Miss Shakespeare

Why is there no female Shakespeare?

• The Woman Writer and the Proper Lady
• Women writers --> inappropriate
• Women who did write were seen as whores who simply wanted to be apart of a profession--a world--that belonged solely to men
• Is it important to write like a feminist, according to Woolf?
  
• Men are writing "like men" because of the women's movement The normal is not there until the "abnormal." There is no white without black. There is no straight without gay. There is no man without woman (remember the one-sex model?)and being self-conscious about their maleness (this category, this identity) produces poor writing
• One must be free of anger (feminist anger?) in order to create good writing; anyone who incorporates gender pride is going to lose their writing in defense of themselves
  

Cyberspace Rape?

While technical details and anatomical specifications could certainly prove me wrong, I cannot help but to insist that Mr. Bungle did indeed commit rape. One defintion classifies rape as “unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against the will usually of a female or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent.” Bungle’s actions indisputably classify as “unlawful sexual activity.” He described, in sordid detail, the sexual performances he demanded of others. Furthermore, as evidenced by the victims’ outraged and hurt response, the act was committed completely against the will of fellow lambdaMOO users. So while I most certainly think that Bungle is a rapist, there are probably many others who cannot see past the caveat of non-corporeality. If there is no bodily contact—no physical presence—how can rape actually occur? How does this cyberspacial assault disrupt notions of a traumatic and violent rape? Well, I was drawn to Dibbell’s suggestion that perhaps sex deals not so much primarily with the physical body, but rather with its “psychic double, the bodylike self-representation we carry around in our heads” (203). One could argue that gender and sexuality (and the consequent identities) are subject to inevitable social construction. That is, one’s performance (via body) of their gender/sexuality is heavily persuaded and directed by social framework. It is the psychic body—the theoretical self—that precedes any bodily expression/form. Therefore, for one to subject another to any sort of psychologically damaging sexual activity is, perhaps, the most fundamental act of rape.

Mary Wollstonecraft

A Vindication of the Rights of Men

• Response to Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France (Nov. 1789)
• Published in December, 1789
• "Men" : a number of classes; all human beings

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

• Published in 1792
• "Woman" : suggests a class of persons who have treated the same?
• Society systematically, through education, trains woman to be not virtuous (immoral), not rational, not masculine
• Wollstonecraft is an advocate of "meritocracy"
• Hierarchy is injurious to morality
• Soldiers --> women

"The great misfortune is this, that they both acquire manners befor emorals, and a knowledge of life before they have, from refelction, any acquaintance with the grand ideal outline of human nature. The consequence is natural; satisfied with common nature, they become a prey to prejudices, and taking all their opinions on credit, they blindly submit to authority" (Chapter 2, Paragraph 20).

• Feminine wiles?

"Women, deluded by these sentiments, sometimes boast of their weakness, cunningly obtaining power by play on the weakness of men; and they may well glory in their illicit sway...but virtue is sacrificed to temporary gratifications, and the respectability of life to the triumph of an hour" (Chapter 3, Paragraph 7).

Mary Wollstonecraft's distinct aversion to the institution of marriage is, while strikingly unusual, in perfect harmony with the sentiments expressed by her feminist works. She recognizes how society in structured by and for men, and because of this, the marriage system cannot possibly be any different. It is at once heartbreaking and inspiring that Wollstonecraft lived by her own virtue, her own word.

Pretty Woman: Beauty, Money, and Prostitutes

Recipe for Success?

1 man
1 woman
Natural good looks
Billions of dollars

Combine man and money. Mix woman and looks. Allow the new products to cohabitate and voila! You've got yourself a fresh, steaming batch of The Perfect Life! If only this weren't true, or rather, portrayed by the media as truth. However, there is, undeniably, an increasing amount of social commentary on the presure for women to adhere to a stereotypical images of beauty. Celebrities and even marketing campaigns are speaking out about the sexualized images of airbrushed beauties. There seems to be slow and steady movement away from glorfifying the representations of women who do not accurately reflect true and natural femininity. There is, put simply, some sense of awareness. But what about the men? Who is looking at and after the men? Just as a woman is expected to be classicly beautiful, so are men expected to reap the plumpest of paychecks. And there seems to be nothing fighting this image. Have we ever seen a man, clad in a K-Mart tee shirt and a pair of thrift jeans, on the television with, smile entact, saying, "It's okay to be ME!" Not exactly. Are there images of men pulling up outside a swanky bar in a 1998 Ford Contour only to escort a beautiful woman to passenger seat? Hardly.

So while I--as a woman-am constantly and earnestly aware of the unrealistic standards set for my fellow ladies, there seems to be another cause waiting to be noticed. To assume that it is only women who suffer under the pressures of societal constructs would be so, so...1950's!

Cinderella, Cinderella

Disney is everywhere. Can I just lay that out there from the very beginning? Whether it is a Snow White lunch box or a Sleeping Beauty pillow case or my aunt's Mickey Mouse tattoo (what was she thinking?!), Disney has achieved universal ubiquity in a relatively short period of time. And, like any multi-billionaire dollar corporation that quite literally promises happiness to those who oblige, the Disney mecca has infiltrated ideology of western culture. Perhaps one of the most dominant ideals propelled by Disney is the concept of girls and women as "princesses." And while I would love to describe to you (in great detail) why the image of a princess is in many ways detrimental to the psyche of women today, I will refrain for a few reasons: 1) I'm sure you've all heard it before 2) It's beside the point and 3) Once I step on my proverbial soapbox, it's hard to tug me down! I digress.

I searched the Internet for "Cinderella" and was not surprised to find 25,800,000 hits. I sifted through the Disney version of Cinderella and found a music video by Christian musical artist, Stephen Curtis Chapman. Now, let me tell you, Stephen and I go wayyyyy back. As a 12 year old, I was quite smitten with the squeaky clean, blond hair, blue eyed Mr. Chapman. That's right. While other girls were fawning over JC, Lance, and Justin, I was dancing around to "Let Us Pray." No shame. Still love the song. Nine years later, I'm listening to him, this time with a focus on the aforementioned song. Unfortunately, I'm a little disappointed, for Chapman does little to resist the famous Cinderella fantasy. Allow me to post a few lyrics:

"'There's a ball at the castle
And I've been invited
And I need to practice my dancing
Oh, please, Daddy, please?'

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh, I will dance with Cinderella
I don't want to miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone..."

The rest of the song subscribes even more loyally to the typical Cinderella tale. The young girl goes from dancing with her father, to dancing with a boy at prom, to dancing with her husband at their wedding. What is this, I ask! An assembly line! Geez, Cinderella, let's chill out with the dancing for a bit. What I'm getting at is this: the song positions the girl constantly with a male counterpart. At the risk of sounding callous, she just changes hands, from one man to the next. I would argue that this is a particularly disappointing aspect of the Cinderella tale, because it emphasizes the necessity of couples. Man and woman must be together. Not only does this perpetuate the oppression and submission of women, it also emphasizes comulsory heteronormativity. That is, a true "princess" is made worthy by her "prince," And if there is no prince, well, sorry sister! No princess for you!

Now I'm not suggesting that Stephen Curtis Chapman is some sick chauvinistic sadist. I'm positive that the song was created with the purest intentions! The work does, however, show how subtly and consistently this fairy tale myth persists in our culture. There is nothing strikingly anti-feminist about the song. It is not until we really break down the song and recognize its relation to society on the whole that we see where the message is slightly problematic.

I'm not going to lie. The song is cute. It's soft and sweet and will inevitably pull at the heartstrings of any who, well, has a heart. And sure, I'll admit it: a very very small, feminist-denying part of me hopes that someday I will find myself on my father's arm and we will dance to this lovely tune on my own wedding day. Yes it's true! Despite my own earnest critique of the Cinderella myth, even I sometimes harbor my own fanciful hopes for a blemish-free future of fairy tale happiness. Oh whatever... I blame Disney.

Beauty and the Beast

The Courtship of Mr. Lyon

What does it mean to be human? How does maleness/masculinity function among humans?

• Maleness --> Masculinity --> Man/Boy --> Beast
  
• How do women react to the Other, the Beast?
• How does masculinity coming to terms with violence?
• Does femininity find its Other through disgust/revulsion?

The Bloody Chamber

How do issues of sexuality; male and female agency; and the geography of male violence function in this story?

• Does the room represent a womb? Does the key represent a phallus that grants the woman a sense of male agency?
• The red mark: possibly symbolic of the scarlet letter. The scarlet letter, as we know, functioned in Hawthorn's original work as a mark of ignominy--it signified that Hester Prynne exercised her own sexuality outside the boundaries of what society allowed. In the same way, perhaps this woman bore a red mark on her head as a sign that she (by assuming and, moreover, using the key) acted outside the boundaries of her gender. 
• The Bloody Chamber:  a parable about how marriage, in addition to male/female relationships, should function

Quiz: Friday, Jan. 16

Artistic retellings: does art help counteract ideology? 

If nothing else, artistic retellings of fairy tales demand that readers begin to interrogate the ideology they have been fed. To assume that one single story can capture and apply to the experiences of many is, at best, an absurd notion. Winterson writes, " Of course I wrote it directly out of my own situation. There is no other way." Exactly. Asking a young girl in Manchester, England to subscribe to the fantasies found in Cinderella-- the same fantasies being read by another young girl in Tuscon, Arizona--is breaching fascism. It risks the denial, the amputation, of one's true identity. Essentially, ideology (as perpetuated by ubiquitous and recurring tales) demands that everyone everywhere believe in the same things, wish for the same happy endings, and behave in the same ways. This simply is just not possible. By retelling these stories, by feeding these stories through the lens/feelings/experiences of a new voice, writers can begin to challenge and deconstruct what the universal formula for love and success.

Fairy Tales and Feminism

Initial reaction to The Cinderella Complex:

What does it actually mean for a woman to be "independent"? Does being self-sufficient always implicitly suggest the absence of a male? Is it not possible for a woman to be entirely self-sufficient and, additionally, ambitious even when she does enjoy a male counterpart? I cannot help but to adopt a sort of counter-counterculture position and suggest that perhaps a woman can, at once, be both taken care of and entirely fulfilled. Does feminism always imply a solitary existence?

Unfolding notions of Feminism/Success/Gender Politics:

I'm thinking that one of the most well-known and accepted dichotomies in Western society is the male/female separation. And, accordingly, there are certain formulas for male/female identities.  What if we start manipulating these formulas? Naturally, we will start seeing different products-- "masculine" women and "feminine" men. This really can't be okay, can it? A man who participates in activities or even expresses himself in a way that deviates from the preconceived formula of "man" calls his own gender and sexuality into question. Again, this really can't be okay. While one who resists gender stereotypes and proceeds to live his life in any way he pleases certainly signifies some sort of cultural progression, society and the ever-present ideology that drives society still provides regrettable framework. He is seen as "feminine." The problematic dichotomy, rigid and seemingly unavoidable, still remains...

Culture as self-amputation?

Anne Sexton's "Cinderella"

"Bonwit Teller"

This references a high quality women's clothing store that was founded in 1895, New York City. In Sexton's story, after the charwoman suffers an accident on a bus, she trades in her cleaning supplies for this classy apparel. Is it a coincidence that Anne Sexton situates material/physical wealth/beauty as the "dream come true?" Highly improbable.


"Al Jolson"

I decided to Google image Al Jolson in hopes of being able to put a face with a name when I went on to look up what significant role he played in American history. I got a face alright. Jolson was a singer, comedian, and actor who--wait for it-- enjoyed performing in black face! Cinderella was a stepdaughter, stepsister, and essentially a maid who--wait for it--was made dirty by cinders of the fireplace. Interesting. Perhaps this draws attention to the perception of blackness as "dirty" and, thus, inferior to whiteness.
Recap: Cinderella = dark = ugly = Other
Those who aren't white = dark = ugly = Other


"Bobbsey Twins"

Well, well, well. More perfection as manifested by whiteness! Sexton concludes her story with the depiction of Cinderella and her prince as eternally-smiling, infinitely happy plastic dolls. Since I had already heard of the Bobbsey Twins, I decided to (again) Google image this fine family! So white. So perfect. So what everyone should be.