A French Jew born in Algeria, philosopher and novelist Cixous blends and bends the categories of theory. Originally written for a journal issue on Beauvoir, this essay tries to map out a strategy against the alienation of women through the re-apropriation of their own identity, via written work. A literary interpretation of feminism, it articulates the idea of écriture féminine (feminine writing), a type of writing particular to women. This is Cixous' strategic essentialism: according to her, the difference in women's expression should be underlined, and thus women should write in a specific style allowing for a reclamation and a reinvention of their identities, against the patriarchal system. This literary strategy is heavily embodied, and relies on representations as much as lived, practical experiences to criticize a male-centered system. However, Cixous remains a structuralist: identity is not given, but built within discourse in complex relation with other poles, and feminine writing can be found in men through sexual subversion (Genet is one example). This essay marks a specific period in both French feminism and post-structuralism, providing a perfect example of the philosophical, political and artistic questions of the period.
Cixous, Hélène. The Laugh of the Medusa
1976, Translated by K. Cohen and P. Cohen. Signs, 1(4), pp. 875–893.
Abstract:
Comment: Heavily criticized, it provides a good transition from second-wave feminism to its later critiques, and more specifically to the reinterpretations of post-structuralism in gender theory. Also an expressive work, it can be read for aesthetic purposes, but for philosophical and historical considerations, a few extracts can suffice.