Écriture féminine, literally women's writing, is a philosophy that promotes women's experiences and feelings to the point that it strengthens the work. Helene Cixous first uses this term in her essay, "The Laugh of the Medusa," in which she asserts, "Woman must write her self: must write about women and bring women to writing, from which they have been driven away as violently as from their bodies."

Écriture féminine places experience before language, and privileges the anti-linear, cyclical writing so often frowned upon by patriarchal society. For Cixous, though, ecriture feminine is not only a possibility for female writers, rather, she believes it can also be employed by men. Just as women often lapse into masculine writing, Cixous believes that men can also tap into feminine writing. She often cites James Joyce as an example. James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (February 2, 1882 – January 13, 1941) was an expatriate Irish writer and poet, and is widely considered one of the most significant writers of the 20th century. ...

Écriture féminine was especially well developed by French and other European feminists. At the present time, écriture féminine is a major discipline in schools and universities of English-speaking countries. Feminism is a body of social theory and a political movement primarily based on, and motivated by, the experiences of women. ...

Helene Cixous and Julia Kristeva were major exponents of the movement. Hélène Cixous (born 1937) is a French feminist writer, poet, playwright, philosopher and literary critic. ... Julia Kristeva is a famous contemporary Bulgarian philosopher who lives and works in France. ...

External links:

"The Laugh of the Medusa" Resource Page (http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/english/English295/albright/main1.htm)