FEMINIST LITERARY CRITICISM: An Understanding of Feminism By: Azhariah Rachman INTRODUCTION
It is broadly acknowledged that feminism is one of the theories used in social and cultural science. For a scope of perception, feminism can be defined more than a theory; it is a way of life, a politics, a struggle, and an idea. It is not easy to define what feminism is. The definition definition could be changeable in certain condition condition and certain time. In the west, feminism is trans transla late ted d as the situa situati tion on condi conditi tione oned d which which surr surroun ounds ds it, it, so as in the east east.. This This definition is based upon cultural reality and the truth of history, in a level of consciousness, perception perception and action in each person person who has been through through it (Bhasin, (Bhasin, 1999:4). So, the term feminism in 17th century when the first time to word used, is not the same as used in 1980’s. The different perception, action and consciousness are applied in one type of feminism but in different person.
Furthermore, Furthermore, it is not awkward to say that in one type of feminism we could find different arguments and opinions, including the root of problem, the patriarchal system, and men’s domination to women. Beside that, the aim of the struggle is also different from one another, especially in creating a society without oppression and classes. Moreover, the aim is free from gender bias.
Bowles and Klein define feminism as “a movement or even a consciousness departed from the perception that there is a discrimination of women all over the world, and an action in order to discharge the imbalance situation both by men or women” (Bowles and Klein in Herminingrum, 1994:8)
Feminis Feministt theory theory has been develop developed ed from from the theory theory into into partic particula ularr of feminis feministt study study through through litera literary ry works. works. Feminis Feministt studie studiess and Women’ Women’ss studies studies,, “both “both challeng challengee male male intellectual hegemony” (Bowles and Klein, in Herminingrum, 1994:8).
Women’s issues are addressed to every women problems and cases that relate to personal freedom and women’s prosperousness (Culler, in Tome, 1992:14). Many women writers have have pour poured ed thei theirr expr expres essio sion n about about wome women n and spec special ially ly refl reflect ected ed thems themsel elves ves as a representative of women’s voice. Women with this various problems in men’s view are needed to love and to be loved (Marianne in Culler, 1983:44).
Most women consider that the feminist perspectives come from different perceptions which are dominant and institutionally applied to woman characters. These are applied also in their social functions which are; the description of jobs, family structure, work and politics, health and social prosperity.
Due to the perception of woman as a social group, they can produce ways to see the matter to understand women’s condition, which support them to struggle for their equality.
However, it is rather difficult to define feminism. However, after sorting all the various perspectives perspectives about about feminism feminism offered offered by feminist theorists theorists,, it can be discovered that there there is a core of characteristics that make it exists, “Feminism is a perspective that views gender as one of the most important bases of the structure and organization of the social world. Feminists argue that in most known societies this structure has granted women lower status and value, more limited access to valuable resources, and less autonomy and opportunity to make choices over their lives than it has granted men ……(Sapiro, 1986:441).
Feminists Feminists believe that inequities inequities should be eliminated. eliminated. As an application, application, feminists feminists cannot simply simply doing things better as an individuals individuals in the social world, but must work together to change the structure of society. Any action means making the best of an unjust situation.
VARIOUS TYPES OF FEMINISM
There are several types of feminism that have been discussed, which offer a distinction and tradition in each of them. Although the theory comes into same destination, thought and action to differentiate their ways are not equivalent. These types form a differentiation caused by the system of gender in a particular society and the involvement of individuals who support support the system. system. The condition condition was occur occur because because the theory theory is changeable changeable according to individual and condition which becomes the background of it. Problems can differentiate these types when they try to answer a question, “’why’ women are treated unfairly or discriminated?”
Principally, there are three types of feminism that will be explained further. They are liberal feminism, socialist feminism and radical feminism.
Liberal feminism that dominantly influences the theory, means that women are not given the same opportunities as men to pursue their individual interests. This because women as a group are blocked by informal and formal discrimination and ideology which people learn through socialization that views women women very differently than men (Sapiro, 1986:442). But the basic assumption of this type is freedom and equality has its root in rationality. So the basic struggle struggle of liberal feminist feminist is to demand same possibility possibility and rights for every person including women.
On the other hand, socialist feminism, which developed from Marxist thought, criticizes the liberal followers which stated that women have the same opportunities as men within given social institutions, but we have to look more deeply at the structure and relationship of those social institution themselves (Sapiro, 1986:443). As a matter of fact, the socialist feminism is a synthesis between Marxism class theory and “a person is political” from radical feminism (Jaggar, (Jaggar, 1990:89). 1990:89). For the socialist feminists, female oppressions oppressions are found in every class.
Radical feminism stated that sexual relations and sexuality are the center of their feminist framework. They defined that men are the problem and women are the solution. Societies in which currently arranged are patriarchal. They are run, organized, and defined by men
for their own benefit (Sapiro, 1986, 445). Patriarchal system in the society is considered as a universal problem and a cause of all the discriminations toward women. For the liberal feminis feminists, ts, person person is politi political cal,, so then then each each revolut revolution ion happens happens in every every women women who experience an action to change their lifestyle, experiences and human relation.
Beside those three types, to some extent, there are several types of feminism. The most different different of all is ecofeminism. ecofeminism. The term used for the first time by Francoise D’Eaubonne. D’Eaubonne. In progress, Maria Mies and Vandana Shiva (1993) succeeded in doing the reconstruction of this type (Fakih, 1996:43).
Supposing feminism is politics of “equality of men’s and women’s right”, feminism is also a theory as mentioned. Feminism is a scope of theory and each feminist politics implies a special way to comprehend patriarchal system. Feminist perspective concerns patriarchal system will be coping various assumptions about sex, gender, femininity, masculinity, identity, stereotype and change.
If femini feminism sm is concerne concerned d with with issues issues effecting effecting women, women, for the sake of critic criticism ism the existence of it remains analogizing the politics again. Yet, the movement has got to do with the social matter. And the class of society fought the issues of women can also be classified as feminists. The reason is because the consequences of their activities; not just for women themselves or the ones who campaign for emancipation and liberation. In a fair perception it can be said that a feminist is not only addressed to women who campaign or running any movement of feminism only, but males who have the perspectives of feminism can also be called a feminist.
So at present, feminists are imagined as confined to the narrow world of women. It becomes the marginal marginal world of only women’s women’s issues, issues, cut off from the general field of human endeavor (which to some extent is called class politics). Fear of separation and marginalization still has a strong inhibitory power by them. The issue of separatism, the creation of a female culture and community, is at the heart of an unfinished debate within feminism and between feminism (Herrmann, 1994:19).
When the women’s liberation movement came into existence in the late 1960’s, it emerged into a social order already marked by an assimilation of other feminism. Feminism was already a part of the political and social fabric. It does not present as a dominant force; femini feminist stss are, are, after after all, all, the the repr repres esent entati ative vess of a subo subordi rdinat natee group group.. But But the the logic logic of mainstream feminism—that there could be a politics directed towards women—had been assimilated. assimilated. Even if women had not normally normally acted as a unified political political constituency, constituency, and if ‘women’s politics’ had, by the 1960’s become stereotyped (Herrmann, 1994:18).
Then the definition arrives in opinion, that feminism is a theory applied into all aspects of life in which women issues appear as the major issues. This is the women consciousness of equality among men-women relationship as human being that have rights to be treated equally. Moreover, a woman is a woman herself. And for certain reasons, it is impossible to change into a man. She cannot transfigure herself in other process unless the process of herself, phase by phase.
In contrast, the opinion about feminism above does not represent one another. This because each has its own characterist characteristics, ics, which is independent, not supported each other regarding regarding the understanding of feminism. Opinions, arguments and perceptions about feminism are transla translated ted only as a justific justificati ation on and a legitim legitimati ation on to legaliz legalizee women women towards towards their position position in society. society. The perception attempts to equalize men and women in all aspects of life, including in literature.
Hence, feminism specifically leads to a literary study that focuses on the analysis towards women. In the history of literature, men have brought literature into their own world. They created the image that in literature, the creator is men, and the reader, automatically, has to be men also. In relation relation to that, women as the minority minority did not have a chance to create achievable works as many as men. In progress, the presence of feminist literary criticism brought a new nuance nuance that women women could could also embrace embrace hope hope and percept perception ion into literat literature. ure.
FEMINIST LITERARY CRITICISM: AN ANALYSIS ABOUT WOMEN
Feminist literary criticism is an appropriate approach used to reveal many subordination and oppression of women. In this context, feminist theory is expected to reveal the veil that covers the certain message inside the literary works and reclaim the opinions in literature externally (Ruthven, 1984:24-58).
On the other hand, literature, as one of the discipline covers the new theories including feminist literary criticism that features: 1. The study study covers covers men’s men’s perceptio perception n about women, women, and and how they describe describe women, 2. Study about about women, women, the creativity creativity of women in in relation relation with their potentia potentiality, lity, 3. Study Study of applic applicati ation on of the theor theory y in women’s women’s studie studies. s.
Moreover, feminist literary criticism is an effort of women scholars to change the tyranny of androce androcentri ntrist st critici criticism sm which which very very male male oriente oriented. d. It tends tends to influenc influencee the women women readers to identify themselves with men’s character. In order to stand for the position of women’s literature into an appropriate place, feminist literary criticism summarizes various approa approaches ches whethe whetherr textual textual structu structural ralism ism recept reception, ion, semiot semiotic ic or litera literature ture sociol sociology ogy (Winata in Tome, 1992:10).
Therefore, we are led to identify women’s role inside the works of literature in order to uncover the patriarchal system dominated dominated by men. Feminism does not mean a criticism as an alibi for replacing men and literature dominated by women, and does not see sexual distinction distinction in literature literature as a threat. On the contrary, contrary, to see the criticism as a great dynamic changes the world of literature according to opinions, perceptions, thoughts and ideas which expressed from women’s comprehension of their condition in literature.
Feminist literary criticism is an analysis of women in literature, in terms of women as a center study of literature. Critics are facing the assumptions about women based upon the concept of women is always related to her destiny. This concept turns to be the issues of women everywhere. Furthermore, the critics try to identify an experience or perspective of
women and men’s perception that is performed as an experience of human’s figure in literature. This happened in order to change assumption about literary works and at the same time to change the significance of various gender codes, according to the conducted hypothesis (Showalter in Culler, 1983:50).
The objective of feminist literary criticism is to give a critical respond towards the opinion manifestated in literary works which is given by its culture. Thus, it is questioning the relationship between text, power and sexuality reveals in text (Miller in Culler, 1983:47).
Feminist literary criticism includes feminist, literary and criticism. The word of feminist connects closely with feminism, a theory of equality suggests equality between men and women in politics, economic and social, and women’s needs (Molieono in Tome, 1992:11).
In America, a change had taken place in the fields of social politics, economic and culture around 1960s. The change in social-cultura social-culturall also a change in literature, literature, is the development development of feminist literary criticism. Literature and its analysis focused to the critics. Therefore, since since readers readers and critics critics of women’s women’s literary literary works works were were men, men, then feminist feminist litera literary ry criticism criticism aimed to criticize the works of literature which produced by women exclusively. exclusively. But, once again it is not excluding men’s works to be added as another nuance in the world of women’s women’s literatur literature. e. This This world, world, certainl certainly, y, is not attemp attempting ting to dismis dismisss the men’s men’s authority in literature, but, rather, to challenge its chauvinism tendency which somehow subjecting the position of women in the society where women are existing.
CONCLUSION
In short, the definition arrives in an opinion, that feminism is a theory applied into all aspects of life in which women issues appear as the major issues. This is the woman consciousness of equality among men-women relationship as human being that have rights to be treated equally. Moreover, a woman is a woman herself. And for certain reasons, it is impossible impossible to to change into into a man. man. She cannot cannot transfigur transfiguree herself herself in other other process process unless the process of herself, phase by phase.
On the contrary, the opinion about feminism above does not represent one another. This is because each has its own own characteristics which is independent, not being supported supported by each other regarding regarding the understanding understanding of feminism. feminism. Opinions, Opinions, arguments arguments and perception perception about feminism feminism are translated translated only as a justification justification and a legitimation legitimation to legalize women towards their position in society. The perception attempts to equalize man and woman.
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