Writing a Better Ending: How Feminist Utopian Literature Subverts Patriarchy

• Author: Kirsten Imani Kasai
• Date: 01 November 2018
• Published date: 01 November 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/ajes.12257

Writing a Better Ending: How Feminist

Utopian Literat ure Subverts Patriarchy

By Kirsten imani Kasai*

abstract. This article explores the historic role of dystopian and

feminist utopian fiction in upholding or supplanting capitalist,

patriarchal dominance hierarchies. Here, I will examine the following:

the persistence and popularity of dystopias; the political and cultural

trends that have influenced them; the reasons why feminist writers

have typically excluded men from their utopian visions; the sexual

objectification of women in dystopias; and the utopian/dystopian

parallax. I will discuss the need for feminist writers to envision

inclusive alternate futures that propose realistic, cooperative societies

that counter prevailing dystopian models. This can be achieved by

dismantling and reconstructing our present reality through the act of

changing the stories that we tell ourselves.

Introduct ion

Literature is a proven medium for proposing and evaluating social

change. It is a form of intellectual activism, and as radical feminist and

environmentalist Lierre Keith (2012: 165) states: “The task of an activist

is not to navigate systems of oppressive power with as much personal

integrity as possible; it is to dismantle those systems.” Feminist uto-

pian literature has long pondered how a patriarchy-free world would

look by envisioning detailed alternate realities with, or more often,

without the presence of men. While the elimination of men may seem

like an obvious solution, it is not tenable. Utopia must be reimagined

as an inclusive paradise or ideal society, a process that raises numer-

ous questions. What defines utopia? How have writers explored these

American Jour nal of Economics and Sociology, Vol. 77, No. 5 (Novem ber, 2018).

DOI: 10 .1111/ajes.1225 7

© 2018 American Journ al of Economics and Sociology, Inc

*Adjunct instructor of advanced literature at Southern New Hampshire University and

English composition at University of the People. Author of three novels: The House of

Erzulie (2018), Tattoo (2011), and Ice Song (2009). Interested in the socio-cultural im-

pact of feminist, hybrid, and experimental literature. Seeks to establish a feminist vision

of the future not rooted in technological alienation and destruction. Email: kik@kirsteni-

manikasai.com

1378 The American Journal of Economics and Sociology

ideas in response to socio-political, cultural, and economic trends?

Why do feminist utopias differ from those of male writers? How do

utopian practices and concepts as portrayed in literature align with

contemporary religious ideals, values, and traditions? Finally, can liter-

ature serve as a viable thought model for creating real-world change

on a grand scale?

It is essential to understand how utopian hope was subsumed by

the dystopian pessimism that now captivates the popular imagination,

and why feminists periodically abandoned utopia as a literary genre

and an ideal with the potential for real-world implementation. Utopian

and dystopian narratives present alternate realities that reflect human

hopes and fears, but reality itself is mutable and perception-based:

“[R]eality is never a universal concept. … [W]hat passes for reality in

any culture is the product of that culture’s codes (a system of signs,

whose rules and conventions are shared amongst members of a cul-

ture, and which is used to generate and circulate meanings in and for

that culture)” (Beck 1998: 140).

However, story, not reality, is how humans make sense of the world

and our purpose in it. Every novel, play, movie, anecdote, parable,

myth, news article, joke, commercial, video clip, and television show

is a story with demonstrated or inferred cause and effect, and a begin-

ning, middle, and end. Our photographs, artworks, and music tell a

story by hitting us with the emotional impact of an extrapolated event.

Our dreaming brains even tell us stories while we sleep. Yet there are

few realistic utopian tales of equitable, sustainable societies presented

in literature, film, or the media. When assessing the possibilities of es-

tablishing a real-world utopia, it is critical to understand the political,

economic, and cultural causes of this dystopian cultural shift and how

feminist writers can provide more beneficial alternatives.

In this article, I will examine the reasons why feminist writers have

typically excluded men from their utopian visions and discuss the

need for inclusive utopias that propose realistic, cooperative societ-

ies. I will explore the historic role of utopian fiction in upholding or

supplanting capitalist, patriarchal agendas and propose that contem-

porary feminists should publish fiction that pushes the needle further

toward not only envisioning, but realizing, more peaceable possibil-

ities, while accurately reflecting and expanding upon recent societal