BACK TO THE MARKET: EXTENDING IRIGARAY’S READING OF MARX

Authors

  • Mohammad Aljayyousi Philadelphia University, Jordan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejls.v5i2.519

Keywords:

Irigaray, feminism, postmodern feminism, ecofeminism, Marxism and Feminism, gender and sex

Abstract

The study suggests ways to extend Luce Irigaray’s reading of Marx in her article “Women on the Market” by applying it to a number of key issues in the feminist discourse especially the postmodern one. These issues are the relation between the metaphysical and the material, the abstract value and their implications on gender and its constructedness, ecofeminism, and the three social roles/functions of women specified by Irigaray (Mother, Virgin, and Prostitute) in terms of stereotypical representations of women in literature. The author starts with a thorough analysis of Irigaray’s views and shows how they intersect or depart from classical Marxism in terms of the four key issues. The study concludes with some suggestions that, besides putting Irigaray’s remarks to more useful application, would solve some conflicts in the Marxism / Feminism dialogue.

 

Author Biography

  • Mohammad Aljayyousi, Philadelphia University, Jordan

    Mohammad I. Aljayyousi is assistant professor of English at Philadelphia University - Jordan. He has a PhD in literature and criticism from IUP with focus on digital humanities. His research interests include literary theory, digital humanities, and educational technology. Mohammad has published a number of articles in these fields besides winning several research grants and awards including a DAAD grant and a Fulbright award.

    ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2446-1907

    Institutional webpage: https://www.philadelphia.edu.jo/academics/mjayyousi/

References

Adams, Carol J. The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegetarian Critical Theory. NY: Continuum, 2000.

Armour, Ellen T. Deconstruction, Feminist Theology, and the Problem of Difference: Subverting the Race/Gender Divide. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1999.

Barker, Chris. Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice. London: Sage, 2008.

Birkeland, Janis. “Ecofemisnim: Linking Theory and Practice”. Ecofemisnim: Women, Animals, Nature. Greta Claire Gaard. Philadelphia: Temple UP, 1993.

Gruen, Lori. “Dismantling Oppression: An Analysis of the Connection between Women and Animals”. Ecofemisnim: Women, Animals, Nature. Greta Claire Gaard. Philadelphia: Temple UP, 1993.

Irigaray, Luce. This Sex Which Is Not One. Trans. Catherine Porter. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press, 1985.

Martin, Alison. “A European Initiative: Irigaray, Marx, and Citizenship”. Hypatia 19.3 (2004): 20-37.

Moi, Toril. Sexual/Textual Politics: Feminist Literary Theory. NY: Routledge, 1985.

Plumwood, Val. Feminism and the Mastery of Nature. London: Routledge, 1993.

Sargent, Lydia. Women and Revolution: A Discussion of the Unhappy Marriage of Marxism and Feminism. (Cambridge: South End Press, 198).

Schwab, Gail M. “Irigarayan Dialogism: Play and Powerplay”. Feminism, Bakhtin, and the Dialogic. Dale M. Bauer and Susan Jaret McKinstry. Eds. NY: Suny P, 1992.

Downloads

Published

2024-04-18

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 2 (2024)

Section

Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).