A1 Journal article (refereed)
Her Mistress's Voice: Gynophonocentrism in Feminist Discourses (2000)


Keskinen, M. (2000). Her Mistress's Voice: Gynophonocentrism in Feminist Discourses. Journal of International Women's Studies, 1(3), 1-15. https://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol2/iss1/1/


JYU authors or editors


Publication details

All authors or editors: Keskinen, Mikko

Journal or series: Journal of International Women's Studies

ISSN: 1539-8706

Publication year: 2000

Volume: 1

Issue number: 3

Pages range: 1-15

Publisher: Bridgewater State College

Place of Publication: Bridgewater, Massachusetts

Publication country: United States

Publication language: English

Persistent website address: https://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol2/iss1/1/

Publication open access: Openly available

Publication channel open access: Open Access channel

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/68639


Abstract

I will trace the metaphors of voice in the discourses of feminisms as articulated by Judith Fetterley, Kaja Silverman, Julia Kristeva, and Hélène Cixous. I will analyze the presuppositions of their vocal or sound imagery, paying special attention to the implications of the essentialism/constructivism opposition. It is not my intention to provide a comprehensive account of voice in feminisms, nor to make sweeping generalizations on the basis of a very limited corpus. Moreover, in spite of their differences in cultural background, period, and main area of study, the four theorists to be read are, as it were, within earshot from each other, centering, whether anglo- or francophone, around the phónè, the voice. Such themes as psychoanalysis and problems of literary representation and meaning are shared by the theorists, who, with the exception of Fetterley, could be called post-structuralists.

I will utilize French philosopher Jacques Derrida’s deconstructive critique of phononocentrism as a tentative hearing aid in my itinerary. I will also lend an ear to his critics, who have blamed Derrida’s idea of phonocentrism for both over-hearing and unsound scholarship. For the present purpose, I will coin the neologism gynophonocentrism, by which I mean the insistence of voice, speech, and the auditive in feminist discourses or in texts dealing with femininity, womanhood, or the female gender.


Keywords: voice; rhetoric

Free keywords: feminist literary theory; Fetterley; Cixous; Silverman; Kristeva

Fields of science:


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Ministry reporting: Yes

Preliminary JUFO rating: Not rated


Last updated on 2023-06-02 at 16:10