The Evolution of Plasticity in Female-Female Desire

2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 245-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa M. Diamond
Keyword(s):  
Female Desire

Feminist Cringe Comedy: Dear Dick, The Joke Is on You

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-129
Author(s):  
Lori Marso
Keyword(s):  
Male Gaze ◽  
Female Desire ◽  
Avant Garde ◽  
Political Work ◽  
Feminist Community

AbstractFeminist cringe comedies eschew the conventions of romance and sentimentality in favor of comedy that discomforts. Cringe comedies are one example of what I call feminism's visual realisms, so named for doing feminist political work by evoking laughter and the cringe. The cringe pulls us inward in our posture, while laughter opens us to others. This bodily response to cringe comedies interrupts the fantasies of the male gaze and makes space for spectators to acknowledge the excessive, complicated, and seemingly shameful realities of female desire. My primary example is Jill Soloway's television adaptation of Chris Kraus's I Love Dick, a series that builds on the feminist legacy of avant-garde director Catherine Breillat. Departing from politically correct narratives and comforting or sentimental affect, I Love Dick achieves feminist community through the appeal, the cringe, and the irruption of laughter.

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