Monique Wittig

Monique Wittig
Monique Wittig

Wittig in 1964
Born July 13, 1935(1935-07-13)
Dannemarie, Haut-Rhin, France
Died January 3, 2003(2003-01-03) (aged 67)
Tucson, Arizona, United States
Occupation author and feminist theorist
Nationality French

Monique Wittig (July 13, 1935 – January 3, 2003) was a French author and feminist theorist[1] who wrote about overcoming socially enforced gender roles and who coined the phrase "heterosexual contract". She published her first novel, L'Opoponax, in 1964 . Her second novel, Les Guérillères (1969), was a landmark in lesbian feminism.[citation needed]

Contents

Biography

Monique Wittig was born in 1935 in Dannemarie in Haut-Rhin, France. She was one of the founders of the Mouvement de Libération des Femmes (MLF) (Women's Liberation Movement). On August 26, 1970, accompanied by numerous other women, she put flowers under the Arc de Triomphe to honour the wife of The Unknown Soldier; this symbolic action was considered to be the founding event of French feminism.[2][3]

Wittig earned her Ph.D. from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales,[1] after completing a thesis named "Le Chantier littéraire"[4] In 1971, she attended the Gouines rouges ("Red dykes"), the first lesbian group in Paris.[2] She was also involved in the Féministes Révolutionnaires ("Revolutionary feminists"), a radical feminist group.[2]

In 1976, she left Paris for the United States where she taught at numerous universities, including Vassar College, where she taught a course in Materialist Thought through the Program in Women's Studies, wherein her students were immersed in the process of correcting the American translation of The Lesbian Body. She was a professor in women's studies and French at the University of Arizona in Tucson, where she died of a heart attack on January 3, 2003.[1]

Theories

Monique Wittig called herself a "Radical lesbian."[5] This sensibility can be found throughout her books, where she depicted only women. To avoid any confusion, she stated:

"There is no such thing as women literature for me, that does not exist. In literature, I do not separate women and men. One is a writer, or one is not. This is a mental space where sex is not determining. One has to have some space for freedom. Language allows this. This is about building an idea of the neutral which could escape sexuality".

A theorist of material feminism, she stigmatised the myth of "the woman", called heterosexuality a political regime, and outlined the basis for a social contract which lesbians refuse:

"...and it would be incorrect to say that lesbians associate, make love, live with women, for 'woman' has meaning only in heterosexual systems of thought and heterosexual economic systems. Lesbians are not women." (1978)

For Wittig, the category "woman" exists only through its relation to the category "man", and "woman" without relation to "man" would cease to exist.

Wittig also developed a critical view of Marxism which obstructed the feminist struggle, but also of feminism itself which does not question the heterosexual dogma.

Through these critiques, Wittig advocated a strong universalist position, saying that the rise of the individual and the liberation of desire require the abolition of gender categories.

Bibliography

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Monique Wittig, 67, Feminist Writer, Dies, by Douglas Martin, January 12, 2003, New York Times
  2. ^ a b c Balén, Julia. In Memoriam: Monique Wittig, The Women’s Review of Books, January 2004, Vol. XXI, No. 4., quoted in Trivia Magazine, Wittig Obituary
  3. ^ L'Homond, Bridgitte. France.—Feminism And The Women's Liberation Movement, Women's Studies Encyclopedia, ed: Helen Tierney, quoted in Gem Women's Studies Encyclopedia
  4. ^ "(...)Word by Word Monique Wittig completed The Literary Workshop (Le chantier littéraire) in Gualala, California, in 1986, as her dissertation for the Diplome de l'Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris. Gérard Genette was the director, and Louis Marin and Christian Metz were readers. Wittig wrote The Literary Workshop at a time of immense productivity.(...); Monique Wittig, Catherine Temerson, Sande Zeig. "The Literary Workshop: An Excerpt", in "GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies – Volume 13, Number 4, 2007, pp. 543–551
  5. ^ Kirkup, James (2003-01-09). "Monique Wittig". The Independent. http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article123410.ece. Retrieved 2007-06-08. 

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Monique Wittig — (* 13. Juli 1935 in Dannemarie, Frankreich; † 3. Januar 2003 in Tucson, Arizona) war eine französische Schriftstellerin und feministische Theoretikerin. Ihr besonders Interesse galt der Überwindung von Gender. Im Jahr 1964 erschien ihr erster… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Monique Wittig — Nombre Monique Wittig …   Wikipedia Español

  • Monique Wittig — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Wittig. Monique Wittig Activités romancière, théoricienne Naissance 13 juillet 1935 Dannemarie, Haut Rhin, France Décès …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Wittig — ist der Name folgender Orte und Gewässer: Wittig (Fluss) Wittig (Vítkov), ehemalige Gemeinde im Okres Liberec, Tschechien, siehe Ober Wittig (Horní Vítkov), Ortsteil von Chrastava Nieder Wittig (Dolní Vítkov), Ortsteil von Chrastava Wittig ist… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Wittig — is a surname, and may refer to:* David Wittig (born 1955), American executive * Edward Wittig (1879–1941), Polish sculptor * Georg Wittig (1897 – 1987), German chemist * Monique Wittig (1935 2003), French author and feminist theorist * Rüdiger… …   Wikipedia

  • Monique — Pronunciation English pronunciation: /moʊˈniːk/ moh neek Gender Female Origin Word/Name …   Wikipedia

  • Monique — ist ein weiblicher Vorname. Er ist die französische Form von Monika. Bekannte Namensträgerinnen Monique (Sängerin) (* 1977), Schweizer Sängerin Monique Alexander (* 1982), US amerikanische Pornodarstellerin Monique Angermüller (* 1984), deutsche… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Wittig — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Wittig est le patronyme de: Georg Wittig : Chimiste allemand, prix Nobel de chimie, inventeur de la réaction qui lui doit son nom. Monique Wittig:… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Wittig — Wịttig,   1) Edward, polnischer Bildhauer, * Warschau 22. 9. 1879, ✝ ebenda 3. 3. 1941; anfangs am Werk A. Rodins orientiert, ging er unter dem Einfluss von A. Bourdelle und A. Maillol zu einer Vereinfachung der plastischen Form über. Ab 1920… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Wittig, Monique — ▪ 2004       French avant garde feminist writer (b. July 13, 1935, Dannemarie, France d. Jan. 3, 2003, Tucson, Ariz.), used an experimental approach to language and subject in an attempt to break down definitions and create a language and world… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”