Defining Feminist Theory Essay Research Paper Criticism

Defining Feminist Theory Essay, Research Paper

Criticism. The word just looks scary, and it s something most people are a little afraid to receive. However, I am afraid to give criticism. As the only male Women s Studies major on this campus, and the only male student who wants to learn about Feminist Theory, I ve learned very quickly to know my role . This course has served as a wake-up call to me that I am an outsider in the feminist movement and that this movement is not my movement. So for me to criticize a movement that I m deeply involved in, but not completely a part of, that scares me. I ve asked myself, what right do I have to tell the women involved in the feminist movement why I think what they re doing is wrong? Why do I think I know a better way, when I can t ever fully grasp what we re talking about? I will trudge through this paper, with the philosophy of when in Rome

I signed up for Feminist Theory for several reasons. On the lower end of the scale was the actual content of the class. I had no idea what Feminist Theory was, or what the class would be about. I was sure I ve read some of this theory in my Intro class, yet I wasn t sure, since I had no working definition of the term. What is theory? I think I can answer that fairly confidently. What is theory for? Who is theory for? How do different feminist writers do theory differently? I ve learned that much like the feminist movement itself, the answer to that battery of questions is going to be different for every one you ask.

bell hooks says that theory is a liberatory practice. For me personally, I ve come to agree whole-heartedly with her stance. I ve come to use (informally) theory as a way to explain things about myself, and the entire gay/lesbian/bisexual community that I never understood, or liked. The process of theorizing what society sees as cultural abnormalities or weaknesses has helped me to turn things around. I no longer agree with society in what they view as abnormalities or weaknesses. Instead, I believe their views are counter-productive, and weaknesses. I learned that theory could be a healing place . (hooks, 61) The most productive side effect of theory is healing. The writer gets to understand the world from a different angle. The writer gets to re-evaluate the society that has caused her/him pain in their life. The writer gets to hope for a better future. The writer gets to dream of what their life would be like in a more perfect world. There is no greater good that can result from personal theorizing than personal healing. The two should (and will) always be connected to each other. You can t create theory without healing yourself to some degree. That s the main thing it is (healing process) and what it does (heal).

Theory also serves other purposes. I believe a second benefit to theorizing is teaching others to theorize. Reading the feminist theory I have in this class so far, I ve learned that it s acceptable to examine, and believe in alternative explanations than our society has taught us since birth. A third level of theory is presenting new ideas to feminists. As Jane Gallop says, thinking about things you ve never thought about before is learning . (Dateline Video, 1998) I can think back to class, and remember during Identity: Skin Blood Heart , when Leah started crying while reading a paragraph of the article. I look back and wonder how an accounting professor would react to the information they teach causing a student to cry. I remember feeling uncomfortable, scared to make eye contact with Leah. But I also remember being overjoyed, and thrilled for Leah at the same time. I knew that reading that article had made a change in her life that would forever effect her. That s the most positive reaction a feminist theory writer can hope to achieve from her or his writing.

The last thing I think feminist theory does is to educate non-feminists. When I say non-feminists, I don t mean the feminists who are afraid to give themselves the label of feminist. I mean people who do not believe in feminist issues. I purposely list educating non-feminists last, because this is something I think rarely happens. The unfortunate part of theory is that the people who need to read the information the most are the ones who would never ever pick up the book.

Who is feminist theory for? There are two groups of people to examine to this question. The first group is the writers. They benefit the most from their theorizing. The second group is the readers. Unfortunately, the readers aren t the right people.

When I theorize (again, admittedly very informal and unprofessional) about gay/lesbian/bisexual issues, I feel better. I think to myself that I can use these theories to change people s opinions about issues. I think I m starting to change the world in my own little corner of the world. In writing this paper, I m realizing that there is a very direct target audience for my theories. The gay kids, the bisexual kids, and the allies in IMPACT. No one new. No one whose mind can be changed from one extreme to the other. At the end of every week, no matter how many theories I come to, there will still be the same number of GLBT supporters as there was at the beginning of the week. There is also the same number of GLBT opponents. None of that s changed. Regardless of what theories I come up with for myself, the only people who are learning anything new are t