Why Boys Could Benefit from Feminist Lens in Reading Literature
As teachers, the most important thing we do is instruct and encourage our students to look at the world from different perspectives. As a student in a women’s literature course, I found it difficult to start looking at texts from a feminist perspective because obviously I am a man and have always viewed everything from everyday life events to literature from that perspective. As I learned, male students, in particular, have a great deal to gain by looking at characters and their actions and evolution through a feminine lens. Examples of texts in particular that especially lend themselves to such a perspective include Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God,’’ and Virginia Woolf’s “A Room of One’s Own.’’ Hurston’s Janie character was a woman driven by her own desires and a character who overcame many of the male-dominated societal expectations placed on her, at first from her grandmother and later from the various men in her life. In the end, she achieved a level of independence and free-thinking that was rare or nonexistent in male-written novels from the same time period in early part of the 20th century. Similarly, Virginia Woolf, “A Room of One’s Own,’’ as I recall, centered around the politics of whose works are often recognized among the greats of literature and openly questioned and argued that women’s works are just as worthy of their own recognition and status, equal to male dominated works; however, they shouldn’t necessarily have to share the spotlight with male works by such greats as Shakespeare, etc. Woolf called into question the whole idea of how could men really be qualified to make a reality for the women characters that they often portrayed. She also questioned the idea of how society pigeon-holed obviously talented women writers into minor societal roles, often thwarting their obvious talents.
on October 4th, 2006 at 9:26 am
Wolf,
I agree with you that, while it may be a struggle, all students can benefit looking through the various “lenses” of literary theory. Sometimes I think that boys may be concerned that doing so might make them seem “soft” or too feminine, when what we actually want them to understand is the complex nature of society and how it influences the writers and the texts that come out of it. Ideally, when boys see things from a feminist perspective they will be able to apply that awareness to other groups and other influences. (Of course, we have to help them with this!)
Having said that, it is imperative that we give boys their opportunity to express, identify, and share the pressures and challenges that males face. This might be done by taking the male view in a feminist reading, or that of a male head of household in a Marxist reading. If we can balance our focus, all students should benefit, first, by feeling that their concerns and viewpoints have been heard, and, secondly, that they have broadened their understanding of others.
on November 7th, 2006 at 8:13 pm
Wolf,
I agree with you in that boys can benefit greatly from reading texts from a feminist perspective. Girls could benefit as well, seeing as they might also not be used to taking a viewpoint other than the one presented. However, something to take into consideration would be looking at a text from a masculine point of view. For example, in my class, we were discussing After the First Death, by Robert Cormier. After looking at one character from a feminist point of view, we switched to another and looked at what he considered as masculine. It brought out aspects we had not really talked about before. The issue of what it means to be a man from society’s point of view can provide excellent insight.
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