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The construction of female identity in contemporary Singaporean literature : the woman as aberration
Author
Lee, Sze Seau
Supervisor
Dr Wong
Abstract
Using feminist theory, my thesis aims to show that the representation of woman as aberration significantly recurs in various degrees in contemporary Singaporean literature. This recurrent representation usually reduces the female identity to a disabled and inferior position that is to the disadvantage of the woman and condemns the woman to the marginal. I have classified the works under examination into three different categories by evaluating the degrees of departure from patriarchal conventions evident in these writings.
The first category is a situation when the woman is constructed to resign themselves to the different expected behaviours from men without any complaint. The woman is defined against the superior male and as long as you are a woman instead of a man, you are an aberration. If the woman finds certain expectations under motherhood or femininity repressive, she has been naturalized to submit to them without overt protests.
The second category is a situation when the woman outwardly expresses discontentment against patriarchy but she never challenges the hierarchical system based on domination of the Other and perpetuates the objectification of self. Moreover, the woman who aggressively acts outside of the expectations of the feminine is given the stereotype of an apparition. The writings under the third category, the most radical, provide a definition of the female identity that differs from patriarchy by reinterpreting myths and using 'drag' to offer the woman agency.
The conclusion explores why the majority of Singaporean works that I have examined construct the female identity to be subordinate and disempowered. I will also suggest more narrative methods that empower the female identity or undermine patriarchy with the hope of inspiring women by exposing them to more liberating identity constructions.
The first category is a situation when the woman is constructed to resign themselves to the different expected behaviours from men without any complaint. The woman is defined against the superior male and as long as you are a woman instead of a man, you are an aberration. If the woman finds certain expectations under motherhood or femininity repressive, she has been naturalized to submit to them without overt protests.
The second category is a situation when the woman outwardly expresses discontentment against patriarchy but she never challenges the hierarchical system based on domination of the Other and perpetuates the objectification of self. Moreover, the woman who aggressively acts outside of the expectations of the feminine is given the stereotype of an apparition. The writings under the third category, the most radical, provide a definition of the female identity that differs from patriarchy by reinterpreting myths and using 'drag' to offer the woman agency.
The conclusion explores why the majority of Singaporean works that I have examined construct the female identity to be subordinate and disempowered. I will also suggest more narrative methods that empower the female identity or undermine patriarchy with the hope of inspiring women by exposing them to more liberating identity constructions.
Date Issued
2003
Call Number
PR9555 Lee
Date Submitted
2003