--- Robison Michael R CNIN <
Robison_M@crane.navy.mil> wrote (or quoted,
actually):
> The symbolism inherent in her name
[Birdie]
> also underscores her androgynous state. Birds
can
> be
> regarded as phallic symbols; their
cylindrical
> bodies and
> erect heads contribute to this interpretation,
as
> well as
> the common use of the word "bird" as a euphemism
for
> "penis."
Ugh. This is the kind of nonsense that makes me hope for a
job outside of the academy. Note her language:
"birds CAN BE regarded" blah, blah. Sure, they CAN BE. For
that matter, so can anything longer than it is wide. Ugh
again.
Also, I note that this post generated a lot of conversation
about "bird" representing men or women or both (I haven't
read it all, but I'm surprised not to have seen the
expressing "odd bird" yet). Anyway, what this writer says is
not that "bird" is slang for
"man," but for "penis." I have never in my life encountered
such a usage of the word "bird." Perhaps there is an example
out there, but it sure as heck ain't in "common use."
I'm sorry to rant, but this kind of thing really ticks me
off. It gives people who want to do serious readings of
serious texts a bad name. And please note that I am NOT
against this type of reading of a text--it has validity,
IMHO, when done well and in the proper context (I will humbly
point to my paper on androgyny in Carroll John Daly,
mentioned recently here, as a poor attempt to meet these
criteria). But I object to things done badly. I haven't read
the whole thesis, and don't plan to, but if miker's selection
is a representation of the whole paper...well, I can't add
much to "ugh."
G.
===== George C. Upper III, Editor The Lightning Bell Poetry
Journal http://www.lightningbell.org/
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