Differences

In all of the readings, each author approaches the whole gender and sexual differences in their own way. Hélène Cixous looks into the whole dual opposition thing; she thoroughly analyzes why and how it relates to sexual differences. Whereas, Luce Irigaray uses the whole question of space and time to explain sexual differences. Then Judith Butler does the whole gender and sexuality thing. They are all interested in investigating the whole Phallocentric/Patriarchal ideology. As I stated already each other uses a different method to better understand the difference between masculinity and femininity. Cixous talks about things in terms of “activity/passivity” while Irigaray does it with “space and time”

Cixous writes, “A male privilege, which can be seen in the opposition by which it sustains itself, between activity and passivity. Traditionally, the question of sexual difference is couple with the same opposition: activity/passivity.” Cixous says that women have been characterized as passive throughout history and if they are not passive they are non-existant. Could women be put into the activity category and what does that make them? Cixous supports her little argument with things that Frued and Jones state. Luce Irigaray somewhat discusses the same topic but she does it terms of space and time. Women are space and men are time. Then there is a gap between the two “This space was filled instead with attraction, greed, possession, consummation, disgust, etc…” So these are the things that separate man and women? Is it possible for women to obtain these things?

I think that both authors are trying to find out the differences between men and women. They want to know what a women needs to achieve to become equal to men. In the end the interval may never be crossed.