Tradwives, the divine feminine, and “that girl” on social media. In episode 141 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss femininity. They look to Simone de Beauvoir’s famous claim that one is not born but rather becomes a woman, and discuss how the process of feminization is crucial to this becoming. They explore the association between femininity, mystery, and docility. Is the return to traditional gender roles an attempt to move away from capitalism? How do contemporary beauty standards shape women’s self-understanding. And is there such thing as “feminine writing”? In the Substack bonus segment, your hosts discuss 90s cultural feminism and spirituality, and question whether it is possible to find liberation through the divine feminine image. 

Works Discussed:

Sandra Bartky, “ Foucault, Femininity, and the Modernization of Patriarchal Power”

Pierre Bourdieu, La domination masculine

Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex

Hélène Cixous, “The Laugh of the Medusa”

Manon Garcia, We Are Not Born Submissive

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