Friday, February 22, 2008

Feminist Criticism

Mandy Belanger facilitating. Comment Here
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2 comments:

Unknown said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE0iPY7XGBo

FEMINIST CRITICISM
key points:
victim feminism- employs an exaggerated type of female innocence and powerlessness
power feminism- encourages women to "identify with one another through the shared pleasures and strengths of femaleness"
Wolfe's definition of a feminist- "any woman who believs in women's rights to self-definition and self-respect"
"postfeminist" era- personal, not political goals have triumphed
hedonistic feminist- one who tries to "shift discussion from the failures of men to the failures of feminism, from the paradigm of sexual abuse to the paradigm of sexual pleasure"
3 Feminist Assumptions:
1. Rhetorical Acts are androcentric (male-dominated)
2. Rhetorical Texts are androcentric
- universalizing mode: a critic examines a text for its general descriptions of the human condition and then asks how "general" those descriptions really are.
3. Traditional Criticism is androcentric
- particularizing mode: tries to find an authentic female voice by calling into question the established, universal norms for literary and rhetorical excellence.

intellectual conventions: endorse a. abstractions such as "duty" and "honor" rather than people's lived experiences and b. dichotomies such as male (good)/female (bad)
mythic conventions: marginalized women
Women in the workforce/ projected roles of women: Gilbert points to how in professional roles, males typically tend to be the doctors telling females about their breast cancer, which is often the case. It makes me think of one of my favorite series, "Sex and the City," when Samantha goes to a male doctor to get her breasts examined because she has breast cancer. She eventually informs him that she will be seeking a female doctor because men don't know what it's like to appreciate breasts. I think this is often the case for women when they are going through difficult periods. Since women are dubbed "nurtures," then of course other women would feel more comfortable as a female doctor's patient.
"The Policy Critique"
Pankhurst says "the discourse of the dominant culture as it stands in order to force revolutionary change within that culture," which points to the main purpose of the policy critique- power, discrimination, discourse, and relationship. All women in politcs seem to bring their own personal style. Take Nancy Pelosi, during her first day in session, she brought her grandson up to the podeum. I can't recall any of the previous speaker's of the house (all men) ever bringing a family member up with him.
"The Narrative Critique"
Focuses on women as readers, women as fiction writers, and how narrative in general interacts with the female conciousness.
Millet belives that narratives will always represent the structures of the masculine culture. Well I would disagree with Millet, simply because today female writers are much more prevalent in society. I find that more classes are being offered to discuss women in the arts, especially in literature. Woolf's manifesto actually illustrates my point.
"The Representational Critique"
Examines portrayals of women in television and cinema with an eye to determining how social policies are advanced or retarded by these portrayals. This section makes me think of another series, "The Office," and the episode of Diversity Day. I know it deals primarily with race, but they do point to the roles of women. Also, this episode illustrated the points Gilbert tried to get across, but in a broader spectrum of race.
"The Performative Critique"
gender can only be performed-Judith Butler. Gender is not a static thing, but it is a fluid process open to change. Gilbert poses 4 female comedic postures 1. The Kid, 2. The Bawd, 3. The Bitch, and 4. The Reporter.
"Corporeal Critique"
Feminists critics writing from this last perspective are considerably more deterministic than the performative critics. Feminists are known as "Essentialists" in this section. These feminists examine how the human body becomes implicated in the messages we share with one another. This section definitely makes me think of the question of what is the normal size for women. I don't really agree with this section because if you take a poll every answer will be different. Some women are enthralled with the idea of looking anorexic, while others feel that it is far better to appear healthy. So, how can these corporeal feminists argue that gender is thought to be a fixed and enduring matter?

February 28, 2008 at 7:45 AM
T said...

I agree that it is difficult to side with these corporeal feminists concerning their argument that gender is thought to be a fixed and enduring matter. The subject of the appearance of a woman's body, in my opinion, would be at the top of my list for an entity that holds the most differences of opinion among females. I agree with your assessment that if one was to take a poll there would be a variance of beliefs, even if a survey was given in our very own class (a population much smaller than a poll's participants), the results would most definitely be different. The female body is a gigantic object for thought and interpretation that no doubt can it be looked upon as a fixed and enduring matter.

March 6, 2008 at 12:35 AM

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