Social restrictions with a feminist twist

This weeks two PDF readings were entertaining. Looking at them as a feminist critique can easily be done by examining the social situations in each story. Debbieland reminded me more of a grittier more urban version of Mean girls what I found most interesting about the story was the narrators voice. At first the narrator is a group of girls and later on in the story she seemed be a masculine woman, I say this because she describes an affair she has with another girl she keeps her tears in a vial even after they break up. Also the way she speaks about Debbie earlier in the story and the way she speaks about her ex made me think of the cliché "the asshole always gets the girl" this can be said also in the case of Motherf__ker On one hand we have the woman who wants to be socially accepted and wont be because she can never be like the people she attempts to emulate. On the other hand we have women who are deer’s in headlights caught and charmed out of their pants by the Motherf__ker who at the beginning of his story he admits that he does wrong by women but because he’s so charming he gets away with it.

A feminist reviewer would see him as chauvinist and self serving, though he chases The Starlet throughout a greater portion of the story he is doing it solely for his own sport and entertainment. Whereas with Debbieland the narrator in the story considers women indifferent and mistakes a totally different woman for the Debbie she beat up in high school. This left me to wonder based on the two stories can women be broken up into two categories. "Debbies" and "Starlets" This can be seen as categorizing women which separates them as individuals. This is also linked to Helene Cixous outline concerning the balance of feminine/masculine behavior/ and classification. Classifying men and women is as simple as breaking them down into categories according to the information provided.

She cites this as "dual hierarchized oppositions" which mean paired or coupled preconceived notions that later dictate social standing in an environment or society, these notions usually carry over after they have been set into place. I found it interesting that her chart was among the readings because the concept of reading as a feminist tied in with her article The Laugh of Medusa though I did the reading for another class I thought it would help demonstrate the point as well. According to the article only through sexual repression of the female body, can men control them, in the case of literature women must write for other women in order to override this oppression and help dispel the falsified history they have been given by men. She lists the types of oppositions as dual, irreconcilable; or mitigable, dialectical With this in mind instead of doing a chosen piece of literature for this weeks blog I chose to do a film.

Though extremely unconventional I chose to do How High Specifically citing the roles of women in the film. Firstly there is the Patriarchal reading to be considered. Two of the main women in the movie are Jamie (Essence Atkins) and Lauren (Lark Voorhies) both in different social classes but still defined by the men they are linked to or involved with. Looking at the film from a male perspective, Lauren is simply seen as the brainy semi ignored Black girlfriend of Bart Duceter. On the other hand there is Jamie who's the daughter of a Presidential candidate, shes constantly carted around with her own personal security guards. Using a mans point of view we can go back to Cixous' idea women have been categorized and subjected via their bodies in order to keep them oppressed.

Citing the Halloween party going towards the end of the movie Lauren dresses as Marilyn Monroe only to later be told by Bart that she needs to put her coat back on because he can see her butt and its "sticking out" She is being punished because of what physically makes her a person. The Secondary roles of women in the film are either prostitutes, drug addicts or random women who ultimately end up being used as sexualized objects ie: Hella Back and End table Ass who were both hookers and employed by a pimp named Baby Powder.

Though the pimp himself is portrayed in a non serious satirical way he can still be seen as an anti woman force designed to keep women oppressed through selling themselves, also keeping them in a subordinate role. Reading as a man I man see this as the "natural order of things" that women do infact need to be controlled by men. The focus of the film is Jamal and Silas' efforts widen their horizons concerning weed this completely eclipses the issues of women within the film. In connection to Things Fall Apart I connected the lines "The characterization of Ekwefi, Okonkwo's second wife, almost seems insignificant to one reading from a patriarchal standpoint" In the case of the film the mens issues are still at the forefront while from a male view the issues of women have no baring on what is being discussed.

Now from a feminists point of view all the negative aspects of the female characters in this movie can be highlighted. Starting with the idea that Lauren needs Silas to confirm that she has something going for her as far as her research about Ben Franklin and her physical attractiveness goes. Again the dependency of the earlier diagram comes into play because one set of characteristics cannot exist without the other, from a feminist stand point the women here are not only being suppressed but also down played, their sexuality being used against them would only be seen as a tool of male oppression further perpetuating the idea that women are disposable stepping stones that must remain in the dark about themselves in order to function in a male dominated society. The author quotes women as always being "on the side of passivity" Feminists critiques would agree in this case. Women in the movie are referred to as "bitches" only to brush it off later, this would have otherwise been deemed offensive if viewed by a woman. Tying in with the two PDF stories and the reading I can only end on one note. Regardless of gender the clear theme in the movie and they text was the idea that, as long as there are forms of media or literature used to express the conditions of social classes, whether they are being used to convey how people are treated these things will be used as a catalyst to further the behavior.

10/17

Last week we spent discussing feminist literary readings of texts born of or oriented to the patriarchy. This week we'll be moving into more abstract questions of Subjectivity and Gender. For Monday, read the introduction entitled 'Subjectivity and Gender' in Modern Literary Theory and then the excerpt from Helene Cixous 'Sorties' (226-235). You'll notice recognize the attention to '/' from our discussions thus far, but will probably find the text otherwise difficult, so give it time.

In addition read 'Debbieland' by Aimee Bender found to the right. The other Bender story, which has an obscene name and an obscenely named character, is interesting and relates to our readings but I leave it to your discretion to read. If you have problems with foul language, stay away. Sorry, but both pdfs seem to have come out upside down.

Lastly, in completing our work from last week, write a 250-400 word response in which you think about a text of your choice as a feminist critic might read it. What would be the dominant/patriarchal reading of the work? What might we call the subversive? What aspects of the work would a feminist literary critic be drawn to or emphasize?

Womwn and Sexuality

After reading all of the feminist readings, I can say that it seems that the main focus of a feminist critic is most concerned with women and their sexuality. In the reading of Jane Eyre, "Charlotte Bronte's fiction explores the constraints of the dominant ideology as they bear on female sexual and social identity."(171) In Jane Eyre, even though the author uses other ways to describe sex and sexual organs also, such as "strong arm" and "vital", just the same the author discusses sexuality even without really discussing it. It also says that, " For a woman to become a member of the 'master-class' depends on her taking a sexual mastery whereby her submission brings her access to the dominant culture."(171)
Even though woman are humans and supposed to be equal, the only way for them to get ahead in the Victorian time period or even now sometimes also, is succumbing to the domination of a man. This is also something that feminist readings discuss very much; the idea of how we live in a patriarchal society.

Even in a poem by Andrew Marvell To His Coy Mistress it discusses the degration of a woman and he tears her down in an essence even though he is trying to convinve her to lose her virginity to him. The line "time's winged chariot" refers to how if she doesn't do "it" now while she is still young and beautiful and fresh, then she might get too old and dry up. He uses a very cunning way to "flirt" with her, but it seems like he doesn't give a hoot about her or her honor. He wants it at any ocst. He even goes so far to say that if there was time in life, he would woo her properly, but what is the point? This goes to show how men really see women, just as sexual beings, and even woman want to be considered as a sexual being in Jane Eyre, but a woman author is never as graphic or indulgent in the text of this because they don't want to belittle themselves, just as any self respecting woman in this day and age would also want to be considered a sexual being but not "slutty".

The company of wolves

She wants to see her grandmother since it's christmas. It is no girls task to go walk through the wild forest in the middle of a blizzard, but she does it anyway, fighting away her fears with a knife. Her father would have not let her go, neither have a knife, but father's away. She sets out, and she runs into a handsome young hunter who has a compass. Then they make a game of it,

Is it a bet? he asked her. Shall we make a game of it? What will you give me if I get to your grandmother's house before you?
What would you like? she asked disingenuously.
A kiss.
Commonplace of a rustic seduction; she lowered her eyes and blushed.

If I was a feminist critic, I would focus on the facts that lead to discovery of one's charater, boths ones that are compatible to one's gender, and ones that are not. In the beginning, she's portrayed as a little soldier rather than a girl, and if the story ended there without mentioning if the charater is he or she, I would have concluded it's he not she. She is brave enough to make the journey alone in the forest in the blizzard. This is a quality that we wouldn't expect from a woman in the traditional sense. Lastly, even a brave girl with no fear with a knife in her hand can blush at one word said by a man, "a kiss."

Feminist Critics

After reading all of the texts, the details that I believe feminist critics are drawn to/interested in are what role a female plays, how they are referred to, and how they compare to men. In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart And Feminist Criticism Linda Strong-Leek said “Instead of focusing on Okonkwo, as most critics have, this reading is focused on two major female characters, Ekwefi and Ezinma, and one minor figure, Ojiugo. They are mentioned only briefly, if at all, by other critics of the text, and when referred to, are examined only in relation to Okonkwo's actions or motivations.” So even if the female isn’t really the main character feminists are more focused on them. They look for positive qualities about women like “Ekwefi, Okonkwo's second wife being well of knowledge, love, and fierce independence.” As for Ezinma, “Ezinma is the embodiment of all the women in this novel represent: intelligence, vitality, and fortitude.” Ezinma stands out in Achebe’s novel she is a strong character and has a special effect on people such as she calls her mother by her name. It was also stated that if Ezinma was a male she would be king. Feminist like to read about these kinds of things.

In Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress”: A Feminist Reading feminists are looking to see what women are regarded as. They want to know why Marvell “identifies the female body itself as a loathsome symbol of human decay”. In the beginning of the poem it’s all about love and romance. There is even a blazon where the female is being praised. As we get to the end of the poem the women are no longer being praised and glorified. “With witty, erotic conceits, the speaker mocks contemporary notions of virginity and expresses disgust at the female body as a symbolic place of death.” Feminist critics are drawn to texts and details that either display women as strong figures or put women down. At least that is what I believe Feminist critics are most interested in.

Feminist Readings

There are many arguments that show how women where mistreated, and discriminated by men. Although, things changed over the time as result that women started protesting, in order to be heard in the society. After reading these Feminist text, the main considered text that women were interested and drawn to was the discrimination caused by men. Men where considered superior, the dominant sex that considered women inferior and did not gave them an important role in life. Therefore, women could not play important roles in society, they could not get educated, but these things will change over the time.

By reading the Marx-Feminist criticism, and the reading, "Reading as Women: Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart And Feminist Criticism", the main thing that women are interested in the text, is the discrimination of men. Women where not considered to have an important role in life, on the other hand men where the 'superior'. Women where just given the task to work at home, and as the importantance in child reproduction. The quote that best describes this is as read in "Things Fall Apart", "Women are viewed maily as child bearers and help mates for their husbands."(6) Again this quote best describes the discrimination not just of men but society over women. All the injustices that women went thru as in this reading how the husband (Okonko), had more than one wife, which in those times was not considered unfair, the unfairness that one wife had by being considered unable to give birth to healthy children, after many birthsshe was just able to give birth to a female child, whereas it was important to have male children to carry on the fathers last name to keep the name generations to come. Women where just considered to have many childs, and to be an object controled by men, mailnly sexual. In the Marxist-Feminist reading of "Jane Eyre: Her Hand in Marriage", is said at the end "The feminism of the text resides in its 'not-said', its attempt to inscribe women as sexual subjects within this system". This describes the interpretation men saw women as an object and not a caring human being.

Consequently, the main theme that best interest women text in this readings is the discrimination of men towards women, the important way women where seen as reproducing children, and the other unfair way men saw women as sexual objects, whereas women shpuld have had more importance due to the fact that they played important roles in life. Nowadays, things have change for the better, now they are equals, and play important roles in society and life same as me.

silly feminist, respect is for men

The idea that I got from The Marxist-Feminist Collective was that feminist writers want very much not to be considered from the point of view that they are woman, but at the same time need it to be noted that they do have different difficulties and situations then men do. Another topic that comes into focus in the Jane Eyre reading is that of women's sexuality, which is both a widely undiscussed yet often reffered to topic. With such things as the female seductrice a common occurance. But the writer (I'm not quite sure who this is) asks more than to refer to it, but to understand it. WHY is this woman starved for sex, WHY does she need it, and WHY do we treat this any differently from the common knowledge that is a man's sexual urges? The writer blames, in the case of Jane Eyre that is, a lack of family structure in the woman's life. This I do not agree with at all. Would a woman with family be any less likely to have sex than a woman without? Would she enjoy it less? She may find less time for it, what with her family and all, but that doesnt mean she wants it any less. Such beliefs are foolishness, then again that could be said for most of the beliefs mentioned here. (before you go all PEW PEW fight!, please note that i am referring to society's point of view about women, not the feminist point of view, though that is far from perfect as well)

Looking through a Feminist Eye

When looking at a literary text, feminist critics are drawn to women’s social roles in all aspects of society. “The text of Jane Eyre speaks that desire in the interstices of the debate on woman’s social role, between the romance/realism divide, the conflict between Reason and Imagination in her heroine’s consciousness”(Pg.171). In other words the desire in the small spaces or argument over the debate of woman’s social role in romance and realism divide conflict between reason and imagination in the dominant female character’s mind. This is something a feminist critic would be interested in reading and writing. But lets look at this from a male point of view about female’s writing especially in Romanticism where feminist critics may feel of importance. On page 170 it says “Romanticism becomes a problem for women writers because of its assumptions about the nature of femininity”. They this because of women’s “tidal rhythms of menstruation, pregnancy, victims instinct and intuition, and women’s mysterious pulsations of the natural world”. Feminist must be outraged from this remark because that is not what feminist author’s write about. They write stories with heroins trying to be equal with the dominant class in society. But lets look at what feminist critics are drawn to in all text. How do males use females in texts, well on page 174 in literary theory is says “the feminism of the text (jane eyre) resides in its ‘not said’, its attempt to inscribe women as sexual subjects within the systems”. When they say “not said”, it means that it is not directly said that woman are sexual subjects within the system. But reading the text you get that message, which is a problem for feminist critics when looking for equality with the dominant class (males). It goes for the same thing with music video’s today looking at woman as sexual objects, which is part of the reason why it is hard for women to be treated equal in society, because of the way males depicts them.

How feminist critics analyze

In any story, a feminist reader will primarily focus on the adventures and misadventures of the prominent female characters, whether they are the central figures of the tale or not. To be more specific, the reader will search for ways to identify with the woman in the narrative, looking at and understanding her and what she has to put up with and come up against.

The African-based novel “Things Fall Apart” was critiqued through feminist eyes, in contrast to the mostly male point of view with which it had been analyzed before. The story, supposed to be an outcry against the colonizing of the continent, depicts the life of a Native African man. The man was married twice, a daughter born from the second marriage. Most critics would focus on Okonkwo, the man himself, and whatever happened to him in that tale, and pay little or no attention to the plight of his wives and daughter. But what these reviewers, whose views have been forged by a patriarch society, left unexplored, the feminist commentators will shed light to. They (the feminists) point out, for instance, the poor treatment of Ojiugo and Ekwefi, the two wives, not only from their husband (“Moreover, most readings of the novel do not address the brutal beating Ekwefi receives at the hands of Okonkwo”) but from the whole male-dominated society to which she is a part of, a society that trivializes the beatings they regularly receive from him as unimportant unless they deter from its own agenda (“Furthermore, there is no regard from the elders about Ojiugo’s condition; to the contrary, one elder boldly asserts that she is at fault, and thus, the beating itself is not the point of contention.”).

Just as we saw the Marxist reviewers doing before, the feminists use points they find in stories such as these to expose a negative aspect of society and to further their goal, namely the equality among genders.

10/16

From reading the Modern Literary theory critics address the image and role of woman in the dominant society. In the Feminist reading of Andrew Marvells poem \it seems that feminist critics are interested in sexuality and how it is either portrayed or repressed in the text. There is an in depth examination of how the female body and female sexuality is described. The critics use a feminist lens to analyze writings outside of the typical patriarchal framework and offer a different interpretation of the text.
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre was an expression of female sexuality that was not expressed in early Victorian literature, in the Marxist feminine collective it is described as “opening a locked room of a tabooed subject”. Female sexuality and her role in society as a house bred mother and wife seemed to be the norm for literature of the day. There is a focus between the female and her relation to man. Bronte puts Jane outside the normal social constructs of the time; she has neither a family to come from nor necessarily a family to belong to. The women collective goes on to note that the perception of a woman’s self reliance would not be seen the same as if it were man, implying that it is hard for critics to see Jane outside of the typical position of women in relation to man.
“For a woman to become a member of the master class depends on her taking a sexual master whereby her submission brings her access to the dominant culture”
For a woman to be seen in an upper class or level it is only through her marriage to a man who belongs to an upper class, the dominated must marry the dominator to gain any form of power.
The feminist critique to Andrew Marvell’s poem focused upon the devaluation of the woman’s body which is a reflection of society’s view of the female image. Again the relation between man and woman is questioned. The critics note on the dominance relation between the speaker and his mistress through the analysis of the line “he will solicit her love even if she does refuse”. The image as woman as a possession of man has been apparent society so it is not a surprise that is reflected in literature, it was understood that the female being was not autonomous and could not act on her.
A woman’s reading of Chinua Achebe’s Things fall apart points out the patriarchal critique of a text and its focus upon the male character and the acknowledgement of the female character in relation to the male. The critics would like to point out that viewing this text through a feminine lens brings out attributes of the female characters which are commonly overlooked. This is apparent through the analysis of Ekwefi who they found to be knowledgeable, lovely, and fierce independence. The fact also overlooked, according to the critics, is the integral role these women play in the survival of the tribe, through reproductive means.

How A Feminist Would Criticize "To His Coy Mistress"

Despite the fact that it's only a poem, there are a number of things that a feminist could criticize in Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress". The title alone is one of them. "To His Coy Mistress" could be seen in a few different ways. For one, it could imply that the speaker is writing a letter of some sort to another man's "coy mistress". The term "coy mistress" in and of it self could also mean that the mistress is strong flirt, as the term "coy" means playful. Given the text of the poem, the speaker apparently loving the woman for her beauty, an assumption of her flirtatiousness is a potentially accurate assumption to make. The feminist could see that assumption and think that the woman the speaker is addressing is a promiscuous woman, as a mistress is a woman usually associated with a man who is cheating on his wife, another thing that the feminist would criticize.

A feminist, while the speaker refers to this woman as someone absolutely beautiful through the first stanza, may disapprove of the speaker's turn in the second stanza as he says "Time's winged chariot hurrying near/And yonder all before us lie/Deserts of vast eternity/Thy beauty shall no more be found/.../And your quaint honour turn to dust,/And into ashes all my lust.". He is basically saying that as the years go on, her beauty will fade, as will his desire for her. The feminist would look at that and say that the man is shallow and petty for only caring about her outer beauty and neglecting her inner beauty.

Given that this poem was written approximately four hundred years ago (upon looking at his Wikipedia page, I had discovered that he lived in the 17th Century) and that feminism wasn't a concept that emerged until the 19th Century, this poem might be an easy criticism for a feminist looking upon it four hundred years after it was written. Regardless, there are still the major elements of the poem that the feminist would shun, despite the time period "To His Coy Mistress" came from.

Feminist Reading……. “To his Coy Mistress”

Most feminist have a tendency to dwell heavily on negative aspects. More importantly, they dwell and search for derogatory statements that degrade women. Perhaps, this notion comforts them in a sense that they can argue with the opposite sex and have their voice be heard. “To his Coy mistress” by Andrew Marvell can be utilized to portray this aspect.

The title of the poem can be viewed quite controversially. According to thefreedictionary.com coyness is defined as 1. Tending to avoid people and social situations; reserved. 2. Affectedly and usually flirtatiously shy or modest. 3. Annoyingly unwilling to make a commitment. Hence, how could a “Mistress” be modest and shy? According to the same website, the term mistress can be defined as a woman in a position of authority, control, or ownership, as the head of a household. A woman that is instilled with authority posses dominant and social traits.

The first two lines of the poem state “Had we but world enough, and time, this coyness, lady, were no crime.” The notion that I think Marvell is striving to get across here is that if we had enough time in this world, coyness would eventually not be considered a crime. A feminist might raise a few questions about this statement such as, how is coyness a crime; wouldn’t coyness be the preferred trait by men? Further, how is it that we lack time for women and have enough time for revolutions, evolution, and other historical aspects?

Additionally what does Marvell mean when he states “I would love you ten years before the flood; and you should, if you please, refuse till the conversion of the Jews”? A feminist might concentrate on the fact that he mentioned that he would love her ten years before the flood. Why can’t he love her at the present moment? The narrator continues by saying that “My vegetable love should grow”. A feminist might become attentive to the term “vegetable”. What does this term mean and most importantly what does it imply? Does vegetable refer to the lack of cognition? Perhaps, society neglects women emotionally and views them as physical objects. Further, do men genuinely love women or do they view them as baby producing machines? These questions are answered through when the narrator states that “two hundred years to adore each breast, but thirty thousand to the rest; an age at lead to every part, and the last stage should show your heart”. This statement demonstrates that men (society) view women as physical objects and at the very end of their life, “the last stage”, do they notice the inner person that is within each woman. Feminist, through these negative aspects strive to illustrate that our society and literary works are possessed with anti-feminist concepts and through proper knowledge and actions, this matter can be changed.

Feminist Readings........

While looking at the feminist literary text I found that they were drawn to the social roles of a man vs woman. The weighted value of power between woman and man as well as woman being treated as sexual objects through out the feminist readings.

In the readings of Jane Eyre: Her hand in marriage was about the roles of arranged marriage and how it is a form of upward mobility for some. Although a blessing for some can be an loss for others in ways of emotional and spiritual despaired. I think of it as creating a fake home and once this is done how real is your relationship with the other parties involved.

"The instability of kinship relations is imaged in the patterns of gain and loss, acceptance and denial, enacted at each 'home'-most dramatically in the lost of a lawful wedded husband, spiritually and sexually akin but socially tabooed".


In the feminist readings of Things Fall Apart it showed that the males of the tribes dictated what a real woman was by if she could give him as many boys as possible. They believed that the boys where to follow after their dads because the men symbolized power. The woman where thought to be important but just for the use of baby makers.

While male readings indicate that "the man is the point of reference in this society" Palmer (1983) stresses that as child bearers, women are pivotal to the literal survival of community and societal norms.

In both of these readings the women are only there because of some sort of agreement that the families shared. The woman a portrayed as sexual beings only good for one thing but as we all know this is not true.

Ascension through submission

There are many things that feminists seem to be sensitive to when analyzing texts. Please understand when I say “sensitive” I mean it in the sense of an acute awareness and not as some sophomoric generalization. The impression I get from the feminist readings so far is they are largely concerned with the societal structures that perpetuate this state of being, that state of being identified as the subjugation of women, and the societal structure being the model of the patriarchal society.

One such identification and distinction exercise occurs in the Jane Eyre reading in our text: “For a woman to become a member of the ‘master-class’ depends on her taking a sexual master whereby her submission brings her access to the dominant culture.” This quote exemplifies the kind of dominance that patriarchal societies thrive on and consequently it is the type of relationship that feminism descends on.

This “condition” of upward mobility or the illusion of upward mobility awarded to the women whom agree to this “condition” is present in literature as it is present in day-to-day life. To use a cliché “ art imitates life”.

The feminist sensitivity would identify several unjust impositions contained within the quote. First it insists upon a submission to a male in order to reach her goal. (Assuming her goal is upward mobility). This submission serves to devaluate women as it requires that first a woman must admit her inferiority to a man before she is allowed to ascend. Also the quote specifically uses the title “sexual master”. This term clearly supports the objectification of women as it implies that sex or in the best case child birth is the only thing of value a woman has to contribute to a males life or the male’s society in general.