Alison said --
>> One may speak of ³this womanıs dream² or ³that womanıs dream², but not at
all, I think, of any dreaming that is inherently female.
Gillian ponders --
I'm thinking in principle of the relationship between general categories and
the examples they encompass - e.g. the general category of 'women' or
'female' which encompasses all the specific examples.
If we were to restrict all uses of the general category to those examples
where every single example that fits in the category demonstrates the
characteristic, then we might find ourselves limited to stating the
obvious - 'women have breasts' [though, even here somebody can probably
point at exceptions like post-mastectomy women].
How do we find ways to refer to characteristics which are VERY TYPICAL of
the category while not necessarily present in every single case within the
category?
From the perspective of typicality, all kinds of things are gendered -
height, speed, law-breaking, income, etc. I wonder whether dreaming is
gendered too? And, if it is, then might we not find a way to talk about
'female dreaming'?
This kind of gendered dreaming might not be INHERENTLY female - but it might
be actually female, that is, actually gendered in a particular time and
place. I'm sure that psychologists and anthropologists have evidence which
could help in thinking this through.
Of course, even the concept of 'inherently female' is thoroughly
problematic.
.........................
Alison, I found a lot of interesting discussion in your piece, especially
the following. Thanks for posting it. It was worth your efforts.
>>To write something down, to make a piece of art, is already a movement
away from the thing itself; no piece of art is me.
Best wishes,
Gillian Savage
OZpoet -- http://www.ozemail.com.au/~gbsavage/ozpoet.html
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