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The Laugh Of The Medusa
"The Laugh of the Medusa" is an essay by French feminist critic Hélène Cixous. Originally written in French as "Le Rire de la Méduse" in 1975, it was (after she revised it) translated into English by Paula Cohen and Keith Cohen in 1976. In the essay, Cixous issues an ultimatum: that women can either read and choose to stay trapped in their own bodies by a language that does not allow them to express themselves, or they can use the body as a way to communicate. She describes a writing style, '' écriture féminine'', that she says attempts to move outside of the conventional rules found in patriarchal systems. She argues that ''Écriture feminine'' allows women to address their needs by building strong self-narratives and identity. This text is situated in a history of feminist conversations that separated women in terms of their gender and women in terms of authorship. The "Laugh of the Medusa" addresses this rhetoric, writing on individuality and commanding women to use writing ...
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Helene Cixous
Helene or Hélène may refer to: People * Helene (given name), a Greek feminine given name *Helen of Troy, the daughter of Zeus and Leda *Helene, a figure in Greek mythology who was a friend of Aphrodite and helped her seduce Adonis * Helene (Amazon), a daughter of Tityrus and an Amazon who fought Achilles and died after he seriously wounded her *Helene, the consort of Simon Magus in '' Adversus Haereses'' * Hélène (given name), a feminine given name, the French version of Helen * Hélène (singer), Hélène Rollès Astronomy * Helene (moon), a moon of Saturn Books and film * ''Hélène'' (drama), an 1891 play by Paul Delair * ''Helene'', English edition of German novel by Vicki Baum * ''Hélène'' (film), a 1936 French drama film, based on the novel by Baum Music * ''Hélène'' (opera), an opera by Camille Saint-Saëns 1904 *Polka Hélène in D minor for piano 4 hands by Borodin * ''Hélène'' (album), an album by Roch Voisine 1989 * Hélène (Hélène Rollès album) ...
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Feminist Theory
Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, fictional, or philosophical discourse. It aims to understand the nature of gender inequality. It examines women's and men's social roles, experiences, interests, chores, and feminist politics in a variety of fields, such as anthropology and sociology, communication, media studies, psychoanalysis,Chodorow, Nancy J., Feminism and Psychoanalytic Theory' (Yale University Press: 1989, 1991) political theory, home economics, literature, education, and philosophy. Feminist theory often focuses on analyzing gender inequality. Themes often explored in feminist theory include discrimination, objectification (especially sexual objectification), oppression, patriarchy,Gilligan, Carol, 'In a Different Voice: Women's Conceptions of Self and Morality' in ''Harvard Educational Review'' (1977)Lerman, Hannah, ''Feminist Ethics in Psychotherapy'' (Springer Publishing Company, 1990) stereotyping, art history and contem ...
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Women's Rights
Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behavior, whereas in others, they are ignored and suppressed. They differ from broader notions of human rights through claims of an inherent historical and traditional bias against the exercise of rights by women and girls, in favor of men and boys.Hosken, Fran P., 'Towards a Definition of Women's Rights' in ''Human Rights Quarterly'', Vol. 3, No. 2. (May 1981), pp. 1–10. Issues commonly associated with notions of women's rights include the right to bodily integrity and autonomy, to be free from sexual violence, to vote, to hold public office, to enter into legal contracts, to have equal rights in family law, to work, to fair wages or equal pay, to have ...
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Hélène Cixous
Hélène Cixous (; ; born 5 June 1937) is a French writer, playwright and literary critic. She is known for her experimental writing style and great versatility as a writer and thinker, her work dealing with multiple genres: theater, literary and feminist theory, art criticism, autobiography and poetic fiction. Since 1967, she has published a considerable body of work consisting of some seventy titles, mainly published in the original French by Grasset, Gallimard, Des femmes and Galilée. Cixous is perhaps best known for her 1976 article "The Laugh of the Medusa", which established her as one of the early thinkers in post-structural feminism. Her plays have been directed by Simone Benmussa at the Théâtre d'Orsay, by Daniel Mesguich at the Théâtre de la Ville and by Ariane Mnouchkine at the Théâtre du Soleil. During her academic career she was primarily associated with the Centre universitaire de Vincennes (today's University of Paris VIII), where she founded the f ...
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écriture Féminine
''Écriture féminine,'' or "women's writing", is a term coined by French feminist and literary theorist Hélène Cixous in her 1975 essay "The Laugh of the Medusa". Cixous aimed to establish a genre of literary writing that deviates from traditional masculine styles of writing, one which examines the relationship between the cultural and psychological inscription of the female body and female difference in language and text. This strand of feminist literary theory originated in France in the early 1970s through the works of Cixous and other theorists including Luce Irigaray, Chantal Chawaf, Catherine Clément, and Julia Kristeva and has subsequently been expanded upon by writers such as psychoanalytic theorist Bracha Ettinger. who emerged in this field in the early 1990s, ''Écriture féminine'' as a theory foregrounds the importance of language for the psychic understanding of self. Cixous is searching for what Isidore Isou refers to as the "hidden signifer" in language whic ...
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1975 Essays
It was also declared the '' International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are found guilty of the Watergate cover-up. * January 2 ** The Federal Rules of Evidence are approved by the United States Congress. ** Bangladesh revolutionary leader Siraj Sikder is killed by police while in custody. ** A bomb blast at Samastipur, Bihar, India, fatally wounds Lalit Narayan Mishra, Minister of Railways. * January 5 – Tasman Bridge disaster: The Tasman Bridge in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, is struck by the bulk ore carrier , killing 12 people. * January 7 – OPEC agrees to raise crude oil prices by 10%. * January 10– February 9 – The flight of ''Soyuz 17'' with the crew of Georgy Grechko and Aleksei Gubarev aboard the ''Salyut 4'' space station. * January 15 – Alvor Agreem ...
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1976 Essays
Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Philadelphia Flyers–Red Army game results in a 4–1 victory for the National Hockey League's Philadelphia Flyers over HC CSKA Moscow of the Soviet Union. * January 16 – The trial against jailed members of the Red Army Faction (the West German extreme-left militant Baader–Meinhof Group) begins in Stuttgart. * January 18 ** Full diplomatic relations are established between Bangladesh and Pakistan 5 years after the Bangladesh Liberation War. ** The Scottish Labour Party is formed as a breakaway from the UK-wide party. ** Super Bowl X in American football: The Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the Dallas Cowboys, 21–17, in Miami. * January 21 – First commercial Concorde flight, from London to Bahrain. * January 27 ** The United S ...
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Feminism In France
Feminism in France is the history of feminist thought and movements in France. Feminism in France can be roughly divided into three waves: First-wave feminism from the French Revolution through the Third Republic which was concerned chiefly with suffrage and civic rights for women. Significant contributions came from revolutionary movements of the French Revolution of 1848 and Paris Commune, culminating in 1944 when women gained the right to vote. Second-wave feminism began in the 1940s as a reevaluation of women's role in society, reconciling the inferior treatment of women in society despite their ostensibly equal political status to men. Pioneered by theorists such as Simone de Beauvoir, second wave feminism was an important current within the social turmoil leading up to and following the May 1968 events in France. Political goals included the guarantee of increased bodily autonomy for women via increased access to abortion and birth control. Third-wave feminism since the ...
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Feminist Literature
Feminist literature is fiction, nonfiction, drama, or poetry, which supports the feminist goals of defining, establishing, and defending equal civil, political, economic, and social rights for women. It often identifies women's roles as unequal to those of men – particularly as regarding status, privilege, and power – and generally portrays the consequences to women, men, families, communities, and societies as undesirable. History In the 15th Century, Christine de Pizan wrote The Book of the City of Ladies which combats prejudices and enhances the importance of women in society. The book follows the model of De Mulieribus Claris, written in the 14th Century by Giovanni Boccaccio. The feminist movement produced feminist fiction, feminist non-fiction, and feminist poetry, which created new interest in women's writing. It also prompted a general reevaluation of women's historical and academic contributions in response to the belief that women's lives and contributions ...
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