This isn't a poem about my girlfriend.
Okay that's a lie.
This isn't directly a poem about my girlfriend. This is poem for all the partners of Superheros in the world; the teachers, paramedics, doctors, firefighters, nurses, social workers, and anyone who saves the world at work. It can be really hard to take more of a support role in a relationship; to make the dinners, change plans at the last minute, have nights in because your significant other is exhausted. This job is so so important if undervalued, even for Lois Lane who has a career in journalism.
Wonder Woman was recently set up as a paramour for Superman and there are online debates about "who is better for Superman." What about who's better for Lois Lane? Wonder Woman? This poem pays homage to the type of female-centric strength and identity based on relationships praised by radical cultural feminists. It isn't less than, it isn't working in the shadows of a partner's career.
Radical feminism came in two distinct philosophical camps: radical liberal feminists argued the nature of femininity combined with women’s biological reproductive role impaired their development as human beings. Biology and culture combined to keep women from development as individuals. Philosophers in this camp argued women must be liberated from reproduction. This philosophy urged the adoption of androgynous traits--that is traits either male or female, to create whole individuals. Radical cultural feminists argued the reverse, that women could be empowered through femininity and our reproductive roles. Our nurturance and interdependence shouldn't be replaced by individuation and achievement, but instead, a higher value could be attributed to interdependence on our community and the bonding of our identity to our personal relationships. This development is not inferior to male development and leads to personal growth, maturity (a stage of development psychology suggested women never reached because they didn't become individuated!) and the development of empathy. The latter would strongly influence the Women’s Music movement of the 1970’s which sought to change a society that rewarded separation and achievement by building attachment and community interdependence.
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| A sign at Michfest on Lois Lane (if this is your pic I will credit, let me know.) |
