Is There a Feminine Aesthetic?

Abstract

The time has come for a campaign against all the weeping and wailing. Even the media have got the hang of it-with their usual inconsequence. Women are oppressed, exploited, degraded.... Although this state of affairs has hardly changed since it was first articulated, to continue to proclaim it, now in the artistic realm, seems almost pointless. But this need not necessarily be the case. As can be seen upon closer examination, it is the tone and the platitudinous character of the lament that make it seem inadequate. The form the lament takes still acknowledges its addressee. Traditionally it was women-professional mourners-who rendered grief public, be it in regard to death, to suffering, or to the victims of massacres; this was one of their rare opportunities to assume a public function. But precisely for this reason it was not at all startling, indeed, no one particularly noticed, when women began publicizing and decrying their own lot, that of their sisters, their female ancestors and, should women's fate not improve, the lot of future women. Clearly, Cassandra was not a false prophet. She was simply not heard. No one paid attention to her. Lately though, the pitch has become more shrill, and lamentation has turned into accusation. Since there is no reliable authority guaranteeing justice, women are leaving the wailing wall.

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