Protofeminist

Protofeminist is a term used to define women in a philosophical tradition that anticipated modern feminist concepts, yet lived in a time when the term "feminist" was unknown. [Botting Eileen H, Houser Sarah L. “Drawing the Line of Equality”: Hannah Mather Crocker on Women's Rights. American Political Science Review (2006), 100: 265-278] That is, to the early twentieth century. [ Cott, Nancy F. 1987. The Grounding of Modern Feminism. New Haven: Yale University Press.] [Offen, Karen M. 2000. European Feminisms, 1700–1950: A Political History. Stanford: Stanford University Press.] The utility of this is rejected by some modern scholars, [Ferguson, Margaret. Feminism in time. Modern Language Quarterly 2004 65(1): 7-27] in analogous fashion to "postfeminist". (That term is said to have been coined by Toril Moi in 1985 in "Sexual/Textual Politics" to advocate a feminism that would deconstruct the binary between equality-based, or 'liberal' feminism and difference-based or 'radical feminism'".) [Kavka, Misha. Feminism, ethics, and history; or, What is the 'post' in postfeminism? Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature 2002 21: 29]

Film Contrasts

Female film roles during the forties were often protofeminist. Most women were self-sufficient, forceful, and capable of doing most anything a man could do. Their clothing was loose, with heels reasonable. One could see how they could break into a run if the situation called for it. Hairstyles, likewise, were practical and required limited upkeep.

Female leads in the fifties shifted from the Joan Crawford model of the forties to the Kim Novak model. Women were often flighty, air-headed, and unable to do anything without a man's help. Tight skirts and impractical heels made running utterly impractical, and hairstyles became something requiring two or three days a week at the hairstylist to maintain. With a few exceptions, notably Judy Holliday, most female leads in the fifties were far less likely to be protofeminists.

For a clear contrast, with movies only two years apart, consider That Way With Women [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039893/ That Way With Women (1947)] ] vs. Mother Is a Freshman [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041659/ Mother Is a Freshman (1949)] ] . In the former, the female romantic lead, played by Martha Vickers, is capable, sassy, and protective of her elderly father, played by Sidney Greenstreet. She is clearly a protofeminist. In the latter, the title character, played by Loretta Young, is flighty and fiscally irresponsible, leading to the plot setup. She "needs" a man to take care of her, a point suggested repeatedly throughout the film.

References

ee also

*History of feminism
*Christine de Pizan