Women's Month - Day sixteen

[girlofprey]

The Laugh of the Medusa by Helene Cixous

I read The Laugh of the Medusa in university, as part of the Theory part of my English course, and it honestly changed my life. It's a very short read, but so concise, and powerful. I think everyone should read it, but especially women, just in case it has something in it for you. Here it is in full, although it was originally written in French and I think that's a translation of a revised version, so I don't know if it's the text I read in university. But it reads the same.

And particularly this passage:

"To write. An act which will not only [...]; it will tear her away from the superegoized structure in which she has always occupied the place reserved for the guilty (guilty of everything, guilty at every turn: for having desires, for not having any; for being frigid, for being "too hot"; for not being both at once; for being too motherly and not enough; for having children and for not having any; for nursing and for not nursing ... )"

Made me rethink everything I thought about women and sexism and the way people thought about me, and the way I thought about myself. It is an amazing essay.

Comments

[breyzyyin]

Oh wow, thank you so much for the link. It is an incredible read!