A crítica literária feminista e os estudos de gênero: um passeio pelo território selvagem

Abstract

This article aims to make a brief review of the main theoretical orientations in the field of feminist criticism and gender studies, in order to analyze and evaluate their place in contemporary literary criticism, and also to discuss how they can offer a different interpretation for literary works. The article’s title is a definition proposed by Elaine Showalter, who sees feminist literary criticism as a “wild territory” due to the variety of theoretical approaches and to the discussions they arise inside an academic environment almost totally dominated by men. This article aims to problematize these discussions, that cover the questions of gender in authorship as well as the use of gender as a category of analysis, which becomes frequent in the 1990´s. By analysing these issues, it will be possible to understand feminism and gender as politic readings that are closely related to power relations in a society. In this sense, this article seeks to emphasize the relations of literature with the social world, showing how gender representations and also aesthetic conventions are related with values, attitudes and beliefs that are rooted in society.