Beyond the imaginary relationship between western feminists and Third-World women

This study reveals a postcolonial desire not only to redraw the boundary between western and Third-World women, but also to investigate the imaginary relationship, or rather, the psychological dynamics involved in western women's relationship with Third-World women. Rather than reduce the relationship between western women and Third-World women to a simple opposition; it attempts to understand the ambivalence in their relationship. This study is driven by my desire to understand how western feminists' seek to identify with Third-World women and how this can contribute to an understanding of postcolonial power relations and move beyond the assumed polarities of identity politics. I want to be able to think beyond a simple binary analysis of culpability and innocence and move toward an understanding of how differences among women can be seen to be enriching and valuable.