Where the Meanings Are: Feminism and Cultural Spaces

258 Pages·2014·6.995 MB·English

by  Catharine R. Stimpson

Routledge Revivals
Where the Meanings Are
First published in 1990, this collection of essays in literary criticism,
feminist theory and race relations was named one of the top twenty-five
books of 1988 by the Voice Literary Supplement. The title covers such
subjects as black literature; the reconstruction of culture, changing arts,
letters and sciences to include the topics of women and gender; and,
the nature of family and the changing roles of women within society.
As such, Catharine Stimpson employs a transdisciplinary approach, to
encourage greater understanding of the differences among women, and
thus socially-constructed differences in general. Where the Meanings Are
tells of some of the arguments within feminism during the re-design-
ing and designing of cultural spaces, as post-modernism began to
change the boundaries of race, class, and gender. It will therefore be of
great value to students and general readers with an interest in the
relationship between gender and culture, sex and gender difference,
feminist theory and literature.
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Where the Meanings Are
Feminism and Cultural Spaces
Catharine R. Stimpson
Firstpublishedin1988
byMethuen,Inc
Reprintedin1989
byRoutledge
Thiseditionfirstpublishedin2015byRoutledge
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andbyRoutledge
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RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninformabusiness
©1988Methuen,Inc
TherightofCatharineR.Stimpsontobeidentifiedasauthorofthisworkhas
been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
DesignsandPatentsAct1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
knownor hereafterinvented,includingphotocopyingandrecording,orin any
informationstorageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthe
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The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and welcomes
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ALibraryofCongressrecordexistsunderLCcontrolnumber:87030392
ISBN13:978-1-138-81292-5(hbk)
ISBN13:978-1-315-74849-8(ebk)
WHERE
THE
MEANINGS
ARE
CATHARINE R. STIMPSON
ROUTLEDGE • New York and London
First published in 1988 by Methuen, Inc.
Reprinted in 1989 by
Routledge,
an imprint of Routledge,
Chapman and Hall Inc.
29 West 35 Street
New York, NY 10001
Published in Great Britain by
Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane
London EC4P 4EE
Copyright © 1988 by Methuen, Inc.
Printed in the United States of America
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Stimpson, Catharine R., 1936-
Where the meanings are: feminism and cultural spaces
Catharine R. Stimpson
p. cm.
Essays originally published 1970-1987.
ISBN 0-415-90156-1; ISBN 0-415-90148-0 (pbk.)
1. Feminist literary criticism. 2. Literature, Modern—20th
century—History and criticism. 3. Women in literature. 4. Women
and literature. 5. Lesbianism in literature. I. Title.
PN98.W64S75 1988
809'.89287—dcl9 87-30392
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Stimpson, Catharine R.
Where the meanings are: feminism and
cultural spaces.
1. Women—Social conditions
I. Title
301 HQ 1154
ISBN 0-415-90156-1; ISBN 0-415-90148-0 (pbk.)
For my mother, Catharine C. Stimpson
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi
1 Black Culture/White Teacher (1970) 1
2 “Thy Neighbor’s Wife, Thy Neighbor’s Servants”:
Women’s Liberation and Black Civil Rights (1971) 11
3 What Matter Mind: A Theory About the Practice of
Women’s Studies (1973) 38
4 The Androgyne and the Homosexual (1974) 54
5 On Work (1977) 62
6 Tillie Olsen: Witness as Servant (1977) 67
7 Shakespeare and the Soil of Rape (1980) 77
8 Ad/d Feminam: Women, Literature, and Society
(1980) 84
9 Zero Degree Deviancy:
The Lesbian Novel in English (1981) 97
10 The Company of Children (1982) 111
11 Feminism and Feminist Criticism (1983) 116
12 The Female Sociograph: The Theater of Virginia
W oolf’s Letters (1984) 130
13 Adrienne Rich and Lesbian/Feminist Poetry (1985) 140
14 Female Insubordination and the Text (1986) 155
15 A Welcome Treaty: The Humanities in
Everyday Life(1986) 165
VII