Critical Craft Essay

Ashley, Kara, Kylie, Taiylor

Professor Barlow

ENGL 483

27 April 2023

Critical Craft Essay (750+ words; need MLA citation):

We, the four amazing authors contributing to this anthology, are excited to present our work not only as individuals, but in a broader united context. As a group of four authors, we have independently each explored different aspects of the female experience in our creative works this semester. Our stories cover a range of topics, including women in politics, queer women, female leads, and sisterhood. However, while our individual stories may differ in terms of setting and characters, they all share a common thread of highlighting the experiences of women. Through our stories, we hope to shed light on the challenges that women face in different areas of their lives and to celebrate the resilience and strength of female characters. As a group, we believe in the power of storytelling to inspire change and bring attention to issues that are often overlooked. And so, we are pleased to present this anthology as a unified nod to feminism through the various powerful female characters we have created in our individual compositions. 

In "Short Story Long," Ashley explores the challenges faced by women in politics through the story of a young woman who has taken a college-level internship in a government office and struggles to balance individualism with perfectionism within that environment. Drawing on her own experiences as a woman in a male-dominated field, Ashley introduces her character Pam, a young woman who navigates the complex world of politics and exposes the complexities of anxiety, stereotypes, misogyny, and toxic masculinity. 

Even today in the 21st century, women in politics face a significantly different political experience than their male counterparts; and this is not discussed nearly enough in literary review nor is it portrayed in popular narrative. Ashley draws on this lapse in discussion through Pam, one of only two female employees in an entire government agency office, paralleling the underrepresentation of women in all levels of government– local, state, and federal– in the U.S. as well as in each position– internships, staff positions, and even through the electorate (Holman 285). Should Pam ever choose to run for office or continue down a political career after her internship, this task would be made much harder for her than it would be for even men of lesser qualifications. Even though the representation of women in government is being resolved numerically more each election cycle, there is a striking gender gap in the criteria and mental validation for the women in these roles. Scholars point to the historical exclusion of these women as one of the primary drivers of male-dominated spheres and perceptions even today, or “masculinized ethos” (Fox and Lawless 60). 

Even in these roles, women are known to be harder on themselves and their qualifications and are more likely to self-reject promotions on this basis. This is evident not only in current U.S. society but also in Ashley’s story. Within “Short Story Long,” Pam is constantly overthinking her place and second guessing the role she is supposed to be playing. She is often frustrated with perfecting her image and never seems to be fully satisfied with her performance, results, or status. Similarly, women in political roles are often held to different standards than male counterparts and employ unique– arguably better– leadership techniques that are less authoritarian. A study of local governments, specifically city management positions, asserted that women in these positions are more likely to take citizen input into consideration and encourage involvement from others (Fox and Schuhmann 231).

Especially today, it is important for women to see themselves represented in these offices and high profile positions in both literature and scholarship. Female leaders tend to mobilize other female leaders and motivate other women to pursue important positions (Ladam et al. 370). The U.S. could use more numerical female representation as well as more female confidence and credibility in government. Pam is just one addition to this that Ashley hopes to explore throughout the rest of her story. 

Taiylor, in "First Sight," narrates a love story between two queer women. The story explores the experience of queer women, exhibiting the adversity that they face. Taiylor uses a mixture of non-fiction in this fictitious story, pulling from her own experiences with love and adversity as a queer woman. She also incorporates the Pulse nightclub shooting to draw attention to the tragic event, so that readers can remember and reflect upon the fact that real, violent hate exists in the world targeted towards the LGBTQ+ community. Taiylor simultaneously creates a heartwarming love story and a chilling depiction of this hate throughout “First Sight”. 

Since queer literature is so scarce, especially queer literature targeted towards working-class queer people, queer theory often remains undiscussed, “Writers who are marginalized because of their queerness, as well as through experiencing oppression due to race, class, disability and more, have not typically been encouraged (or resourced) to document their stories, nor have they been sought out and championed by the publishing industry. The effect of this lack of celebrated working-class queer literature is known in sociology as ‘symbolic annihilation'. Quite literally, this describes a sustained attempt to blast away the existence of working-class queer people. This strategic denial of representation upholds the status quo, which tries to suggest that working-class queer people don’t have a role in society, and can be demonized and pushed to the margins” (Cowan). It is important for queer people to keep writing about their experiences to solidify their place in the world of literature. 

 Queer theory dissects the adversity that queer individuals face, breaking it down to binary oppositions, “The sex/gender system works to support binary opposition heterosexual/homosexual, labeling as “deviant” the subject who does not match up biological sex with gender expression or sexual orientation. This labeling operates within regulatory mechanisms which enforce compulsory heterosexuality. When you do something your culture labels deviant, you are liable to be punished for it: by being arrested, or by being shamed, and made to feel dirty. Queer theory, like feminist theory, works to understand how these categories of normal and deviant are constructed, how they operate, and how they are enforced, in order to intervene into changing or ending them.” (Klages 86) The notion of homosexuality as “deviance” serves as inspiration for “First Sight.” The couple in the story faces a proud protestor proclaiming that being queer is a sin, as well as the man in the park, who tells them “You two are disgusting. I can’t believe you openly express your lifestyle like that in public, it’s disgraceful.” 

The first installment of "Shallows," shows a society that has declined past the point of no return. This story showcases environmental ruin, politics, and futurism from multiple perspectives of different characters.  The main character, Mouse confronts this society head on, opposing the ideas of classism, pollution, and oppression that the rest of the world has become accustomed to.  

A common notion is that we are currently living in a dystopian society, however dystopias serve as warning to come rather than any actual location.  Dystopias are simply states of the government to come in the future, that have happened in the past, or that are currently happening (Shames, Atchison).  This doesn’t always have to be futuristic, which is shown in “Shallows”.  Put in a setting not quite distant enough to feel far away, rather as something that could be starting this very moment.  

In "A Sister’s Bond," Kylie explores the power of sisterhood and self exploration in a story which follows the memories, trauma, and healing of a young woman trying to reunite with her sister. With inspiration from Uma Narayan’s “Contesting Cultures,” “A Sister’s Bond” works to understand grief, abuse, neglect, and family relationships within a girl coming of age. The main themes and ideas discussed in this piece show the contrasting ways in which people deal with traumatic experiences, as well as how they decide to work past those experiences.

Uma Narayan’s piece “Contesting Cultures,” from Dislocating Cultures, addresses the harsh realities women in Third-World countries face. Narayan talks about her personal experiences with women’s rights and feminism in her Indian culture and the contradictions she saw from the women in her life. Being a good wife, mother, daughter, and woman is crucial to being accepted in her culture, and as she got older and decided to learn more about Third World feminism, she was labeled as “Westernized” by not only society, but her family as well. She overcomes the fierce patriarchy her culture has subjected her and other women to while combating the unequal treatment of Indian women and women living in Third World countries.

            While discussing her relationship with her mother, Narayan writes, “The same mother who complained about her silencing enjoined me to silence, doing what she had to do, since my failures to conform would translate as her failures to rear me well” (Narayan 7).  Narayan watched her mother suffer in silence, obediently following the wants and needs of everyone but herself, and when she got older, Narayan wanted to put an end to this cycle. In “A Sister’s Bond,” Kylie created her own spin on the contradictions young girls learn from their mother’s, and explores the awakening of Laila as she becomes more comfortable voicing her opinions. 

As a group, we believe that our individual stories are a reflection of a broader truth about the experiences of women. We wanted to create a collection of works that highlight the struggles and triumphs of women in different contexts, whether it be in politics, in relationships, or in breaking societal expectations. Our stories are not only about individual characters, but they are also about the connections and bonds that exist between women. We believe that sisterhood and solidarity are crucial to overcoming the challenges that women face, and we hope that our stories inspire readers to embrace these values. And remember these are not just stories, this is our life. 

 

Works Cited

Cowan, Leah. “Why Working-Class Queer Stories Are Ignored.” Pan Macmillan, May 2022. https://www.panmacmillan.com/blogs/literary/working-class-queer-love-stories-books-literature  

Fox, Richard L., and Jennifer L. Lawless. “Gendered Perceptions and Political Candidacies: A Central Barrier to Women’s Equality in Electoral Politics.” American Journal of Political Science, vol. 55, no. 1, Jan. 2011, pp. 59-73. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/25766254. 

Fox, Richard L., and Robert A. Schuhmann. “Gender and Local Government: A Comparison of Women and Men City Managers.” Public Administration Review, vol. 59, no. 3, May 1999, pp. 231-242. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3109951.

Holman, Mirya R. “Women in Local Government: What We Know and Where We Go from Here.” State & Local Government Review, vol. 49, no. 4, Dec. 2017, pp. 285-296. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/48571775.

Klages, Mary. Literary Theory: The Complete Guide. Bloomsbury, 2017. 

Ladam, Christina, et al. “Prominent Role Models: High-Profile Female Politicians and the Emergence of Women as Candidates for Public Office.” American Journal of Political Science, vol. 62, no.2, Apr. 2018, pp. 369-381. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26598735.

Naraya, Uma. “Contesting Cultures: ‘Westernization,” Respect for Cultures, and Third-World Feminists.” Dislocating Cultures, 2013, pp. 13-51., https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203707487-5.

Shauna Shames Associate Professor, and Amy Atchison Associate Professor of Political Science & International Relations. “Are We Living in a Dystopia?” The Conversation, 29 Apr. 2020, https://theconversation.com/are-we-living-in-a-dystopia-136908.