In detective fiction, we spoke about Sally Munt's book: Murder by the book?: feminism and the crime novel. Detective fiction's origin was male-dominated, with the English male archetype as stoic, rational, assertive and strong. In America, the hard-boiled story was developed, and the focus was placed on individual achievement rather than class. The detective was seen as a radical hero, restoring social peace, though he was just reaffirming the traditional Christian, patriarchal values. Violence and physical encounters became the norm. Women, if present at all, would react. Successful female authors parodied men, feminizing them. With the rise of the feminism movement, there were more female detectives (sometimes criticized to be women in drag). Today we have some detective fiction with lead female characters who don't fit the traditional female mold. But it's still a pretty male-dominated arena. Is this a reflection of reality? Are female detectives really just women in drag? Does that kind of question perpetuate the gender division/stereotypes? It was a pretty interesting class discussion. We didn't have time to discuss the other readings: White, by Richard Dyer (with his proposal to make whiteness strange) and Traces, Codes and Clues: Reading Race in Crime Fiction, by Maureen T. Reddy.
1:34 a.m. Still have Finnish homework to do... Good night!
(My neighbor left this mug for me when he left Lapinkaari! I have a very faint memory of him drinking from it, but I can't really say... There's something about it... Like I've had it for years.)
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