Week four reading analysis
History 2480 TPL
Robert Ganton
Within the readings of the week of September 25th to the October 1st problems arose about understanding what the authors were saying in one particular work and identified in others. The reading about “Feminist Poststructuralism and Psychoanalysis” had problems arise due to the theories applied and talked about without information being applied all the time. Within on particular section the theory took a turn for hyper analysis of society and what is so entrenched in our everyday lives made it more difficult to evaluate on any other scale. This part of the theory is in regards of language and how it is so fluent with society that its mere study has taken on an its own disciple within anthropology. But the Lacan’s also seems to try to simplify it by implying that its flow as stated earlier is ever fluent within our society.[1] This idea of studying a language that is in a fluctuating moment of time for example the present day is far too difficult because modern language has lost its original meaning. An example of this is young children playing video games will use derogatory terms such as “Gay, fag, etc.” for anything or anyone they do not approve of while later generations will say “gay” meaning “homosexual.” The problem is that the word “gay” means to be happy or marry.[2] It was derogatory use of a word that evolved it in a manner that forced it to become associated with homophobia or something that is wrong. The point of this argument is we assign definitions to words and what they mean to us as we use them to define specific moments in our lives. Furthermore Lacan’s theory on language although is very much true can also be very difficult to be applied to our modern language due to the wrong use of the original vernacular.
While there is no denying that language use varies greatly between the genders within western culture. In Laura Mulvey’s article she writes about something very interesting which is undeniable and that is “phallocentrism” exists and that some theorists do try to over throw the idea of male superiority. While there is no denying the idea of “phallocentrism,” the thing that most people are afraid of now is not feminism but radical feminism where equality no longer is the concept, but is the objective for men to attain for themselves.
While bother articles do show the views portrayed the idea of radical feminism is a very real fear that most people mainly men fear. It is the radicals that scare the world and are the groups that prevent and or hinder the progress of the world around them.
Bibliography
Weedon, C., “Feminist Poststructuralism & Psychoanalysis,” in Feminist Practice and Poststructuralist Theory
Dictionary.com, definition of “Gay”, Kipfer Barbara and Robert L. Chapman, The Dictionary of American Slang, Website, last revised 2007, http://www.dictionary.
[1] Weedon, C., “Feminist Poststructuralism & Psychoanalysis,” in Feminist Practice and Poststructuralist Theory, 51
[2] Dictionary.com definition of “Gay”, Kipfer Barbara and Robert L. Chapman, The Dictionary of American Slang, Website, last revised 2007, http://www.dictionary.com/browse/gay?s=t