Tanya Wood wrote:
>I lectured on The Female Man last sumester. The reactions varied wildly
>from stunned shock (mostly young men- I don't really think the book is
>adressed to men actually, although having them read something that is not
>adressed to them (which women have to do all the time) is in itself
>useful),
I think that Russ was writing to whoever might be interested, rather than to
to either sex in particular. As she once wrote (re: the "deadlock" of sexism:
"I think breaking the deadlock has to take many forms, one of which is
political action, of whatever kind one feels congenial. I tend to Write Letters
myself, to magazines, Congress, NYS versions thereof, newpapers, even
fanzines. There is nothing like _public_ protest to lift the spirits." I
don't know
if she considers The Female Man as such a protest, but to me it sounds
appropriate.
By the way, that quote came from an excellent written symposium called
Khatru 3 & 4, which took place in 1975. Some of the more well-known
participants included Russ, Suzy McKee Charnas, Ursula Le Guin, Samuel
Delany, James Tiptree Jr., and Kate Wilhelm. A reprinted booklet of the
symposium can be obtained for $16.50 from Jeanne Gomoll, whose e-mail
address is artbrau@aol.com.
She also wrote:
>As the book itself states, when it is no longer
>relevant, then its task will be completed. I think its very relevant in
>these neo-con times, but many may disagree....
To which Michael Levy responded:
>Yes, you're right, but tell this to a room full of female college students
>who insist that they themselves have never been victimized by sexism and
>never will be.
This especially strikes me after getting the latest alumni magazine from my
alma mater, Hamilton College. The theme of the magazine was "Women on
the Hill", with particular focus on Kirkland College, a "sister school" to
Hamilton
that existed for less than 10 years before it was subsumed by Hamilton. The
various perspective pieces by women graduates have barely anything to say
about sexism, instead denying it's an issue with statements like, "I never had
a class in which I felt uncomfortable speaking because I was a woman..."
That may be true, but it leaves the impression that there's nothing left to do,
and that ALL women are doing this well. (The alumni magazine's editorial
policies obviously have something to do with this imbalance.)
Of course, it's not very convincing to tell someone they're being oppressed
if they simply don't feel that way. But speaking personally, it took me some
time to develop as a feminist. I loved The Female Man when I read it the
summer after graduating from college. I might not have felt the same way if
it had been assigned reading.
-- Janice Dawley
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu May 25 2000 - 19:06:02 PDT