Penny Lane- Butler and Cixous

After reading Judith Butler and Helene Cixous’ writings, I began to reflect upon the evolution of feminism. In CMC200 we learned that post-feminist theory asserts that the feminist movement is now obsolete because there is no longer inequality between men and women. I believe that our theorists would agree that two dangerous narratives have arisen from this perspective: (1) the commodification of feminism; and (2) liberation from sexual ethics. The first scenario insinuates that financial independence equates to power. A woman’s ability to buy whatever she wants whenever she wants, without answering to a man, denotes autonomous social influence. However this construction is a slippery slope, because it reinforced the hegemonic notions of commodity fetishism. Under a critical lens, one could argue that emphasis on consumption only serves to entrap both the individual and society in this detrimental pattern. The second example of post-feminist philosophy is sexual freedom. Cixous states: “we turn away from our bodies.” I believe that to a certain extent this applies to the loosening of sexual ethics. Following the sexual patterns commonly demonstrated by men, women can be promiscuous, unemotional, and casual about sex without facing certain public criticism. Furthermore, women are free to use and expose their bodies for personal gain or satisfaction. This framework for acceptable social behavior is hazardous to the ambitions of feminism. While such actions are prefaced as being in the control of the woman, external factors may influence sexual liberation to become sexual exploitation