A Feminist Rhetorical Analysis of Anti-feminist Poetry in English and Arabic

Language is the fundamental element of communication and understanding in society. It relates immediately to human thoughts and is embodied in written or spoken signs or signals. The field that scientifically studies language (its forms and structures) is called Linguistics. Among the linguistic studies of language is Rhetoric which studies the importance of speech or texts for the audience. Rhetoric is the art of persuasion; it comprises different arguments raised by the speaker/writer depending on social, religious, moral or even traditional evidence in order to prove that the raised arguments are real. In this way, the writer/speaker associates the language to similar or related realities in order to reach the purpose of her/his language. However, presenting arguments and evidence it not always accurate because there are arguments that rely on weak evidence. The purpose of argumentative techniques is still to persuade the audience about a personal view or a societal concept. From this perspective, the feminist linguists suggest that rhetoric is actually masculine; that is, rhetoric is anti-feminist. Therefore, linguists presented a great deal of evidence to prove this theory and bring the feminist ideology into rhetoric. This study aims at providing a feminist rhetorical analysis of the anti-feminist poetry to study the status of women in rhetoric and whether the arguments that demean women are true or not. For this purpose, the current study utilizes Fiorenza’s (1995) model of analysis; a feminist rhetorical tool to analyze anti-feminist poems written by male poets in English and Arabic in order to study the arguments as well as the evidence the poets present against women.

THE REPRESENTATION OF SISTERHOOD IN SUSAN GLASPELL'S TRIFLE: PROXEMIC AND KINESIC ANALYSES

Susan Glaspell’s plays have been recognized for its feminist ideologies. The present study traces the representations of the notion of sisterhood in Glaspell’s scrip entitled Trifles by employing Barthes’ semiotics and Fischer-Lichte’s concept of kinesics. Focusing on the gestural and the proxemic signs of the kinesics included in the script, the present study reveals that the notion of sisterhood grows among the female characters in the play through the increasing realization of their similar positions as women in patriarchal society. This development of solidarity among the female characters implies a strong feminist ideology about how women should stand together in facing oppression in male-dominated structures.

Maskuliniti yang Diruntuhkan Feminiti: Satu Penelitian Stereotaip Gender dalam Novel Seri Dewi Malam Karya Affifudin Haji Omar

Ideologi feminis menyumbang kepada fahaman bahawa lelaki dan perempuan dipengaruhi oleh pengalaman kehidupan yang berbeza ketika menghasilkan sesebuah karya kreatif. Feminis percaya bahawa pengarang lelaki tidak dapat menampilkan dimensi kejiwaan perempuan kerana mereka tidak pernah merasai pengalaman sebagai seorang perempuan. Ideologi seperti ini muncul sebagai tindak balas terhadap kebanyakan karya yang dihasilkan oleh pengarang lelaki yang sering mempersembahkan watak perempuan sebagai the second sex, terpinggir, bisu dan lemah dalam sistem sosial yang didominasi oleh lelaki. Walau bagaimanapun, tindakan pengarang lelaki ini tidak boleh dihukum kerana kegagalan mereka memahami dimensi perempuan yang berbeza dari diri mereka. Pencitraan perempuan daripada perspektif pengarang lelaki harus dilihat daripada konteks masyarakat dan budaya yang meletakkan stereotaip tertentu mengikut jenis kelamin. Bertitik tolak daripada fahaman tersebut, makalah ini mengupas konsep gender yang dibentuk oleh masyarakat sosial serta meneliti imej stereotaip lelaki yang dikenali sebagai gender maskulin dan imej stereotaip perempuan yang dikenali sebagai gender feminin. Hasil dapatan makalah ini mendapati pengarang novel Seri Dewi Malam telah mengubah fahaman pembaca tentang pengarang lelaki dalam mencitrakan imej perempuan dan menolak stereotaip sedia ada dengan menonjolkan imej positif yang dimiliki oleh watak Rohana sebagai gender feminin yang meruntuhkan stereotaip gender maskulin watak-watak lelaki di dalam novel. The feminist ideology argues that the production of a creative work amongst male and female authors is defined by their specific life and gender experience. Feminists believe that male authors are unable to tap into the thoughts and emotional dimension of female authors because they have never experienced the life of a female. This argument emerged as a form of reaction towards the production of novels by male authors who often portray the female characters as ‘the second sex’, forsaken, tacit and weak in the male-dominated social system. Understandably, these prejudiced portrayals reflect their failure in understanding the female gender as a whole. Narrating the female from the male perspective thus has to be approached from the social and cultural context that gives rise to these stereotypes. This paper addresses the notion of gender from the perspective of society and explores the conceptual division between the male representation as ‘masculine' and female representation as ‘feminine’ in the novel Seri Dewi Malam. It argues that the author of the novel has managed to transform the female stereotypes by instilling more positive representations to the protagonist Rohana and her femininity in challenging the masculinity of male characters.

Subaltern Praxis: A Vygotskian and Freirean Framework in NGO Education

This article examines the functionality and ideological underpinnings of an NGO system in Beirut, Lebanon. This grassroots NGO, in partnership with the Migrant Community Center and migrant domestic workers from African and Southeast Asian countries, creates an educational space that is both transformative and libratory. This activist space is informed by an anti-racist and feminist ideology. Based on the narratives of this system’s stakeholders, I forward a subaltern praxis, a transformative model for the development sector informed by Vygotsky’s constructivist frameworks and Freirean ideology.

Chetan Bhagat: Recent Readings: Mental conflicts of Indian women in One Indian Girl

This chapter is written to have a look at Chetan Bhagat’s novel One Indian Girl from cerebral angle to acknowledge a deviation in Indian Women’s demeanor and behaviour. Indian women’s mind is full of conflicts and confusion. They have to deal with social stereotypes. Our society believes that girls can make a successful career either or a successful home. Can’t do both together. What an astonishment! We give wings to our daughters but then she is told that she has to build a nest. So she has to forget to fly. Chetan Bhagat’s novel One Indian Girl offers a female’s anima – her goals and inclination in her thoughts and geared up to flare up and ensue at even the slightest pierce. Radhika Mehta cogitates a maiden who is a sturdy backer of feminist ideology however she has to confront the pre-determined norms of Indian society that have been set below patriarchal society because of which she has to go through numerous sorts of torments and distress. This narrative is generally about Radhika, the proponent, unveiling the exceptional elements of a modern-day Indian woman. Radhika’s social reputation influences society to a great extent that she turns into a vulnerable target of many known and unknown conditions which vexed her unfulfilled objectives of not getting bodily love and appreciation. Radhika’s unfulfilled dreams take her foundation within side the discrimination meted to her in her formative years and youth. It is a first-character narrative through the protagonist whose internal voice (named ‘Mini-me’) constantly expresses her internal feelings and the mental conflicts occurring in her thoughts.

Serpouhi Dussap’s Mayda; or, The Birth of Armenian Women’s Literature through the Palimpsestic Narrative of Feminism

Mayda (1883), Serpouhi Dussap’s first eponymous novel, quickly met the patriarchal reaction among the Armenian male intelligentsia of Constantinople over the issue of female emancipation. Today the significance of Dussap’s best-known novel and feminist ideology is both welcome and appreciated yet not with much gratifying analysis of the literary and intellectual ventures invested in this first-time production. This article seeks to place this literary event among the feminist literature scholarship of the nineteenth century. For this initial venture to bring recognition to Armenian feminist literature, the present study introduces the general literary scene in the Ottoman Armenian community in the late nineteenth century, then outlines the critical detraction leveled against the novel, only to produce a new reading that reflects the feminist literary strategy of the time, namely, the palimpsestic mode of writing. Finally, the reading suggested in this article is linked to another underrated work, the mythical tale of Arachne. Reworking Nancy K. Miller’s theory of “Arachnologies” into the context of Armenian women’s literature, the analysis of Arachne’s tale is the “mytheme,” the foundational unit, so to speak, that encapsulates the feminist literary ideology of nineteenth-century Armenian women’s literature.

Feminisme Dakwah Perempuan Dalam Film Habibie & Ainun 3

Feminism is suspected of being a women’s rebellious movement to deny the nature of being a woman and as a driving force to obtain women rights. Feminist ideology demands gender injustice. In preaching, men dominate the spread of Islam than women. Although the implementation of da’wah is predominantly male, there are also many da'iyah in Indonesia, one of which is Ainun. Gender differences do not make Ainun despair in achieving her dream as a doctor. So that this becomes unique to examine. This research uses qualitative methods with a feminist approach. The result of this study was the determine Ainun da’wah massage in the movie Habibie & Ainun 3, as well as the problems of Ainun as a da’iyah in Indonesia. Ainun can be used as an aspiration and role model for Indonesian people in education, concern, and desire to realize their dreams.

Subtitling Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001) in a Chinese Context: The Transfer of Sexuality and Femininity in A Chick Flick

This paper explores how sexuality and femininity1 are transferred in the Chinese subtitles of the chick flick, Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001). In order to address this question, the article is divided into three main parts. In the first section, a review of how the film is received in the Anglophone and Chinese markets is presented respectively, also including the challenges posted to the subtitlers, e.g. the translation of sexuality and swearing in the discourse of women. The second section offers a theoretical framework that structures the paper, adopting Ernst-August Gutt’s (1986) “Relevance Theory” and Anthony Baldry and Paul Thibault’s (2006) “Multimodality” to examine how the Chinese subtitles work for primarily the Chinese female audiences. What follows is a detailed analysis of two situational categories of recurrent features (swearing and sexuality) in the Chinese subtilties of this chick flick, specifically proving constructions of feminist ideology. The paper concludes that the Chinese subtitles articulates a relatively moderate version compared to the original explicit sexuality and taboo language. Such moderation reflects an increasingly improved entanglement of feminine identity in a contemporary Chinese context.

From Antagonism to Acknowledgment: Development of Gender and Women’s Studies as Academic Discipline in Pakistan

This paper aimed to analyze historically the development of Gender and Women’s Studies as a separate academic discipline in Pakistan. We employed to the secondary data resources that included archives, official gazettes of the Government of Pakistan, notifications and, organizational records for data collection. The historical analysis with the feminist research method focused on the evolution of the discipline. The research revealed that gender and women’s studies on an academic discipline have been established in different public sector universities after international pressure and the struggle of Pakistani women’s movement. Further, the research documented the discipline’s voyage from resentment to an acknowledgement of gender studies as academic field. Thus, it can be concluded that there is a potential for transformation in the everyday lives of the students and teachers, nevertheless braced with limitations, challenges, and prospects for the growth of this as a discipline. Although discipline does reflect a commitment to the contribution towards the society concerning to the subject matter, these are; however, not rooted in feminist ideology. There are bigger questions rather than concluding thoughts that require additional research related to discipline, its scope, and local knowledge production and so forth. Besides, it requires sincere efforts from a policy planning perspective to generate research and theory on gender issues in a local context.

Feminist Ideology in Lakshmi Novels

Feminism is a political concept centered on the welfare of women. A political position demanding equality, liberation and justice for women. This political concept cannot be used as a theory for literary study unless it is transformed into a literary study approach. Feminist literary theory is art. In the literature the woman is portrayed as very vulnerable, consumerist, emaciated and exposed to them as opposed to being identified as a tool to fulfill her sexual needs. The aim of feminist literary theory can be to find in social literature the social factors that contribute to the status of today’s woman of inequality and freedom.