Let's talk masturbation, but not the taboo autoeroticism that causes pubescent teens to have moral dilemmas... okay maybe a little. But really it just serves (in this web-log at least) as an analogy for writing. But don't give me all of the credit, the analogy comes to us from the mind of Helene Cixous in "The Laugh of Medusa." While commanding women to write with an assertive exclamation point, Cixous draws a comparison between the presumably female reader's current writing and masturbation.
"you've written a little, but in secret... as when we would masturbate in secret, not to go further, but to attenuate the tension a bit, just enough to take the edge off. And then as soon as we come, we go and make ourselves feel guilty - so as to be forgiven; or to forget, to bury it until the next time."
I can relate to this passage... because of my writing that is. But I am curious as to the direct comparison to masturbation because Cixous tells me that writing is for me. Not that everything people do for themselves is masturbation, but if I'm writing for me why should it matter whether or not I write in secret? I suppose what Cixous is really driving at is the concept of not being held back from writing due to some perceived finger wagging of shame from "the man." So while writing can be like masturbation, it doesn't have to be, in fact it probably shouldn't, according to Cixous. This is all well and good for women, but what about male writing? I know that male writers do not face the same challenges of women writers, but that doesn't make male writers impervious to the pitfalls that lead to masturbatory writing.
Take William S. Burroughs' "The Wild Boys: A Book of the Dead" for example. This text is an example of a male author running the risk of masturbating in public... in literary terms of course. Burroughs' novel faced criticism from a critic whose full critique I cannot remember, but one part accused it as Burroughs playing with himself in an autoerotic fashion. Sure, the book is filled with a lot of graphic sexual encounters of men on men, and as a gay male author it's easy to see how it could be construed as a masturbatory act, but that's not what the critic was driving at. Instead, he accused Burroughs of not conveying any sort of message, and that the novel was purely for self satisfaction. I have a problem with that criticism though, because I agree with Cixous, to an extent.
I'm a firm believer that not all writing has to convey a message, because writing is indeed for the writer. Even works purely meant to convey messages (such as pamphlets) are for the author, because they have an inner desire to share a message that is satisfied through writing. Accusing an author of being selfish or writing to a narrow audience is dumb because all authors have a self motivating reason to write, or else they wouldn't do it. Holding all writers to the standards of "great male writers" is not only limiting to women but all writers. You need not be great to write, you only need a desire. Ultimately, I agree with Cixous in that writing is for the writer, but I don't see the harm in masturbatory writing. While it may be limiting to some, it may be a place of comfort for others. So here is my message to the world... of writers: what you do in your own time in the privacy of your bedroom is your business, but you need not be ashamed of it ;)
I agree with you that writing is for the writer. I often write poems or journals when I'm feeling overwhelmed with emotion and need to write in order to work through the things that I'm feeling. This act could be considered by Cixous as masturbatory, as I have no intention of sharing these works with anyone. They are solely for me, the writer. I further agree though that comparing all writers to the "great male writers" is highly detrimental to all writers. Writing should be judged based solely on its own merit, not on the gender, race, etc. of the person who wrote it. I think that it's alright to literarily masturbate on some occasions, but one should not hold one's writing in fear of reprisal.
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