Analyzing the New Woman through “‘Redneck Woman’ and the
Gendered Poetics of Class Rebellion”
RWS 100
2 December 2013
The New Feminine
In 1913, women couldn’t vote, have a credit card in their own name, legally have an abortion, apply to a graduate school as a married woman, or attend ivy league schools such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Dartmouth, and Colombia. Due to the past restrictions imposed on women, it seems the search to find oneself is ongoing. What first began as a fight against clear and visible restrictions such as voting, has now crossed over to the silent and subtle restrictions forced on women through gender roles. By using “‘Redneck Woman’ and the Gendered Poetics of Class Rebellion” as a lens, this paper will analyze how women are redefining the role of gender, defying the constraints of class systems, and why it is morally better to be poor, in order to show how women are bringing forth a new meaning behind the term femininity.
Nadine Hubbs’ main argument in the essay, “‘Redneck Woman’ and the Gendered Poetics of Class Rebellion,” is that Gretchen Wilson redefined redneck pride and women’s role as a redneck. Hubbs states, “The song is a gender-inclusive statement of redneck pride and a call to twenty-first-century working-class consciousness, fine-tuned to distinctions of consumption and self-construction and their social, economic, and affective reverberations,”(55). Throughout the essay Hubbs analyzes how Wilson touches on the issues of working and social class, male versus female roles, and the changing view towards the redneck in her song, “Redneck Woman.” Hubbs supports the theme of a clash between male and female roles by claiming that women aren’t recognized as rednecks but are instead viewed as an accessory added on to the males identified as being rednecks. Hubbs also claims that Wilson uses the song as a celebration of the “Virile Female” and claims that it defies dominant middle-class culture. As evidence for her claims, Hubbs refers to multiple research studies and historical references. Her audience is very broad,
2 December 2013
The New Feminine
In 1913, women couldn’t vote, have a credit card in their own name, legally have an abortion, apply to a graduate school as a married woman, or attend ivy league schools such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Dartmouth, and Colombia. Due to the past restrictions imposed on women, it seems the search to find oneself is ongoing. What first began as a fight against clear and visible restrictions such as voting, has now crossed over to the silent and subtle restrictions forced on women through gender roles. By using “‘Redneck Woman’ and the Gendered Poetics of Class Rebellion” as a lens, this paper will analyze how women are redefining the role of gender, defying the constraints of class systems, and why it is morally better to be poor, in order to show how women are bringing forth a new meaning behind the term femininity.
Nadine Hubbs’ main argument in the essay, “‘Redneck Woman’ and the Gendered Poetics of Class Rebellion,” is that Gretchen Wilson redefined redneck pride and women’s role as a redneck. Hubbs states, “The song is a gender-inclusive statement of redneck pride and a call to twenty-first-century working-class consciousness, fine-tuned to distinctions of consumption and self-construction and their social, economic, and affective reverberations,”(55). Throughout the essay Hubbs analyzes how Wilson touches on the issues of working and social class, male versus female roles, and the changing view towards the redneck in her song, “Redneck Woman.” Hubbs supports the theme of a clash between male and female roles by claiming that women aren’t recognized as rednecks but are instead viewed as an accessory added on to the males identified as being rednecks. Hubbs also claims that Wilson uses the song as a celebration of the “Virile Female” and claims that it defies dominant middle-class culture. As evidence for her claims, Hubbs refers to multiple research studies and historical references. Her audience is very broad,