Feminism as subject
See also:   [Feminism]
           -[Criticism]-
           

On this page:  {Intro}
               {Stuff}  
               {Toni Morrison; ie, black feminism}      
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               {}      
               {}      
               {Links}      

 

Stuff

I'm probably not the best person to ask about this,
since my knowledge of feminism is mostly about it
as a movement here in the USA, and of course the
way that various women artists (around the world)
expressed their ideas.

In the USA, the quintessential feminists are
Betty Friendan and Gloria Steinem - that is
as both speakers and writers on the subject.
Of course, in the art world, we are all pretty
much feminists in that the expression of half
of the world's population has for so long had
almost no voice entirely; this has extended
to minorities, gays, and others who have for
so long contributed much but been recognised
little.

As for structuralism (and again here, my ignorance
is vast - although i have time and again been
"accused" of being a structuralist - mainly because
i do quite a bit of surreal and dada-ist art), we
live in the post-post-modern world with structuralism
becoming the bridge between the modern (say about 1848
onward) and the post-modern world (say about 1968).
The year 1848 was the ascension of Napoleon the Third
in France, and of course, the real rush of invention
leading up to the end of world war I and then of 
course the pre post-modern world (usually dated as
beginning on August 6th and 9th, 1945 - with the
use of the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki). 
The year 1968 was as i refer to it as "the world 
in revolution". 

Of course, *everyone* argues about the dates, 
and even more-so as to WHAT structuralism and 
post-structuralism were/are/etc, mean, etc...

As regards, feminism the (again very male dominated
works prior to say 1960), concepts of structuralism
are considered fairly anti-feminist. And of course,
there has been a lot of revisionist attempts to 
correct this. One of the most amusing are the 
attempts to "justify" things like Freud's views
on sexuality and then of course the swing to the
other extreme to almost entirely deny any credit
to his works. The way that i always put it is 
that Darwin showed us that we were animals, and
Freud showed us that we weren't even *rational*
animals. 

But, of course with dada, and post-modernism we
accept is all as "just part of the mix"; ie, do
*any* of really know *anything* ?


****** TOPICS ???

One thing might be to write on how women artists
(or danseurs, writers - both fiction and non-fiction,
essays, and of course playwrights, etc) and how they 
have reflected and expressed feminism in their works.
A particular favorite of mine is Louse Nevelson
as well as Barbara Kruger and Jenny Holzer. Again,
i haven't gotten around to writing much about 
any of them; their art work is truely spectacular
and expressionist of feminist ideas.

It was either Kruger (i think) or Holtzer who 
created the oft-quoted phrase:

    I think, therefore i shop.

Also, Kruger would rent and put ads on city 
busses in New York. My fav was by Malcom X
and went something like this:

   If you spent half as much time on
   your mind as you do on your hairstyle,
   then your brain would be 1000 times better off.

She's quite a force to be reckoned with.

Anyway, that's what i've come up with so far.
You might run these ideas by your advisor(s)
and see what they think.

*** A few links...

Anyway as regards artists who are feminists,
my pages (very sketchy here) are on these
pages:

   https://art-squeek.angelfire.com/ah/art-talk.html
       (which has a nice list of names, 
        but not much content)

   https://art-squeek.angelfire.com/ah/feminism.html
       (which has a few extracts and such)

**** Some possible topics (again in art and such)

how the role (or perceived/presented role) of women
has *finally* gotten some attention and the part 
that feminism and activism (both economic and
political) has played in this.

what the visibility of women in all arenas has 
helped them; eg, talk show hosts, news anchors,
and other media presences (don't forget to look
up Marshal McLuan and his "Understanding Media"),
space astronauts and scientists, and of course:

  ".... and the rest" (historians, professors,
                       art teachers ;) etc...

good luck, and rsvp if you need more info.
I'll try and dig up my structuralism and
post-structuralist books. Frankly, i find
all of the dithering by people like Jacques
Derrida and so forth simply confusing - but
then like i sed we in art tend to "translate"
such things into dada, surrealism, performance
art, etc. (And it's probably a *bad* translation
at that ;)

-- frank.

PS: Too bad they didn't go for godot -- one of most
    fav of all plays.  "Nothing to be done...."

    I'd like to see it adapted for all female cast.
    Also, they performed it at Alcatraz prison (when
    it was still open as a prison) and the inmates
    "got it" - which many Theatre Critics didn't;
    eg, reviews like:  "Two hourse to say nothing"
    "Nothing to be done with it - and twice in one
    night".  Oh, well c'est la vie.


  

Toni Morrison; ie, black feminism
            
See also:  -[Toni Morrison]-

Addressing your memo:


As i see it, feminism is much more than a
"women only club" - which is how many men
(and sadly enough many women as well) view
it. The awareness of the inequities of our
societies is on that long, slow road towards
the realisation of everyone's dreams and
potential. Thus, the movement had several
side-effects:

 1) A new re-assessment of gendre roles in
    general.

 2) The plight of not just women, but all
    those that live in in-just circumstances.

 3) A broadening of the "typical human" view
    of people to include people of colour,
    minorities and majorities (and their
    responsibilities as power-holders to
    correct things).

When we look at social structures, we see that
often those with power want to hold onto it.
And of course, they are in a position to make
sure that the past remains un-changed; eg,
the case of apartheid, "green cards", work
visas, etc. Send us your tired and hungry
-- but only if they have Master's degrees
in things that we think are important.

And if we can take as read the feminist movement
as brining to a fore-front these and other social
issues and ideas, we might well state that 
feminism was the first gender and class conscious
attempt to erase slavery and the landed-class 
idea of equality for the nobility and the rest
should just "eat cake".

As with the phrase "Of that which you know, speak;
of the rest - remain silent" we may safely say
that one person *can* give voice to the concerns
and views of another. Although, this will be thru
a glass darkly as is the case with *all* translations
from one viewer/medium/language to another.

Or in short: Oppression is oppression. Whether it is
by men saying that women should remain barefoot,
pregnant and in the kitchen, or whether it is in
retaliation for years of oppression of the now
freed against their former oppressors. As, Frederich
Nietzsche put it:

    When hunting for monsters,
    be careful that you do not
    become one.

To extend and generalise feminism it 
would read as something like this:

  1. Everyone should have a chanse
     at self actualisation and to
     find their own way their own
     way thru life with as few
     impediments as possible.

  2. Self in all of its forms (be it
     sexuality/gendre, ego, expression,
     etc) should be given as much 
     lattitude as possible. 
     
  3. Biology is not destiny.

The last of these is meant not only to
avoid prescribing the biological imperative
(to reproduce, raise children, etc) on 
every person, but further to note that
we all have our stengths and weaknesses.

Reading assignment:

  "A Doll House" and "The Wild Duck"
  by Henrik Ibsen. 

Most of what *does* sustain us is our 
perceived role in the world and our 
life illusions.

--30--

       



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