'I'm Not a Woman Writer, but ...' : Gender Matters in New Zealand Women's Short Fiction 1975-1995
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Copyright is owned by the Author of the thesis. Permission is given for a copy to be downloaded by an individual for the purpose of research and private study only. The thesis may not be reproduced elsewhere without the permission of the Author. 'I'M NOT A WOMAN WRITER, BUT ...' : GENDER MATTERS IN NEW ZEALAND WOMEN'S SHORT FICTION 1975-1995 A THESIS PRESENTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ENGLISH AT MASSEY UNIVERSITY PALMERSTON NORTH NEW ZEALAND lANE NICOLE LE MARQUAND 2006 Preliminaries 11 Abstract From the late 1970s, New Zealand women short story writers increasingly worked their way into the literary mainstream. In the wake of the early, feminist motivated years of the decade their gender, which had previously been the root of their marginalizedposition, began to workfo r them. However, rather than embracing womanhood, this growth in gender recognition led to many writers rejecting overt identification of their sex. To be a labeled a woman writer was considered patronising, a mark of inferiority. These women wanted to be known as writers only, some even expressing a hope for literature to reach a point of androgyny. Their work, however, did not convey an androgynous perspective. Just as the fact of their gender could not be avoided, so the influence their sex had on their creativity cannot be denied. Gender does matter and New Zealand women's short fiction published in the 1975-1995 period illustrates its significance. From the early trend for adopting fiction as a site for social commentary and political treatise against patriarchy's one-dimensional image of woman, these stories show a gradually increasing awareness of fictional possibilities, allowing for celebration of the multiplicity of female experience and capturing a process of redefinition rather than rejection of 'women's work'. Though in the later 1990s it may no longer have been politically 'necessary' to promote women's work on the grounds of gender, on a personal level the 'difference of view' of the woman writer remained both visible and vital. An increasing sense of woman-ta-woman communication based on shared experience emerges: women are writing as women, about women, fo r women. Preliminaries iii Acknowledgements This thesis could not be considered complete without my expression of immense gratitude to the many individuals whose years of assistance and support made it all possible: My supervisor, Dr William Broughton, whose vast knowledge was an ongoing source of inspiration, who maintained faith in me and in my work even through months of doubts and blank pages, and whose infinite measures of patience enabled this seemingly endless project to finally reach a conclusion. My co-supervisor, Dr Mary Paul, who offered a fresh, insightful perspective and kept the challenge of the thesis alive. Mark, for sharing the thesis journey and all its ups and downs. My brothers, Sean and lames, whose loyalty and silent support did not go unnoticed, and Seth, my little ray of sunshine. Melanie and Michael, whose special friendship lifted my spirits and provided the perfect opportunity for temporary escapes southward. My mother, Sue, who could always be counted on for understanding and encouragement when it was needed the most. And Christopher, for his motivation and inspiration on the home-straight. Sincere thanks must also be noted for the scholarship assistance granted me by Massey University for the research and writing of this thesis. Preliminaries IV Table of Contents Abstract ii. Acknowledgements 111. Table of Contents IV. Introduction Questioning the Influence of Gender: l. Does it Matter? Chapter One Domesticity and Beyond: First Steps 14. Towards Redefinition in the Late 1970s Chapter Two Celebration or Marginalization?: The 30. Self-Sufficiency of the Early 1980s Chapter Three Discarding the 'Passive Victim': Active 66. Female Characters of the Late 1980s Chapter Four 'New' versus 'Old': Thematic Highs and Lows 113. And Technical Debates of the late 1980s Chapter Five Held Back in Time: Fiction as Social 159. Reflection Continues into the 1990s Chapter Six Women Alone: The Freedom to 187. Embrace Unlimited Possibilities Chapter Seven Continuities and Changes: The Shifting 233. Tide of a New Wave Chapter Eight Political Motivation and Misrepresentation: 276. Women's Anthologies in the 1990s Conclusion The Gifted Female Voice: Women to Women 322. Works Cited 331. Introduction Questioning the Influence of Gender: Does it Matter? You hear it all the time. 'I'm not a feminist, but .. .' and then they go on to tell you how they support all the things feminism and being a feminist is all about.1 In the early years of the women's movement in New Zealand being a feminist was a clear-cut expression of a woman's unwillingness to accept the status quo of male dominance. As Tom Hyde suggests, in his 1996 Metro article "I'm not a feminist, but .. " "once the agenda was simple. All women were sisters in the war against men" (46). In the fight for liberation women were strongly united by their common cause and their shared belief that they were all victims of male oppression "both directly, by way of physical abuse, and indirectly, by prejudicial old-boy networks, the patriarchy, the phallocracy" (Hyde 46). However, the politics of separatism actually fractured this united front of women from the very beginning. As Sandra Coney asserts in "Why the Women's Movement Ran out of Steam", what was perceived as a community of women, a united sisterhood, was in fact "riddled with factions, 'ingroups' and 'outgroups' and hierarchies" (59). The absolute anti-male stance taken by the most radical of feminists divided them from many of their 'sisters'. Creating a life separate from men was seen as morally superior, but for many this was simply unattainable and, in fact, undesirable: It was seen as a purer way of life, a way of 'living your politics' that was not available to women like me - mothers of sons who loved men ...those of us who fucked men, and worse still enjoyed it, were seen as selling out ... (Coney, "Why the Women's" 71) 1 Alex Woodley ofBroadsheet as quoted in Tom Hyde's Metro article "I'm not a feminist, but ..." , June 199643-53. This observation and the analogy drawn with the ambivalence of NZ women short story writers towards the label of 'women writer' lies at the heart of this thesis, hence it's adaptation as a suitable title. Introduction 2 Not only did such radical, separatist beliefs divide those whom feminism was supposed to unite, they also contributed to the stereotypical image of feminists as "hairy-legged, bra-burning lesbians" (Marno "Mothering the New Feminism" 8). Women's reluctance to be associated with feminism in more recent years undoubtedly grew from the persistence of such stereotypical views. As Hyde wrote in the mid 1990s, "today it's as if only die-hards describe themselves as 'feminist'. Feminism suggests radical activism and few women today see themselves in that light" (49). However, for many women rejecting the label of 'feminist' did not mean rejecting their belief in the importance of women's issues and herein exists the contradiction which lies at the heart of this thesis. While the politics of separatism may no longer have been relevant in the 1990s this did not indicate an end to feminism. And nor did it indicate an end to the important idea of there being a significant category of experience and expression peculiar to women writers and women's writing. The 'women's movement' and the rhetoric of 'sisterhood' may have been passe but the basic principles upon which they were founded remained intact: ...as we move into the '90s there is no 'feminist movement' as such, but it is easy to see, when one goes looking, that while the word is now rarely used in every-day parlance, feminist principles are alive and as well as can be expected. (Loates 32) Women no longer wanted to be defined by traditional notions of feminism yet their feminist consciousness remained strong, highlighting the discrepancy between feminism as it was publicly perceived - in a way coloured by "les-sep-fems" - and feminism as it was personally accepted as a system of beliefs (Loates 32). In this thesis I argue fo r the category of women writers. This is in spite of the fact that the changing fashion in feminism has led some New Zealand women writers to resist being identified in terms of gender, or seeing this identification as a temporary one. In June 1979 Landfa ll dedicated its one hundred and thirtieth issue to women Introduction 3 writers. Various contributors of both sexes presented a common case for the recognition and celebration of female fiction and throughout they suggested that women writers were doing something unique which set them apart from their male contemporaries. Opinions on the value of this differencevaried but from a female perspective the case for writing by women was particularly strong, as contributions to a 'women on women' symposium revealed. In response to questions on women's writing in New Zealand Anne Else, then editor at LongmanPaul , was especially passionate about the significance of gender in the relationship between reader and writer: Today I care about what women writers have to say because I am a woman. There is no more point in telling me that the sex of writers is immaterial. .. Anywoman writing in English ...about what it means to be a female in a male dominated world, has something to say to me. ("Women on Women" 101) However, while Else argued that a great need existed for such books which spoke "primarily to women" (102) her case was fraught with contradictions.