Feminist Theory

- It observes gender in its relation to power often within a social structure at large.

- It is a major branch of theory within sociology that shifts its assumptions, analytic
lens and topical focus away from the male viewpoint and experience and toward
that of women.

- It shines a light on social problems, trends, and issues that are otherwise
overlooked or misidentified by the historically dominant male perspective within
social theory.

- It arose from the patriarchal societies of Europe and America

Three Waves of Feminism

- First Wave Feminism - late 1700s-early 1900's: writers like Mary Wollstonecraft
(A Vindication of the Rights of Women, 1792) highlight the inequalities between
the sexes.
Activists like Susan B. Anthony and Victoria Woodhull contribute to the women's
suffrage movement.

- Second Wave Feminism - early 1960s-late 1970s: building on more equal

working conditions necessary in America during World War II, movements such as
the National Organization for Women (NOW), formed in 1966, cohere feminist
political activism. Writers like Simone de Beauvoir (Le Deuxième Sexe, 1949) and
Elaine Showalter established the groundwork for the dissemination of feminist
theories dove-tailed with the American Civil Rights movement.

Third-wave feminism began in the early 1990s, responding to perceived failures

of the second wave and to the backlash against second-wave initiatives. This
ideology seeks to challenge the definitions of femininity that grew out of the ideas
of the second wave, arguing that the second-wave over-emphasized experiences
of upper middle-class white women. The third wave sees women’s lives as
intersectional, demonstrating how race, ethnicity, class, religion, gender, and
nationality are all significant factors when discussing feminism. It examines issues
related to women’s lives on an international basis.

What does Feminist Criticism do?

- It observes, analyzes, and challenges:
 • The language, institutions, and powers that have reflected patriarchal
interests and had a profound impact on women’s expression and quality of
life
• Women’s resistance and subversion of patriarchal oppression
• Empowerment for women through representation

Basic Methods of Feminist Literary Criticism

- Identifying with female characters: By examining the way female characters are
defined, critics challenge the male-centered outlook of authors. Feminist literary
criticism suggests that women in literature have been historically presented as
objects seen from a male perspective.

- Re-evaluating literature and the world in which literature is read: By revisiting

the classic literature, the critic can question whether society has predominantly
valued male authors and their literary works because it has valued males more
than females.

- Deconstructing the way that women characters are described in novels, stories,
plays, biographies, and histories, especially if the author is male
- Deconstructing how women autobiographers and biographers of women treat their
subjects, and how biographers treat women who are secondary to the main subject
-
- Describing relationships between the literary text and ideas about power and
sexuality and gender
-
Typical questions:
- How is the relationship between men and women portrayed?
- What are the power relationships between men and women (or characters
assuming male/female roles)?
- How are male and female roles defined?
- What constitutes masculinity and femininity?
- How do characters embody these traits?
- Do characters take on traits from opposite genders? How so? How does this
change others’ reactions to them?
- What does the work imply about the possibilities of sisterhood as a mode of
resisting patriarchy?
- What does the work say about women's creativity?
Reference:
Napikoski, L. (2020, February 06.) Feminist Literary Criticism. Retrieved January 2, 2021
from https://www.thoughtco.com/feminist-literary-criticism-3528960
Purdue University. (N.A.) Feminist Criticism (1960s-present). Retrieved January 3, 2021
from
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/literary_t
heory_and
_schools_of_criticism/feminist_criticism.html?fbclid=IwAR278rCV6mswd3m6z_4
m4wuyA- PL6mCDCGz1CZ6NFalLHKu6pI32IdzJY6M
Humanities, O. (2018, APRIL 27.) Betty Friedan: The Three Waves of Feminism.
Retrieved January 8, 2021 from http://www.ohiohumanities.org/betty-friedan-the-
three-waves-of- feminism/?fbclid=IwAR2tgw0kzq5-ALwvXPLZc-
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