Research On Kate Millett’s Sexual Politics

The object of the thesis is Kate Millett’s theory of "sexual politics", analyzes the backgrounds, views, characteristics, contributions of the theory.The first chapter discusses the social background of the theory of " sexual politics". In the 1950s and 1960s, there were so many mass movements that aimed at pursuing equality and freedom, like as the black civil rights movement, the counterculture movement, a campaign against "Vietnam war", and so on. These movements inspired American women, meanwhile, they had got profound understanding about American social reality by taking part in the movements. It provided effective reference and laid a solid foundation for the subsequent feminist movement. Throughout the 1970s, the radical feminist movement was developing rapidly in the field of society, culture, politics, and so on. It had been changing the traditional idea that viewed the relationship between men and women as the relationship of dominating-dominated. That was the social background of the theory of "sexual politics".The second chapter discusses the main points of the theory of "sexual politics". The thesis summarizes four points:(1)sexual politics is the power relationship of men and women; (2) the aim of sexual revolution is matrimonial institution not electoral institution;(3)sexual anti-revolution keeps the order of patriarchal society by policies and reactionary ideology;(4)male writers reflects the power relationship of men and women by their works.The third chapter discusses the characteristics and contribution of "sexual politics". Millett’s works combines the cultural criticism and literary criticism, makes a new method of of feminist literary criticism; builds a virtual way of reading, makes us understanding the importance of rereading the text and recognizing gender identity.All in all, Millett’s "sexual politics" because of the radical is profound. It has attracted widespread attention, at the same time, also revealed a problem of radical literature. What the background of Sexual Politics is the story of being made by male not the reality, it decides that the style of sexual politics is ivory-towered and relatively radicalization. Although it is inappropriate for the development of the contemporary feminist literary criticism, the radical and profound ideas can give important enlightenment to contemporary Chinese feminist literary criticism.Chinese feminist literary criticism is from radical "male criticism" to a peaceful "gender poetics" gradually.