Some might find it strange that I am a woman who is uninterested in feminist criticisms. However, reading this article was interesting. I had this skewed perception of what feminist criticisms were; I thought they were just discussions of how women in stories were treated, which I realize is important but I never found it to be a big concern. Learning about French and American criticisms changed my perspective. French feminine critiques focus more on what the language is of a certain region and how "masculine" and "feminine" words derived. American feminine critique focus more the power women hold. Both the French and American feminine critiques focus on the structure and reaction to feminine writing.
I think I relate more to British feminists. They believe the American feminists' ways of opposing male stereotypes turns them into a stereotype themselves. Not all women are the same. Like the book says, there are "real differences of race, class, and culture among women" (454).
I also had a skewed view of what feminism was before reading this article. I am also somewhat uninterested in feminism, but as a guy, this seems more appropriate. The article was interesting and I learned a lot. It especially changed my view of feminists and their cause.
ReplyDeleteI agree that certain types of feminism can stereotype themselves when trying to criticize writing. I think feminism really doesn't have much credibility when it comes to critically analyzing literature because they already have a biased view of the text prior to reading.
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