流行女权主义新注解

2012-04-26 00:00:00来源：21英语网

　　Why is feminism a dirty word? Why is motherhood seen as the ultimate goal for every woman? Why are pants getting smaller?
　　为何女权主义成为一个禁忌字眼？为何为人母会被视为所有女性的终极目标？为何女性的裤子正越来越缩水？

　　In her book, How to be a Woman, feminist Caitlin Moran demands an answer to these questions.
　　女权主义者凯特琳莫兰（音译）在她的书《成就女人》里一再寻求这些问题的答案。

　　The columnist for the British newspaper The Times looks at the problems which still exist for women and why.
　　这位英国《泰晤士报》的专栏作家着眼于那些女性身上仍然存在的问题及其原因。

　　The book has been hugely popular and has reignited feminist debate.
　　这本书大受欢迎，再次燃起了有关女权主义的争论。

　　One reason for its success is that it isn’t an academic analysis. Rather, Moran’s own experiences are hilariously used to shed light on why women still struggle for equality.
　　它成功的原因之一在于它并非学术分析。相反，莫兰用自己的亲身经历风趣地阐明了为何女性仍在为平等而斗争。

　　In the book Moran tackles subjects such as high heels, weight, fashion, celebrities, abortion, getting married and having kids.
　　书中，莫兰涉及到了诸如高跟鞋、体重、时尚、名誉、流产、结婚以及生子等话题。

　　The text acts as a handbook for the life of a modern woman. Moran recognizes that, along with key political issues, what deeply affects women’s lives, is their attitude to themselves, particularly their body image.
　　这本书已成为现代女性生活的指导手册。莫兰意识到，除了一些关键性的政治问题以外，女性对自身尤其是对外在形象的态度深深影响着她们的生活。

　　She writes: “For women, finding a sympathetic, non-judgmental arena is just as important as getting the right to vote.”
　　她写道：“对于女人而言，找到一个富有同情心且不指手画脚的舞台与获得选举权一样重要。

　　Her comic approach is the book’s greatest strength and makes it far more accessible to young people than previous feminist texts.
　　她处理问题的幽默方式成为这本书的最大优点。相比之前的女权主义作品，这本书更容易被年轻人所读懂。

　　Moran says she wants to break down the belief that feminism should be something that’s “good for you, like fiber”.
　　莫兰说她想打破一种观点，那就是“女权主义就像食物纤维一样，应该是对你有益处的东西。”

　　Her approach also helps to rebrand the term. She writes that feminism “should be as exciting as rock ’n’ roll”.
　　她这种方式也促成了女权主义的一次全新定位。她写道，女权主义“应该像摇滚音乐一样令人兴奋。”

　　Sonia Cala-Lesina, 25, says she used to avoid calling herself a feminist. “I felt quite embarrassed by it, despite being very sympathetic to the underlying politics. Since reading Moran’s book, however, I have described myself as a feminist much more.”
　　25岁的索尼娅卡拉-莱西纳表示，她曾避免称自己是位女权主义者。“尽管我很支持这种基本的政治观点，我还是对这一术语感到尴尬。然而自从读了莫兰的书以后，我更喜欢将自己描述成女权主义者了。”

　　The negative connotations connected with feminism are primarily why so many people feel uncomfortable using the term.
　　许多人在使用这个术语时感到不自在，也正是因为这种与女权主义相关的消极内涵在作怪。

　　“I have to prepare to justify myself,” says Cala-Lesina, a personal assistant to a professor in London. “It’s become such a dirty word that people don’t realize that it’s essentially common sense.”
　　卡拉-莱西纳是伦敦一名教授的私人助理，她说：“我得准备好为自己辩护，女权主义变成这样一个禁忌字眼，以致于人们没有意识到它是必需的常识。

　　Lady Gaga is known for describing herself as a feminist and Moran sees her as an excellent role model.
　　Lady Gaga以描述自身是一位女权主义者而闻名，莫兰将她看做是一位杰出榜样。

　　When Gaga’s debut album came out she fought her record company, who wanted to put a borderline soft-porn image of her on the cover.
　　当Lady Gaga的首张专辑问世时她与唱片公司发生了争执，他们想在专辑封面上放一张她本人带点色情味道的暧昧照片。

　　She defies expectations of what a woman should look like.
　　而她公然向这种对于女性外表的固有期望宣战。

　　Moran writes: “I think it’s going to be very difficult to oppress a generation of teenage girls who’ve grown up with a liberal, literate, bisexual pop star who shoots fireworks out of her bra and was listed as Forbes magazine’s seventh most Powerful Celebrity in the World.”
　　莫兰写到：“我认为要想压抑这一代的少女们实属不易，她们在这样一位无拘无束、具备文化修养的双性恋歌星的陪伴下成长——她在自己的内衣上放烟火，还在《福布斯》“全球最具影响力名人排行榜”上排名第七。

　　For a book that discusses so intimately the experiences of being a woman it could potentially alienate men, but it hasn’t.
　　对于一本如此私密地谈论女性经历的书籍，它很有可能会使男性感到格格不入，然而事实并非如此。

　　The book has been massively popular with both sexes, because feminism is not a gender specific issue. For example, men and women alike are affected by lack of access to affordable childcare. “I enjoyed the book,” says John Foster, 26, a freelance tour manager from London. “Mostly because it’s incredibly funny.”
　　这本书大受两性读者的欢迎，因为女权主义不是一个性别方面的具体问题。例如，男性和女性一样，会因为找不到价格合理的照顾孩子的人而受到影响。26岁的约翰福斯特是一位来自伦敦的自由导游，他说：“我很喜欢这本书，主要是因为它非常有趣。”

　　Cala-Lesina says it’s exciting that the book is so mainstream.
　　卡拉-莱西纳表示，这本书已成为主流，实在是件令人兴奋的事。

　　“A lot of people who have never thought about feminism, or ever read about it, will be introduced to the concept,” she says.
　　她说：“很多人从未思考过，也从没读到过女权主义思想，而这本书会告诉他们这一观点。”

　　Popular feminism may only be beginning to gather pace once again. But with women still struggling for equality in the UK 93 years after gaining the right to vote, it is time for the stirrings to become a thunderstorm.
　　流行的女权主义可能只是女权事业再次加快步伐的开端。然而在获得选举权的93个年头后，英国的女性仍然在为平等而战。该是女权主义由萌动升级成风暴的时候了。

本文关键字: Moran