Amazons and Military Maids

"Amazons and Military Maids: Women who dressed as men in pursuit of life, liberty and happiness" by Julie Wheelwright

Here are some excerpts I've taken from a really interesting book I read about women who masqueraded as men during wartimes.

“The duality of being a female soldier… The social value of militarism, changing concepts of sex roles, women’s material circumstances, the importance of nationalism and patriotic sentiments are all crucial variables in these stories. The nature of warfare, military organisation and its relations to the general society have undergone significant changes over the period of this study. These factors also play a part in the story. War allows men to assume their role as patriarchs; to become the defenders of the nation, the protectors of ‘their’ metaphorical and actual women and children. It confers a homogeneity upon their aims, pursuits, identities and rewards them with a short-lived glory. During times of war, sexual difference becomes heightened even as the sexual divisions of labour become blurred. But it is only relatively recently that gender has assumed such a prominent role during times of war.”

“… anthropologists and historians have argued that these stories [e.g. legendary Amazons] of gender reversal also perform an important function within their given social context. Sexual inversion as a widespread form of cultural play in literature, in art, and in festivity has served to disrupt and ultimately to clarify often fluid or evolving concepts of sexual difference.”

“The thread that pulls these stories together is women’s desire for male privilege and a longing for escape from domestic confines and powerlessness. Many vividly describe a lifelong yearing for liberation from the constraints they chafed against as women. They were unconventional women who spent their lives rebelling against their assigned roll before they pursued a male career. Most could only conceive of themselves as active and powerful in male disguise… Today dress has lost its potency as an indicator of gender and social status but the rewards of ‘male’ imitation remain. The business woman’s suit which mimics its masculine counterpart is one contemporary example.”

“What we share with the warrior heroine is a recognition that the social construction of our sexual difference is still an enormously important determining factor in our lives. The barriers to equality between the sexes have yet to be eliminated and our struggle for what is still deemed male power is far from over. The Amazons, while uneasy heroines, can lay claim to be our feminist predecessors, by virtue of their battle against those powerful ideas that still maintain territories marked outside women’s reach. They also dramatically illustrate how, with courage and imagination, women have always found ways of overcoming even the most seemingly impossible restrictions.”

Wheelwright, J. (1989). Amazons and Military Maids: Women who dressed as men in pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. London: Pandora Press.

Women Who Run With The Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype

Here are a couple of my favourite helpful excerpts from this book:

"The history of wolves is like the history of women, regarding both their spiritedness and their travails."  

"Healthy wolves and healthy women share certain psychic characteristics: keen sensing, playful spirit, and a heightened capacity for devotion.  Wolves and women are relational be nature, inquiring, possessed of great endurance and strength.  They are deeply intuitive, intensely concerned with their young, their mate and their pack.  They are experienced in adapting to constantly changing circumstances, they are fiercely stalwart and very brave.  Yet both have been hounded, harassed, and falsely imputed to be devouring and devious, overly aggressive, of less value than those who are their detractors.  They have been targets of those who would clean up the wilds as well as the wildish environs of the psyche, extincting the instinctual, and leaving no trace of it behind.  The predation of wolves and women by those who misunderstand them is strikingly similar."  

"This wilderwoman is the prototypical woman...no matter what culture, no matter what era, no matter what politic, she does not change.  Her cycles change, her symbolic representations change, but in essence, she does not change.  She is what she is and she is whole."  

Pinkola Estes C (1992) Women Who Run With The Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wold Woman Archetype. Ballantine Books. New York

Feminism as popular culture

Full Frontal Feminism
A Young Woman's Guide to Why Feminism Matters.
Jessica Valenti

This is a thorough examination of third wave feminism defined for the young woman today. It is a lively non-academic treatment of the matters that affect everyone today from fashion to reproductive issues. The context is clearly the USA but the reader is given a powerful sense of popular culture today and where the action is.
“ When I think third wave, I think of academic stuff like different feminist theories (queer,post colonial). She discusses the place of feminist pop culture in terms of magazines and the reclamation of previously 'sexist' words such as 'slut' and 'bitch' but adds.........”Third wave feminists are as 'serious' as those who came before us,really. What I love about the third wave is that we've learned how to find feminism in everything-and make it our own.”
Her position on academic feminism is that it , might exclude the ordinary person-”I think feminism should be accessible to everybody, no matter what your education level. And while high theory is pretty fucking cool, it's not something everyone is going to relate to.

CAB
Valenti J (2007)Full Frontal Feminism. Seal Press. California

Book reviews:

Walters M (2005) Feminism A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Maitland S, Wandor M (1987) Arky Types. Methuen. London


Feminism: A Very Short History by Margaret Walters.

This book by Margaret Walters is excellent as a short but thorough survey of feminism through history from its' religious roots right through to what she called the second-wave feminism in the late 20th century via the key moments in history such as the work of the Christian mystics of the middle ages, the Quakers and Christian social action, suffrage etc. She tackles the most significant issues in an uncluttered clearly presented way.

Her way into the work was via a survey of young people in their mid twenties who saw feminism as irrelevant because of its academic rather than practical interest, or else the attraction it has for extremists. Her arguments however are so persuasive and so honest that by the end of this short book one can only feel a sense of pride in our feminist ancestry through whom we gained education, employment. medical care, and the vote etc.

Feminism world-wide is a fascinating area of study- what women want in different countries or
what their battles are compared with western women is stark. Brazilian women reject the term feminism as eurocentric and too gender obsessed when there are more pressing local problems such as "racial violence and employment issues related to colour." Other women worldwide refer to "post-colonial feminism" which relates the ignorance of Westerners of women's lives "complicated by deep-rooted local beliefs by practices arising out of class differences, caste, religion, ethnic origins, and also by the legacy of colonialism."

At this point one hangs one's head at the shameful selfishness of the so-called developed world.


Arky Types by Sara Maitland and Michelene Wandor

If any of you as puppeteers are thinking of depicting animals, then this is the book. It is essentially two feminists writers sending letters to each other about a book collaboration, in between (I have to say I did skip pages to get on with the story) there is a delightfully anarchic exchange of letters going on between Mrs Noah, the animals she is planning to put into the Ark, and the local Mrs Vicar. It is easy to spot feminist, queer and post-colonial discourse! and, of course tongue in cheek exploration of archetypes- or do they mean stereotypes? But that would not work with Noah.

Mrs Noah is building the Ark because Noah is a man and will never finish it and her teenage sons are lying in around smoking cactus leaves. Two feminist tortoises have run off refusing to get on board, accusing Mrs Noah and the human race in general of 'isms': "Of course we're in the garden and we're not coming back, no way. We've had to climb about three thousand sodding stairs (stairs are a clear example of the sort of speciesism we're complaining about) to get onto the typewriter to answer you......................................so we're not coming back .Look it's hardly worth it; all we got out of the entire Old and New Testaments was one sodding reference, and you know what to? We bet you don't, no-one bothers with tortoise cuitural history. One reference and that to say we're unclean- fucking dirtism, the Bible is full of it. ..................Let it sodding rain we say; we repudiate pro-sun anti-wet weatherism. ...".etc

Venus Vs. Mars Poetry

Here's a poem I read in a teachers' staff room today. Thought it was relevant to our blog (it's just some random fun, but feel free to discuss if you feel the urge):

WOMAN'S POEM

Before I lay me down to sleep,

I pray for a man, who's not a creep,

One who's handsome, smart and strong.

One who loves to listen long,

One who thinks before he speaks,

One who'll call, not wait for weeks.

I pray he's gainfully employed,

When I spend his cash, won't be annoyed.

Pulls out my chair and opens my door,

Massages my back and begs to do more.

Oh! Send me a man who'll make love to my mind,

Knows what to answer to "how big is my behind?"

I pray that this man will love me to no end,

And always be my very best friend.

_______________________________________

MAN'S POEM

I pray for a deaf-mute nymphomaniac with huge jugs

Who owns a liquor store and a golf course.

This doesn't rhyme but I don't give a toss.

Germaine Greer (1970) x19x17 The Female Eunuch

The Female Eunuch has been reprinted 36 times or thereabouts since 1970-
Quoting Elizabeth Wurtzel in her essay The New C Word , on The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer, " I've always had this positively sexy view of the movement. For me feminism is about feeling great, looking good, getting the run of one's own life, having your needs and wants and wishes fulfilled." In contrast also writing today, in her book "Feminism a Very Short Introduction" Margaret Walters surveys women in their early twenties, some university educated, others working and when asked "whether they considered themselves feminists or indeed had any interest in feminism most of them replied, flatly no. That it belonged to academia, to fundamentalists and was in short no longer relevant to their generation"

Reading the Female Eunuch for the first time now, in 2008, I was struck first of all by the energy and passion of Germaine Greer, then I felt some of her ideas had dated. Then I realised shamefully that I was a beneficiary of the battles of feminists to give me some of the freedoms Germaine Greer was desperate for me to have. I had NEVER felt that I only existed to be the wife of someone or the daughter of someone else. I had only ever thought I was a person in my own right. I also realised that the work I produced so freely was chock full of imagery which could not have been meaningful fifty years earlier and has meaning now for audiences because of the forty odd years of change wraught on by behalf. My own work has been called 'brave'. ...and it is a slight compliment when compared with women who have struggles for such basic rights as education for women, and which we see lacking in some countries today.

Germaine Greer MUST be read for anyone to understand the journey women have taken for us to be so much freer today. Of especial interest to artists are the early chapters where the author attempts to debunk specialists who try to make an undue emphasis on the physicality of men and women as a basis for difference in treatment, in terms of work, pay, education and opportunity. Her work on the stereotype (p63-72) and the woman as an object of male fantasy (p213-221) is colourful and compelling.

Bobby Baker the performance artist describes the need to be passionate about what one wants to say, Germaine Greer is passionate, essentially she wants to communicate to everyone and not just to academics and to extremists. We have to reflect on how we think today as we make work. Our aim MUST be to challenge or else what is the point? Elizabeth Wurzel takes a turned-in selfish attitude to feminism in her essay, which does not adequately take into account the breadth and sense of social relevence of Germaine Greer. In our own work are we doing what we do for the audience or for ourselves?

As artists we have the power to define ourselves and our work through the unique languages of our puppetry- Margaret Walters ends her book with a prophetic point that a refreshed and enlivened feminism will come not from academia but from the real world with new issues and a new language. We are now concerned with feminism AND post colonial and queer theatre- which already hints at fascinating new hybrids.

Bibliography:

Greer G. (1970) The Female Eunuch. (reprinted 2006) Harper CollinsPublishers. London
Walters M(2005) Feminism A Very Short Introduction.Oxford University Press. Oxford
Wurzel E. (2006) The New C-Word Harper CollinsPublishers .London

Process and Performance

As you know if you are familiar with the course descriptors you have to be comfortable and able to locate your work within current thinking about performance and this is the case even if you say you are only interested in performing for children. The extent to which you are explicit about your underlying ideas is up to you and up to your material. In this module you are required to be much more conscious than in the past about your process. To do this the whole group will need to be involved with the process of each puppeteer.

Current thinking about performance relates it to gender, race, ethnicity and sexuality. As women performers, you are inside a theoretical framework that includes feminist, queer and post-colonial performance. Please note that I favour the term "performance" over "theatre" because I think the former embraces a much wider range of presentation. Find out about these terms and see how much they might apply to your work to date.

Useful books: Thanks to Kay for providing some very useful background information again.

Germaine Greer. I am reading The Female Eunuch at the moment- pretty relentless, but excellent at unpacking our presuppositions and attitudes in a readable way. I will review it soon.
other books on Feminism- look on Amazon and there is a really good cheap second hand list.

THIS IS ESSENTIAL:

Elaine Aston and Geraldine Harris 2008 Performance Practice and Process (contemporary women practitioners) by Palgrave-Macmillan New York and Hampshire UK

because it is practical and based on practical workshops with women artists. The account of the workshop with Bobby Baker (my work has been likened to hers) even mentions 'the outside eye'. A VERY USEFUL BOOK. If you don't read anything else PLEASE read this.

Queer theatre has a few titles- on Amazon

There are quite a lot of books which explore critical perspectives of post-colonial theatre- Native American Indians, African, Australian etc

During the module you will be required to:

• Lead a workshop
  
• Publish and comment on the Blog
  
• Make, record and perform a 'gender aware' solo performance.

• Leading a work-shop which tackles any of the above as background for your piece. So for example, IF a puppeteer is making her work influenced by African studies we might be able to explore her interpretation of post-colonial performance and unearth attitudes towards ethnicity, politics, the place of women etc. Please see the Aston-Harris book above for what to include in your workshop.

I will use parts of a piece of my own “Holiday in Babylon” to illustrate those aspects of politics and feminism which inform my work.

I want you to learn about my process by being INSIDE my work to help me to develop some ideas. From this session you will then have a blueprint of sorts to help you plan your workshops.

Your workshop will lead directly into making the mock-up for your piece.
PLEASE COME WITH IDEAS-BUT MOST OF ALL SOMETHING YOU ARE PASSIONATE TO SAY. (see Bobby Baker in Aston Harris)

• Publishing and commenting on the Blog. You will each have a three days a week when you have to publish some ideas about your piece backing up your ideas with literature, quotes from different members of the group, video, photos etc. On the other four days you are required to spend 15 minutes minimum a day commenting on the blogs of your colleagues. We will make a schedule for this.

• The aim of the module is to enable you to produce a “gender aware performance”. I have decided to drop the title 'Magic' and leave you more open, but if it is a help then go ahead use it. You may use any type of puppet from the rod puppet genr eor family. Do some research and feel free to come up with some ideas for any special sessions you think you might need for a specific puppet type eg.table-top, otome etc
  

Please let me have your comments asap because this post will form the Individual Learning Plans.

Kat's Rod Piece Idea: Wolf or Woman?

How is a woman viewed? Is she caring and innocent or is she conniving and vicious?

Based on an excerpt from a story I created, taking place in Edo Japan, my rod piece will look at how people view women. Has how women are perceived changed since the Edo period?

A wolf transforms into a woman. Is she still strong and vicious or is she now docile because she is a woman? If a woman is strong and brave is she no longer viewed as feminine?

I want to explore these questions and ideas using Otome (the only type of Japanese traditional puppetry women are permitted to perform...coinicidence?)

Here is some of my research about women and Edo Japan:

Edo Period (1603 - 1867)
The Edo period was an extended time of peace in Japanese history, and the richest time in the history of Feudal Japan. Rising income, increasing leisure, and growing literacy enabled women and most residents to engage in social and cultural activities to some extent.

The Edo period text Onna-Daigaku (the greater learning for women) describes the various rules women must follow in order to effectively serve their fathers, their husbands and then their sons.

The most important rule from the Onna-Daigaku had three parts:

1. A woman must follow the directions of her parents when she is young.
2. A woman must show submission to her husband when she is married.
3. A woman must submit to her adult male children when she is widowed or old.

Here are five worst things about women from the Onna-Daigaku:

1. They are indocile because they are not calm and peaceful.
2. They are discontented because they are not happy.
3. They slander other people. They say bad things about other people.
4. They are jealous.
5. They are silly.

This narrative scroll depicts the preparation for betrothal of a fox and a vixen. Representations of animals, insects, and imaginary creatures engaged in human activities were common in the arts of the 19th century, and many had hidden political meanings. The marriage was part of the shogunate's efforts to smooth relations with followers of the powerful imperialist movement. Women were used for making family connection to take advantages in politics.

http://gallery.sjsu.edu/heian/index.html

Welcome to our blog!

Welcome to our blog for SU3! With the success of our previous "Star Futurist" blog, I'm really looking forward to seeing what becomes of this one.

The theme for this module is creating 'gender aware' performances.

Caroline commented that current thinking about performance relates it to gender, race, ethnicity and sexuality. As women performers, we are part of a theoretical framework that includes feminist, queer and post-colonial performance.

One our our tasks in preparation for SU3 is to find out about these terms and see how much they might apply to our work to date. So please share any interesting quotes, video clips, pictures and general thoughts/insights as you go about your research.

We will also be using this blog to track our progress on our pieces (more details coming soon). If you have any ideas already, feel free to post them!