This week's journal entries dealt with a variety of topics ranging from the personal to the theoretical and political. However, a few themes stood out; most notably that of women's sex roles and the article on lesbianism "Woman Identified Woman". Most of us that chose to write on this topic thought that using lesbianism as a political statement and choice sounded too untrue. Can one decide to be a lesbian? and if so, does "chosing" to be heterosexual make you any less of a feminist?
However, it was also mentioned that the article opened up the term lesbianism so that more women could identify with it. It explained lesbianism as loving the feminine to the hilt. Women-women relationships were expanded to include more than just sexual relationships.
The question of sex roles and of how one choses to define themselves was definitely a concern this week, and I think that it is a question that will linger on for some, if not most, of us. Another theme that stood out in this weeks journals was that of the feminist movements fractionality and divisions. The issues of race, sexual orientation, and class were sites of dispute and homogeneity for the movement during the second wave and continuing on to today. The idea that it is a fine line between emphasising difference to the point of exclusion and emphasizing sameness and common experience also to the point of exclusion was aptly brought up in one journal entry. It is a dangerous line that we all must deal with and come to some common ground on. The fractionality between black men and black women was also discussed, as was the notion that the black movement tended to blame the capitalist system while the white movement blamed only men for women's oppression. This is an interesting and important point that I think helps to illustrate some of the differences between women's experiences from each other.
The SCUM manifesto and the Bitch manifesto were also discussed this week in relation to women's redefining and valorization of themselves and their femininity. I agree with the idea that being a Bitch and having Bitches as friends is and can be a very positive thing.
Overall, I felt that the journal entries were well thought out, insightful, and thought provoking. I appreciated the time that everyone seems to be investing in them.
-Karen Melanson