ipl-logo

Summary Of The Cluster F-Bomb And Angry Feminist

959 Words4 Pages

The Cluster F-Bomb and Angry Feminist
Feminists in literature or the media are often presented as really loud, angry, man-hating, lesbian and bra-burning stereotypes with radical beliefs, especially when they are presented with the only function to be made fun of and / or ridiculed. One could argue that Shazzer definitely fits in this category: She is a person who expresses her opinion in a really strong and clear way, so that everyone understands and gets her point. As a reader, you get the impression that she always talks really loud and passionate – the effect is created by the use of caps lock when Shazzer is speaking. She is also the one person in Bridget’s group of friends who uses a lot of slang words and expletives which are sometimes …show more content…

Nevertheless, she does not try to actually make a difference and tackle any patriarchic beliefs and / or sexism nor does she want to be associated with being a feminist. This role is exclusively left to Shazzer: She voices her opinion on male privilege and dominance in our society very directly and loudly which is why she tends to be seen as a “ranting”, angry woman from the outside (e.g. from Bridget and her friends or her coworker) – much like the image of a “strident feminist” Bridget is describing in the beginning. She seems to fit the stereotypical version of a man-hating and bra-burning feminist that would like nothing more than to ban men completely from society in many ways as she always points out how men are responsible for everything. When it comes to her love life though, Shazzer cannot completely follow her radical feminist belief and act as though having to wait for a call from a potential love interest had no effect on her. She clearly despises men’s superior role to women in society and tries to tackle this problem by stating her opinion and acting on her beliefs (being a solid believer in sisterhood and putting it over her relationships with men). Shazzer’s character in the novel does not completely fulfill the role of a feminist cliché but she definitely has some characteristics that match up with stereotypical definitions of radical feminists. These character features might prove to be problematic for the novel’s recipients as it is not an obvious ironic presentation of the media’s image of feminist activists and could be understood as criticism on feminism: Readers who believe these feminist images could feel vindicated in their

Open Document