Abstract
Ireland has struggled with its 'feminine' identity throughout its history. The so-called 'chasmic dichotomy of male and female' is embedded in colonial and postcolonial constructions of Irishness and it continues to manifest itself in contemporary cultural representations of Ireland and Irishness. This study explores issues of gender and nationality through a reading of a television advertisement for Caffrey's Irish Ale, entitled 'New York'. The article suggests that, although colonial and postcolonial discourse on Ireland continues to perceive the 'feminine' in problematic terms, this is gradually changing as Irish women increasingly, in poet Eavan Boland's words, 'open a window on those silences, those false pastorals, those ornamental reductions' that have confined us.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 405-421 |
| Journal | European Journal of Women's Studies |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Publication status | Published (in print/issue) - Nov 2000 |
Bibliographical note
Reference text: Barry, Peter (1995) Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. Manchester: Manchester University Press.Benton, SarahBenton, Sarah (1995) ‘The Militarization of Politics in Ireland 1913–23’, Feminist Review(Special issue: ‘The Irish Issue: The British Question’) 50 (Summer): 148–172.Bhabha, Homi, K.
Bhabha, Homi, K., ed. (1990) Nation and Narration.London: Routledge.Boehmer, Elleke
Boehmer, Elleke (1995) Colonial and Postcolonial Literature.Oxford: Opus Books/Oxford University Press.Boland, Eavan
Boland, Eavan (1994) ‘A Kind of Scar: The Woman Poet in a National Tradition’, A Dozen Lips.Dublin: Attic Press.Boland, Eavan, Chris Morash
Boland, Eavan (1995) ‘The Irish Woman Poet: Her Place in Irish Literature’, pp. 31–47 in Chris Morash (ed.) Creativity and its Contexts.Dublin: The Lilliput Press.Cairns, David, Shaun Richards
Cairns, David and Shaun Richards (1988) Writing Ireland: Colonialism, Nationalism and Culture. Manchester: Manchester University Press.Condren, Mary
Condren, Mary (1989) The Serpent and the Goddess: Women, Religion, and Power in Celtic Ireland.New York: HarperCollins.Condren, Mary
Condren, Mary (1995) ‘Sacrifice and Political Legitimation: The Production of Gendered Social Order’, Irish Women's Voices: Past and Present, Journal of Women's History 6(4)/7(1) (Winter/Spring): 160–189.Cullingford, Elizabeth Butler
Cullingford, Elizabeth Butler (1993) Gender and History in Yeats’ Love Poetry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Feminist Review(1995) ‘Editorial: The Irish Issue, The British Question’, 50 (Summer): 1–4.Fowles, John
Fowles, John (1996) Advertising and Popular Culture. London: Sage.Howes, Marjorie
Howes, Marjorie (1996) Yeats's Nations: Gender, Class, and Irishness.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Humm, Maggie
Humm, Maggie (1995) The Dictionary of Feminist Theory, 2nd edn. Hemel Hempstead: Prentice-Hall/Harvester Wheatsheaf.Hutchinson, John
Hutchinson, John (1987) The Dynamics of Cultural Nationalism: The Gaelic Revival and the Creation of the Irish Nation State.London: Allen and Unwin.Kennelly, Brendan, A. Donovan, N. Jeffares, B. Kennelly
Kennelly, Brendan (1994) ‘Introduction’, p. xxiii-xxiii in A. Donovan, N. Jeffares and B. Kennelly (eds) Ireland's Women: Writings Past and Present.London: Kyle Cathie.Kiberd, Declan
Kiberd, Declan (1996) Inventing Ireland: The Literature of the Modern Nation.London: Vintage.Kimmel, Michael S.
Kimmel, Michael S. (1996) Manhood in America. New York: The Free Press.Lillington, Karlin J., E. Patten
Lillington, Karlin J. (1995) ‘Woman as “Elsewhere”: Seamus Heaney's “Feminine” Voice’, pp. 276–286 in E. Patten (ed.) Returning to Ourselves, Second Volume of Papers from the John Hewitt International Summer School. Belfast: Lagan Press.McLoone, Martin, E. Patten
McLoone, Martin (1995) ‘The Primitive Image: Tradition, Modernity and Cinematic Ireland’, pp. 310–324 in E. Patten (ed.) Returning to Ourselves, Second Volume of Papers from the John Hewitt International Summer School, Belfast: Lagan Press.Meaney, Geraldine
Meaney, Geraldine (1994) ‘Sex and Nation: Women in Irish Culture and Politics’, A Dozen Lips. Dublin: Attic Press.Mills, Lia
Mills, Lia (1995) ‘ “I Won't Go Back to It”: Irish Women Poets and the Iconic Feminine’, Feminist Review(Special issue: ‘The Irish Issue: The British Question’) 50 (Summer): 69–88.Newman, Judie
Newman, Judie (1997) The Ballistic Bard: Postcolonial Fictions.London: Arnold.Newton, K.M.
Newton, K.M., ed. (1997) Twentieth-Century Literary Theory: A Reader.Basingstoke: Macmillan.Said, Edward W.
Said, Edward W. (1978) Orientalism.London: Routledge.Said, Edward W.
Said, Edward W. (1993) Culture and Imperialism. London: Chatto and Windus.Schwab, Gabriele
Schwab, Gabriele (1996) The Mirror and the Killer Queen: Otherness in Literary Language.Bloomington: Indiana University Press.Schweickart, Patrocinio P., E.A. Flynn, P.P. Schweickart
Schweickart, Patrocinio P. (1986) ‘Reading Ourselves: Toward a Feminist Theory of Reading’, pp. 31–62 in E.A. Flynn and P.P. Schweickart (eds) Gender and Reading: Essays on Readers, Texts and Contexts.Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty
Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty (1990) The Post-Colonialist Critic: Interviews, Strategies, Dialogues.New York: Routledge.Strate, L., S. Craig
Strate, L. (1992) ‘Beer Commercials: A Manual on Masculinity’, pp. 78–92 in S. Craig (ed.) Men, Masculinity and the Media.Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Valiulis, Maryann Gialanella
Valiulis, Maryann Gialanella (1995) ‘Power, Gender, and Identity in the Irish Free State’, Irish Women's Voices: Past and Present, Journal of Women's History 6(4)/7(1) (Winter/Spring): 117–136.Ward, J.K.
Ward, J.K., ed. (1996) Feminism and Ancient Philosophy.New York: Routledge.Ward, Margaret
Ward, Margaret (1983) Unmanageable Revolutionaries: Women and Irish Nationalism. London: Pluto Press.Ward, Margaret
Ward, Margaret (1995), ‘Conflicting Interests: The British and Irish Suffrage Movements’, Feminist Review(Special issue: ‘The Irish Issue: The British Question’) 50 (Summer): 127–147.Welch, Robert
Welch, Robert, ed. (1993) W.B. Yeats: Writings on Irish Folklore, Legend and Myth. London: Penguin.Williams, Raymond
Williams, Raymond (1973) The Country and the City.London: Chatto and Windus.