|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Female Masculinity Feminist Mothers
Masculinity has been defined through a string of synonyms in the Collins’ Thesaurus: "male, manful, manlike, manly, mannish, virile, bold, brave, gallant, hardy, macho, muscular, powerful, Ramboesque, red-blooded, resolute, robust, stout-hearted, strapping, strong, vigorous, well built." One wonders why critics have found it difficult to define this term when it is so evident everywhere. What, then, is female masculinity? Masculinity implies notions of power and positions of privilege among the reigning patriarchy. Halberstam articulates this concept through an examination of the most persistent of male heroes—James Bond. Bond flicks away at a retractable belt, a bomb disguised as a pen, a gizmo watch and personifies a "male" action hero, but it is M, his boss, who typifies female masculinity. She edges out Bond by exposing him to be a sham hero, somebody who remains, at best, a symbol of parodied masculinity. For without his slick suit and the cigarette lighter that turns into a gun, Bond is a defenseless male. Other than the self-assured M, female masculinity is often evinced in the tomboy image, a behaviour acceptable in young girls without undue concern by parents. But once the girl reaches puberty, she is pressed into the service of acceptable femininity. Female masculinity is a particular form of being that challenges hegemonic models of gender conformity. It is a problematic position because it is neither feminine nor feminist and is thus denigrated by both homo and heterosexual cultures as a symptom of social maladjustment. Halberstam explores that side of woman which has not been dealt with before—one that contains social rebellion, social alterity and an alternative to conventional femininity. The book rebels against conventional fixing of definitions: "Why do we still operate in a world that assumes that people who are not male are female, and people who are not female are male?"
An offshoot of Halberstam’s arguments is the relative ease with which one can look like a man. It is easier for women to impersonate as men than it is for men to pass off as women. This allows us to ask why femininity can be so easily disguised, while masculinity is so strictly perceived that it is inimitable. Where does this discussion place motherhood, a category so essentialised that it can only be associated with women? How would female masculinity react to such a category? Tuula Gordon’s Feminist Mothers associates women with neither. She is interested in seeing how feminist women confront motherhood, a biological situation that reinforces their subordination. One of the alternatives—to be ‘pseudo-men’—is hardly enviable. The other—to imagine a society where children would be an equal source of joy to both parents—is still completely idealistic. It should be understood how difficult it is to confront the possibilities of alternate ideologies when women’s lives are controlled by the existing power relations in society. As Dora Russell writes: "Would women ever be truly free and equal with men until we had liberated mothers?" Over the years, there has been a revival of maternalism. Adrienne Rich, an early proponent of this sentiment, defines motherhood as a relationship a woman has to her powers of reproduction and subsequent children, but also, more significantly, as an "institution" that ensures that the mother remains subordinate to male control. Gordon urges readers to regard the obverse of positive motherhood: that is, rather than a cause for celebration, it can be a state women most want to avoid. It is important, therefore, to construct a theory of motherhood that is free of myths of a blissful state of being. It is equally important to circumvent essentialism when one seeks to define masculinity or femininity. The book strongly advocates a breakdown of stereotypical categories such as "masculine" and "feminine". Owing to the dearth of any unambiguous theories about motherhood, it may be a step forward to at least acknowledge the possibility of alternatives. |
The public toilet becomes
the perfect example to test gender binarism: masculine-looking women
usually enter women’s rest rooms at their own peril because they
cannot pass themselves off as women. As Halberstam wryly comments,
"One must be readable at a glance," or be a victim of ‘urinary
segregation’," to use Lacan’s phrase. Films like Tootsie,
Cabaret and Female Impersonator Pageant are excellent
examples of gender policing in men’s/women’s rooms and beg the
question why we are indifferent to a variety of taxonomies when it comes
to gender.