PERF219 Chapter Notes - Chapter 13: Celia Kitzinger And Sue Wilkinson
Chapter Summary
Textbook: The Applied Theatre Reader, edited by Tim Prentki
and Sheila Preston, Routledge, 2009.
Chapter 13 – Representing the Other
By Sue Wilkinson and Celia Kitzinger (pp. 86-93)
Speaking only for ourselves
- Some feminists believe that we should not represent the Other or speak on their
behalf at all to avoid all the problems that come with representing the Other.
- Instead we must attempt to create social and political conditions that invite/allow
the Others to speak on behalf of themselves.
- A problem for feminists speaking “only for ourselves” is that it eliminates an entire
side of the story – the male side. This alone creates a misrepresentation of the
situation.
- This problem is also created by feminists needing to define who they can/are
allowed to represent.
- Another problem is that the feminists are academically minded and majority are
white, western, and middle class. This results in an over-representation of these
views.
- The third problem lies in refusing to represent the Others in order not to silence
them. This refusal can have the same effect if the Others are not willing to represent
themselves in the first place.
- The Others are also prevented from representing us.
-“In sum, whatever the intentions, the effects of speaking only for ourselves are often
the silencing of Others , the erasure of their experience, and the re-inscription of
power relations.”
Celebrating Othernes
- Others: people oppressed by dominant culture.
- Consequently, their cultures and traditions are represented as inferior.
- Feminists seek to represent these traditions as something to celebrate.
- However, this can lead to romanticism and exaggeration of these cultures and
traditions, leading to misrepresentation.
-“In sum, celebrating Others, as much as derogating them, may project onto those
Others our own political agenda, appropriating them to our own ‘cause’’.”
Destabilising Others
- Some feminists, particularly those influenced by post modernism, have changed the
above assumptions in an attempt to destabilise them.
- Others are created by those who do the Othering, by those who reflect upon that
Othering, and by the Others’ own representation of themselves.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Textbook: the applied theatre reader, edited by tim prentki and sheila preston, routledge, 2009. Some feminists believe that we should not represent the other or speak on their behalf at all to avoid all the problems that come with representing the other. Instead we must attempt to create social and political conditions that invite/allow the others to speak on behalf of themselves. A problem for feminists speaking only for ourselves is that it eliminates an entire side of the story the male side. This alone creates a misrepresentation of the situation. This problem is also created by feminists needing to define who they can/are allowed to represent. Another problem is that the feminists are academically minded and majority are white, western, and middle class. This results in an over-representation of these views. The third problem lies in refusing to represent the others in order not to silence them.
