How to Finish?

It makes me feel just a little sad and wistful that this is the closing journal entry. The final reflection; the last words; the concluding summation. Without trying to sound too cliché (or maybe I am), it’s like a long, long physical journey almost completed – tired, a little bit worn-out; not stopping to take a break, but not wanting to either, the destination so close the air itself feels like it’s starting to change. But oh what an experience it has been! And so rather than focusing on the finishing just yet, I will spend a moment or two re-evaluating and reflecting on myself; the traveller.

There have been some definite ‘moments of crazy’ during the last couple of months (my sister can attest to the fact that to combat ‘writer’s block’ and inspire short bursts of literary brilliance I would listen to ‘The Circle of Life’ from The Lion King on repeat for…well, hours really). But, as I hope has been evident throughout all my posts, there have also been ‘moments of insight.’ And by purposefully engaging with the works of so many incredible scholars, theorists and authors, I feel absolutely at bursting point with fresh ideas and new, more complex ways of looking at and understanding the world.

To begin with, I want to revisit my own feminist position. I’ve noted previously that I’d “label myself as a 'middle-of-the-road' (as opposed to 'extremist' or 'radical') liberal feminist who believes that women are entitled to full legal and social equality with men, and that given equal environments and opportunities, males and females will behave similarly (Crawford, 2012).” I also acknowledged that this is an ideological position. However, when I was writing my discussion segment on Sheri S. Tepper’s dystopian novel, The Gate to Women’s Country, I was struck again by the inadequacy of either liberal feminism or cultural feminism (as the two most common ‘understandings’ of feminism) to describe the problems women face and prescribe any sort of overarching solution. But at the same time I want to be able to say “I am this” or “I am that” with a good dose of conviction and a sense of my own rightness!

While it might be a sweeping generalisation, Western society appears to place a lot of emphasis on the importance of taking a decisive side wherever there is room for an argument. And once you’ve subscribed to a particular camp, remaining solidly on your side of the line at all costs: don’t sit on the fence, don’t vacillate between ideas, don’t listen to the other side. Make yourself and your experiences right and brook no room for disagreement. It’s so tempting to subscribe to this way of thinking about everything, from feminism to religion and politics to sexuality. It’s as if we forget our own subjectivity, our mutability, and our predilection for contradiction, and conceive of ourselves as these objective, all-knowing godlike entities (to over-exaggerate only slightly!).

I’m including this observation from Le Guin (1986) because I think she gracefully sums up the problem and proposes a much better alternative:

Early this spring I met a musician, the composer Pauline Oliveros, a beautiful woman like a grey rock in a streambed; and to a group of us, women, who were beginning to quarrel over theories in abstract, objective language - and I with my splendid Eastern-women's-college training in the father tongue was in the thick of the fight and going for the kill - to us, Pauline, who is sparing with words, said after clearing her throat, "Offer your experience as your truth." There was a short silence. When we started talking again, we didn't talk objectively, and we didn't fight. We went back to feeling our way into ideas, using the whole intellect not half of it, talking with one another, which involves listening. We tried to offer our experience to one another. Not claiming something: offering something.

Maybe learning to say “I’m not sure, but this is my experience” or “that’s an equally valid philosophy/perspective/idea” with some conviction once in a while would be a very good thing. As my reading of The Gate to Women’s Country demonstrates, different feminist perspectives can look like equally valid alternatives depending on the circumstances you examine them under, and from what position you’re in at that moment. And so while I’m not 100% sure which ‘camp’ of feminism I should subscribe to, or even if there is much benefit in doing so (not feminism in general, obviously I’m still a feminist!), as Ladkin (2010) would say, my feelings of unease indicate I’m still in the midst of ‘questing’ for the right questions to ask myself when it comes to engaging with feminist theory at a deeper level, and, ultimately, that’s a very good thing!

Of course, I haven’t underpinned my thesis on unanchored whims and unfounded theories! By taking a multiplicity of approaches – liberal, cultural, and poststructuralist feminism (and a good dash of sociology) – in my thesis, I think/hope I am offering rather than claiming something: A particular way of looking at women and leadership that is broader, richer and, I hope, raises many more questions than it answers; expanding on possibilities rather than narrowing them.

Shaping or Being Shaped?

A couple of weeks ago I finished writing the discussion. It was hard work! I’d meticulously taken notes from all ten of the short listed texts (which took forever, I might add!) with all these grand ideas of how I was going to shape them into tidy little ‘lessons’ and illustrative examples to ‘fit’ my conceptual framework. I had my favourite examples that I wanted to use but I struggled in vain for several days trying to achieve the ‘fit’ that I wanted.

Of course, this was all very naive of me. As Sucher (2007) points out, stories have a life of their own. While the reader is integral in co-creating and drawing out ‘meanings’ from a narrative, the text itself cannot be re-written to suit our own purposes (and nor would it be ethical to try and do so). So it wasn’t until I consciously let go of my desire to control the stories (which partly arose from my panic about the approaching deadline!) and started instead to work alongside and with them that the words began to flow. In fact, once I became ‘less precious’ about which books and examples from the short list to use in the extended discussion, they essentially self-selected themselves. The theory which guided the conceptual framework and the fictional stories began to work together to illuminate one another and produce a set of fascinating guiding questions and ‘answers’ (I’m putting this in quote marks as these ‘answers’ served to produce more questions rather than neat solutions!), such as: Should I exercise ‘power-over’ or ‘power-with’ others? Am I aware of my own and others’ absent but present gendered expectations and their impact on the ‘leaderly’ engagements I participate in? How am I ‘storying’ myself as a leader?

While I, as the researcher, am directly involved in interpreting and creating meaning (and by no means perfectly), this ‘letting go’ also allowed the ideas being drawn out from the texts to shape me. I spent many nights lying in bed reflecting on The Lifeboat and asking what gendered expectations are shaping my perceptions of others, whether or not I’m asking the ‘right’ questions like Sarah Grimke in The Invention of Wings, or, as mentioned above, struggling with feminist theoretical perspectives on leadership after reading and writing about The Gate to Women’s Country.

And so there is no doubt in my mind that actively reading and engaging with women’s novels, plays and short stories can be transformative, if only we’re willing to look a little further, read a bit more carefully and examine ourselves with a touch more honesty.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

How should I finish? Well, that’s quite simple really, with thank you’s of course! I know there’s an acknowledgements page in the thesis, but it seems almost more appropriate to end with a special thank you to all those who have been very closely involved in this project from its inception right up to its completion. (And, as an added bonus, I don’t quite have to be so formal here!).

To begin with, I feel immensely privileged that I was given the opportunity to try and make sense of just one tiny corner of the universe by writing a Master’s thesis. I couldn’t have done it without the tireless support and encouragement from my supervisors, Margot and Janet. Thank you Margot for always being so positive, encouraging and full of good ideas! After every meeting I always felt 10x more energised and ready to tackle any challenge. I would not have been able to write this thesis without you, so thank you for believing in me. Thank you Janet for encouraging me to stretch myself and explore new ideas. Your comments and feedback have been invaluable.

Thank you Mum, Dad and Grandma for always cheering me own, regularly checking-in to see how I’m doing and keeping me in your thoughts and prayers. I really do appreciate how you brought me up to love learning and taught me to always strive to do my best. Mum, thank you for reading so many of my assignments over the years – you have been the best teacher and the most wonderful encourager throughout my years and years of study. To my little sister Esther, thank you for not only being my favourite study buddy but also for reading everything that I was too nervous to send to anyone else first (and being so positive about it)!

But most of all, thank you to Mitchel, my amazingly supportive husband, who has had to (amidst the moments of achievement and excitement) wipe away tears, navigate mini-breakdowns, and spend many, many evenings and weekends without my company. Who has always made an effort to celebrate what I’m doing by reading my blogs, explaining my thesis to anyone who asks (and fend off many a snarky or critical remark!), and has tirelessly listened to and responded positively to my catchphrase: “But I still have so much to do!” <3

"That's a Wrap!" A Book Review Finale

Now that I'm well into the writing stage, I’ve pretty much finished reading novels, short stories, and plays (although I may manage to sneak in a couple more if I’m lucky!), but there were a few stragglers which didn’t get included in my last book review post. So, in this ‘finale’ book review blog, I have three books to appraise, a long list of ‘what-I-wish-I-could-read-if-I-had-time,' a short reflective vignette on how my reading experiences have evolved over the last 7-8 months, and ‘My Feminist Bookshelf’ recommendations. There is just so much great information in this post!

(The massive pile of books I currently have out from the library! I'm still trying to work out how on earth I'm going to get them all back to uni - a wheelbarrow or three?!)

1. The Help (2009) by Kathryn Stockett

Applicability Rating: 8/10

Relevant Themes: Collaborative leadership, women’s stories & perspectives, intersectionality/racial issues, authentic leadership & engagement

Key Thoughts: I don’t usually make a habit of reading a book after I’ve watched the movie, but The Help is a real gem, even if you already have the inside scoop on all the best spoilers. Set in the deep-south in 1962, Stockett’s well-loved novel is narrated by three extraordinary women – twenty-two year old Skeeter, a privileged yet ambitious white girl, and two black maids, the wise and regal Aibileen and her best friend Minny, the sassiest maid in all of Jackson, Mississippi, but also the best cook. In terms of leadership, the whole story is concerned with addressing what Keith Grint would no doubt call a ‘wicked’ problem – the ill treatment of black maids, and more widely, racism in 1960s America. Using Ladkin's leadership 'moment' framework, a general outline of this overarching leadership theme might look something like this:

Leadership ‘Moment’	Context	Purpose	Relationships between leader/s & followers	Relevant W & L Themes/Issues
‘Wicked’ problem Solution: writing a book to encourage social justice	1960s Mississippi Racism Oppressive rules (Jim Crow Laws) Women in sole charge of households (domestic sphere)	Starting a social movement for change. Addressing the ways black and white women view and treat one another (with reference to wider society)	Power-with Authentic engagement Collaboration on a joint project	Leadership moving between women Women's leadership in times of crisis Intersectionality

While the novel could be examined holistically (as a ‘whole’ rather than ‘parts’), this framework can also be applied to more specific ‘moments’ within the story. For example:

Specific Leadership ‘Moments’	Context	Purpose	Relationship between leaders & followers	Relevant W & L Discussion Questions
Skeeter & Aibileen working closely together to write and publish a book. Examples from text: p. ??? p. ??? p. ???	Expectations & perceptions – Skeeter is white and Aibileen is black Fear of discovery Social stigma Skeeter expected to marry, start a family & fit in with the social set rather than pursue a career	Collecting stories from black maids to show what really goes on in white households, and by doing so, expose & address the terrible racial issues in Jackson	Task as the ‘leader’ Collaboration Power ‘with’ Developing trust Support networks	What goes on between women when the task acts as the ‘leader’? What expectations do Aibileen and Skeeter bring to their leader-leader relationship? Etc…

My infatuation with this book was subdued somewhat after I read an essay by Roxane Gay in Bad Feminist. As a black woman herself, Gay claims the book and movie both do a rather poor job of dealing with racial issues (there is a shorter version of this article online: 'Bad Movie, Worse Book'). She specifically takes issue with the typical stereotypes Stockett (who is white) adopts for her black characters – the selfless and loving nanny, the abusive black husband, the sassy, big-mouthed maid who’s always getting into trouble. And whereas Skeeter, the young white protagonist, gets to ‘follow her dreams’ as a result of publishing the book, Aibileen is fired from her job and her future hangs in the balance. It’s really tricky because I think the temptation here, for me at least, would be to use the story for its excellent examples of leadership but ignore race (and more specifically, black women's leadership experiences) since it complicates, and even overshadows, what could be termed the more useful ‘all-women’ or ‘universal’ lessons. I’ll add this book to my long list, but I think until I’m more up-to-the-play with racial issues, critical race theory and intersectional analysis I couldn’t do it real justice.

2. Base Ten (2009) by Maryann Lesert

Applicability Rating: 6.5/10

Relevant Themes: Work-life balance difficulties for women, navigating the double-bind, women in male-dominated fields, agentic vs. communal behaviours

Key Thoughts: I branched out a bit with this book as it’s definitely not on any bestseller or prize-winning lists. In fact, it seems to have flown largely under the radar and is not even available in New Zealand (I had to order it off Book Depository). Published by The Feminist Press in 2009, Base Ten deals with some very topical – though largely invisible – issues to do with women’s careers versus traditional family responsibilities. Although somewhat heavy on the details and perhaps 100 pages too long, I did find the story quite fascinating, particularly in the very human way it approached the double bind most women will face at some point in their lives: a highly rewarding and brilliant career or motherhood. For astrophysicist Jillian Greer who has always dreamed of going into space, the tensions between the real and all-encompassing (but equally frustrating) love she has for her children and the inevitable consequences motherhood has for her once brilliant career in the male-dominated realm of the sciences, is almost enough to drive her mad. She could have achieved so much and yet… While the novel is not so much about leadership as it is about self-discovery, it also interrogates the underlying social structures which govern how the workplace is currently organised - Why are women still a minority in some industries? Why are women still being confronted with having to make a ‘sacrificial choice’ between a fulfilling career and family? Why hasn’t society and the workplace adapted? What can be done?

However, I have mixed feelings about recommending this book. It's not overly gripping or exciting. Yes it's clever and thoughtful, but realistically, as a book club recommendation, participants would struggle to get the whole way through. Sadly, I can see most people designating it to the category of tedious and onerous 'should reads.'

3. The Gate to Women's Country (1988) by Sheri S. Tepper

Applicability Rating: 8.5/10

Relevant Themes: Matriarchal societies, women in power, male/female leadership differences, ethical & moral decision-making

Key Thoughts: This is one of those books that you either simply love or hate (or love to hate as the case may be). Personally, I was equally enthralled and horrified...I couldn't get it out of my head and I just had to keep reading in every spare moment until I'd made it to the unsettling and surprising end. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it! In summary, the novel is set in a post-apocalyptic dystopian world where only two extreme political alternatives exist: an oppressive, in-bred polygamist faction that subscribes to patriarchal religious fundamentalism which disconcertingly is not so far removed from some religious sects that could be found today, and a closely controlled matriarchal dictatorship known as Women’s Country. In an attempt to avoid another devastating world war, most of the men in Women’s Country are only allowed to live in closed military garrisons outside the cities. They provide protection from bandits, thieves and other garrisons. While men may leave the garrisons between the ages of 15 to 25 to become peace-loving ‘servitors,’ only a very few choose to do so. The women, on the other hand, manage the economy and are entirely responsible for the government, as well as agriculture, industry, learning and science. The ensuing story is narrated primarily from the perspective of Stavia, the devoted yet errant daughter of a leading councilwoman, as she comes to terms with her place, and the place of others, in Women’s Country.

Although Tepper seems to hold that male and female differences in temperament and nature are primarily biological, I think she leaves enough room for the reader to challenge her conceptions of gender. Women’s Country is by no means a utopian society even though women do hold most of the power, and there are vast consequences arising from such a rigid social system. A fact which is not lost on the leading Councilwomen, who call themselves the ‘Damned Few’ as a result. So with its thoughtful application of cultural feminism and a healthy dose of Greek mythology, this story can be labelled both provocative and memorable, raising manifold questions about the nature of male and female differences, both as leaders and followers, in a world completely at odds with itself.  

4. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (2015) by Becky Chambers

Applicability Rating: 5/10

Relevant Themes: Follower-leader dynamics, crisis situations, gender fluidity (play)

Key Thoughts: I picked this sci-fi novel up because it’s been longlisted for the 2016 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction. And I also found it fascinating that Chambers financed this book (both the final writing stages and the self-publishing costs) by successfully campaigning through Kickstarter, a popular crowdfunding website. A fantastic idea, no?

I’m not overly familiar with the sci-fi genre, it seems that the label encompasses a wide variety of different styles and content. Whereas Le Guin’s sci-fi is serious, thoughtful and dystopian, Chambers’ style is much more comic, contemporary, and…teen fiction-y. Imagine a fictional galaxy something akin to Star Wars and you’re halfway there. It’s set in a post-apocalyptic era; the human race have only escaped their dying planet (which has been devastated due to humanity’s propensity for rampant self-destruction – I’m looking at you America!) and resettled on Mars. But out in the galaxy there’s a whole plethora of different intelligent species and advanced civilizations (and it almost goes without saying, much more intelligent than humans). On a tunneling ship captained by a human we meet at least five different varieties of these diverse galactic species. Chambers goes all-out explaining what these fantastical creatures look like – colourful feathers, boneless goo, shimmering scales…I couldn’t help but think of something akin to the cast of characters from Monsters, Inc. And after that funny unprompted mind-association, I completely lost my ability to take this novel too seriously.

While the story is entertaining and clever (Chambers has a vibrant and fun imagination), personally, I think she is trying to achieve too much in this novel. There’s some form of critique and/or message for literally EVERYTHING. Sustainability, the environment, climate change, war & peace, terrorism, racism, acceptance, corporate greed, LGQBT, the political system, colonialism, body modification, artificial intelligence, inter-species sex…that one weirded me out a little bit to be honest. Chambers appears set on trying to take on the entire world, or should I say, galaxy (except for feminism, oddly enough). And I’m not saying that these aren’t all important issues, but can a 300-odd page book really do them any sort of justice?

While the key female character, Rosemary,  is subject to a lot of the action, she fell short of my personal requirements for an interesting and engaging leader/follower. Furthermore, because of all the 'messages' Chambers is trying to get across and drill into her audience, the story/plot feels diluted; simply a vehicle for a political agenda. I really wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't. In one word: frustrating. 

So why even bother reviewing this novel? I decided to include this review because it demonstrates how finding appropriate stories is always a matter of trial-and-error. I thought this would be a great choice as according to the summary and reviews I read it featured a decent female lead, controversial/topical issues, an interesting leadership setting, had been nominated for notable prizes...but it just goes to show, until you have a book in your hands and start reading, looking at reviews and summaries is always going to be a hit-and-miss process. In this way it hints at the sheer amount of time and effort it has taken to read and then reflect on almost 50 books and short story collections (as well as read reviews and summaries for well over 200+ books) in order to create a high quality and workable long list.

 

Listomania

While I’m probably not going to get a chance to read them this time around, on my “if-I-didn’t-sleep-and-just-studied” list I have:

• The Stargazer’s Sister by Carrie Brown
• The Women's Pages by Debra Adelaide
• People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
• The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante
• Little Aunt Crane by Geling Yan
• Sister Noon by Karen Joy Fowler
• Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
• The Green Road by Anne Enright
• Starlight Peninsula by Charlotte Grimshaw
• Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
• Impossible Saints by Michèle Roberts
• Cleopatra’s Shadow by Emily Holleman
• Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
• Everything and anything by Alice Hoffman, Ursula Le Guin, and Charlotte Rogan
• More short story collections – like Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology (almost finished this one actually! A captivating, spine-tingling collection).

Also missing from my 'top 50'  list are New Zealand authors. I hate to admit that apart from Patricia Grace, Eleanor Catton and Katherine Mansfield,  I've read very few NZ women writers. But unless I set out on another reading mission, I'm not sure how to rectify this in the short term. It may be something I need to redress if I did a phD (I could spend 2-3 months researching and reading 10-15 novels/stories by NZ women writers) and it will be a limitation for this study.

A Few Reflections on Reading

As my blog and thesis have developed, my ‘reviews’ have concurrently evolved from short, almost timid summaries, to (mostly) thoughtful critiques and detailed appraisals. As a point of comparison, consider my review for The Secret Life of Bees which I wrote back in August 2015:

A clear work environment (the honey business) where there is leadership and followership between women. August Boatwright exemplifies authentic leadership in its fullest sense, i.e. heart leadership, solid values, passionate engagement, self-discipline. Since the story is told from perspective of Lily, I could investigate how women respond to authentic leadership and female support.

This is still a good summary, it’s all extremely relevant information. But I can’t help but feel there was a certain reticence which marred my textual analysis when I first started this project. I also wasn't entirely sure of what I was looking for or how I should talk about the texts.

Turning my gaze back, I can identify changes in how I read and think about my selected stories. My critical thinking skills (for this subject at least) have improved, and I feel that I can more easily recognise leadership 'moments' and what is going on in the 'spaces between' people/characters. But it's not only a matter of practical skills-based improvements, reading fictional stories in tandem with leadership theory has provided me with so many deeply engaging and memorable examples and case studies of women's leadership in action. There are two particular 'case' examples I keep returning to again and again. Firstly, the story of Sarah Grimke in The Invention of Wings [my review says it all here]; I still feel that I can identify with Sarah (the 'reluctant leader') as her story is a 'real-to-me' case study. Secondly, I often find myself reflecting on The Lifeboat and the epic leadership 'crisis' and subsequent power struggle it portrayed (hmm, I might need to rethink my short list...). 
In addition, as a young woman myself, reading well-written women's stories that feature complex and diverse characters has given me more confidence in my own leadership capabilities (personal agency), as well as greater awareness of the pitfalls and problems within the leadership 'labyrinth' (as Eagly and Carli would say) and how I might navigate them in the future. I have been my own experimental guinea pig!

The ‘Feminism’ Shelf

It’s one thing to say you’re a feminist, but another to know and understand what that really means beyond “Yes, I believe in gender equality” (not that that's wrong by any means!). ‘Feminism,’ as a concept/theory/ideology/method (etc!), is extremely multi-faceted. It’s something to struggle with and make sense of over a protracted period of time, maybe even your whole life. In fact, for me at least, learning about and engaging with feminism discourses and theories has been a transformative experience.

When I started my thesis I didn’t fully comprehend the definitive differences between cultural feminism and liberal feminism, let alone what the terms ‘gender binary’ or ‘intersectionality’ meant. And I was absolutely clueless where poststructuralist feminism was concerned. I thought I knew a little bit about first, second, and third-wave feminism, but post-feminism? Not really. And sociological perspectives on ‘gender’ and ‘sex’ – why on earth didn’t I take a sociology paper at undergrad level?! I’ve tried hard to improve my understanding and knowledge of feminism over the last 8 months (a ‘crash-course’ approach to learning), so I am by no means an expert, but as part of “That’s a Wrap!” I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to recommend a few feminist books I’ve found particularly enlightening, entertaining, and inspiring.

These books are easy to read and easily accessible from the public libaray. For me they made feminism more relatable and applicable to daily life experiences, without getting overly theoretical or contentious about it:

• We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• The Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd (I’ve written about this book here).
• Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay (oh wait, Gay is quite contentious!)
• The Myth of Mars and Venus: Do Men and Women Really Speak Different Languages? By Deborah Cameron (Cameron’s blog, language:a feminist guide, is really interesting too!)
• Living Dolls: The Return of Sexism by Natasha Walters
• And I’m just about to start reading Feminism is for Everybody by bell hooks

I tried to read Caitlan Moran’s very popular, part memoir, part manifesto – How to Be a Woman, but I found it to be too flippant. Similarly, while Full Frontal Feminism by Jessica Valenti had some good points, overall it lacked depth and made feminism seem overly simplistic (and she swears like a trooper…I mean there are only so many expletives you can handle in a non-fiction book before it becomes annoying). Both these books take a decidedly liberal feminist stance.

For your coffee table: Jacky Fleming's The Trouble With Women. This clever and satirical illustrated book will be sure to get some good conversations/arguments started!

But for the more serious reader:

• Modern Misogyny: Anti-Feminist in a Post-Feminist Era by Kristin J. Anderson

This has got to be one of my all-time favourites! I won’t go into any detail here since I’ve already written about this book in an earlier post [check it out here]. But I will say, even if the title sounds negative, Anderson does an excellent job of exploring the current mainstream attitudes towards feminism. An eye-opening read!

• Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference by Cordelia Fine

I’ll admit it – I had trouble understanding everything in this book. It’s dense and filled with ‘science-speak,' and since I have little background in science, or more specifically, neuroscience and psychology, it was a tough read for me! Saying that, it’s still worth the effort. Fine is relentless in her close analysis of the current research on the brain, working hard to disprove or at least seriously bring into question claims that we have either a ‘male’ brain or a ‘female’ brain from which all behaviour in society eventuates. You know that argument – ‘Women are too intuitive for math, and men are too focused for housework.' For me this book is freeing - too often we come up with excuses for our behavior or other peoples behavior along the lines of 'oh well, she's a woman so..." or "you can't expect a guy to...because he just isn't wired that way." And sure, you can't throw out the baby with the bathwater, there are some small differences in biological brain make-up. BUT...as Fine points out, direct correlations between male/female brains and what would stereotypically be considered male and female behaviors aren't scientifically proven, and the experiments which have been done are full of holes. I mean really:

While this image makes the idea of female/male brains seem silly and ridiculous, I can recall multiple occasions when I've been complicit in reinforcing these stereotypes! It reminds me of what bell hooks has said about the need to constantly confront and critique our own internalised sexism, and then, only then, can we as women (and men) begin to change society. 

Last but not least, I really enjoyed reading Michael Kimmel's comprehensive sociology textbook titled The Gendered Society, along with Transformations: Women, Gender, and Psychology by Mary Crawford. 

And, at long last, we've finally made it to the end of this ridiculously long finale post! *applause*

Straight from My Book Bag

We just got back from our Summer beach holiday. And as I reward for all my hard work over the last couple of months I decided to take a week-long break from all texts study related, including novels. Instead I chose to read Atonement by Ian McEwan, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields. I enjoyed all three of these novels immensely and would highly recommend them for those who enjoy ‘slice of life,’ deeply thoughtful literary works. Harper Lee’s classic had been on my 'must-read-eventually' list for quite some time (as in several years), and it was really by chance that I ended up throwing it in my bag as a last minute option in case it rained on holiday (which it did, quite profusely). So it almost seems like some strange stroke of fate or coincidence that I finished the book on the very same day she passed away (Feb 19).

Harper Lee, 1926 - 2016

And, finally, here are the last stragglers from my hypothetical 'book bag'!

1. Pope Joan (1996) by Donna Woolfolk Cross

Applicability Rating: 8.5/10

Relevant Themes: Women in power, ‘doing’ gender, masculine vs. feminine traits enacted by leaders, male and female leadership differences, leadership in crisis situations

Key Thoughts: In this dramatic page-turner and book club classic, Donna Woolfolk Cross realistically envisions and brings to life the legend of Pope Joan, a talented ninth-century woman who allegedly disguised herself as a man and unexpectedly rose to become the first, and only, female to preside on the papal throne. Regardless of whether or not Joan the Pope did in fact exist (although the evidence Woolfolk Cross provides in the ‘Author’s Note’ is quite convincing), Joan is an unforgettable character who defies convention and rises to the highest echelons of official power (during this time period, the papacy was one of the most coveted leadership positions in all of Christendom).

What happens when a pseudo-male wields power greater than any other man (or woman) in Europe? Would ‘she’ lead differently? The back cover tries to emphasise the fact that Joan is a ‘woman’ in power, but I would disagree with this as Joan always presents as male, which problematizes labeling Joan as a ‘heroine’ or as a legitimate female leader example. As a ‘man’ to all but a very select few, Joan is free from the negative perceptions and expectations which are naturally afforded to the female sex. In fact, she never has to face the double bind that women are generally confronted with – should she employ communal behaviours and be well-liked but not respected or use agentic behaviours and be respected but not liked. While some members of the papal court are deeply suspicious of his/her more egalitarian leanings and communal caring behaviours, the majority accept and respect these ‘feminine’ attributes as long as they are presented in the guise of the normative masculine body. So even though Joan enacts a more post-heroic, transformational leadership style (‘women’s leadership’) than previous papal leaders, without the cloak of masculinity would her ‘leadership’ and authority ever have been taken seriously? The answer is clearly no – in fact, it is because of her female biological organs that she is killed without remorse by a raging crowd; her ‘innate femininity’ makes her unacceptable as a leader or religious figurehead in the public sphere.

After finishing Pope Joan, I began to ask myself what I consider to be an interesting set of questions. For example, why does Woolfolk Cross choose to have Joan practice more ‘feminine’ leadership traits? Joan's vision for a cleaner, safer, more inclusive, compassionate and moral nation-state is in stark contrast to her competitor Anastasius’s aggressive, authoritative and individualistic political goals. Is Woolfolk Cross constructing her view of female leadership through a cultural feminist lens? Is the novel suggesting that because Joan is a woman, even though she’s posturing as a man and has only had agentic leadership behaviours modeled for her (there are no strong female role models in her life), she will naturally opt for more communal and participatory leadership behaviours? And what wider implications do these assumptions about innate female behaviours have for women and leadership more generally? How would the story be different if Woolfolk Cross had portrayed Joan as an ‘iron maiden’ instead?

The other notable topic Woolfolk Cross highlights is the oppressive social restrictions forced on women, social ideas that she hints have not completely disappeared. This is epitomised in a conversation between Pope Joan and Jordanes, a member of her synod:

“Holiness,” he said, “you do great injury in seeking to educate women.”

“How so?” she asked.

“Surely you know, Holiness, that the size of a woman’s brain and her uterus are inversely proportionate; therefore, the more a girl learns, the less likely she will ever bear children.’

Better barren of body than of mind, Joan thought dryly, though she kept the thought to herself.

“Where have you read this?”

“It is common knowledge.” (p. 366).

Woolfolk Cross wants to challenge ‘common knowledge’ in all forms, and Joan’s quick wits are readily devoted to this task throughout the novel (these clever confrontations are excellent!). While I found the romantic undertones of the story rather frustrating and, at times, unnecessary (although Joan had to get pregnant somehow I suppose!), the novel provides a rigorous examination of the root causes and assumptions of misogyny (in religion and society) and has multiple examples of leadership ‘moments’ with feminist undertones which would serve as lively discussion points in a book club setting.

2. The Nightingale (2015) by Kristin Hannah

Applicability Rating: 6.5/10

Relevant Themes: Women’s courage in times of crisis, female leadership in male-dominated contexts, challenging popular expectations and perceptions, self-actualisation

Key Thoughts: Voted as the Goodreads ‘People’s Choice Awards’ top historical fiction novel for 2015 (with over 57,000 votes), The Nightingale is a rather typical women's WWII novel which follows the stories of two sisters whose lives are thrown into disarray after the Fall of France in 1940. Vianne, the elder sister, lives near the French border with her small family and tries her best to keep her daughter safe by complying with the Germans, especially after a Nazi officer is posted to her house. Isabelle, on the other hand, desperate to fulfil De Gaulle’s call-to-arms and stand up to the German invaders, flees to Paris and joins the French resistance. Brave almost to a fault, she leads countless missions across the Pyrenees, smuggling downed air pilots to safety right under the Germans' noses.

I really struggled to get into this novel and, I have to admit, almost gave up 100 pages in. There is little in the way of subtly or literary acumen in this book. Maybe it was the predictable ‘chick lit’ tag line on the front cover (“In love we find out who we want to be. In war we find out who we are”) which made me sceptical or the over-the-top portraits of the annoyingly naive Isabelle and painfully bossy Vianne which made the reading experience less than engaging to begin with. Nonetheless, two-thirds in, as Vianne and Isabelle courageously stand up to the Germans in their own unique ways, I began to pick out some important women and leadership themes. For example, Isabelle, a very pretty young woman, struggles to deal with and counter the prejudices she experiences leading American and British pilots to safety. With some of the soldiers unwilling to listen and follow a young woman, Isabelle must navigate that unsteady bridge between communal and agentic behaviours, showing that she is both compassionate and capable. Saying this, The Nightingale is definitely a novel which falls into the popular fiction category, and is nowhere near as clever or expertly crafted as other works of literature in the same WWII genre, such as Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See. For this reason, no matter how popular it was last year, I doubt it will stand the test of time as a canonical ‘great read.’

 

3. The Last Runaway (2013) by Tracy Chevalier

Applicability Rating: 9/10

Relevant Themes: Relationships and ‘space between’ women (follower and leaders), power-with others, ethical and moral decision-making, female role models and mentors, self-actualisation

Key Thoughts: This was a nice and easy, fast-paced read. Set in the 1850s, The Last Runaway tells the story of Honor Bright, a sheltered and overly timid Quaker girl who impulsively decides to immigrate to America with her sister Grace. Her sister dies unexpectedly from yellow fever soon after their arrival, and Honor sets off on her own to a small pioneering Quaker community to break the sad news to Grace's intended groom. Opposed in principle to slavery, Honor is forced to test her beliefs when a runaway slave shows up on her new husband’s farm. As the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 comes into full force in the North, Honor is faced with a difficult moral dilemma: protect her new family or help the runaways who keep appearing and risk losing everything. Honor doesn’t act alone – she becomes friends with the indomitable Belle, the local milliner and a free black woman known as Mrs Reed, both ‘station masters’ for the Underground Railroad. These spirited women challenge and encourage Honor, acting as ‘leaders’ and role models in their interactions with her.

What I particularly liked about The Last Runaway is that all the female characters are diverse and multi-dimensional. Honor’s transformation from shy and reticent to bold and courageous is well-done and believable. It is due to the influence of Belle and Mrs Reed that Honor is able to change the sense of who she is and what she is capable of, giving her a new understanding of the world and mobilising her for collective action. And there are plenty of examples which allow for questions, such as: what goes on between women when leadership occurs? Or, how is leadership between women portrayed and experienced? How can growth and development be facilitated and supported among women?

The novel also demonstrates how leadership has the ability to move fluidly between people, rather than solely being limited to conventional ‘leader’ and ‘follower’ dichotomies. There is a particular scene where Honor runs away with a slave woman called Virginie. At first, it seems that Honor is the one ‘leading the way’ towards their destination, but it quickly becomes evident that Virginie is also, at times,‘leading’ Honor, who knows next to nothing about navigating a dark forest at night or hiding from slave catchers. In this context, the task of escaping becomes the ‘invisible’ leader, guiding how Honor and Virginie relate to each other and achieve their end purpose. 

4. The Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar (2012) by Suzanne Joinson

Applicability Rating: 7/10

Relevant Themes: Bad/immoral leadership, follower’s perspectives, ‘spaces between’ women (followers and leaders).

Key Thoughts: This novel reminded me a little bit of The House Girl by Tara Conklin – a captivating historical narrative punctuated intermittently by a sub-par present day story that tries just a bit too hard to connect with the past. So I was always a little bit disappointed when Evangeline English’s fascinating diary that records her calamitous missionary trip to Kashgar was interrupted by Frieda and Tayeb’s lacklustre observations of London life.

I’m not going to bother re-hashing Frieda’s rather unconvincing story here, but I really did enjoy her great-grandmother, Evangeline’s, 'A Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar – Notes.' In 1923 Evangeline, a ‘fake’ missionary who wants to write a piece of creative non-fiction about her travels, and her passionately religious sister, Lizzie, set out to establish a mission station in the Middle East. The sisters are under the direction of an overbearing and conniving missionary leader called Millicent, a woman who is not all that she seems. Along the way they rescue a baby from a dying teenage mother and, accused of the young mother's death, the women end up under house arrest in the unfriendly desert city of Kashgar. In no time at all, Millicent puts all three women in extreme danger, firstly by converting a local Muslim girl (who is subsequently drowned by her angry father) and then by distributing inflammatory tracts throughout the restless and hostile city with a rogue Italian priest. Evangeline is soon forced to flee for her life across the desert with the rescued baby, Ai-lien. In her journal entries, Evangeline is an acute observer of the leader/follower dynamic and the sway a corrupt leader like Millicent can hold over her followers. It is Evangeline’s apparent obsession with Millicent that fuels most of the tension in her diary entries – she is at once repelled and drawn to Millicent’s ‘power-over’ her and Lizzie. Even once she is free from Millicent’s immediate influence, Evangeline continues to be haunted by her presence, frequently asking “what would Millicent do?” This dangerous relationship between the leader and followers would definitely raise some interesting discussion points, however, due to the frustrating hopping and skipping between plot lines and narrative voices, I’m not convinced this novel deserves a place on the short list.

5. Sarah Canary (1991) by Karen Joy Fowler

Applicability Rating: 5/10

Relevant Themes: Female absence and ‘Otherness,’ ‘voicing’ and ‘silencing’ of the feminine, minority experiences (racial, sexual, political, mental, etc), reluctant ‘leaders’/‘invisible’ leaders

Key Thoughts: By virtue of the fact that the majority of protagonists and narrators in this book are male, Sarah Canary should be immediately disqualified from my list. However, some of the themes (listed above) are particularly fascinating and, I believe, quite relevant and worth investigating at least briefly. Most importantly, Sarah Canary, even though she never speaks an intelligible word, could be labelled as a leader. Why? Quite simply, people follow her, in a literal as well as metaphorical sense. In fact, for Chin she emerges as a type of silent charismatic leader/goddess who is leading him, perhaps against his better judgement, towards some unidentifiable purpose/knowledge/discovery.

Something I love about Karen Joy Fowler is that she remains tantalisingly on the fence between genres; playing with science fiction and otherworldly experiences, but not quite indulging in an alternative universe. The alien-like behaviour of Sarah Canary is unsettling, and yet she is still familiar. And because she lacks a ‘voice,’ she is vulnerable to myriad interpretations. In fact every character in the story constructs, and subsequently projects, a different narrative background onto her – abused woman, wild woman raised by wolves, goddess/spirit, mental health patient, etc…

Subsequently, the questions about gender, perceptions, projection, culture, and leadership which the novels raises are quite endless, and could include: What if the female heroine is silent? Who speaks for her? How is she voiced and silenced by those around her? And to what effect? What happens to the ‘leader’ when the ‘followers’ are the ones who ‘hold power’ even if they feel ‘powerless’ (e.g. Chin and BJ)? I'll leave it at that for now since realistically I'm not going to use this book further. However, it is an interesting interrogation of a ‘leader’ figure from the followers’ perspective, and it also calls into question the desirability of setting strict criteria on my literature selection.

 

5. “What I Didn’t See” (short story) (2010) by Karen Joy Fowler

Applicability Rating: 6/10

Relevant Themes: Female perspectives, group dynamics between men and women, expectations and perceptions, the female body, ecofeminism

Key Thoughts: I’ve been on a bit of a Karen Joy Fowler binge recently! While I’m not a great short story reader, this entire collection was surprisingly engrossing with its dashes of science fiction-esque mysteries, alternative historical narratives and dysfunctional family and community tales. The second to last story, and the one for which the entire collection is named, is concerned with providing a feminine perspective on what would normally be considered a masculine (and very white) African adventure story (think classic H. Rider Haggard type narratives).

It is not until all the other group members (one woman and five men) are dead that the narrator feels comfortable voicing her take on what really happened during that ill-fated trip to Africa in 1928, although ‘truth,’ as she points out, is completely subjective: “We seven went into the jungle with guns in our hands and love in our hearts. I say so now when there is no one left to contradict me” (p. 170). Their mission is to hunt down and kill a single sacrificial gorilla in order to save as many gorillas as possible in the future from big game hunters. The women are vital to this endeavour as “If one of the girls should bring down a large male,” he [Archer] said, “it will seem as exciting as shooting a cow. No man will cross a continent merely to do something a pair of girls has already done” (p. 174) (a rather dubious utilitarian and pragmatic approach to environmentalism!). The title of the story, ‘What I Didn’t See,’ seems purposefully ironic. The omnipotent ‘I’ is in a much better position to critique the entire misadventure than any of the men ever were, especially since she is subjected to the full range of gendered expectations one can expect to find in 1928.

In a recent interview, Fowler explained how this short story was actually a forerunner to her Man Booker shortlisted novel, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves (2013) (which I also read for this study): “They’re both based on actual events in the checkered history of human/non-human animal relationships…exactly what it means to be a primate. I think of that story as a sort of primate study where the subjects are my small troop of humans.” Although I haven’t found any sources which link Karen Joy Fowler officially with the ecofeminism movement,* she appears to be deeply concerned with questions of sustainability and sustainable development, equity, and social justice in her writing, themes which can be conceptually linked with gender equality empirically through the experience of women, and usefully analysed through the lens of feminism (Haynes & Murray, 2015). For example, ‘What I Didn’t See’ is deeply concerned with both the impact of human activity on primates in Africa (the massacre of the gorillas by ‘rational’ men) and the silencing or alienation of the two women included on the trek (one disappears and the other doesn’t speak on the issue for decades). Both the gorillas and the women are construed of as 'others.' In this way their plights run parallel to one another - there is a "connection between exploitation and degradation of the natural world and subordination and oppression of women" (Haynes, et al., 2015, p. 59).

Why only a ‘6’ applicability rating then? While it critiques gender roles and unsettles the reader with its women/nature exploitation, in this particular case, I’m not sure the text says enough on its own about leadership to make it a truly useful piece for extended analysis.

*"Ecofeminism sees a connection between exploitation and degradation of the natural world and subordination and oppression of women, drawing from the green movement a concern about the impact of human activity on the non-human world, and from feminism the view of humanity as gendered in ways that subordinate, exploit and oppress women" (Haynes, et al., 2015, p. 59).

Other book I read that aren't applicable for this study:

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves (2013) by Karen Joy Fowler

Unless (2003) by Carol Shields
Possession (1990) by A. S. Byatt

Currently reading:

Base Ten (2009) by Maryann Lesert

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (2015) by Becky Chambers

Reference: Haynes, K., & Murray, A. (2015). Sustainability as a lens to explore gender equality: A missed opportunity for responsible management. In P. M. Flynn, K. Haynes, & M. A. Kilgour (Eds.), Integrating gender equality into business management and education: Lessons learned and challenges remaining (pp. 55-80). Sheffield, UK: Greenleaf Publishing Limited.

The Year That Was & The Year That Will Be

2016. I’ve focused a lot over the last 2 weeks on re-energising myself. After an extremely hectic 2015 where I literally tried to fit EVERYTHING into my life with predictably bad consequences (the least of it being that I was sick 7 times in 5 months!), I’ve made time to refresh myself and simply be in the moment these holidays (saying that, the word ‘thesis’ is constantly hovering on the edges of my sub-conscious). Of course, I haven’t stopped ploughing through the reading list (I have 9 books to review this week!), but I’ve also been doing things for myself, whether that be shopping, going to the beach, seeing friends, binge-watching Downton Abbey, and spending a lot of time with hubby. I realised the other day as Mitchel and I were reflecting on the year that’s been that this is the first time in 4 years that I’ve taken longer than 5 days off over Christmas and the Summer holidays. I find a lot of fulfilment in being busy and achieving goals, but too much is definitely unhealthy, especially if you’re like me and just keep going, going, going without stopping for a decent breather. Note to future self: Read this post & take note of your own advice!

It's All About the Process + Progress

When I started blogging about the 'thesis process/progress' back in July, the first question I asked myself was: "How to start?" Starting is tough. Sharing honestly is difficult. Being 'authentic' is nerve-wracking. But here I am - I've started, I've shared, and I've tried to be authentic! I'm proud of what I've accomplished so far. And even though I still have SO much to do to get this thesis off the ground/down on paper/into the world, I feel I've carefully and deliberately considered the complexity of this project, a factor which will (fingers crossed) make it richer, more interesting, and deeply meaningful. The process has been all-encompassing and consuming, the progress challenging and enriching at both a personal-level, as well as academically. And in July 2016, I hope to be asking myself: "How to finish?"

Reflecting on Awakenings

An important aspect of myself I’ve wanted to explore in more depth this summer is feminist spirituality, or, more accurately, the ‘divine feminine’. Perhaps these phrases sound wishy-washy or unimportant, but part of the journey for me, in terms of what I like to think of as my ‘feminist awakening’ (putting words & theory into action), is discovering what it means to engage with religion, theology, and spirituality from the perspective of the ‘sacred feminine,’ the ‘other’ side of God if you will.

And so I was excited when I discovered that Sue Monk Kidd (author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Invention of Wings) prior to her mainstream literary success had written an account of her spiritual journey from the fundamentalist Christian tradition to a new understanding of the 'sacred feminine.' Unsurprisingly, the ideas she discusses in The Dance of the Dissident Daughter (1996) deeply inform the content of her novels, and it sparked in me a new appreciation for what she is attempting (successfully, I might add) to achieve in her novels - celebrating women who grow into their strength and do intrepid things - "sometimes being gentle, sometimes fierce, sometimes waiting, sometimes leaping. But always knowing who [they are]” (p. 212).

While I don’t agree with all Monk Kidd's propositions (and she is careful to frame them as her personal ‘vision’ - only one way to engage with the divine rather than a definitive, unarguable theological stance), I felt refreshed after finishing the book. Permission was granted to simply be in the moment, allowing feelings of perhaps anger, confusion, sadness, but also excitement and happiness to be felt in entirety as new ideas were/are discovered, considered, embraced or abandoned. I asked myself: "What does it mean and how does it feel to ‘awaken’ slowly, noticing and moving in time with emerging experiences rather than always trying to be correct or attempting to navigate in an unknown ‘right’ direction?" I also love the way Monk Kidd emphasises the importance of protecting oneself while in the ‘awakening’ or developmental stage of change; not everything has to be argued or defended right away: 

While I found her spiritual musings thought-provoking (as in 'shelved for future reference') and interesting (heretical to some no doubt!), what I really appreciated was Monk Kidd's careful formation of a solid feminist critique.

On several occasions she highlights the importance of looking at social institutions, the church, and Western culture as a whole, from the ‘bottom up.’ She writes: “This looking from the bottom up is the catalyst for a reversal of consciousness, not only for ourselves but also for the most resistant among us. For when we stop perceiving, assuming, and theorising from the top, the dominant view, and instead go to the bottom of the social pyramid and identify with those who are oppressed and disenfranchised, a whole new way of relating opens up” (p. 35). This ties in closely with post-structuralism and deconstruction, methods which I have discussed previously - here.

Testing Feminist Frameworks

One of the ideas I briefly played with in my last blog entry was the difference/similarity between liberal and cultural feminism and my desire to find a balanced approach between the two. So I was thrilled by Sue Monk Kidd’s eloquent framing of the two as mutually inclusive concepts:

My personal belief is that while differences exist, women and men both have an innate and equal ability to engage in the full range of human experiences. (Men can nurture and women can quest for autonomy.) Neither men nor women should be limited to a narrow category of what’s considered feminine if you’re female or masculine if you’re male. I also believe that men and women contain both ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ qualities and that the goal is to balance, blend, and honour both within the individual and the culture. The point, however, is that women have been socialised toward certain choices and experiences, and these experiences need to be valued in a way that is not inferior to men’s experiences. Indeed, as I made my critique, the problem seemed to me not that there are differences but rather how we value these differences (p. 62-63).

Too idealistic perhaps? Nonetheless, it highlights the complexity of finding a middle ground which takes into account the socially constructed nature of male-female differences and at the same time stresses the importance of not devaluing feminine traits in favour of masculine norms. An increasing masculinisation of society [in the sense that over the past 40 years there has been a major shift involving middle-class women’s aspirations and attitudes becoming more like men’s, focused on individual achievement and individual freedom (Cameron, 2007, p. 175)] is not the desirable outcome of minimising differences between the sexes, and vice versa.

As I’ve been drafting up my discussion on Feminism & Women’s Leadership I’m starting to realise how valuable and useful a multi-lens feminist approach will be. I quite like how Evangelina Holvino in Women & Leadership: The State of Play and Strategies for Change (2007) uses five Feminist frameworks (liberal, cultural, socialist, poststructuralist, transnational) in her consulting firm to inform her coaching practices and to come up with specific strategies for addressing issues of power and leadership that female leaders face in everyday organisational life. 

For example, Holvino uses poststructuralist feminism to encourage 'Ana' (a senior female director in a large, successful firm) to pay attention to imagery depicting the women in her organisation and to “identify the sources of organisational influence and power that go beyond those expected and sanctioned by the culture for its women leaders” (p. 374). To demonstrate this method, Holvino discusses an image found in the company’s internal 'leadership' brochure. In the photo, the highest-ranking female executive in Ana’s organisation is portrayed with her arms outstretched & a warm beaming smile on her face as she serves up a platter of lasagne – she is the stereotypical image of a nurturing mother figure and dutiful housewife. By employing a poststructuralist feminist discourse, Holvino is then able to discuss with Ana the implications, both good and bad, such symbolic imagery has for female managers and leaders in the corporate workplace, e.g. what expectations may be subconsciously formed, how do men & women perceive the 'mother' figure in the workplace, etc...

Similarly, Sue Monk Kidd uses symbolism & symbolic imagery to deconstruct patriarchal power. (She also cleverly employs Greek mythology to question and explore the concept of female empowerment). I’ve picked out this example:

A Divine Feminine symbol acts to deconstruct patriarchy, which is one of the reasons there’s so much resistance, even hysteria, surrounding the idea of Goddess. The idea of Goddess is so powerfully “other,” so vividly female, it comes like a crowbar shattering the lock patriarchy holds on divine imagery. Nelle Morton often pointed out that word Goddess is so important because it bursts the exclusivity of the old symbol and opens the way to reimage deity (p. 167-8).

Aside from the fact that it seems a rather New Age-esque trope (just to clarify, I’m not a goddess worshipper, whatever that may mean!), I appreciate the way Monk Kidd and Holvino both manage (in starkly contrasting ways) to use poststructuralist feminist theory* to thoughtfully inform their writing and analysis, making it both practical and provocative. 

* What is poststructuralist feminism? Holvino uses the following definition: "Poststructuralist feminism uses theories of language, subjectivity, and the history of institutions and social practices to understand and question existing power relations, especially as they are constructed through differences, knowledge, discourse, and the symbolic. For example, societal discourses typically constitute men and women as different. These discourses are in a binary and oppositional relation, but one side, the masculine is privileged. One of the goals of this approach is to unpack and deconstruct those assumptions, images and practices that are taken for granted" (p. 369).

--

And coming very soon…book reviews!!  

References:

Cameron, D. (2007). The myth of Mars and Venus. New York, NY: Oxford University Press Inc. 

Holvino, E. (2007). Women and power. In B. Kellerman & D. L. Rhode (Eds.), Women & leadership: The state of play and strategies for change (pp. 361-382). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Monk Kidd, S. (1996). The dance of the dissident daughter: A woman’s journey from Christian tradition to the sacred feminine. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.