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Literary Theory & Practice: Topic: Feminism

This document discusses feminism and feminist literary criticism. It covers the historical development of feminism through its four waves, focusing on key figures and texts from each wave like Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own from the first wave and Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex from the second wave. The document also outlines some of the main concerns and goals of each wave as well as introducing several influential feminist thinkers and their major works, including Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique and Judith Butler's Gender Trouble.

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123 views19 pages

Literary Theory & Practice: Topic: Feminism

This document discusses feminism and feminist literary criticism. It covers the historical development of feminism through its four waves, focusing on key figures and texts from each wave like Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own from the first wave and Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex from the second wave. The document also outlines some of the main concerns and goals of each wave as well as introducing several influential feminist thinkers and their major works, including Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique and Judith Butler's Gender Trouble.

Uploaded by

atiq ur rehman
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Literary Theory & Practice

Topic: Feminism
Literary Theory & Practice

Week 10
MA English 4th Semester
(Weekend)
• by
• Afshan Khalid
Feminism
Topics:
1)What Feminist Critics Do.
2)Historical development
3)The Three Waves of Feminism: Virginia Woolf, Simone de
Beauvoire,
Kate Millett, Betty Friedan. Elaine Showalter, Butler)
4) French Feminism (Luce Irigaray, Julia Kristeva, Helene Cixous)
5) Third World Feminism (Gayatri Spivak, Sara Suleri,
Chandra Talpade Mohanty, etc) and ts relation with
the contemporary socio-political scenario.
6) Application on a literary text
Feminism
Feminism:
Feminism stands for equality of women rights.
The term ‘Feminism’ describes political, cultural,
and economic movements that aim to establish
equal rights and legal protections for women.

Feminist:
A person who believes in the social, political and
economic equality of men and women.
What is not Feminism?
Feminism is not the belief that
women are superior.
Feminism is not hating men.
Feminism is not male oppression.
Feminist Criticism:
It is concerned with:
"the ways in which literature reinforces
the economic, political, psychological
and social oppression of women."
(1)What Feminist Critics Do:

a) Feminist literary critics remind us that literature


has been historically shaped by men.

b) They invite us to consider writings by women.

c) They ask us to view literature through a


feminist perspective.
(1)What Feminist Critics Do:

d)Feminist critics look at how the characters, especially


the female characters, are portrayed.

e) They ask us to consider how the portrayal of female


characters “reinforces sexual stereotypes”
(2)Historical Development:
Fourier was a French philosopher who coined
the word “Féminisme" in 1837.

The Oxford English Dictionary Included


"feminist“ in 1852 and "feminism” in 1895.

The history of the modern western feminist


movement is divided into four "waves."
(2)Waves of Feminism
The four waves of feminism are as follows:
1st Wave Feminism
Origin:
The term ‘First-wave Feminism’ was coined in March 1968
by Martha Lear in The New York Times Magazine, who at
the same time also used the term "second-wave feminism".
Focus:
First wave feminism focused on the fight for women's
political and domestic power.
1st Wave Feminism
Rights:
The right to vote
The right to education
Better working conditions
Marriage and property laws
Reproductive rights
2nd Wave Feminism
Rights:
Raising consciousness about gender and patriarchy
Raising consciousness about gender based violence and
domestic abuse etc.
Inequalities in the workplace
legalizing abortion and birth control
Liberation of women
3rd Wave Feminism
The 3rd wave of feminism (1990s-2000s) is a response to the
perceived failures of second-wave feminism Key concerns:
Rights:
The diversity of "women" is recognized and emphasis
is placed on identity, gender, race, nation, social order
and sexual preferences.
Changes in stereotypes, media portrayals and language
used to define women.
Feminists:

(1)Virginia Woolf

Adeline Virginia Woolf (1882 –1941) was 20th Century


modern English feminist writer. She is also pioneer of
‘stream of consciousness’ as a narrative device. Her best
work is:
A Room of One’s Own (1929)
(2)Simone de Beauvoire

Simon de Beauvoire (1908 –1986) was a French political


writer, feminist and social theorist. She was known for her
treatise The Second Sex(1949): a detailed analysis of
women's oppression and feminism.
(3)Kate Millet
Katherine Murray Millett (1934 – 2017) was an American
feminist writer. She worked on 2nd Wave Feminism and her
best work is:
Sexual Politics(1970)

The book is regarded as a classic of feminism and one of


radical feminism's key texts.
(4)Betty Friedan:
Betty Friedan (1921 – 2006) was an American feminist
writer. She is best known for her book:
The Feminine Mystique(1963)
In her book, she discussed in detail the second wave of
American feminism in the 20th century.
(5)Elaine Showalter:
Elaine Showalter (1941) is an American literary critic and
feminist writer. She talked about cultural and social issues.
She is known for:
‘Gynocriticism’
It is a term describing the study of "women as writers". Her
best work is:
"Towards a Feminist Poetics," Women's Writing and
Writing About Women(1979)
(6)Butler:
Judith Pamela Butler (1956) is an American philosopher
and gender theorist whose work has influenced political
philosophy, ethics, and the fields of third-wave feminism.
She is known for her work:
‘Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion
of Identity (1990)’
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