Pronoun Envy: Literary Uses of Linguistic Gender (Studies in Language and Gender)

Controversy over gendered pronouns, for example using the generic "he," has been a staple of feminist arguments about patriarchal language over the last 30 years, and is certainly the most contested political issue in Western feminist linguistics. Most accounts do not extend beyond policy issues like the official institution of non-sexist language. In this volume, Anna Livia reveals continuities both before and after the sexist language refore movement and shows how the creative practices of pronoun use on the part of feminist writers had both aesthetic and political ends. Livia uses the term "pronoun envy" ironically to show that rather being a case of misguided envy, battles over gendered language are central to feminist concerns.Livia examines a broad corpus of written texts in English and French, concentrating on those texts which problematize the traditional functioning of the linguistic gender system. They range from novels and prose poems to film scripts and personal testimonies, and in time from the 19th century to the present. Some withhold any indication of gender; others have non-gendered characters. Livia's goal is two-fold; to help bridge the divide between linguistic and literary analysis, and to show how careful study of the manipulation of linguistic gender in these texts informs larger concerns. This fresh and highly interdisciplinary work lies at the intersection of several vital areas, including language and gender, sociolinguistics, and feminist literary analysis.

Politics & Social Sciences

Livia, Anna

Women's Studies

Oxford University Press

Controversy over gendered pronouns, for example using the generic "he," has been a staple of feminist arguments about patriarchal language over the last 30 years, and is certainly the most contested political issue in Western feminist linguistics. Most accounts do not extend beyond policy issues like the official institution of non-sexist language. In this volume, Anna Livia reveals continuities both before and after the sexist language refore movement and shows how the creative practices of pronoun use on the part of feminist writers had both aesthetic and political ends. Livia uses the term "pronoun envy" ironically to show that rather being a case of misguided envy, battles over gendered language are central to feminist concerns. Livia examines a broad corpus of written texts in English and French, concentrating on those texts which problematize the traditional functioning of the linguistic gender system. They range from novels and prose poems to film scripts and personal testimonies, and in time from the 19th century to the present. Some withhold any indication of gender; others have non-gendered characters. Livia's goal is two-fold; to help bridge the divide between linguistic and literary analysis, and to show how careful study of the manipulation of linguistic gender in these texts informs larger concerns. This fresh and highly interdisciplinary work lies at the intersection of several vital areas, including language and gender, sociolinguistics, and feminist literary analysis.

A London lesbian visits, and comes out to, an idiosyncratic assortment of relatives in Australia.

Relatively Norma

Reference

Onlywomen Pr Ltd

New and established authors co-edited by a poet and a novelist. An anthology as overtly lesbian as it is definitely feminist. lesbians

The Pied Piper: Lesbian Feminist Fiction

LGBTQ+ Books

Literature & Fiction

Only Women Press

Minimax is the hilarious, often farcical, story of Minnie, her trials and romantic tribulations in London, Australia, and San Francisco. "Impressive powers of invention...pure and acidly funny."--The Village Voice¶"A blend of north-of-the-equator magical realism, science fiction, and lesbian-feminist political savvy."--The Advocate

Minimax

Humor & Satire

The Eighth Mountain Press

Minimax is the hilarious, often farcical, story of Minnie, her trials and romantic tribulations in London, Australia, and San Francisco. "Impressive powers of invention...pure and acidly funny."--The Village Voice "A blend of north-of-the-equator magical realism, science fiction, and lesbian-feminist political savvy."--The Advocate

Incidents Involving Mirth

British & Irish

Relates the intertwined stories of three people who turn to Ella Weissman, a feminist therapist, to reveal their loves, fears, and confusions

Bruised Fruit: A Novel

Erotica

Firebrand Books

Among the several narrative strands in Anna Livia's complex and rewarding new novel, it is hard to say which story is more engrossing. A sexually abused girl named Patti becomes a man-killing dyke. Despite her promiscuity, no one sparks her romantic interest until she meets Caroline. Caroline has flown to San Francisco to escape her abusive English lover and finds, at last, a place of calm and order in which to work. Her friend and employer, Sydney, a hermaphrodite, falls in love with Caroline but ends up in a far more interesting relationship with a straight and formerly conventional Englishman named Harold. It may be the character of Harold, an ordinary bloke, that lifts this book above the rank and file of lesbian novels. Puzzled but determinedly in love, Harold is the unexotic Everyman that grounds these eccentric characters who might otherwise seem standard issue for gay and lesbian fiction. Well-written, fully realized, and occasionally surprising, this is Livia's best novel yet. --Regina Marler

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Livia, Anna. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Livia, Anna

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Livia, Anna. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Pronoun Envy: Literary Uses of Linguistic Gender (Studies in Language and Gender)

Pronoun Envy: Literary Uses of Linguistic Gender (Studies in Language and Gender)

Relatively Norma

The Pied Piper: Lesbian Feminist Fiction

Minimax

Minimax

Incidents Involving Mirth

Incidents Involving Mirth

Bruised Fruit: A Novel

Bruised Fruit: A Novel