DOCSLIB.ORG

Literary Convention As a Feminist Strategy

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Literary Convention As a Feminist Strategy Literary convention as a feminist strategy: The nature and function of the picaresque in selected novels by women authors from Latin America and South Africa, 1970-1990 by Martha Jacomina Wenzel, M.A., Dip. Lib. Sc. Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Philosophiae Doctor in the Faculty of Arts (Department of English Language and Literature) of the Potchefstroomse Universiteit vir Christelike Hoer Onderwys Promoter: Prof. Annette L Combrink, M.A., D.Litt (PU vir CHO) Co-Promoter: Prof. Cathy Maree, M.A. (NUl), Ddo Fil y Letra (U. Madrid) Potchefstroom May 1995 i Acknowledgements: * Supervisors: Prof. Annette Combrink for her faith and unstinting support and Prof. Cathy Maree for her meticulous care and encouragement. * Friends and colleagues : For their forbearance, advice and endless discussions as well as shouldering the workload during my sabbatical. * My husband and daughters: For their love and understanding as well as sacrifices. * PU for CHE : Staff grant for research in the USA * Prof. Lefevere for his invaluable assistance and Prof. Scherzer for her cordial invitation to visit Texas University at Austin as a visiting scholar. * The following libraries: The Ferdinand Postma Library at the University of Potchefstroom. The Library of the University of South Africa in Pretoria. The Benson Library at the University of Texas in Austin. The Library of the Institute of Latin American Studies at the University of London. The Library of the lbero-Amerikanisches Institut Preussischer Kulturbesitz in Berlin. The Library of the Instituto de Cooperaci6n lberoamericana at the Universidad Aut6noma de Madrid. Financial assistance of the c;entre for Science Development is gratefully acknowledged. Opinions expressed in this thesis are those of the writer and should not be imputed to the CSD. ii ABSTRACT/SUMMARY The emergence of the picaresque in some contemporary women's novels from postcolonial countries has focused the attention on the nature and function of the picaresque and the manipulation of modes as a subversive , strategy. As a cultural construct, the novel represents and interacts with the mores and concerns of a society but it is argued that women's issues have been absent from mainstream literature. This occurrence is attributed to the difference between male and female experience which evolved into a personal and domestic sphere for women and a public domain for men. Difference was perceived as a binary opposition and reinforced through culture with the result that women became marginalized - similar to the colonization of minorities. The first chapter attempts to contextualize the situation of women and indicate the problems they have to face. It is argued that a certain common ground exists between women from different cultures and ethnic groups and it is further postulated that by uniting their forces they might effectively oppose a male-dominated society. Furthermore, the postmodernist concept of the dissolution of boundaries is discussed with regard to the close relationship between.fiction and history. As the aggressive feminist stance in society and literature has mostly been rejected by contemporary feminists and many now support a conciliatory agenda, their strategies in combatting domination and inequality have also changed. They have realized (and begun to exploit) the subversive potential of literature and language. In particular, they have become aware of the effectiveness of structural and . formal codes in the reinforcement of meaning. Their writing displays a subjective preoccupation as they evince a predilection for autobiographical writing like the testimonial and the picaresque. The picaresque has a political connotation because of its inherent social critique but it is also situated within the autobiographical paradigm and is therefore an appropriate mode for feminist subversive strategy. This mode is discussed in the second chapter and its most prominent aspects, which also occur in the selected iii texts, are defined: its testimonial character, its element of social critique and the self-conscious or metafictional aspect of the mode are identified. The four novels which have been selected are Eva Luna by Isabel Allende, A sport of nature by Nadine Gordimer, Die swerjjare van Poppie Nongena by Elsa Joubert and Hasta no verte JesUs mfo by Elena Poniatowska. It is very fortunate that although the four novels all manifest picaresque traits, each also emphasizes a particular aspect more than the others. This difference also indicates an interesting progression in the evolution of women's novels from the personal testimonial to the picaresque as a moral corrective with political implications, to a metafictional/self­ consciousness. All the novelists manipulate traditional conventions, whether social or literary. In Chapter 3, I discuss mainly Poniatowska with Joubert in counterpoint because Die swerjjare van Poppie Nongena cannot be classified as picaresque according to the criteria used. Poniatowska creates a testimonial of an authentic washerwoman named Jesusa Palancares in the text. She recounts her life to Poniatowska who acts as facilitator and reconstructs the life of a courageous and independent spirit. The chapter on Gordimer, Chapter 4, features Hillela Capran as a protagonist who seems to epitomize the image of the contemporary pfcara. She inverts the role of the pfcaro and thereby illustrates the double marginalization of women. The fifth chapter depicts Eva Luna, whose independence prompts her not only to reconstruct her past but also to construct her future. She illustrates that history has a double face and women need to assert their right to reinscribe themselves in history. The main theme which emerges from these novels is that of female assertion in various ways and by different means. What has emerged most persuasively from this study is that women writers have resorted to an effective, quietly devastating subversion of the traditional stereotypical roles ascribed to women by asserting their independence and rewriting literature and, by implication, history - and thus finally and irrevocably (re-)inscribing themselves into history. i v OPSOMMING Die verskyning van die pikareske styl in sommige kontemporere romans deur vroue van post-koloniale lande het die Idem geplaas op die karakter en funksie van die pikareske en die manipulasie van styl as 'n subversiewe strategie. As 'n kulturele konstruk, verteenwoordig en reageer die roman op die tradisies en belange van 'n gemeenskap maar dit word uitgewys dat vrouebelange nie in die hoofstroomletterkunde verteenwoordig is nie. Hierdie fenomeen word toegeskryf aan die verskil in ervaring tussen mans en vroue wat ontwikkel het in 'n persoonlik:e en huislik:e terrein vir vroue en 'n publieke gebied vir mans. Verskil is tevore beskou as 'n binere teenstelling en was versterk deur die kultuur wat tot die gevolg gehad het dat vroue gemarginaliseer was - in 'n proses wat gelykstaande aan die kolonisasie van minderhede beskou kan word. Die eerste hoofstuk poog om die situasie van vroue te konstekstualiseer en om bulle probleme aan te dui. Daar word aangevoer dat daar sekere ooreenkomste tussen vroue van verskillende kulture en etniese groepe bestaan en daar word voorgestel dat die vereniging van kragte 'n effektiewe teenvoeter sal wees vir 'n mans-georienteerde samelewing. Voorts word die postmodernistiese konsep van die verwydering van grense bespreek met betrekking tot die noue band tussen fiksie en geskiedenis. Aangesien kontemporere feministe meesal die agressiewe feministiese bouding in die gemeenskap sowel as in die letterkunde verwerp bet, toon baie van bulle nou 'n toegeefliker agenda en bet bulle strategiee om oorheersing en ongelykheid te bestry ook verander. Hulle bet begin om die subversiewe potensiaal van letterkunde en taal te besef (en te verken). Hulle bet veral bewus geword van die effektiwiteit van strukturele en formele kodes in die beklemtoning van betekenis. Hulle werk toon 'n subjektiewe instelling wat duidelik: na vore kom in bulle voorliefde vir autobiografiese skryfwyses soos die "testimonial" en die pik:areske. Die pik:areske het 'n oorwegend politieke betekenis as gevolg van sy inherente gemeenskapskritiek maar dit is ook terselfdertyd deel van die outobiografiese paradigma en is dus ook 'n geskikte styl vir subversiewe v strategiee deur vroue. Hierdie modus word in die tweede hoofstuk bespreek en die mees prominente aspekte wat in die gekose romans voorkom word gedefinieer: die "testimonial" karakter, die element van sosiale kritiek en die seltbewuste of metafiktiewe aspek word geidentifiseer. Die vier romans wat bespreek word is Eva Luna deur Isabel Allende, A sport of nature deur Nadine Gordimer, Die sweljjare van Poppie Nongena deur Elsa Joubert and Basta no verte JesUs mfo deur Elena Poniatowska. Dit is ook voordelig dat alhoewel die vier romans besliste pikareske trekke vertoon, elkeen ook 'n spesifieke aspek van die styl beklemtoon. Hierdie verskille toon ook 'n interessante ontwikkeling in die evolusie van vroueromans aan wat strek van die persoonlike "testimonial", tot die pikareske as morele toonaangewer met politieke implikasies, tot 'n metafiktiewe seltbewustheid. Aldie romans manipuleer tradisionele konvensies, sosiaal en letterkundig. In Hoofstuk 3, bespreek ek hoofsaaklik Poniatowska met Joubert as agtergrond vergelyking want Die sweljjare van Poppie Nongena kan nie volgens die kriteria wat gebruik is as 'n pikareske verhaal kwalifiseer nie. Poniatowska skep 'n "testimonial" van
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Third Wave Feminism's Unhappy Marriage of Poststructuralism and Intersectionality Theory
    Journal of Feminist Scholarship Volume 4 Issue 4 Spring 2013 Article 5 Spring 2013 Third Wave Feminism's Unhappy Marriage of Poststructuralism and Intersectionality Theory Susan Archer Mann University of New Orleans Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/jfs Part of the Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Law and Gender Commons, and the Women's History Commons This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License. Recommended Citation Mann, Susan A.. 2018. "Third Wave Feminism's Unhappy Marriage of Poststructuralism and Intersectionality Theory." Journal of Feminist Scholarship 4 (Spring): 54-73. https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/jfs/vol4/iss4/5 This Viewpoint is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@URI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Feminist Scholarship by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@URI. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Third Wave Feminism's Unhappy Marriage of Poststructuralism and Intersectionality Theory Cover Page Footnote The author wishes to thank Oxford University Press for giving her permission to draw from Chapters 1, 5, 6, 7, and the Conclusion of Doing Feminist Theory: From Modernity to Postmodernity (2012). This viewpoint is available in Journal of Feminist Scholarship: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/jfs/vol4/iss4/5 Mann: Third Wave Feminism's Unhappy Marriage VIEWPOINT Third Wave Feminism’s Unhappy Marriage of Poststructuralism and Intersectionality Theory Susan Archer Mann, University of New Orleans Abstract: This article first traces the history of unhappy marriages of disparate theoretical perspectives in US feminism. In recent decades, US third-wave authors have arranged their own unhappy marriage in that their major publications reflect an attempt to wed poststructuralism with intersectionality theory.
    [Show full text]
  • Feminist Perspectives on Curating
    Feminist perspectives on curating Book or Report Section Published Version Richter, D. (2016) Feminist perspectives on curating. In: Richter, D., Krasny, E. and Perry, L. (eds.) Curating in Feminist Thought. On-Curating, Zurich, pp. 64-76. ISBN 9781532873386 Available at http://centaur.reading.ac.uk/74722/ It is advisable to refer to the publisher’s version if you intend to cite from the work. See Guidance on citing . Published version at: http://www.on-curating.org/issue-29.html#.Wm8P9a5l-Uk Publisher: On-Curating All outputs in CentAUR are protected by Intellectual Property Rights law, including copyright law. Copyright and IPR is retained by the creators or other copyright holders. Terms and conditions for use of this material are defined in the End User Agreement . www.reading.ac.uk/centaur CentAUR Central Archive at the University of Reading Reading’s research outputs online ONN CURATING.org Issue 29 / May 2016 Notes on Curating, freely distributed, non-commercial Curating in Feminist Thought WWithith CContributionsontributions bbyy NNanneanne BBuurmanuurman LLauraaura CastagniniCastagnini SSusanneusanne ClausenClausen LLinaina DzuverovicDzuverovic VVictoriaictoria HorneHorne AAmeliamelia JJonesones EElkelke KKrasnyrasny KKirstenirsten LLloydloyd MMichaelaichaela MMeliánelián GGabrielleabrielle MMoseroser HHeikeeike MMunderunder LLaraara PPerryerry HHelenaelena RReckitteckitt MMauraaura RReillyeilly IIrenerene RevellRevell JJennyenny RichardsRichards DDorotheeorothee RichterRichter HHilaryilary RRobinsonobinson SStellatella RRolligollig JJulianeuliane SaupeSaupe SSigridigrid SSchadechade CCatherineatherine SSpencerpencer Szuper Gallery, I will survive, film still, single-channel video, 7:55 min. Contents 02 82 Editorial It’s Time for Action! Elke Krasny, Lara Perry, Dorothee Richter Heike Munder 05 91 Feminist Subjects versus Feminist Effects: Public Service Announcement: The Curating of Feminist Art On the Viewer’s Rolein Curatorial Production (or is it the Feminist Curating of Art?) Lara Perry Amelia Jones 96 22 Curatorial Materialism.
    [Show full text]
  • Mainstream Feminism
    Feminist movements and ideologies This collection of feminist buttons from a women's museum shows some messages from feminist movements. A variety of movements of feminist ideology have developed over the years. They vary in goals, strategies, and affiliations. They often overlap, and some feminists identify themselves with several branches of feminist thought. Groupings Judith Lorber distinguishes between three broad kinds of feminist discourses: gender reform feminisms, gender resistant feminisms, and gender revolution feminisms. In her typology, gender reform feminisms are rooted in the political philosophy of liberalism with its emphasis on individual rights. Gender resistant feminisms focus on specific behaviors and group dynamics through which women are kept in a subordinate position, even in subcultures which claim to support gender equality. Gender revolution feminisms seek to disrupt the social order through deconstructing its concepts and categories and analyzing the cultural reproduction of inequalities.[1] Movements and ideologies Mainstream feminism … "Mainstream feminism" as a general term identifies feminist ideologies and movements which do not fall into either the socialist or radical feminist camps. The mainstream feminist movement traditionally focused on political and legal reform, and has its roots in first- wave feminism and in the historical liberal feminism of the 19th and early- 20th centuries. In 2017, Angela Davis referred to mainstream feminism as "bourgeois feminism".[2] The term is today often used by essayists[3] and cultural analysts[4] in reference to a movement made palatable to a general audience by celebrity supporters like Taylor Swift.[5] Mainstream feminism is often derisively referred to as "white feminism,"[6] a term implying that mainstream feminists don't fight for intersectionality with race, class, and sexuality.
    [Show full text]
  • Three Waves of Feminism
    01-Krolokke-4666.qxd 6/10/2005 2:21 PM Page 1 1 Three Waves of Feminism From Suffragettes to Grrls e now ask our readers to join us in an exploration of the history of W feminism or, rather, feminisms: How have they evolved in time and space? How have they framed feminist communication scholarship in terms of what we see as a significant interplay between theory and politics? And how have they raised questions of gender, power, and communication? We shall focus our journey on the modern feminist waves from the 19th to the 21st century and underscore continuities as well as disruptions. Our starting point is what most feminist scholars consider the “first wave.” First-wave feminism arose in the context of industrial society and liberal politics but is connected to both the liberal women’s rights movement and early socialist feminism in the late 19th and early 20th century in the United States and Europe. Concerned with access and equal opportunities for women, the first wave continued to influence feminism in both Western and Eastern societies throughout the 20th century. We then move on to the sec- ond wave of feminism, which emerged in the 1960s to 1970s in postwar Western welfare societies, when other “oppressed” groups such as Blacks and homosexuals were being defined and the New Left was on the rise. Second-wave feminism is closely linked to the radical voices of women’s empowerment and differential rights and, during the 1980s to 1990s, also to a crucial differentiation of second-wave feminism itself, initiated by women of color and third-world women.
    [Show full text]
  • Derridean Deconstruction and Feminism
    DERRIDEAN DECONSTRUCTION AND FEMINISM: Exploring Aporias in Feminist Theory and Practice Pam Papadelos Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Discipline of Gender, Work and Social Inquiry Adelaide University December 2006 Contents ABSTRACT..............................................................................................................III DECLARATION .....................................................................................................IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................V INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 1 THESIS STRUCTURE AND OVERVIEW......................................................................... 5 CHAPTER 1: LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS – FEMINISM AND DECONSTRUCTION ............................................................................................... 8 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 8 FEMINIST CRITIQUES OF PHILOSOPHY..................................................................... 10 Is Philosophy Inherently Masculine? ................................................................ 11 The Discipline of Philosophy Does Not Acknowledge Feminist Theories......... 13 The Concept of a Feminist Philosopher is Contradictory Given the Basic Premises of Philosophy.....................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Tucker, Ericka. “Feminist Political Theory,” in Michael Gibbons (Ed.) the Encyclopedia of Political Thought
    Tucker, Ericka. “Feminist Political Theory,” in Michael Gibbons (ed.) The Encyclopedia of Political Thought. New York: Wiley Blackwell, 2011: 1033- 1036 Feminist Political Theory Ericka Tucker Cal Poly Pomona University [email protected] 7269 Feminist Political Theory Born out of the struggles of the feminist movements of the 20th century, feminist political theory is characterized by its commitment to expanding the boundaries of the political. Feminism, as a political movement, works to fight inequality and the social, cultural, economic, and political subordination of women. The goal of feminist politics is to end the domination of women through critiquing and transforming institutions and theories that support women’s subordination. Feminist political theory is a field within both feminist theory and within political theory that takes a feminist approach to traditional questions within political philosophy, contemporary and historical. In this entry, I will explore the nature of feminist political theory by asking two questions: what is feminist about feminist political theory, and what is specifically political about feminist political theory. What is ‘feminist’ about feminist political theory? What surprises many who are unfamiliar with feminist political theory is that it’s not just about women or gender. There are no strict necessary and sufficient conditions for being ‘feminist’, due both to the nature of categories and to the myriad developments, orientations and approaches within feminism. Certainly, understanding and analyzing the political effects of gendered contexts is an important field of feminist political theory; however, feminist theory, and hence feminist political theory, is about more than gender. Feminist political theorists are found throughout the academy Tucker, Ericka.
    [Show full text]
  • Transgender Legal Advocacy: What Do Feminist Legal Theories Have to Offer?
    Transgender Legal Advocacy: What Do Feminist Legal Theories Have to Offer? Demoya R. Gordont INTRODUCTION Transgender persons face severe prejudice and discrimination in a wide variety of areas-from areas of public concern like employment, credit, public accommodations, and law enforcement, to more private areas such as marriage, parenting, healthcare, and inheritance.' The main question this Comment seeks to answer is: given everything that feminist legal theory has done to help make the legal system more amenable to the needs and rights of women, 2 what does feminism have to offer sex- and gender-nonconforming persons seeking redress Copyright © 2009 California Law Review, Inc. California Law Review, Inc. (CLR) is a California nonprofit corporation. CLR and the authors are solely responsible for the content of their publications. 1 J.D., University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, 2009. I would like to thank Professor Kathryn Abrams for her invaluable guidance and advice throughout the development of this comment. I would also like to thank Professor Angela Harris, Professor Anne Tamar-Mattis, and Jacob Richards, and the students of the Social Justice Writing Seminar for their helpful comments. I am especially indebted to Kerry Kumabe, Sarah Rich, Blaire Russell, Ben Sitter, and all the other hardworking editors of the CaliforniaLaw Review who worked on this piece. 1. PAISLEY CURRAH & SHANNON MINTER, POLICY INST. OF THE NAT'L GAY AND LESBIAN TASK FORCE & NAT'L CTR. FOR LESBIAN RIGHTS, TRANSGENDER EQUALITY: A HANDBOOK FOR ACTIVISTS AND POLICYMAKERS 9-12 (2000), availableat http://thetaskforce.org/downloads/ reports/reports/TransgenderEquality.pdf (describing discrimination against transgender persons in a range of areas including education, housing, employment, healthcare, public accommodations, marriage, and immigration).
    [Show full text]
  • Emancipation of Muslim Female Migrants
    Emancipation of Muslim female Migrants An analysis of the personal emancipation views of Arabic speaking, young Muslim female migrants and the consistency with the Dutch emancipation policies Master Thesis Public Administration Manal Chakor s0164364 Graduation Committe: Ms. Prof. Dr. S. Saharso Mr. Dr. M.R.R. Ossewaarde 0 ‘If you educate a women, you educate a family’ Foreword Yes, if you educate a women, you educate a family. And if you educate a family, you change the future. This was a quote from queen Rania from Jordan. And yes, she is true. Women have not only suffered oppression, deprivation and persecution throughout history, women are also the ones from whom society is born. Literally. Great leaders had greater women standing behind them, supporting them in their ambitions for greater things. That’s a woman’s strength I think. She can inspire for greatness, but she herself can also be great. For you lies my research that I have carried out in order to graduate for my Master study Public Administration. The subject is one that is close to my heart. As a female, as a Muslim, as a migrant child and even as a young feminist I first found inspiration in my mother, a strong women who brought up five children towards success while she herself never had the chance to pursue her dreams. I cannot but dedicate this graduation to her. Before you continue reading, I have to thank some of the persons who played a great part in this research. First my supervisor, prof. Sawitri Saharso, who was a never ending source of inspiration for me and guided me with so much patience and involvement.
    [Show full text]
  • Political Ideologies an Introduction Sixth Edition SIXTH EDITION POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES an Introduction ANDREW HEYWOOD
    Political Ideologies An Introduction sixth edition SIXTH EDITION POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES An Introduction ANDREW HEYWOOD © Andrew Heywood 1992, 1998, 2003, 2007, 2012, 2017 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First edition 1992 Second edition 1998 Third edition 2003 Fourth edition 2007 Fifth edition 2012 Sixth edition 2017 Published by PALGRAVE Palgrave in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of 4 Crinan Street, London, N1 9XW. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978–1–137–60602–0 hardback ISBN 978–1–137–60601–3 paperback This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
    [Show full text]
  • Radical Feminism Today Denise Thompson.Pdf
    Radical Feminism Today Denise Thompson eBook covers_pj orange.indd 59 20/2/08 6:28:13 pm Radical Feminism Today Radical Feminism Today Denise Thompson SAGE Publications London • Thousand Oaks • New Delhi © Denise Thompson 2001 First published 2001 Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form, or by any means, only with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers. SAGE Publications Ltd 6 Bonhill Street London EC2A 4PU SAGE Publications Inc 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320 SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd 32, M-Block Market Greater Kailash - I New Delhi 110 048 British Library Cataloguing in Publication data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 0 7619 6340 5 ISBN 0 7619 6341 3 (pbk) Library of Congress Control Number available Typeset by SIVA Math Setters, Chennai, India Printed in Great Britain by The Cromwell Press Ltd, Trowbridge, Wiltshire Contents Introduction 1 Part One Understanding Feminism 5 1 Defining Feminism 5 On definition 5 Defining feminism 6 A feminist standpoint 17 2 Ideology Justifying Domination 22 Truth and domination 29 Meaning and understanding 31 3 Ideology
    [Show full text]
  • Of Katie and Amy and Babe Feminism Linda J
    Cornell Law Review Volume 80 Article 4 Issue 3 March 1995 We Have Nothing to Fear But Gender Stereotypes: Of Katie and Amy and Babe Feminism Linda J. Lacey Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/clr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Linda J. Lacey, We Have Nothing to Fear But Gender Stereotypes: Of Katie and Amy and Babe Feminism , 80 Cornell L. Rev. 612 (1995) Available at: http://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/clr/vol80/iss3/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Scholarship@Cornell Law: A Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Cornell Law Review by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Cornell Law: A Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BOOK REVIEW WE HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR BUT GENDER STEREOTYPES: OF KATIE AND AMY AND "BABE FEMINISM" THE MORNING AFTER: SEX, FEAR, AND FEMINISM ON CAMPUS. By Katie Roiphe. Boston: Little, Brown & Co. 1993. 180 pp. $19.95. LindaJ Laceyt INTRODUGCION (Girls' Chorus) Tell me more, tell me more. Was it love at first sight? (Boys' Chorus) Tell me more, tell me more. Did she put up a fight? (Girls' Chorus) He got friendly, holding my hand. (Boys' Chorus) She got friendly, down in the sand.1 In The Morning After: Sex, Fear, and Feminism on Campus,2 Katie Roiphe claims that feminists have gone too far in their "fascination" with date rape, sexual harassment, and other forms of sexual oppres- sion.3 She argues that feminists are chasing the same stereotypes their mothers "fought so hard to get away from"4 by portraying women as delicate victims and men as sexual predators.
    [Show full text]
  • Feminism - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
    Feminism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Your continued donations keep Wikipedia running! Feminism From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Statue of Emmeline Pankhurst, a famous suffragette, in Victoria Tower Gardens next to the Houses of Parliament, Westminster. Feminism is a diverse collection of social theories, political movements, and moral philosophies, largely motivated by or concerning the experiences of women. Most feminists are especially concerned with social, political, and economic inequality between men and women; some have argued that gendered and sexed identities, such as "man" and "woman," are socially constructed. Feminists differ over the sources of inequality, how to attain equality, and the extent to which gender and sexual identities should be questioned and critiqued. Feminist political activists commonly campaign on issues such as reproductive rights (including the right to safe, legal abortion, access to contraception, and the availability of quality prenatal care), violence within a domestic partnership, maternity leave, equal pay, sexual harassment, street harassment, discrimination, and rape. Many feminists today argue that feminism is a grass-roots movement that seeks to cross boundaries based on social class, race, culture, and religion; is culturally specific and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism (1 of 19)7/22/2006 8:11:02 AM Feminism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia addresses issues relevant to the women of that society (for example female genital cutting in Africa or the glass ceiling in developed economies); and debate the extent to which certain issues, such as rape, incest, and mothering, are universal. Themes explored in feminism include patriarchy, stereotyping, objectification, sexual objectification, and oppression.
    [Show full text]