Misplaced Pages

The Straight Mind and Other Essays

Cover of the first edition
Author	Monique Wittig
Language	English
Publisher	Beacon Press
Publication date	1992
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print

The Straight Mind and Other Essays is a 1992 collection of essays by Monique Wittig.

The collection was translated into French as La pensée straight in 2001. The title essay, "The Straight Mind", was delivered to the Modern Language Association annual convention in 1978.

Summary

In April 1979, Wittig delivered her essay, "The Straight Mind", as the morning keynote address at Barnard College's event, "The Scholar and the Feminist Conference, The Future of Difference". The essay appeared in French in Questions féministes, where the editorial collective, which included Wittig, splintered over "the lesbian question" leading to a dissolution of the collective and end to the publication. It also appeared in English in Feminist Issues.

"One Is Not Born a Woman", delivered in September 1979 at the "30th Anniversary Conference of the Second Sex" held at New York University, takes up the outcomes of Simone de Beauvoir's feminist political visions for lesbians. Wittig writes "Lesbians Are Not Women" under the assumption that the term "woman" is defined by men. Moreover, she compares lesbians to fugitive slaves.

"The Trojan Horse" explains her theory of literature as a "war machine", echoing Gilles Deleuze.

References

1. ^ Epps, Brad; Katz, Jonathan (October 1, 2007). "Monique Wittig's Materialist Utopia and Radical Critique". GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies. 13 (4): 423–454. doi:10.1215/10642684-2007-001. ISSN 1064-2684.
2. Wittig, Monique (February 1980). "La pensée straight" [The Straight Mind]. Questions Féministes (7). fn 9, p.52. JSTOR 40619186.
3. West, Lois A. (1979). "French Feminist Theorists & Psychoanalytic Theory". Off Our Backs. 9 (7): 4–23. JSTOR 25773119.
4. Shaktini, Namascar, ed. On Monique Wittig: Theoretical, Political, And Literary Essays (University of Illinois Press, 2005). ISBN 9780252029844. page 9.
5. "The Straight Mind.' Feminist Issues 1. no. 1 (Summer 1980): 108-111.
6. Martin, Douglas (January 12, 2003). "Monique Wittig, 67, Feminist Writer, Dies".
7. Jardine, Alice (October 1, 2007). "Thinking Wittig's Differences". GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies. 13 (4): 455–466. doi:10.1215/10642684-2007-002. ISSN 1064-2684.

This article about an essay or essay collection is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e

This article about a non-fiction book on lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender topics is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e

v t e Lesbian feminism
People	Paula Gunn Allen Dorothy Allison Ti-Grace Atkinson Alison Bechdel Evelyn Torton Beck Miriam Ben-Shalom Julie Bindel Ivy Bottini Charlotte Bunch Cheryl Clarke Michelle Cliff Kate Clinton Jeanne Córdova Mary Daly Max Dashu Stormé DeLarverie Diane DiMassa Alix Dobkin Andrea Dworkin Elana Dykewomon Lillian Faderman Ferron Marilyn Frye Michiyo Fukaya Carolyn Gage Donna Gottschalk Sarah Hoagland Karla Jay Sheila Jeffreys Jill Johnston Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz Joan Larkin Anna Livia Audre Lorde Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon Cherríe Moraga Bonnie J. Morris Ruth Mountaingrove Jean O'Leary Pat Parker Julia Penelope Janice Raymond Adrienne Rich Margaret Sloan-Hunter Barbara Smith Cris Williamson Monique Wittig Bonnie Zimmerman
Groups	AMASONG Amazon Bookstore Cooperative Anjaree Artemis Singers Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance Bi-National Lesbian Conference Chicago Lesbian Liberation Combahee River Collective Connexxus Women's Center/Centro de Mujeres Daughters of Bilitis Daughters of Bilitis (Australia) The Feminists First Black Lesbian Conference The Furies Collective Gay Women's Alternative Gouines rouges June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives Lavender Menace Leeds Revolutionary Feminist Group Lesbian Art Project Lesbian Avengers Lesbian Feminist Liberation Lesbian Herstory Archives Lesbian Movement (Denmark) Lesbian Organization of Toronto Lesbians Against Pit Closures Lincoln Legion of Lesbians Mujeres Creando Oregon Women's Land Trust Salsa Soul Sisters Sister Spit Sisters for Homophile Equality Van Dykes
Key issues	Butch Butch and femme Compulsory heterosexuality Corrective rape Dyke Feminist separatism Femme Gender-critical feminism Lesbian bed death Lesbian erasure Lesbian feminism Lesbians in Francoist Spain Lesbians in the Spanish Second Republic Lesbophobia Lipstick lesbian Political lesbianism Radical lesbianism Soft butch Stone butch Stone femme U-Haul lesbian Womyn-born womyn Womyn's land
Media	Books Les Guérillères (1969) Lesbian Nation (1973) Le Corps Lesbien (1973) Lover (1976) The Wanderground (1979) Zami: A New Spelling of My Name (1982) Lesbian/Woman (1991) The Straight Mind and Other Essays (1992) Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold (1993) Your Silence Will Not Protect You (2017) Other Die Freundin (1924–1933) Vice Versa (1947–1948) The Ladder (1956–1972) Arena Three (1963-1972) The Woman-Identified Woman (1970) Off Our Backs (1970–2008) Lavender Woman (1971–1976) Lesbian Tide (1971–1980) Dykes & Gorgons (1973–1976) Lesbian Feminist Circle (1973–1986) WomanSpirit (1974–1984) Lesbian Connection (1974–present) Conditions (1976–1990) Sinister Wisdom (1976–present) Azalea: A Magazine by Third World Lesbians (1977–1983) Common Lives/Lesbian Lives (1980–1996) Onyx: Black Lesbian Newsletter (1982–1984) Amazones d'Hier, Lesbiennes d'Aujourd'hui (1982–present) Dykes to Watch Out For (1983–2008) Hothead Paisan (1991–1998) Diva (1994–present) Journal of Lesbian Studies (1997–present) Jane's World (1998–2018) Curve (2000–present) AfterEllen (2002–present) Velvetpark (2007–present) Hannah Gadsby: Nanette (2017)
Actions and ideas	Cineffable Dyke march Lesbian bar Lesbian flags Lesbian literature Lesbian pulp fiction Maud's (bar) Michigan Womyn's Music Festival Motherpeace Tarot Mountain Moving Coffeehouse Olivia Records Paris Lesbian and Feminist Film Festival Peg's Place (bar) Some Prefer Cake Women's music Women's Week Provincetown
Feminism portal

v t e Radical feminism
People	Wim Hora Adema Chude Pam Allen Ti-Grace Atkinson Kathleen Barry Rosalyn Baxandall Linda Bellos Julie Bindel Jenny Brown Judith Brown Susan Brownmiller Phyllis Chesler D. A. Clarke Nikki Craft Kimberlé Crenshaw Mary Daly Christine Delphy Gail Dines Andrea Dworkin Melissa Farley Shulamith Firestone Marilyn French Marilyn Frye Germaine Greer Carol Hanisch Merle Hoffman bell hooks Sheila Jeffreys Robert Jensen Lierre Keith Anne Koedt Marjorie Kramer Holly Lawford-Smith Audre Lorde Catharine A. MacKinnon Sheila Michaels Kate Millett Robin Morgan Meghan Murphy Irene Peslikis Janice Raymond Rosetta Reitz Adrienne Rich Florence Rush Kathie Sarachild Alix Kates Shulman Valerie Solanas Gloria Steinem John Stoltenberg Michele Wallace Marilyn Salzman Webb Ellen Willis Harriet Wistrich Monique Wittig Laura X
Groups	Cell 16 Chicago Women's Liberation Union Coalition Against Trafficking in Women Deep Green Resistance Lesbian Organization of Toronto Michigan Womyn's Music Festival Mountain Moving Coffeehouse New York Radical Feminists New York Radical Women Redstockings Stop Porn Culture The Feminists The Furies Collective WOMAD Women Against Pornography Women's Liberation Front (WoLF)
Issues	4 NOs Child sexual abuse False consciousness Feminism Lesbian Second wave Feminist separatism Feminist views on transgender topics Gender role Male privilege Patriarchy Political lesbianism Pornography Feminist views on pornography Postgenderism Prostitution Feminist views Reproductive rights Sexism Misogyny Internalized sexism Social construction of gender Violence against women
Media	Books The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist Revolution (1970) Sexual Politics (1970) Sisterhood Is Powerful (1970) "The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm" (1970) The Female Eunuch (1970) Lesbian Nation (1973) Woman Hating (1974) Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape (1974) Pornography: Men Possessing Women (1981) Ain't I a Woman? (1981) Against Sadomasochism (1982) Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center (1984) Sisterhood Is Global (1984) Intercourse (1987) Feminism Unmodified (1987) Toward a Feminist Theory of the State (1989) The Straight Mind and Other Essays (1992) Only Words (1993) Scapegoat: The Jews, Israel, and Women's Liberation (2000) Sisterhood Is Forever (2003) The Industrial Vagina (2008) Other Off Our Backs (1970–2008) SCUM Manifesto (1967) She's Beautiful When She's Angry (2014)
Other	Consciousness raising Herstory Miss America protest (1968) Radical lesbianism Womyn's land
Feminism portal

• 1992 non-fiction books
• Beacon Press books
• Books by Monique Wittig
• French essay collections
• Lesbian feminist books
• Lesbian non-fiction books
• Radical feminist books
• 1990s LGBTQ literature
• Essay stubs
• LGBTQ book stubs