01 Tuesday March 8

Caroline Benner's Notes for Tuesday March 8th
Class began with the request that we complete the phrase “I’m not a Feminist but…” with typical answers to this question. Responses tended to cite the need for equality for women in a variety of social realms. We were subsequently asked what sorts of words were typically associated with “Feminism.” Some answers were “lesbian,” “bra-burning,” and “aggressive.” From the exercise the class was able to deduce that these are words used by non-feminists to describe self-identifying feminists. This dichotomy of language can subsequently be used to explain the language of feminist literary theory. Following this discussion we were introduced to the three waves of feminism as it has evolved from the late 19th century to the present. In conjunction we were presented with a list of authors of the feminist literary canon as well as their key contribution to the canon. Common terminology of feminist literary theory was discussed and explained as a part of the introductory PowerPoint. We discussed the difference between sex as being biologically based and gender being rooted in culture. Patriarchy was defined as male dominance over women in a variety of social institutions. Finally, phallocentric is defined as something being centered on the phallus as a symbol of as well as a source of power. After this introduction we learned about the key differences between American and French Feminism. We discussed defining writers from these genres as well as the dominant themes in these subgenres of feminism. American Feminism is primarily concerned with imasculation and the feminine, female and feminist phases. In contrast, French Feminism focuses on the feminist language of the writers of this genre. We then made a list of common attributes our society tends to ascribe to girls versus those that it gives to boys. It seems that girls are expected to be more “compassionate,” “emotional,” and “domestic” while boys are identified as being “aggressive,” “less emotional,” and “associated with finances.” Upon examining the lists that we had created we deduced that these are stereotypes and conditioned differences that we are led to believe by society. This idea was further cemented when we viewed a clip of a lecture by Michael Kimmel who discusses the typical argument that “men are from Mars and women are from Venus” by suggesting that we are far more similar than different and that these differences are imposed upon us by the societies in which we live. We also discussed the idea of Socophilia which describes the “pleasure in looking” that is characterized by men fetishizing women in cinema. At the end of class today we discussed two poems, Shakespeare’s Sonnet 135 and Spenser’s Sonnet 64. It appears that Shakespeare puns extensively on the word “will” relating it to his own abilities as a lover as well as the “large and spacious” will that refers to the vagina of the women that the speaker is trying to seduce. From Spenser we gathered that this piece was most likely intended for an audience of men and includes evidence of Socophilia in this respect.