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| Sunday, 15 August 2004 |
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What is a woman?
For ,according to the words coined by the male of the species, a woman is not merely a woman, but a whole lot of other lexical categories that divides her, stereotypes her, fragments her and leaves her questioning her sanity. Schizophrenia, thy gender should be women. A stroll through the pages of any lexicon will reveal that a woman is never simply a woman. She may accept being niche placed as wife, mother, daughter, cook, nurse, listener, shopper, cleaner, plumber and wage-earner. But the excess of lexical categories fragments her into greater divides, defining parts of her and marginalising the whole of her. Open any dictionary and you will see that a woman can be no more than a dumb Animal (see Bird, Bitch, Filly, Mouse) and/or she can be elevated to the position of Goddess (see Aphrodisiac, Vestal, Sheila). She can be an Edible item (see cheesecake, tart,) or she can be a Container and/or Contents (see Dish). For centuries women have known that their rightful place is in the Home where as Male Property, they are either or both the good Infantilised child-Wife and good Mother. As a Worker inside another's home she may be defined as morally suspect (see Scrubber, Slut, Wench), or if Educated asexual and beyond moral reproach (see Governess, Bluestocking). If she takes care of her outward Appearance she may gain approval as a Lady, but too much make-up and she becomes a Jezebel; too little and she's a Drab or a Slattern. Her Clothing can signify the whole woman (as in Muff, Skirt, Petticoat) and woman as Part Object, as in an expression 'a bit of skirt'. Once outside the home a woman is in danger of being negatively defined as Witch or Whore with power disruptive to the male order. An angry woman is Bellicose (see Amazon, Virago), but she can be Pliable too (see Buxom, Tart). Her Words can be dismissed as mere Babble, Gossip or Chatter, or feared (see Scold). When Chaste she may fit the Feminine Ideal (see Lady, Maiden, Virgin) or she may find herself defined pejoratively (see Nun, Spinster, Strait-Laced). The Chaste woman clearly can't be Promiscuous - or can she? (see Virgin). Her Sexuality has always been subject to male ambivalence, but while a woman might feel herself to be part or both Temptress and Virgin, often it is as if she has to choose between one or the other. The non-passive or powerful woman is defined as Destroyer, Deceiver, Emasculator, Snatcher or Unruly. Strip her of her Power and she is dismissed as Old (see Anile, Maid, Mutton). So what is a woman? Of course many feminist have argued and continue to argue that the pejorative lexicon is an attempt to control and dominate woman and that defining her the way she has been defined could also be interpreted as evidence of female passivity and collusion. But in defense of the woman, it must the said that for every negative definition there have existed women who refused to accept the stereotypes. Liberated women who, despite the social pressures, rejected the narrow patriarchal definitions of femininity and were proud to be Mothers an Sexual, edible by night and workers by day, Feminine and Termagant, Siren and Spinster. And increasingly, women are claiming the right to define themselves in their own term, in their own words. So, what is a woman? Go figure. But ponder for a moment. What would have happened if Protagoras (the man who is credited with classifying gender) had used A, B & C instead of 'masculine', feminine' and 'neuter' to label gender? - Hana |
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The question may sound rhetoric. Of course we women do know what we
are. But semantically speaking, the question opens up an entire macrocosm
of uncharted terrain.
