Not a Feminist
Just a few thoughts on something that has been rattling around my head this morning.
Regular readers will have seen a few posts lately on reviews and interviews I’ve been doing for Max Allan Collins and his latest book,Lady, Go Die!
I was pretty excited to have Max link to one of my posts the other day, and this morning I was equally impressed to have Max blog about my Vivid Scribe review of his book, claiming it was one of his favourite reviews. Aw shucks.
The thought that’s been rattling around with me is that he identified the review as being from a “slightly feminist perspective” and this struck me as a bit surprising as I don’t consider myself a “Feminist”. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti-feminist or anything as such, I’m all for empowerment and gender equality for everything and the like. I’m pro-women and pro-female empowerment as much as I am pro-men and pro-male empowerment, you might say I’m pro-people or pro-empowerment …. and I don’t really support anything that goes against that, for either gender. But this isn’t a discussion about the different types and levels of feminism and the perspectives on gender equality.
What I found interesting about Max’s comment is that, yes, I do address the representation of women in his novel, but I do so out of interest in that he’s working from a manuscript written in the 1940s – a time when women were largely treated and represented a whole lot differently to what we are now. Not only that, but the book is working in a genre that has not had the most enlightened history as far as the representation of female characters goes. As the review notes, Collins and Spillane’s novel does have strong and empowered female characters, but it is still a man’s world, and I did observe some of the language might be considered sexist by some readers. I just find it interesting, and I’m not being negative here, that making these observations about this book has categorised my review as feminist, if only “slightly.” Yes, I have a bit of an interest in gender studies and more than a few opinions about it. Maybe that’s where this review comes from.
There’s nothing wrong with it, I’m not complaining. Just observing. I wonder, if a man reviewed the book would he note the same issues and have his review labelled the same? Am I more of a feminist than I think I am? Is feminism relative to perspective?
Hi Kate — I’m just interested that a number of women are reading and liking LADY, GO DIE!, but always seem inclined to discuss the way women are viewed/treated in the novel. Male readers have a reaction that is vaguely similar — they often seem apologetic or embarrassed to like it. I have mentioned this latter reaction in my blog, but haven’t linked it specifically to anything male. It seems tied up in the frequent inability of one generation to appreciate the popular arts of a previous generation without getting bogged down in the baggage of their current sensibilities (which can lead to politically correct judgment calls). And, no, I’m not accusing you of that…well, maybe a little.
I do think a result of feminism, and the many good things it accomplished (much left to do), is that novels are often now read from a gender perspective instead of just being…read. Of course the women in Spillane are male-defined — the first-person narrator is a male (and a male of a very different generation even than mine). What has been unfair where Spillane is concerned over the years — and this continues to this day — is the charge that he is misogynistic. I might buy misanthropic, but not that. The label flows from the femme fatale Hammer executes in the first book. But Spillane’s women are very strong for the genre, much more so than Hammett or Chandler or just about any writer of that era (except James M. Cain). Velda is very much Hammer’s equal, a role that only gets “more” equal as the books continue. She is often a victim, but so is Hammer at times, and it’s natural for the hero to save the heroine. That’s more a function of who the protagonist is than any gender roles (Wonder Woman used to save Steve Rogers all the time). My comic-book private eye, Ms. Tree (inspired by Velda to some degree), did just about all the saving of victims, and the killing of bad guys…because she was the protagonist of those stories. I raised this point because I thought it was interesting, and meant not to be critical. I am very grateful for your positive response to the book and my work in general.
Hey Max,
Thanks for the thoughts. I hope my original comments didn’t cause any offence. I wasn’t out to complain, criticise or anything negative, just an observation.
You’re right though, I do comment from my generation’s perspective, something I’m not sure any commentator can completely remove themselves from. I’m not making a judgement call on stories from earlier times though, I just find it an interesting and informative comparison to note how things change from one generation to the next. And gender representation, on both sides, is one of the most dramatic changes so it’s going to be an obvious one to comment on.
I’m not sure that feminism or any other ‘ism’ is solely responsible for a shift in the way people read or watch things in general. I don’t think it’s possible for anything to be just read or watched at face value by anyone, even without a perspective of any kind if ‘ism.’ Little bits of social and cultural perspective creep into our understandings of books, music, films, everything, and the creators of these works are going to be informed by their own social/cultural positions too, even if it’s happening without their complete awareness.
I do think readers/viewers are now more aware of the social and cultural implications different representations can have and that awareness comes from whatever is most visible. Gender’s a big one, because it’s a discussion that has been going on in one way or another for centuries.
I hope I’m not coming across as implying I want completely gender even representations in everything I read or watch, that I only want to see strong and empowered women get the upper hand on men, or anything as such. Life isn’t like that, so pop culture shouldn’t be either. That said, I do lean towards supporting kick-ass chicks more often than not.
I think my generation, and following takes a lot of the changes brought from feminism for granted. And perhaps I take for granted my position as a…. maybe I could label it as “Post-Feminist”, if I have to label it. Which is why your use of the word “feminist” caught my attention. Again, I hope my comments didn’t come across as critical. That wasn’t my intention.
A final note, you make a great point about the protagonist being the saviour, or the main heroic function. Wonder Woman is a great example, in a genre that is lacking prominent female protagonists. I don’t say that from a feminist perspective either
. Female super (supernatural) protagonists are increasingly popular in other markets, urban fantasy especially. I’d like to see the mainstream superhero market catch up to that.
Thanks for taking the time to comment and engage. Again, really enjoy your work, and I’m looking forward to more.
Kate