"Not afraid of the Woman": Adorno and the Female Character
Keywords:
Dialectic of Enlightemnent, fetish-character, women, castration, emancipationAbstract
Women play a central role in Adorno's critique of the culture industry. Their behavior is a paradigmatic example of consumption as a combination of individual consciousness and social unconsciousness. Moreover, women seem particularly susceptible to the conformist socialization of libidinal energies and the commercialization of eroticism. Yet woman also represents a counterforce to the male character. This essay first interprets patriarchy as a precedent for the dialectic of enlightenment, in order to then locate the renunciation of instinct necessary for cultural achievement beyond the separation of the sexes. In this context, the theory of the symbolically and psychologically castrated woman is supplemented by a reference to the real history of castration. Finally, the question arises as to why “being different without fear” should also mean “not being afraid of women” (Adorno).
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References
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