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Future Studies* and Women's Visions

by Ivana Milojević 

[Entry by Ivana Milojević, 2000, Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women:lobal Women!" I""ue" and #no$ledge, pp%&'()&'*+ 

 

imilojev@usc.edu.au; info@metafuture.org 

Future studies – the systematic study of the preferred, possible and probable versionsof the future – is a relatively ne field. In its modern history it has moved from beingfocused on utopianism to ma!ing empirical predictions. "urrently, futures studies ingovernment and business is dominated by strategic planning, technology impactassessment and ris! analysis. In academia, folloing the social sciences in general,futures studies has ta!en a more critical perspective, focused less on hat the future

ill be li!e, or even on the range of alternative futures, to hat is missing in particularvisions of the future. #he $uest for a more balanced study of the future is being drivenby futurists ho are far less committed to corporatist and scientific interests and farmore sympathetic to multicultural concerns as to ho is li!ely to be e%cluded if a certainfuture comes about. #here is thus a slo but significant shift toard future studies as amanagement tool to control the future to future studies as a frameor! for socialemancipation.

&till, future studies remains largely male dominated in terms of practitioners and interms of the epistemological assumptions that underlie theory, methodology andcontent. 'omen remain e%cluded from both the history and the future of the future. (t

the same time, the evidence of omen)s one*time importance hen it comes tounderstanding and creating the future can be easily found in the realm of old and longmemories, for e%ample, as e%pressed in &lav, +ree!, oman, -ordic, &a%on and Indianmythology. In most archaic traditions, one of the important functions of a goddess asthe deciding men)s fates. In &lav tradition, "udjenice are three omen in charge ofdeciding everyone)s personal destiny. ne of the rare deities, and possibly the onlydeity, specifically in charge of the future as in fact not a male deity but a female deity,-uld , one of the .orn" from the -ordic tradition. 

/ven during the times hen patriarchy as at its pea!, there ere alays individualomen ho challenged prescribed gender relationships and gender roles. 0ut in most

societies, men have been in charge of controlling the public future and omen have hadlittle say about it. 'omen)s encounter ith the future as confined to better care forfuture generations and present households. 

/lise 0oulding, a peace theorist and futurists, e%plains this ambiguity – that is, omensimultaneously being and not being 1in charge1 of the future. (ccording to 0oulding, oneimportant historical role of omen as as conservers of resources and as nurturers tofend off 1the effects of change as much as possible in order to preserve a space of

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tran$uility for those in their care1. (t the same time, 1every oman ith responsibility for a household is a practicing futurist,1 and omen have alays been the 1omb of thefuture in every society1 20oulding, 34567 48. 

#he appearance of the feminist movement as crucial in redefining hat issues are

1important1 and 1global1. #he feminist dictum that the personal is political gave omenlong needed legitimi9ation to bring hat they considered e%tremely important to thediscussion about the creation of the future. #he old and traditional omen)s activitiesdirected toards influencing the future 2for e%ample, through the roles of itches orfates8, hich ere primarily local, personal, family* and community*oriented, gotlegitimi9ation to be brought to the societal level. /ven more important, the legitimi9ationof 1omen)s issues1 has created the possibility for many omen futurists to rite aboutboth local and 2redefined8 global directions for the future. 

Many omen futurists have envisioned radically different future societies and suggestedfeminist alternatives to patriarchy. (s a movement for social change, feminism is

concerned ith offering alternative visions of the future. 'omen futurists concentrateparticularly on the study of the future in order to both redefine the present and articulatean alternative vision.

Women's Visions 

'omen)s visions of the future are usually somehat different from those of men. 'hileboth genders are concerned ith the betterment of human!ind in the future, most mentend to concentrate on 1grand1 historical analyses and issues, concentrating especiallyon realist discussions of emerging political poers as ell as on ne technologies. #he

predominance of poer*oriented forecasting is evidenced by the focus on nation*oriented :ear <===> or :ear <=<=> studies 2strategic in orientation8 and thepredominance of technological forecasting is evident in the images of the future that arecirculated * for e%ample, production of babies in factories and other types of mediationof human relationships through genetic and other ne technologies. #he methodologiesused still rely heavily on 1e%pert1 opinion and on development of poerful mathematics1formulas1 to forecast and develop accurate trend analysis. Most omen futurists do notreject ne technologies, nor do they refuse to ac!noledge the obvious impact oftechnology on the lives of present and future generations. 0ut the focus is often ratheron human relationships and is more inclusive of the perspective of the poerless.

In terms of methodology, trend analysis is not a preferred method of future studies, asmany trends are $uite discouraging for the future of omen or the speed of change ise%tremely slo. 'hile this method is useful in revealing the li!ely future if current trendsdo not change, it offers no alternatives. n the other hand, methods such as visioning,in hich preferred futures are articulated, and bac!casting, in hich the preferablefuture is developed and then the path toard it is  :remembered>, are more relevant foromen, and other similarly disadvantaged members of 2global8 society. 

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?isions of future societies are developed everyhere, but those developed in the 'estare the best !non and most influential. /%amples include the 1in*in orld1 in hichthe escape route from the prison of gender as ell as economism is through the path ofcooperation, community and caring 2a9el enderson 344A8; the 1gentle 2androgynous8society1 20oulding 34BB8; and the 1partnership society 2gylany8> 2/isler, 344A8. In &outh

 (sia, -andini Coshi envisions the future of the orld community 1not in the huge,croded, cumbersome, crime*threatened cities, overridden ith unemployment andinflation1 but in 1lustrous, flourishing, free villages overfloing ith useful goods,professions, intelligence and arts1 2Coshi, 344<, 46D8. Many other omen as ellimagine preferable futures, for e%ample, through feminist fiction and through globalgrassroots movements. #hese preferable futures are usually along the lines ofdecentrali9ed, non*hierarchical, ecologically and economically sustainable societieshere communal life, family life, parenting and education are highly valued, institutionsare human*scaled and diversity is celebrated. 

Futurists also develop scenarios for the future. &cenarios are useful in that they can

empoer individuals and communities, as a range of preferable futures can be chosenand actions developed in order to achieve them. #hey are also important because theyarticulate futures that can help omen develop strategies to try to avoid certain futuresor at least diminish their impact. &cenarios also distance us from the present, creatingalternative futures that contest traditional gender roles. 

&enarios for omen)s futures usually include 238 continued female*male polarity 2in theform of male bac!lash, continued grothEpatriarchy, or status $uo8 2<8 2lesbian8separatism and 268 partnership or a golden age of e$uality 2imagined in the form ofunise% androgyny or in the form of multiple gender diversities8. In the 1continued female*male polarity1 scenario, gender is fi%ed and there is little escape from socially

constructed gender roles. &ocieties either stay the same, ith patriarchy changing onlyform and not substance; or the patriarchy increases, either through slo groth ordramatically in the form of male bac!lash against recent omen)s gains in the society.'omen)s separatism is one response to such futures, as omen form omen onlygroupings. #he 1partnership> scenario imagines societies here there is e$ualcooperation of genders, here omen increasingly adopt virtues traditionally seen asmasculine and vice versa, or here gender becomes even more fluid and essentialistcategories such as 1man1 or 1oman1 abandoned altogether. 

-o matter hich scenario dominates, it is imperative that omen continue to addressthe future in public, private, and epistemological spaces. 

References and Further Reading 

 (burdene, atricia and -aisbitt, Cohn. 344<. Megatrend" for $omen, -e or!7 ?illard0oo!s. 

0oulding /lise. 34BB. /e under"ide of i"tory: 1 vie$ of $omen troug time, 0oulder,"ol.7 'estvie.

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0oulding /lise. 3456.'omen)s visions of the future, in /leonora Masini, ed., i"ion" ofde"irable "ocietie", ergamon,

/isler iane. 345B. /e calice and te blade: 3ur i"tory, our future, &an Francisco7arper"ollins.

/isler iane. 344A. acred plea"ure, &an Francisco7 arper"ollins.

ender and cange% 3454. 4uture" <3238. 

enderson, a9el. 344A..5uilding a $in)$in $orld: 6ife beyond global economic$arfare. &an Francisco7 0erret*Goehler.

Cones, "hristopher. 344A. 'omen of the future7 (lternative scenarios. 4uturi"t 6= 267May*Cune8.

Coshi, -andini. 344<. 'omen can change the future. 4uture" 247 -ovember8

&pecial report on omen)s preferred futures, 4uturi"t . 344B. 267 May*Cune8. 

'omen and the future. 344H. /e Manoa 7ournal of 4ried and 8alf)4ried Idea" , aaiiesearch "enter for Futures &tudies. onolulu7 niversity of aaii. 

Mc"orduc!, amela and amsey, -ancy. 344A. /e future" of $omen: cenario" forte 29"t  century , -e or!7 'arner.

Milojević, Ivana. Feminising futures studies. 3444. In Jiauddin &ardar, ed., Re"cuing all

our future": /e future of future" "tudie". #ic!enham,.G.7 (damantine.

 

K -07 'hile the original te%t ritten by Ivana Milojević used the term L future" studies thisas changed by the editors of the /ncyclopedia to Lfuture studies