This post will be a quickie, just two more definitions that are meant to help me better understand the Queer theory I’ll be using for my project.
Definition of lesbian continuum from The Columbia Dictionary of Modern Literary and Cultural Criticism:
A term introduced by Adrienne Rich in her essay on COMPULSORY HETEROSEXUALITY, lesbian continuum refers to the broad spectrum of intimate relations between women, from those involving the experience of or desire for genital sexuality, to mother-daughter relationships and female friendships, to ties of political solidarity – all of them “forms of primary intensity between and among women.” Rich associates such bonds, within each woman’s life and throughout the course of history, with resistance to heterosexuality and male domination. The concept is similar to what Carroll Smith-Rosenberg and Eve Sedgwick describe as “female homosocial” ties, including but not limited to explicitly lesbian ones. It has been part of the feminist critical project to call attention to such ties as a theme in literary texts and as a pattern of influence among women writers. See also HOMOSOCIAL, LESBIAN CRITICISM.
Rich, Adrienne. “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence.” In Blood, Bread, and Poetry: Selected Prose 1979-1985. New York: Norton, 1986.
Sedgwick, Eve. Between Men: English Literature and Male Homosocial Desire. New York: Columbia University Press, 1985.
Smith-Rosenberg, Caroll. “The Female World of Love and Ritual: Relations Between Women in Nineteenth-Century America.” In Disorderly Conduct: Visions of Gender in Victorian America. New York: Knopf, 1985.
This definition is fascinating, and the use of the term broad spectrum reminds me of the Kinsey scale, a sliding scale of sexuality. Specifically, it reminds me of the idea that the boundaries between heterosexuality and homosexuality are not necessarily solid and/or impenetrable.
A point that I’m not sure I agree with is the idea that these feminine bonds are formed within the framework of “resistance” to heterosexuality and male domination. Why does the lesbian continuum have to be pressed against a framework of resistance, instead of working independent of male domination? Is this resistance to heterosexuality the only way to reveal these bonds between women? If so, why?
After reading this definition, I realize that I really, really, really need to read Rich’s article. It is also pretty clear to me that Rich’s stance is rather radical. The benefits of a radical stance is, in my opinion, that it breaks open the issue, tearing it open to a broad spectrum of responses. I will also try to track down the reviews of Rich’s article, which should help gauge the reaction of her peers at the time of publication -which, incidentally, was in 1980, a year before I was born.
Last night, I was trying to think of what to post about next. I had made a vow to myself to post more often than I did with my last project, Conduct Yourself. Immediately after creating my blog, I went through and typed up all the “Food for Thought” suggestions in our research project syllabus into eight separate word documents. I am hoping that by already having these prompts typed up, I will be more likely to follow through and post my responses. Here’s to good intentions.
So, back to last night. I could write my first food for thought response, or I could get more creative, but I was coming up blank. I decided to browse through my daily websites for inspiration, and that my friends, is when I hit the jackpot. The Pioneer Woman actually posted “Ten Important Things I’ve Learned About Blogging” earlier that same day. She saved me. This post ties into revealing the process of both research and blogging, which is what this project is all about (that and our selected texts). If you’ve never heard of Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman, you are missing out, big time. I am excited to find a way to tie her into my own research project because I love her and her website so much. If you’re asking yourself what does a pioneer woman have to do with my research project, well, let’s take a look at her post on blogging.
Ree includes the following list:
- Be yourself.
- Blog often.
- Be varied.
- Exercise more.
- Allow your boundaries to set themselves naturally.
- Bring back retro phrases like “hanky panky.”
- Don’t be afraid to embarrass yourself.
- Try your best to spell words correctly and use proper grammar.
- If you have writer’s block, push through and blog anyway.
- Value every person who takes time out of their day to stop by your blog.
- I love ya.
You really need to click on the link for the full text of her post, because her writing is wonderfully humorous. Even thought this is an academic research blog, as I stated in my Welcome post, there will be a mixture of academic and personal reflection. I can’t keep my personal self out of this research and I think it would be a mistake to do so. If I am not excited and passionate about this project, and if I cannot find a personal connection with the text, then why would I expect my readers to slog through boring and uninspired writing? This is why I will be taking Ree’s advice to heart, especially number seven. I’ll be expanding “don’t be afraid to embarrass yourself” to include taking risks, despite not knowing how things will turn out. Because that’s what I’ll be doing with my project, taking a huge risk – I don’t know if I’ll be right or wrong but I know I’ll enjoy the process of finding out.
