Althouse: The clash of the critical theory feminist and the sex-positive feminist.

May 15, 2007

The clash of the critical theory feminist and the sex-positive feminist.

Ouch!

14 comments:

Paco Wové said...: Ouch, indeed. Too much pomo too early in the morning.; 5/15/07, 7:20 AM
Beth said...: Thanks for turning me on to that blog.; 5/15/07, 8:33 AM
Roger J. said...: somehow the fact the referenced blogger (belles whatever) believes that people might not understand a reference to "well tempered clavicle" as a pun on a famous Bach work for the clavichord strikes me as a bit elitist. That kind of toss off line does a lot of damage to the underlying thought and I find it personally insulting. But thats just me.; 5/15/07, 8:52 AM
Anonymous said...: I'm glad I'm not the only one who waded through that pile of self-indulgent angst only to get to the final paragraph and think, a) who wouldn't get the joke? and b) correct on the not-funny bit.

That particular feminist woman-of-color academic desperately needs to get out of the academy more.; 5/15/07, 8:56 AM
Ann Althouse said...: As to the "well-tempered" joke, it's particularly bad since she linked to my post about the clavicle and the several comments on that post were already making that joke. And nobody here was preening about the reference or saying anything about how other people might not get it.; 5/15/07, 9:40 AM
MadisonMan said...: And shouldn't you write things that you think are funny (The well-tempered clavicle, debatably funny) without worrying about other people getting it? Why is that blogger trying to be all funny to all people?; 5/15/07, 9:57 AM
Roger J. said...: It is interesting what modern feminism has become. I was privileged to have Betty Friedan give a lecture to the cadets in my political philosophy class in 1976, the year before women entered the Academy. I drove down to NYC and picked her up, drove back with her to West Point and had the chance to talk with her.
A genuinely warm and humorous Jewish Grandmother. I dont know what my cadets were expecting but when Ms. Friedan spoke, she made perfect sense to them and they were very impressed.

I know feminism has gone through multiple "waves" (are we on the third or fourth wave now)? But I always think the pioneers in the field like Ms Friedan, got it right the first time.; 5/15/07, 10:22 AM
paul a'barge said...: strikes me as a bit elitist

You said that. Wow, just wow, is that what happens when you live in an ideological echo chamber? Didn't anyone consider recommending therapy to her?; 5/15/07, 10:49 AM
Roger J. said...: Paul: I honestly dont understand your point. could you explicate please?; 5/15/07, 10:57 AM
Roger J. said...: oops sorry: Paul a'barge not Paul Snively.; 5/15/07, 11:06 AM
amba said...: Well, she might be a Feminist Academic and all the rest but her grammar sucks:

likely no one would get the joke or worse, think it not funny.

What that actually says that it would be worse if no one thought it not funny, that is, if everyone thought it funny.; 5/15/07, 11:18 AM
Beth said...: I don't pay too much attention to grammar in blogging; I appreciate good writers whose prose works, but I also regard blogging as largely unedited writing, so an awkward turn or some missing words or even sentence-level errors just don't matter when I'm reading blogs.

I didn't have any problem understanding her critique of Valenti's book cover, and of the clavicle idiocy. Was that the point in linking to it, or was it to nitpick over the lame, unoriginal clavicle joke?; 5/15/07, 12:22 PM
Silas said...: I got to:

From Blackademic:

im sorry. this is wack.

laughed and gave up. Besides, does anyone even say "wack" any more?; 5/15/07, 12:29 PM
Ann Althouse said...: The point of linking is to highlight the criticism of Valenti's book, which I've made myself, and to remind people who don't seem to know it how much of feminism is about focusing on the depiction of the female body. I did also want to show some of the downside of feminist critical theory, which is a little too dense and humorless. This is a blogger I've only linked to once before, and it was in the context of her inability to appreciate David Lat's humor.; 5/15/07, 5:50 PM