1. Feminist Criticism Literary Theory

2. Feminist Criticism 1960’s – 1 st focused on negative female stereotypes in books authored by men and points to alternative feminine characteristics suggested by women authors Moved towards societal mechanisms that perpetuate male domination over women

3. Feminist Criticism Currently 1 st part is concerned with the reader – woman as the consumer of male literature and with the way she creates meaning from the text Including images and stereotypes of women, omissions and misconceptions about women, and roles of women in a male author’s work 2 nd part is concerned with the woman as the writer – with woman as the producer of the textual meaning, with the history, themes, genres and structures of literature.

4. Feminist Criticism List phrases - that are school appropriate - that may impact women negatively “You’re a sissy!” “You play like a girl!” “Hey, guys.” (Talking to a mixed group) “He” as a reference to both male and female Female names for cars, boats, planes, etc. or simply “she”

5. Feminist Criticism Looking through the feminist “lens” Write a statement about the following situations from a feminist perspective Mount Rushmore The Miss America Pageant Coverage of women’s sports Office of the President of the United States Major network news anchors

6. Feminist Criticism Applying the Feminist Lens Apply by closely examining the portrayal of the characters, both female and male, the language of the text, the attitude of the author, and the relationship between the characters. Also look at what the author is saying about society as a whole.

7. Feminist Criticism Feminist Theory and “The Yellow Wallpaper” Read “The Yellow Wallpaper” pg 766. In groups answer the questions on the study guide. Class discussion Assignment

8. Feminist Criticism Feminist Theory and “The Yellow Wallpaper” In your discussion groups, write a brief analysis (paragraph) using the feminist lens and a 2 nd paragraph discussing Perkins Gilman’s purpose in writing the piece. Consider the audience.

9. Homework Pay attention to the situations in your life and perhaps the situations you view on television. Pick one of these situations and describe it as you normally would with a journal writing (Assignment 1). Next, apply the feminist lens to the situation and write an extended paragraph analyzing the situation (Assignment 2).