Literature and Gender

[nannon]

Hi, I'm currently writing my dissertation for English Literature. My topic is along the lines of the merging of gender roles, (eg. men with feminine character traits as well as masculine ones and the same with women) I'm using Freud and Foucault as a subject of disscussion and ideas but as anyone who has read these kknows, they are slightly complicated and mainly to do with sexuality. I was wondering if someone could point me in the direction of any theorists or authors that concern themselves with the importance of gender (but not novels!) any ideas would be very much appreciated!

[kaktus]

Try Pierre Bordieu's "La domination masculin" Sorry don't know what it's called in English but I'm sure it's translated. He is very complicated as well but I don't this particular book is too bad and it's excellent.

[**Clem**]

Don't know if this is the type of thing you're after or not but Mary Wollstonecraft was extremely concerned with the importance of gender and wrote 'A Vindication of the rights of woman' about it.

Good luck with your dissertation x

[Buenchico]

If you want to make a reference to contemporary literature, you might like to consider "Are Men Necessary" by Maureen Dowd. It's only just hit the bookstands. It's Amazon listing is here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0399153322/qid= 1132015108/sr=1-7/ref=sr_1_11_7/202-3151543-9534231
but this doesn't tell you anything about it's content. For information on what Ms Dowd writes about, see here:
http://www.audiobookstand.com/product.asp?title=Are+Men+ Necessary%3F&AuthorId=20577&TitleId=53216

I doubt that I'd recommend this book to someone who was writing a Sociology thesis on perceptions of gender, but for an Eng. Lit. thesis on the same subject, it certainly offers a 21st century perspective.

Chris

[Aschenbach]

I read The History of Sexuality Part I and found it quite unintelligible and over-theorized. The same with Disipline and Punish. Don't use Foucault unless you feel it absolutely necessary.

Avoid media soundbites such as 'ladettes' and 'metrosexuals' 'Men are from Mars...' They always make me cringe and are lazily used.

It is women writers who discuss gender roles more than men as they have been oppressed historically. This is reflected in books like:-

Simone de Beauvoir - The Second Sex

The Female Woman by the Greek female economist Arianna Stassinopoulos

Or Dworkin, Greer etc

[Grimalkin]

You should definitely check out Judith Butler and also Elizabeth Grosz.

[nannon]

thank you all very much!!! x

[funnywebsite]

Get the book "Why women can't read maps and why don't men listen" it is brilliant. I read it about 2-3 years ago. You might actually find it in the library. It goes on about why men and women think different and that men have female characteristics and same woman have men's. There is a test to test yourself. It goes on about everything that certain jobs are more orientated to a man's brain and certain jobs woman are better at. It explains homosexuality and lesbians etc. I read this book at a company I worked for so sorry cannot recall the author.

[ajcross]

Foucault's History of Sexualty can hardly be 'over-theorized' if what he attempts to do is to use theory to undermine sexual discourse in the first place. The History of Sexuality (in 3 volumes) is very much theory rather than the kind of 'kings and queens' history that some might infer from the title. The book is not 'over-theorized'; indeed Foucault implies that human identity by way of our sexuality has been historically 'under-theorized' and left to the dogs. We have not thought through our ideas on sexuality well enough.

Foucault is also extraordinarily clear in his message that the 'repressive hypothesis' -- in which modern society assumes that sexuality has been historically silenced or repressed -- runs counter to reality: Foucault claims that since even before the eighteenth century, society has actually benefited from an opening up of discussion on sexuality. Legal, medical and ethical efforts to simply 'control' sexuality have actually given birth to greater knowledge on sexuality and therefore something like freedom.

Sexuality and gender are linked in complicated ways and it may well be that a knowledge of this interaction will enrich your essay. Many theorists and writers refer to sexuality and gender in the same breath.

Judith Butler is a must-read critic, particularly for her book 'Gender Trouble', which may prove essential to your task.

I assume you're going to refer at some point to Virginia Woolf's gender-bending novel, 'Orlando'?

Hope that helps.