Welcome to a Critical Outlook on Feminist Literature and Theory
Some time ago, during my Sophomore year of high school I was strikingly consumed with the realization that there simply is not enough representation in our book curriculum. Over the years I became fixated on the parallels between the students around me (predominantly minority students from ethnic backgrounds), the books we immersed ourselves with (predominantly 19th century pre-colonial literature), the authors of these books (predominately very white), and even the teachers who we were taught by (again, very white). While I recognize that there is much to gain from classical literature and even pre-colonial history, I also could not turn away the fact that by teaching and engaging in literature written for the white consumer, we are teaching our students of color that they are secondary characters of American history and literature, even though students from minority backgrounds are the biggest influences on American culture and society. I noted that through the erasure of culture and modern relevancy we practiced the erasure of students and their potential to learn that they are very much the foundation of our society. While I conducted research and established safe places where people who wanted to face the colonial misconception that classical entertainment lacked diversity simply because that was the reality of the time - it was not enough. From the glorification of Rudyard Kipling, author of The Jungle Book, and also, the White Man’s Burden, to the gracious story of Huck Finn coming to a radical cessation, that maybe, just maybe, Black people are real people with real feelings. The problem with the hyper-fixation on these classical works, is not in fact that they are out of date, it is that whenever the minority story is taught, it is taught to be perceived as first, a secondary element of the white protagonist, and second, that is indeed out of date, and that the problematic context of these novels only exists as a component of our early history, when it is in fact the normalization of racism, classism and sexism in American literature that enables for the current gap of minority representation in media and film. I created this blog to create an online presence and advocacy platform, for students and young adults like me - who grew up learning that they are secondary characters to their own story.
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jsyannaacosta07@gmail.com