The two readings provided to us namely Feminism and Security and The Third World and Security

Studies discuss the stance of women and third world countries in the international system. It is
noticeable from the beginning of each reading’s paragraphs that there is underlying insecurity in both
women and third world countries that are well integrated into the norms through a number of factors
such as historical happenings, culture, social constructs, and so on. Throughout times, women have been
marginalized in many important aspects of life, at work, at home, in the streets, and pretty much
anywhere they go. Despite constantly being able to prove that women can do so much as men, there is
still a gap in the acceptance of women as men’s equals. This is evident in the fact that women have to
work twice or even thrice as hard as men to reach the same level of respect and significance easily
handed to men for just being themselves and this is somewhat exemplified by women in politics. In a
way, the issues of security reflect the context of third-world countries. Third-world countries were
birthed during the Cold War period– a collective that refused to be involved in the West and East
(communist bloc) showdown. Eventually, the definition of a third-world country became associated with
being a poor or a developing nation as these countries were prone to vulnerability and conflicts at the
time due to the weak state structure that these nations have in common. Similar to the marginalization
of women, third-world countries experienced insecurity during the Cold War era in the sense that these
countries took the brunt of the powerplay between the two major powers dominating at the time, the
US and USSR.

As stated, there is a piece of historical information that denotes whether a state is or isn’t part of the
category of “Third World” which aligns with the question on the abilities of women and their place in the
world. A common similarity from both readings is that these classifications, these types of norms are
made by those in power. Men for example made the common denotation that women aren’t as flexible
as they are and would easily crack under pressure, this goes the same way with power rankings in the
world, hegemon states can easily establish who can be on par with them or not.

With respect to the similarities, one of the differences I’d like to raise is on the actors who can set the
tone on redefining the security for the two subjects namely, the women and the third-world countries. In
terms of women being marginalized, the idea of how women should act was constructed on an
individual level—criticisms of women were brought about by perceptions created by individuals
themselves (especially those with a bigger advantage, which at most times were men), and when these
individuals educate themselves on how women should be treated not in accordance with the mindset of
others, then it could likely reduce the insecurity women are experiencing even up to this day. In contrast
to third-world countries wherein the key actors on establishing a more secure system in which
underdeveloped countries could thrive, mainly lie within their governments and their members
(intrastate factors). Third-world countries can only redefine security with ample social and governmental
reform initiated by key actors as the needs of the country to go from an underdeveloped to a developing
country are tended to and controlled by the higher power within the state that is the government.
Simply put, the feminist perspective can be improved by certain individuals and humanitarian actors
while the third-world perspective revolves more around the political system and key decision-makers.

These two perspectives are important and useful in my life as a woman myself, and a citizen in a
third-world country as both perspectives concern my whole being. I believe that being able to
understand how and why insecurity exists for both women and third-world countries enlightens me on
how to properly see the world as a woman and a member of society. Having experienced some of the
things that fit in the definition of social subjugation somehow gave me knowledge on how to respond
and analyze situations to keep my dignity intact, especially since I am a female student studying
international relations, a male-dominated field. Furthermore, these perspectives help me broaden my
understanding of security in the sense that it challenges my pre-existing cognizance and encourages me
to want to contribute in various ways in the deconstruction of these gender roles as a means to help
secure the marginalized and become one of the voices that amplifies the disadvantaged.