What is Hélène Cixous known for?
Biography. Hélène Cixous (b. 1937) is a writer and philosopher. Transgressing the limits of academic language by and with poetic language, she is widely lauded for both her experimental writing style and her experimental practice, which traverses many discourses.
What is the French feminist theory?
Around this time, literary theorist Hélène Cixousin coined the term écriture feminine (“women’s writing”), a frequently mentioned theory of French feminism. It insisted on a deviation from masculine writing styles and a focus on female experiences, thereby releasing an ineffable expression of a female narrative.
What is ecriture feminine in literature?
Écriture féminine, or “women’s writing”, is a term coined by French feminist and literary theorist Hélène Cixous in her 1975 essay “The Laugh of the Medusa”.
Who coined the term Phallocentric?
Ernest Jones
The term was coined in 1927 by Ernest Jones, as part of his debate with Freud over the role of the phallic stage in childhood development, when he argued that “men analysts have been led to adopt an unduly phallo-centric view”.
How is French feminism different?
While Anglo-American feminism had grown out of socialist politics, the French feminism developed out of a philosophical tradition. This led to the contention that Anglo-American feminism is more activism oriented and French feminism is more theory-oriented.
What does Cixous mean by white ink?
White Ink or Encre Blanche is a homage to feminist writer Hélène Cixous who heavily influenced this project. For her, feminine writing is symbolised by the milk that all women possess, every woman being a potential creator of life.
What is liberal feminism theory?
First published Thu Oct 18, 2007; substantive revision Thu Dec 31, 2020. Liberalism is a family of doctrines that emphasize the value of freedom and hold that the just state ensures freedom for individuals. Liberal feminists embrace this value and this role for the state and insist on freedom for women.
What is Phallocentric theory?
Phallocentrism is the ideology that the phallus, or male sexual organ, is the central element in the organization of the social world. Phallocentrism has been analyzed in literary criticism, psychoanalysis and psychology, linguistics, medicine and health care, and philosophy.
What is phallocentric discourse?
Discourse is “phallogocentric” because it is centered and organized throughout by implicit recourse to the phallus both as its supposed ground (or logos) and as its prime signifier and power source; and not only in its vocabulary and syntax, but also in its rigorous rules of logic, its proclivity for fixed …
How is French feminism different from American feminism?
What is Pauline Christianity?
Pauline Christianity or Pauline theology (also Paulism or Paulanity) is the theology and Christianity which developed from the beliefs and doctrines espoused by Paul the Apostle through his writings. Paul’s beliefs were strongly rooted in the earliest Jewish Christianity, but deviated from some of this Jewish Christianity in their…
What does Cixous write?
Cixous has also written fiction and plays. (I) Analysing Western discourse, Cixous discovers binary oppositions at work everywhere. The binary hierarchy is always a relationship of violence and the feminine term, is always killed. And since logocentrism attributes all origins to the phallus, creativity and life is also assumed to be male.
What is the seminal work of Cixous?
Cixous seminal work was titled as The laugh of Medusa and Sorties both of which were published in 1975. Cixous coins the concept of écriture feminine, translated as feminine writing in English.
Why does Cixous use the metaphor of the laugh of Medusa?
Cixous uses the metaphor of the laugh of Medusa as a tool to reject the very idea of truth, binaries that are deeply ingrained in western patriarchal thoughts as she says that “You only have to look at the Medusa straight on to see her. And she’s not deadly. She’s beautiful and she’s laughing”