Collins does take issue however with such an exclusionary tone. To Collins, and the authors she looks to for guidance and affirmation, a more all-encompassing vision of Black feminism must be conceptualized. Collins assimilates numerous Black female writers and intellectuals into the fold of this more holistic definition. Collins settles on "a process of self- conscious struggle that empowers women and men to actualize a humanist vision of community." The core themes that are at the base of Collins development of Black feminist thought are addressed in the majority of the book.
Description In Siren Songs: Gender, Audiences, and Narrators in the Odyssey, Lillian Eileen Doherty shows us that the attitude of Odysseus, as well as of the Odyssey, is highly ambivalent toward women. Odysseus rewards supportive female characters by treating them as privileged members of the audience for his own tales. At the same time, dangerous female narrators--who threaten to disrupt or revise the hero's story--are discredited by the narrative framework in which their stories appear. Siren Songs synthesizes audience-oriented and narratological approaches, and examines the relationships among three kinds of audiences: internal, implied, and actual. The author prefaces her own reading of the Odyssey with an analysis of the issues posed by the earlier feminist readings on which she builds.
Gender is put into “masculine” and “feminine” categories while sex is put into “male” and “female”categories. How do gender and sex contribute to the concepts and constructions of masculinity and femininity? Gender and sex have so much to do with masculinity and femininity. Like I said above [Gender is put into “masculine” and “feminine” categories while sex is put into “male” and “female”categories.] Males are considered masculine because they are “rough and tough” and females are considered feminine because of history and women having to act like a “proper lady”.
The shattering of classifications and stereotypes, and the subversion of traditional gender roles, and the concept of sisterhood or unity among women are among the main tenets of feminist criticism. In the words of Catherine Besley, she mentioned that the cultural construction of subjectivity is one of the central issues for feminism (qtd. in Con Davis and Schleifer, 355). All women are feminists. However, it cannot be denied that women still experience the effects
Chisholm wanted to prove from personal experience how society is more prejudice over gender than race itself. Not only in her eyes is it hard to be black but it was even more hard to be a woman as well. Throughout the speech she uses her own experiences justifying her proposal for equal rights. After
Good observations about this story Hamdi. Let’s consider some elements and themes found in this story. How are gender issues treated in this story? Is Silko a feminist or is she merely reinforcing patriarchal stereotypes? Is the narrator breaking free from oppression or merely giving in to a new oppressor?
After reading “Doing Gender” by Candace West and Don H. Zimmerman and “Gender, Black Feminism, and Black Political Economy” by Patricia Hill Collins I’ve came to the realization that the term gender has a completely different meaning than what I previously thought. Candace West’s and Don H. Zimmerman’s main purpose in the article “Doing Gender” is to try to provide a different insight to the typical way of which sex and gender are perceived. They claim that sex was taught as something biological that you are born and determined through “anatomy, hormones, and physiology.” Gender on the other hand, was described to be an “achieved status” which is determined through “psychological, cultural, and social means.” The authors talk about these
In Katherine Wilson’s “Dude Looks Like a Lady,” she begins with a powerful introduction saying “this is about hair, breasts, and identity” (Wilson 21), insinuating it is going to be a gender identity piece. Reading more of the first page, you assume the thesis is about the common misconceptions of how a woman is supposed to look and how not looking that way could take away from a woman being a woman. Wilson gives the example of her hair being buzzed and people looking at her differently. Although she tries to argue the hardships of not looking like the normal female, Wilson’s argument fails to meet the rest of her story. She claims her argument is about “hair, breasts, and identity,” she is really just ranting and raving her being disrespected and her own issues of being black.
Performativity links gender and racialized bodies. Gender says the man is supposed to be strong and the woman weak. Race and gender is one in the same regimes of truth are definitely rooted from these two specific category. Bell Hooks Chapter 15 1. Women of the historical culture construction were taught to believe that sexual desire was for the man and that basically no respectable woman should acquire sexual needs.
Unfair Representation During the formation of my essay on Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, I will examine the foundation on which the novel explores the representation of sex of an individual. Some questions kept in thought during the progression of the novel were why Hurston portrayed the representation of women in such an under mining way. Though she herself could not be taken as a sexist person rather a writer connecting her characters to a time when women weren’t considered as self-dependent or dominant. The representation of gender in a part of the novel comes back to the idea that men are the superior breed and women should just follow their dominance and not voice their opinions. The representation of gender in the novel represents how the cultural antics were back in those days, it was custom for a woman to marry, bear children and take care of the house, while the man was out providing for his family “bringing home the bacon”.