📔Intro to Comparative Literature Unit 13 – Gender and Sexuality in Literary Criticism

Key Concepts and Terminology

• Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, and attributes typically associated with being male or female
  • Differs from biological sex which is determined by chromosomes, hormones, and anatomy
• Sexuality encompasses sexual orientation, attraction, behavior, and identity
• Heteronormativity assumes heterosexuality as the default or normal sexual orientation
  • Reinforces binary gender roles and traditional power dynamics
• Queer theory challenges fixed categories of gender and sexuality, emphasizing fluidity and non-normative identities
• Performativity suggests gender is constructed through repeated acts and behaviors rather than being innate
• The male gaze refers to the way visual arts and literature depict women as passive objects of male desire
• Compulsory heterosexuality describes the societal pressure to conform to heterosexual norms and relationships
• Intersectionality examines how various forms of oppression and discrimination intersect and compound each other (race, class, gender, sexuality)

Historical Context of Gender and Sexuality in Literature

• Victorian era literature often reinforced strict gender roles and sexual repression
  • Women depicted as pure, submissive, and confined to domestic spheres
  • Male characters embodied strength, dominance, and sexual freedom
• Modernist literature began to challenge traditional gender norms and explore alternative sexualities
  • Writers like Virginia Woolf and James Joyce experimented with gender-fluid characters and narratives
• The Harlem Renaissance celebrated Black culture and challenged racist and sexist stereotypes
  • Authors such as Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston depicted complex, multidimensional Black characters
• Post-WWII literature grappled with changing gender roles and the emergence of second-wave feminism
  • Works by Sylvia Plath and Betty Friedan critiqued the oppression of women in patriarchal society
• The Stonewall Riots of 1969 marked a turning point in LGBTQ+ rights and representation in literature
  • Queer authors like James Baldwin and Audre Lorde gave voice to marginalized identities and experiences
• Postmodern and contemporary literature continues to push boundaries and deconstruct gender and sexual binaries
  • Writers such as Jeanette Winterson and Alison Bechdel explore queer and trans identities through innovative forms and narratives

Major Theoretical Approaches

• Feminist criticism examines literature through the lens of gender inequality and women's experiences
  • Analyzes how literary works perpetuate or challenge patriarchal norms and values
  • Considers the ways in which women writers have been marginalized or excluded from the literary canon
• Queer theory destabilizes fixed notions of gender and sexuality, emphasizing fluidity and transgression
  • Examines how literature constructs and subverts categories of sexual identity
  • Explores the ways in which queer desire and non-normative bodies are represented in texts
• Psychoanalytic criticism draws on the theories of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan to analyze the unconscious desires and conflicts in literature
  • Considers how gender and sexuality are shaped by early childhood experiences and family dynamics
  • Examines the ways in which literature reflects and reproduces cultural anxieties around gender and sexuality
• Marxist criticism analyzes literature in relation to economic and social power structures
  • Considers how class and material conditions shape gender roles and sexual relations
  • Examines the ways in which literature reinforces or challenges dominant ideologies of gender and sexuality
• Postcolonial criticism explores the intersections of gender, sexuality, race, and empire in literature
  • Analyzes how colonialism and its legacies have shaped gender and sexual identities in different cultural contexts
  • Considers the ways in which literature can resist or reinscribe colonial power dynamics

Influential Critics and Thinkers

• Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex (1949) argued that women are socially constructed as the subordinate "Other" to men
  • Beauvoir's work laid the foundation for second-wave feminism and gender studies
• Judith Butler's Gender Trouble (1990) introduced the concept of gender performativity and challenged the sex/gender distinction
  • Butler's theories have been influential in queer and trans studies
• Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick's Between Men (1985) and Epistemology of the Closet (1990) were foundational texts in queer theory
  • Sedgwick analyzed homosocial desire and the ways in which the closet structures knowledge and identity
• Audre Lorde's Sister Outsider (1984) explored the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality from a Black lesbian feminist perspective
  • Lorde's work emphasized the importance of embracing difference and challenging systems of oppression
• Michel Foucault's The History of Sexuality (1976-1984) examined how discourses of sexuality have been shaped by power relations
  • Foucault's theories have been influential in studies of the body, desire, and sexual identity
• bell hooks' Ain't I a Woman (1981) and Feminist Theory (1984) analyzed the ways in which race, gender, and class intersect in the lives of Black women
  • hooks' work emphasizes the need for an inclusive, intersectional approach to feminism
• Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term "intersectionality" in 1989 to describe how multiple forms of oppression and discrimination overlap and compound each other
  • Crenshaw's work has been influential in feminist and critical race studies

Case Studies: Literary Works and Analysis

• Virginia Woolf's Orlando (1928) features a gender-fluid protagonist who changes sex over the course of several centuries
  • Woolf's novel challenges binary notions of gender and explores the fluidity of identity
• Toni Morrison's Beloved (1987) depicts the psychological and physical trauma of slavery, particularly its impact on Black women and families
  • Morrison's novel grapples with the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality in the context of historical oppression
• James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room (1956) portrays a young American man's struggle with his homosexual desires in Paris
  • Baldwin's novel explores the complexities of queer identity and the consequences of internalized homophobia
• Alison Bechdel's Fun Home (2006) is a graphic memoir that chronicles Bechdel's relationship with her closeted gay father and her own coming out as a lesbian
  • Bechdel's work uses the medium of comics to explore themes of family, sexuality, and gender identity
• Jeanette Winterson's Written on the Body (1992) features a genderless narrator who falls in love with a married woman
  • Winterson's novel plays with language and form to challenge traditional gender roles and sexual norms
• Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex (2002) tells the story of an intersex character, Cal, who is raised as a girl but later identifies as a man
  • Eugenides' novel explores the complexities of gender identity and the social construction of binary sex categories
• Octavia Butler's Kindred (1979) follows a young Black woman who is transported back in time to the antebellum South
  • Butler's novel examines the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality in the context of slavery and historical trauma

Intersectionality and Identity

• Intersectionality recognizes that individuals experience multiple, overlapping forms of oppression and privilege based on their various identities
  • Considers how factors such as race, class, gender, sexuality, ability, and age interact and shape lived experiences
• Kimberle Crenshaw's work highlights how single-axis frameworks (focusing on only one aspect of identity) can marginalize those who face multiple forms of discrimination
  • For example, Black women experience both racism and sexism, which compound each other in unique ways
• Intersectional approaches to literature examine how characters' identities shape their experiences and interactions within the text
  • Analyze how power structures and systems of oppression operate on multiple levels
• Queer of color critique examines the intersections of race, sexuality, and gender in literature and culture
  • Challenges the whiteness and heteronormativity of mainstream queer theory
  • Explores how queer people of color navigate multiple forms of marginalization and resistance
• Disability studies considers how literature represents and constructs disability in relation to other identity categories
  • Examines the ways in which ableism intersects with other forms of oppression such as racism and sexism
• Transnational and postcolonial approaches analyze how gender and sexuality are shaped by global power relations and histories of colonialism
  • Consider how literature reflects and resists the gendered and sexualized violence of imperial conquest and domination

Contemporary Debates and Developments

• The #MeToo movement has sparked renewed attention to issues of sexual harassment, assault, and consent in literature and publishing
  • Raises questions about power dynamics, gender inequality, and the responsibilities of authors and readers
• Trans studies has emerged as a growing field that challenges binary notions of gender and examines the experiences of transgender and gender non-conforming individuals
  • Analyzes how literature represents and affirms trans identities and embodiment
• Asexuality has gained increasing recognition as a distinct sexual orientation characterized by a lack of sexual attraction
  • Challenges the assumption that all characters (and readers) experience sexual desire
  • Examines how literature represents and marginalizes asexual identities and experiences
• The rise of social media and digital platforms has created new spaces for marginalized voices and alternative forms of storytelling
  • Allows for the circulation of counter-narratives and the formation of online communities around shared identities and experiences
• Debates around trigger warnings and content notes in literature classrooms reflect concerns about the potential for certain texts to cause trauma or distress
  • Raises questions about the role of discomfort and vulnerability in learning and the responsibilities of educators to create inclusive spaces
• The concept of "own voices" emphasizes the importance of marginalized authors telling their own stories and representing their own experiences
  • Challenges the appropriation and misrepresentation of marginalized identities by privileged authors
  • Calls for greater diversity and authenticity in publishing and literary representation

Applying Gender and Sexuality Criticism

• When analyzing a literary text, consider how gender and sexuality are constructed and represented through characters, relationships, and narrative structure
  • Examine how the text reinforces or challenges dominant norms and expectations around gender roles and sexual identity
• Pay attention to the language and imagery used to describe characters' bodies, desires, and behaviors
  • Analyze how these descriptions reflect and reproduce cultural assumptions and power dynamics
• Consider the historical and cultural context in which the text was produced and how it may have shaped the representation of gender and sexuality
  • Examine how the text responds to or intervenes in contemporary debates and discourses around gender and sexuality
• Look for absences, silences, and marginalized perspectives within the text
  • Consider whose voices and experiences are centered and whose are excluded or relegated to the margins
• Analyze how the text intersects with other forms of identity and oppression, such as race, class, and ability
  • Examine how these intersections shape characters' experiences and the overall narrative
• Consider your own positionality and how it may shape your reading and interpretation of the text
  • Reflect on how your own gender identity, sexual orientation, and other aspects of your identity influence your perspective and analysis
• Engage with multiple theoretical frameworks and approaches to gain a more nuanced and comprehensive understanding of the text
  • Consider how different lenses (feminist, queer, intersectional, etc.) may highlight different aspects of the text and its meanings
• Examine how the text has been received and interpreted by different audiences over time
  • Consider how changing social, cultural, and political contexts may have shaped the text's meaning and significance