While I can appreciate all the
literature we have read and are reading from the beat era, and all the
counter-culture topics that those writers covered, I do wish there were more
females. (I am forever sad the Karen was removed from the list.) So I decided
to post about some important things that what were happening for women and the
world of feminism at the same time. In this era from the 50’s to the mid-70’s,
females were coming out of the domestic oppression and very masculine-driven
previous generation. This was where “second wave feminism” has its foundation.
In 1949, brilliant French writer, Simone de Beauvoir examined the view of women
as the eternal “other” in a patriarchal society. She argues that our ability to
create life is trivialized by the men who consider females the “second sex,”
which is why she wrote the book of the same name, calling for the equal
treatment of females and pointing out all of the unappreciated strengths of
women.
In 1960 the FDA finally approved
the oral contraceptive pill, a huge win for women, and made the pill public in
1961. Then in 1963, writer Betty Friedan wrote the book, The Feminine Mystique, where she blatantly object the treatment of
females, as permanent fixtures within the home as well as their portrayal in
modern media. Friedan described this as "The Problem That Has No Name.”
She points out how the idea of the “perfect family” or the “perfect woman” is
perfect only for the other people involved, and did not at all represent the
happiness of the women.
With all the books and poetry that we have read and their discussion of
“othering” in the society that they existing in, all of the people who were
marginalized at the time, I feel it is important to point out the people who
were fighting for Women’s rights. I know these are just two examples and there
are hoards of others I didn’t mention, so I would love to hear about and
discuss other books and authors in the comments.
I love the point you bring up about women being "othered" and left out of the discussion. I recently read the Second Sex myself and beleive it is incredibly relevant to the questions raised by the beat movement. A book I am reading right now that I would add to the list of important works by women and about women during this era is "Sex and the Single Girl" By Helen Gurley Brown. It explores the ideas of women's sexual liberation and promotes a different approach to dealing with and interacting with men.
ReplyDeleteI too was saddened to hear that we wouldn't be covering Karen's book this quarter, especially since I've needed an excuse to read her work for a while now and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity. I agree with you fully that women seem to always be removed from the conversation, and I'm glad to see you writing about women who were fighting for equality during this time. Recently, in large part due to the impending Supreme Court decision regarding nation-wide same-sex marriages, I've done a lot of reading on Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She was actually quite the pioneer and advocate for woman's rights during the late 60's and early to mid 70's, most apparent with her being the co-founder of the Women's Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union in 1972. It's a large reason as to why Clinton nominated her for the Supreme Court in 1993. I don't know if I would identify Ruth Bader Ginsburg as fitting in with the "beat" generation, but she was definitely fighting for equal rights during that time period, something she has continued to do to this day.
ReplyDeleteSide bar, Kate McKinnon's Ruth Bader Ginsburg on SNL is one of my favorite things ever. I wish I could post a picture of her with the quote "That was a Gins-burn!"
I totally agree with you about the lack of female representation in this class, but I feel like it traces back to that same lack of representation in the Beat era. There's no way you can convince me that it was only men writing poetry on the streets of San Francisco during this time, but their work has faded into obscurity to showcase male talent. Women writers and poets from the time period we've been discussing may have basically been erased to focus on Ginsberg, Kerouac, and Ferlinghetti, who–despite being the "bums" rich capitalists hated– were still in more favorable conditions to be recognized. There's some damage from the patriarchy that can never be undone.
ReplyDeleteYES YES YES YES YES YES. I agree with everything being said here. There is a total lack of women in this curriculum as well as a lack of non-white writers. Now, Maxine Hong Kingston is a Chinese American writer and scholar, and it is totally awesome that we read her work that is so tied to many themes of Beat Lit, BUT! we haven't even touched on the Black Panther movement that happened in Oakland or our very own Angela Davis and her "radical" writings and subsequent wrongful political imprisonment.
ReplyDeleteI can only listen to so many lectures on how much Rob loves Ginsberg and Kerouac (7 WEEKS).