![The Language of Polish Women](/api/image/getissuecoverimage?id=picture_2006_351.jpg)
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The phenomenon of the “woman’s sentence”, or “woman’s language/writing” is one of the main themes found in contemporary feminist literary theory. The essay writing of Virginia Woolf, the renowned English novelist, essayist and significant representative of the first wave of feminism, reflected these themes. Woolf searched for an authentic “woman’s language” in her writings; thereby, reaching for—inter alia—the phenomenon of silence. Some female representatives of contemporary feminist literary theory regard this as one of the characteristic signs of “woman’s writing”. The author of this paper explores how Woolf incorporated this phenomenon into her writings, seeing in it not only a theme but also a means of creating style and meaning. The ways in which Woolf uses the phenomenon of silence in her texts offer stimuli for thinking not only about the specific features of “woman’s writing” as studied in feminist literary theory, but they are also challenging from the perspective of feminist epistemology and ethics.
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In Poland, the response to feminism is connected with two different outlooks on life: Christian or postmodern. While the Christian model seems to stabilize the traditional image of a woman, the postmodern model connects feminist issues with questions of identity and the category of ‘womanhood’. The article considers the way in which the postmodern model is realized in art—the sphere in which sex can be treated as a kind of dynamic structure. The work of Polish women artists often playfully polemicize religious dogmas referring to the paradoxes of Christianity. The article also gives a short outline of the national-catholic paradigm, which still dominates Polish social consciousness and casts women in shadowy social roles. In Poland, feminism seems to be perceived as an attack on a national ideology which promotes traditional family values and maintains that religious symbols are fundamental to Polish culture and its specificity.
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Catalina de Erauso was a Spanish nun—turned soldier—who lived in 17th century Spain. Dressed as a man for almost two decades, she travelled to the Colonies to test her luck in the army, where she made the grade of ensign. In 1624 she wrote her memoirs. Unfortunately, the original manuscript was lost and the text which has survived is a copy, probably penned by an amanuensis. In 1996, an English translation of her memoirs was published. In my paper I will argue that the translation of the Stepto’s translation reflects a cultural bias and shows little effort at researching the nun's deeds and words. I will also examine gender attitudes in the Renaissance, and later periods, and the role of the Church in curtailing women from attaining intellectual maturity. To back my claims, I use Catalina's original text and contrast it with subsequent editions. I hope to prove that the English translation veers more towards sensationalism than to a deep and abiding respect for the nun’s misfortunes.
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Even though there seems nothing more 'natural' than human sexuality, especially its reproductive function in the form of heterosexual coitus; one should be aware of the society's influence on the ways of sexual expression, on the construction of sexual identity and on the possibilities of choosing a sexual preference/desire.
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In this report the authors talk about the legal changes in Croatia regarding human rights, their cooperation with government institutions, representation of LGBT population in the media, problems with sex education in schools, public expressions of homophobia, violence and discrimination, and public manifestations of sexual minorities in Croatia during 2005.
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