Feminist Literary Criticism Vocabulary

Front 1

Canonization (pg. 7)

Back 1

How literature becomes remembered and considered worthy of continued study.

Front 2

Authorial intention (2)

Back 2

what the author is trying to communicate through their work—what they want the readers to come away with.

Front 3

“Death of the Author” (2)

Back 3

The shift in the way in which literary works are examined from caring more about the author’s intentions to caring about the ways in which the text can be interpreted by readers. Methods of analysis involving style, culture, and style are also now considered better.

Front 4

"With the grain" (pg. 7)

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Understanding our reading of the book the way (we think) the author intended us to.

Front 5

"Against the grain" (pg. 7)

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Straying from the path of the author's presumed intentions to find meanings in parts of the text the author probably didn't think about.

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Feminist analysis/ criticism (5)

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A way of examining literature that uses a plethora of concepts and lenses that help us see how the piece helps or hinders the perpetuation of patriarchy and the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women.
Marxism—which economic systems have been rigged to disadvantage women and prevent their rise in the class system?
psychoanalysis—What have patriarchal ideologies done to us psychologically, and how/why is it internalized?
structuralist principles—What are things that women from different cultures have in common and how are the ways in which they are oppressed similar?

Front 7

Biological essentialism (pg. 85)

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The idea that sex differences are part of our unchanging essence and necessary to our identities as men and women. This stands true regardless of cultural or historical setting. Social constructionism is the opposite of this.

Front 8

sex (86)

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Our biological makeup that is categorized as either male or female by society. Feminists point out that these categories are not clear-cut, rather they are socially constructed. Intersexed individuals are often surgically altered at birth to fit into one of these “biological” categories.

Front 9

gender (86)

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One’s identification as feminine, masculine, androgynous, etc. and resulting behavior (often but not necessarily matching one’s identification). The following of any prescribed set of behaviors is encouraged through instructions provided by one’s culture.

Front 10

gender identity (115)

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How an individual feels internally about their gender. This does not have to match one’s gender that was assigned based on one’s sex.

Front 11

Patriarchy (pg. 85)

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The system controlled (historically) by older white men that causes oppression and disadvantage to women and perpetuates the sexist belief that men are inherently better than women.

Front 12

social constructionism (86)

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the idea that femininity, masculinity, and any category of gendered behaviors were invented and developed by society and not part of an inborn biological essence. Instead of viewing gender as something existing in categories, gender is viewed on a spectrum.

Front 13

Feminisms (83)

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Different focuses and points of view that address the negative effects of patriarchy on women (economic, political, social, and psychological) and challenge patriarchy.

Front 14

liberal feminism

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a type of feminism that strives to give women a chance to be equally represented and treated within institutions and structures that already exist. The strategy for doing this involves the individual overcoming obstacles in order to gain their rightfully equal place among men

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radical feminism

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a type of feminism that “goes to the root of the problem” by changing the way institutions and systems with patriarchal origins work. The strategy for doing this involves changing circumstances for all women, not working with individuals.

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ethnic cultural feminism (107)

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when particular female cultural values in an ethnic group make up a more productive area of critique than those of women in general.

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Materialist French feminism (96)

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Branch of French feminism that examines how patriarchal institutions create unfair social and economic systems that oppress women.

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Psychoanalytic French feminism (96)

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Branch of French feminism that examines the psychology of both women’s oppression and their general experiences by focusing on the ways in which language can be constructed.

Front 19

patriarchal binary thought (100)

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Helene Cixous’ reference to patriarchal thought reflected within language itself. The world is categorized into pairs of extreme opposites, where each pair is ranked. Each “inferior” term in such a pair is associated with women. Therefore, the other word in the pair is considered more valuable, worthy, and masculine. Feminists deconstruct these binaries to demonstrate the intellectual unsoundness behind them.

Front 20

Virgin/whore dichotomy (89-90)

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A patriarchal idea that claims “good girls” to be opposite to and better than “bad girls” and puts all women into one of these categories with no women being considered to be “in-between.”
“Good girls” are docile, obedient, virgins who are “angels” supporting patriarchal ideals. Obvious examples would be the Virgin Mary and Patmore Coventry’s “Angel in the House.”
“Bad girls” are crude, vulgar, bitchy, headstrong “demons” who are overly sexual and therefore worthless. Examples: Eve

Front 21

ecriture feminine (101)

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Literally means “feminine writing.” Cixous’ alternative to patriarchal thinking and writing that involves writing nonlinearly, expressing wide varieties of types of thinking, and using creative style techniqes. Cixous advocated women’s use of this to reconnect with their sexualities (jouissance refers to sexual pleasure or joy) and their female bodies

Front 22

symbolic language dimension (103)

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(Kristeva) The part of language that assigns meaning to words, then using these symbols to communicate a message.

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semiotic language dimension (103)

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(Kristeva) The part of language that interprets a message’s nonverbal aspects (such as tone of voice, gestures, etc.) We learn this dimension of language first, through our mothers. Since patriarchy controls/created symbolic language, Kristeva suggests we get in touch with this more primal and unconscious part of ourselves through the use of incorporating semiotic strategies in creative ways in a recreated type of language.

Front 24

"Angel in the House” (90)

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The phrase comes from a poem written in Victorian England that describes the ideal woman and puts her on a very high pedestal. Refers to a domestic figure that must protect and educate her children and husband due to her position of moral superiority. Of course, one of the reasons she’s morally superior is because she is incapable of feeling any passion.

Front 25

Objectification (91)

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To dehumanize a person or group by taking away any consideration of their right to human characteristics (such as feelings or individuality) and defining them based on how they can be used to the advantage of another group. Patriarchy engages in the ____________ of women.

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misogyny (118)

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the hatred of women—can be horizontal

Front 27

male gaze (102)

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The cultural phenomenon where in artistic works or films, the “universal” point of view is always considered to be male. We can tell this is the case because women are gazed upon in a sexual way as if a male was looking at them in such pieces.

Front 28

gynophobia (118)

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fear and hatred of women as sexual and reproductive beings

Front 29

gynocentrism (119)

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One approach of literary criticism that specifically examines female writers and the conditions necessary for their existence across cultures and historical periods.

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unitary system (111)

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a system that conceptualizes types of gender as having more similarities than differences.

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binary system (110)

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a system that conceptualizes gender as having two opposite categories

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sisterhood (106)

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The rapport that develops among women psychologically and politically when they have similar goals and experiences that can build on one another. This is more useful than competition and ranking among women.