Aimee Bender

Aimee Benders story "Motherfucker" can be interpreted through several points of view of a feminist critic. Elaine Showalter described feminist criticism as being divided in two ways, "The first type is concerned with woman as reader- with woman as the consumer of male-produced literature, and with the way in which the hypothesis of a female reader changes our apprehension of a given text, awakening us to the existence of sexual codes...it's subjects include the images and stereotypes of women in literature...The second type of feminist criticism is concerned with woman as writer- with woman as the producer of textual meaning, with the history, themes, genres, and structures of literature by women" (Showalter). Bender's story can fit into these descriptions. In many ways, the story portrays stereotypes of women. When the starlet first met the "motherfucker", she found him trustworthy, when truly she knew nothing about him. He went through the motions of showing her affection and attention, asking her "particular questions" and she began to trust him, falling under the mans spell. The women this man had had relations with in the past probably experienced the same thing, showing the typical ways women can be seduced. The "motherfucker" being so cautious and slow to the punch of trying to get her into bed shows how women like to be treated. The story also shows how women can be dependent on a man. In the end of the story, the starlet felt like she needed him as much as she needed basic things in life like water. If you ask me, that's pretty serious. Also,Heddie, a woman from his past, calls him for support. While in the story woman can be seen as dependent on men, they are also portrayed as strong. All of the women this man gets involved with are single mothers. This means that they are both mentally strong for dealing with motherhood but financially strong for supporting themselves and their kids. The starlet is rich and intimidates other people, so she can be seen as a very strong woman. "Gynocritics begins at the point when we free ourselves from the linear absolutes of male literary history, stop trying to fit women in between the lines of the male tradition, and focus instead on the newly visible world of female culture" (Showalter). In a way, the fact that the women in this story can be single mothers who are financially stable and even famous movie stars can free women from male descriptions, but these women are also the ones being shown as the object of the man's desires. The dominant aspect of this story is that the male in the story is still getting what he wants and triumphing over the women. Regardless if the women were strong or not, this man seduced the single mothers and came out with what he wanted in the end. As Showalter first stated, literature shows the awakening of sexual codes and this story definitely shows this.