To Be or Not To Be (a Man): Is That the Question? Men and/in Feminist Literary Criticism

Abstract

[Abstract] While the question of men and/in feminism has long been subject to different (and often opposed) views and opinions, the more specific issue of men in feminist literary criticism remains largely unexplored. Nevertheless, the question of men in feminism is not exactly the same as the question of men in feminist literary criticism. As Toril Moi indicates, “while the latter is an interesting and relevant problem in its own right, it is strange, to say the least, not to find a single discussion of the difference between these two questions.” This paper thus sets out to address the particular subject of men and/in feminist literary criticism. While acknowledging the diversities within –and disagreements between– male and female feminisms, it posits that men can and should get involved in feminist literary theory, arguing that (female) feminism could be widened and enriched by new male feminist critical perspectives.