A story of empowerment; the profile of an exceptional woman
Details: Select a real life woman (a historical or political or public figure) and discuss her identity and/or gender formation. What makes her exceptional? Is her story one of courage, of subversion? Here you can reflect on various hegemonies (hegemonic masculinity, cultural hegemony) and discuss how she becomes known as an individual. Show that she is a heroine (a female hero)
Definition of a female hero (heroine):
Heroism
“(a) benefits others (e.g., showing compassion and doing something for others, including for society or humanity, or the common good), (b) acts selflessly (e.g., sacrificing oneself or not seeking personal benefit), (c) confronts risk (e.g., risking or sacrificing one’s life or showing bravery and courage), (d) supports beliefs (e.g., benefiting a belief, purpose, or ideal), (e) acts morally (e.g., doing the right thing or following one’s faith), (f) acts supernormally (e.g., acting in very difficult and challenging circumstances), (g) dissents (e.g., going against popular opinion or not going along with the crowd), (h) acts for self (e.g., doing something for one’s own success or goals and not for others), (i) serves as role model, (j) accepts others (e.g., being open-minded, patient, and forgiving), (k) acts normally (e.g., lives a routine ordinary life with normal difficulties and everyday role expectations), and (l) cultural relativism (e.g., indicating that the definition depends on the cultural or historical context).” Rankin, Eagly, 2007.
My opinion: I was looking at Huda Shaarawi (First Feminist in Egypt) as a good option as she did several things that put her in danger for women’s rights in Egypt. I have attached some primary sources as well regarding what she did (women in the 1919) arguments you can make regarding unveiling and hegemonic relations. ALTHOUGH, you can pick someone else if you find they better fit.
Paper format:
The essay should be 6 to 9 pages long (plus bibliography), 6 scholarly/ academic sources, double-spaced, 12-font size, Times New Roman font, APA style.
i) clear structure: thesis statement and road
map in your argument, followed in the main text and revisited in your conclusion,
ii) brief literature review of what scholars have written on the question/issue you are
exploring and whether you dis/agree, iii) relevant references (which you should
present in order to build your argument) – avoid relying too much on a single source,
iv) discussion and analysis of your argument vis a vis the literature.
Here are some examples of Heroic women from my class:
(Examples of heroic women (from last class, during which historical context was provided on Cold War and Latin American military regimes – specifically, the Chilean case study – documentary screened and frame by frame analysis of film Lucia, 2010))
Ex. #1: Artists – Radical Women from Latin America and their works reflecting on violence, trauma, lack of freedom, censorship, race, colonialism https://hammer.ucla.edu/radical-women
Ex. # 2 Writer – Member of the diaspora, writing about the military regime, feelings, surviving. Carmen Aguirre; a Vancouverite, actress, playwright, born in Chile; working for the resistance, during the Pinochet regime, received in Canada as a political refugee; her non-/fictional work revolves around the autobiographical. Exploration of memories, PTSD, being type casted as an actress. Books: Something Fierce: Memoirs of a Revolutionary Daughter (2011), Mexican Hooker #1 and My Other Roles Since the Revolution
https://www.carmenaguirre.ca/carmen_aguirre_bio.html
Ex. # 3 Writer – Another member of the diaspora, world known author Isabel Allende.
“Generations upon generations painfully appreciate her observation that,“we try to keep straight faces while our feet are stuck in a swamp of violence, exploitation, corruption, the terror of the state and the terrorism of those who take arms against the status quo.” Moroever, the very fact of her surname and blood relation to the socialist President adds emotional charge to her narrative. Published during the Pinochet years, Allende’s text resonated with every opponent of the regime, and Chileans defied strict censorship laws and risked severe penalties to obtain smuggled copies.” From ‘Writing as an Act of Hope’, Peace Review, 5:2 (1993), 165-175 (p. 169). https://www.isabelallende.com
