Cupid, po and psych

[imomus]

I was browsing the other day -- as you do -- in the Routledge Companion to Feminism and Postfeminism. The book is laid out like an encyclopedia, so I turned to the definition of postfeminism itself.

"Some argue that postfeminism participates in the discourse of postmodernism, in that both seek to destabilise fixed definitions of gender, and to deconstruct authoritative paradigms and practices. In Introducing Postfeminism (1999), Sophia Phoca traces the origins of postfeminism back to the split within the MLF in Paris in 1968, when members of the po et psych group publicly rejected the feminist struggle for equality with men. Instead, theorists such as Julia Kristeva and Hélène Cixous argue in support of difference, and draw on psycholanalytical theory in order to maintain that the feminine subject differs fundamentally from the masculine subject. They also emphasise the fluctuating and multiple nature of that subjectivity."

That interested me for lots of personal reasons. First of all, Sophia Phoca is the sister of one of my oldest friends. (She's also, allegedly, the inspiration for Jarvis Cocker's famous song about the girl from Greece with "a thirst for knowledge".) The year she published Introducing Postfeminism, we went to a huge millenium New Year's party at Gilbert and George's studio and she pushed me up against a pillar and kissed me passionately. We were all wildly drunk, and it didn't seem to matter that both our partners were hovering nearby. They were wildly drunk too. Later in the evening we all got in a big rugby scrum with Gilbert and George and their handsome, epicene Malaysian assistant. So, anyway, all this floated through my mind as I read the rather dry passage. If this sort of simply divine decadence was postfeminism, well, count me in.

In Sophia's book the origins of postfeminism are described like this: "The first shift between feminism and postfeminism was marked by the following event: Paris, 6 March 1968 -- International Women's Day. Members of the group psychanalyse et politique (later re-named politique et psychanalyse, or po et psych) marched through the city carrying placards reading 'Down with Feminism'."

But "postfeminism does not mean that feminism is over. It signifies a shift in feminist theory... In the shift from feminism to postfeminism, women have begun to celebrate difference rather than equality."

Yesterday, walking past the Queer Activist Centre just a few doors down from my house, I saw an interesting poster. Above an image of an attractively ambivalent girl-boy, the headline ran "I am neither man nor woman! There are more than two sexes." The text below explained:

"Many newborn children cannot have a gender clearly assigned. They're designated "intersexuals" and often operated on in early childhood. These operations are usually medically unnecessary and become part of the discrimination these people are faced with. Like all other humans, they're faced with the obligation to be male or female from birth. Everyone is arranged accordingly and treated and handled accordingly. The purpose of this project is to bring these processes into question."

The poster linked to a website campaigning for "more genders".

I wonder what would happen if there were 12 official genders (administratively, linguistically, medically) instead of just two? Would one of them still dominate, with the others ranged around it? Would the tweenies all get on with each other, or would it be like Old Labour -- endless infighting based on "the narcissism of minor difference"? In his great book "Distinction", Pierre Bourdieu (in the words of Anton Blok) explains Freud's idea: "social identity lies in difference, and difference is asserted against what is closest, which represents the greatest threat. An outline of a general theory of power and violence should include a consideration of the narcissism of minor differences, also because its counterpart -- hierarchy and large differences -- makes for relative stability and peace."

Recently I went to a swimming pool (I won't say which one) and paid extra to use the sauna. The first time I went all was normal -- the two rooms were empty. But when I came back an hour later, the two rooms were inexplicably full. This was men-only day in the sauna, and when I pushed open the door to the first sauna, it snapped shut again. Something was blocking it. I went to the other sauna room, but there were no free seats. So I returned to the first cabin and tried again to go in. A big muscleman looked angrily out at me and again snapped the glass door shut in my face. I had a dim impression of something going on, a huddle of men off in the hot darkness to the left. The penny dropped -- something sexual was going on inside.

I left them to it. Let the boys have their fun. Sure, I was being kicked out of the sauna I'd bought a ticket for. But to complain to the authorities (who might well be in on it, or turning a blind eye) would be homophobic and would get a whole lot of people in trouble. Not least, me.

But I wonder what would happen if, as my local Gay and Lesbian Centre advocates, there were 12 or 24 genders? First of all, in that parallel world, would I still be a straight male? Perhaps I'd take advantage of the free-for-all to identify as a "twee femio nipposexual" or something. I would certainly have a different feeling towards musclebound macho gay males who slam doors in people's faces. The narcissism of minor difference would apply. No longer the magnanimous "straight" using his benign sense of normality and centrality to fuel "tolerance", I might well have lodged a complaint. Bourdieu was right: hierarchy and large differences do keep things stable.

Comments

[electricwitch.livejournal.com]

Jesus, now I know why people complain about your posts being NWS, I just traumatised the cleaner with that.

Will come back later to reply to this post with a clever macro.