Lecture 2.5.1 – Literary Perspectives: Feminist Perspective
Lecture Overview
In addition to the words and figurative language, writers have tended to focus their writing on issues that concern them. There are many stories and issues in the world. What draws some writers to one theme over another. Do men and women writers see the world differently – probably. Why? Society casts men and women into different roles by virtue of gender differences: physicality child rearing and other traditional activities that automatically will give them a different perspective a Feminist Perspective. The word feminism - The issue of rights for women first became prominent during the French and American revolutions in the late 18th century. In Britain it was not until the emergence of the suffragette movement in the late 19th century that there was significant political change. A ‘second wave’ of feminism arose in the 1960s, with an emphasis on unity and sisterhood. A ‘third wave’ was identified in the late 1980s and 1990s, as a reaction against the perceived lack of focus on class and race issues in earlier movements. Today a ‘fourth wave’ focused on employment “equal pay for equal work”, leadership roles in business and politics, and sexual abuse issues. Women are the peacemakers, supporting roles – seldom given leadership. Therefore women writers often write about the world as they see it – restrictive and narrow (get married and have children) and offering them less opportunities than men have. Teacher introduces some famous women writers:
Taking into account these different perspectives is an important tool in literary analysis. It is important going forward in this course, and in the grade 12 ENG4U course to be aware of literary perspectives.