The most widely accepted description of loyalism is Billy Mitchell’s The Principles of Loyalism. In this seminal document Mitchell traces the development of loyalism to the Ulster Solemn League and Covenant of 1912 and expands upon it to lay out the political philosophy of loyalism in the 20th century and updates it for the 21st century. The Principles are material wellbeing, civil and religious freedom, equal citizenship within the United Kingdom and the use of armed resistance. The Principles were codified by Mitchell in 2001 but were in practice for many years prior and remain the ‘litmus test’ for loyalism.
Feminism is the belief that people are equal regardless of gender identity and the act of creating emancipatory knowledge that will help inform activism to make that equality a reality.
Patriarchy is a system of male supremacy which idealises toxic traits associated with constructed notions of masculinity and denigrates other gender expressions and gendered traits. Gender is therefore used as a mechanism to unevenly distribute power and burdens. This oppressive system is harmful to everyone and prevents us from realizing the type of society envisaged in The Principles of Loyalism and the goals of feminism.
Holding Space as Loyalist Feminists
Women who identify as loyalists are not taking up space in the mainstream feminist movement. In a 2020 survey of the members of a consortium of women’s groups from all over Northern Ireland only 21% identified as ‘PUL’. This is far below the number that could be expected based on the population and will be lower still for loyalist women who represent a minority within the PUL acronym (the PUL acronym is more obscuring than illuminating and is not used by people to identify themselves). The reason for this is the historical context in which 3rd Wave Feminism developed and which 4th Wave Feminism has inherited.
The development of 3rd Wave Feminism coincided broadly with the development of the Troubles. Some feminist groups took what they thought was an ‘anti-imperialist’ stance and supported the republican movement as a result of which ‘few feminists had any links with Loyalist women’. This lead to the feminist movement being associated with republicanism although it should be noted that this was not without Irish critics. Edna Longley for example felt that republicans ‘appropriated the image of woman…hide its aggression behind our skirts’. The republican movement used this association to score impressive propaganda victories such as the visit of Jane Fonda. This served to reinforce the narrative that feminism and republicanism were ideologically linked.
The intensely patriarchal nature of Big House Unionism and Rural Evangelical Loyalism kept feminism off the unionist political agenda but in the interviews conducted by Her Loyal Voice almost all the women regardless of age identified as feminists who were pro-choice, pro Equal Marriage and Equal Citizenship. Loyalist women are feminists but for the reasons outlined above are not generally engaged in the mainstream Northern Irish feminist movement.
We are part of the global feminist movement and by holding space as Loyalist Feminists we reject the notion that feminism is ideologically situated in the republican movement. Loyalist Feminism aims to create an emancipatory knowledge and information base particular to the needs of and informed by the experiences of loyalist women. Our oppression as women and gender and sexual minorities must be addressed within our own cultural context and the cultural context of loyalist women is different from our mainstream feminist counterparts and middle class unionist women.
Loyalist Feminism in Detail: Living Democracy, Equal Citizenship and Security
Living Democracy and Equal Citizenship
Earth Democracy is a type of Living Democracy developed by the Indian physicist and feminist Vandana Shiva. This system shifts power from centralized governments and transnational corporations to local communities thus rebalancing the relationship between citizens and the state. This is the type of democracy demanded by the Principles of Loyalism when Mitchell insists that ‘public services and utilities [should be] controlled by elected representatives and accountable to the public, a safe and healthy environment that enhances individual and community life, and a free education system that provides life-long learning for all citizens’.
Like the Principles of Loyalism Earth Democracy seeks to create a society of active citizens by emphasizing responsibility as well as rights. Earth Democracy does this by reconceptualising citizens as trustees responsible for the wellbeing of non-human life and future generations where ‘those who bear the consequences of decisions and actions are the decision makers’. This is the essence of Equal Citizenship.
The Principles of Loyalism formulates citizenship within a ‘multicultural and multiethnic pluralist society’ where ‘active citizenship is about helping to resolve … differences through dialogue, political accommodation and compromise’. This is similar to Earth Democracy where ‘the maintenance of life in its diversity and integrity is the basis of relationships’ and multiculturalism is embraced as the basis for freedom claiming ‘freedom implies diversity and diversity signifies freedom’.
The Principles of Loyalism make it very clear that ‘material wellbeing …is essential …to develop a just and prosperous society’. We need democratic economic institutions based on the ideals of Living Democracy systems like Earth Democracy to make material wellbeing within planetary limits a reality. Having basic needs met is a prerequisite for active and Equal Citizenship. This is not possible under the current system of neoliberal capitalism whose response to crisis has been to make working class women pay for it. Since 2010 86% of savings to the UK Treasury through tax and benefit changes have come from women. By basing our response to climate change and financial crises on the principles contained in the Principles of Loyalism and Earth Democracy we can ensure that government crisis response does not further marginalise women .
Security
The legacy of the Troubles beats within each of us like a second heart. This collective trauma is transgenerational and impacts even on those of us who did not live through it but who were brought up in communities and families scarred and shaped by it. Modern loyalism has developed away from organised violence since issuing a full and frank acknowledgement of the harm caused by it. We still assert Principle Four (the right to armed resistance) but our armaments are emancipatory feminist knowledge. Our focus is on conflict transformation so that a situation never escalates to violence. This is important to the context of how we understand security as Loyalist Feminists.
Security is the diminution of all forms of violence, this is the true meaning of peace. Unfortunately, more than 20 years after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement Northern Ireland remains a violent society with particular impacts for loyalist women. Paramilitary violence has diminished but structural violence and violence against women and girls remains pervasive. Loyalist women must contend with the intersecting burdens of cultural violence, anti-loyalist hatred, classism, inequality of outcome in education, poverty, patriarchy and many more burdens that are amplified by each other. As Loyalist Feminists we believe that Northern Ireland is not at peace until security has been achieved.
Vandana Shiva explains that the only way to prevent violence and create peace, justice and sustainability is to rebuild the multiple securities which interact to create a livable society, the kind of society envisaged in the Principles of Loyalism. These are Ecological, Economic, Political and Cultural Security. Loyalist women interviewed and surveyed by Her Loyal Voice want a robust Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland. Such a Bill of Rights should be the vehicle for ensuring these securities.
Sources
The Principles of Loyalism, Billy Mitchell, The Progressive Unionist Party, 2002
The Transformation of Ireland 1900-2000, Diarmaid Ferriter, Profile Books, 2005
Charter of Feminist Principles for African Feminists, The African Feminist Forum, African Women’s Development Fund, 2007
Gender in World Politics, J. Ann Tickner in The Globalization of World Politics, John Baylis et al, Oxford University Press, 2011
Rebuilding true security in an age of insecurity, Vandana Shiva in Gaian Economics: Living Well Within Planetary Limits, Jonathan Dawson et al, Permanent Publications, 2013
Loyal Citizens: The Principles of Loyalism in 2016, Sophie Long, 2016
Earth Democracy, Navdanya International
Women on the Walls: Representations of Women in Political Murals in Northern Ireland, Bill Rolston, University of Ulster, 2017
Response to: Zero Hour Contracts Bill Consultation Issued by: Jemma Dolan MLA, Siobhán Harding, The Women’s Regional Consortium, 2020
Survey of Women’s Regional Consortium Partner Members, Megan McClure Botha, The Women’s Regional Consortium, 2020
Loyalist Women’s Engagement Survey, Her Loyal Voice, 2020
