In the world of literature, feminist criticism is not about the rights' of women, but the representation' of women. When the feminist movement was on the rise in the 1950's and 1960's, women began to focus on literature in a new way.
For centuries, women were underrepresented in the literary canonthe lists of truly "great" worksdo to the masculine history of early literary interpretation. Being writers themselves, it was men who explored the world of writing, who developed the standards of good literature, and who judged the work of their literary brothers. It became a boys club not out of hostility, but out of habit. It began before women were taught how to read, and continued long after they began to write.
As late as the 20th century, Virginia Woolf sensed the lopsided standards of literary criticism:
"This is an important book, the critic assumes, because it deals with war. This is an insignificant book because it deals with the feelings of women in a drawing-room."
Because of the male dominance in literature, women characters were misconstrued and women authors were ignored. Early representations of women were often stereotypical, unjust, or distorted as men celebrated the ideal or scrutinized the villainy of what it meant to be a woman. Female characters first became complex under the pen of female authors. However, many of these early female authors were forced to publish under masculine pen names just to be heard. Were it not for the help of her husband, the pages of Virginia Woolf would have faded without ever being read.
The all male establishment not only ignored their words, but their genres as well. We can thank Feminist Criticism for giving literary legitimacy to diaries, journals, and letters. Our contemporary anthologies would not be the same without their contributions.
But with the gradual acceptance of women into the literary canon, and the growing appreciation for genres originally dominate by women, is feminist criticism still necessary. Some critics argue that the representation of women still needs to be challenged within some genres, and there are still some genres that deserve equal consideration within literary interpretation.
"Chic Lit", for example, is a term often used within literary circles to describe a genre written by and primarliy about women. However, the term is often used in a derogatory manner indicating that it is not 'serious' literature-the modern equivalent of "women in a drawing-room".
Yes, women have the gained the right to write, speak, and act as they choose, but we must choose to write, speak, and act wisely. As responsible members of the literary community, we are not interested in undermining the accomplishments of our fellow man, but acknowledging the accomplishments of our fellow woman.
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Comments: 8
Feminist fiction contains marvelous writing such as Marian Zimmer Bradley's "The Mists of Avalon", the works of Toni Morrison, Alice Walker even Jodi Picoult, Anais Nin, Virginia Woolf and Gertrude Stein, etc..
We should encourage women to read women's fiction because we had men's fiction shoved down our throats growing up.
We must never let them push us out again.
I reviewed a book called Boys Adrift and one woman didn't even address the points of the book but basically said it didn't matter if boys faced challenges in life because of all the challenges women face and that boys are "stupid". I want my children to think of ALL people, male or female, as individuals, worthy of equality and respect, so I don't see how this person, who says she is a feminist, can be so intolerant. It was rather frightening! Do we really want to pass on this type of attitude? I don't, not as a parent and not as a woman.
I am doing my best to make sure my boys are learning about women's fiction, being encouraged to think about the way a woman might view different things and to fully explore the various perspectives of all people.
I do not feel I had men's fiction shoved down my throat. In school, we read Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, The Yearling as well as To Kill a Mockingbird, both by women writers. We had entire semesters built around those books. I also read Jane Austen in a high school class.
Yes, I was exposed to male writers as well but I wouldn't say they were shoved down my throat. Of course, this was during the height of feminism and Ms magazine and the teachers went out of their way to try and achieve some balance. We even had to analyze Free to be You and Me and The Woman's Health Book (not exactly literature but still worth looking at).
Man bashing is obviously not the kind of feminist criticism I condone. Sexism is sexism no matter which gender instigates it.
I speak not only of Virginia Woolf, but of Audre Lorde, Helen Cixous and the many others who have explored what it means to be a woman and a female writer.
It may also be worth considering that books such as "Pride and Prejudice" were once considered fluff, too. In fact, two major universities (Harvard and the University of Texas in Austin) both taught literature courses last year in which chic lit was a vital component.
If you'ld like to read more:
http://modernmatriarch.wordpress.com/2007/07/26/are-you-taking-chic-lit-seriously-yet/
I do not think it wise to remedy the fact that boys are being turned off to literature by taking away the gains made by women - this would be a double tragedy. However, I would hope that men would re-invigorate literature by speaking louder in a 21st century male voice.