008) |
Male chauvinism is a term used to describe the attitude that men are superior to women. The term was widely used by the feminist movement in the 1960s to describe men who believe or display an attitude that women are inferior to men, speak to women as inferiors, or treat women negatively based solely upon their gender.3 Female chauvinism is a less common term used to describe the symmetrical attitude that women are superior to men.
The term "female chauvinism" has been adopted by some critics of some types of feminism. These critics claim, for example, that in some gender feminist views, all men are considered irreconcilable rapists, wife-beating brutes, and useless as partners to women or as fathers to children.4 Ariel Levy used the term in different sense in her book, Female Chauvinist Pigs, in which she claims that many young women in the United States are replicating male chauvinism and sexist stereotypes.5
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