I am not on the SFRA list and don't know what was discussed there (are
many people on both lists? Is repetition a problem?) so I echo Emily's
request to Farrah for elaboration on the statement that _The Dispossessed_
is unequivocally NOT feminist. While I wouldn't say it is a perfect
feminist utopia, it does question some sexist assumptions. It is
primarily interested in exploring anarchy and not feminism, but this comes
back to the point I raised in my earlier post, that it is not a simple
thing to determine what is feminist and what isn't (i.e. seems to me that
anarchy and some feminisms share some common goals). The book's subtitle,
"An Ambiguous Utopia," suggests that what may be revolutionary (or
feminist), for one person/planet may not be for another--as well as
addressing up front (so to speak) that it might not be utopia at all.
TD explores structures of power, and while it also contains some
essentialism and does also portray a sexist society, I would still argue
that that focus on power relations and property politics does make it at
least partly feminist. I certainly don't see that Le Guin believes "when
the revolution comes everything will be ok"; her point is exactly the
opposite--that revolution needs to be an on-going process. The problems
on Anarres are precisely *because* people have become complacent.
***************
Heather Whipple
hwhipple@script.lib.indiana.edu
> > Apologies to anyone on the SFRA list as well who has already heard
> > this. Le Guin's The Dispossesses is not a feminist utopia. Instead,
> > it is a classic "when the revolution comes everything will be ok
> > dearie". It is quite sexist and from a radical feminist point of
> > view could be seen as ignoring the real difficulties in favour of
> > trivial wrangling between masculinists.
> >
> > Farah
> >
>
> Care to elaborate?
>
> Emily Hackbarth
> emily@exo.com
> http://exo.com/~emily/beadworker.html
> "In a sheet of paper is contained the infinite."
> Lu Chi
>
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