The “ Feminine ” Ideal Susannah Meyer

This World of Words assignment was an exercise in enhanced lexical analysis and applied analytical thinking. Drawing upon the skills, insights, and research methods rehearsed over a series of short writing assignments, students were asked to compose a five-page analysis of a selected lexeme that examined its past and present histories, as well as its future possibilities. In “The ‘Feminine’ Ideal,” Susannah presents a compelling argument that one cannot understand the term’s social inflections without first engaging its lexical history: its grammatical origins, its ongoing and mutually constitutive relationship to the term “masculine,” the various terms with which is it commonly associated, etc. Drawing upon a range of source materials—all while exhibiting an appropriate sensitivity to differences of register—Susannah never gets overwhelmed by the data amassed; rather, her ability to synthesize such information, and deploy it in support of an elegant, nuanced, and persuasive argument, testifies to her skill as a writer and thinker of the highest quality. Throughout, this close attention to detail allows Susannah to glean rich insights from even the shortest of passages. For instance, her analysis of historical collocates (“touch” and “ideal,” followed by “strength” and “wisdom”) provides persuasive evidence in support of her larger contention: that a rising lexical consciousness regarding the term’s “traditional” connotations has shifted contemporary usage patterns. While Susannah’s strengths as a scholar and writer are evident, her greatest achievement lies in the intellectual ambition evinced throughout the piece. Advancing beyond the data, so to speak, she grapples with a range of questions at the heart of this Thinking Matters course: what do words “do?” Who gets to decide what words mean? How should we handle terms that possess loaded or derisive connotations? In addition to those already noted, this essay explores questions of semantic value, descriptivism vs. prescriptivism, the role of lexicographers in concretizing gendered “ideals” and ideologies, and the importance of feminist lexical critique. This ability to think with and beyond a given assignment exemplifies precisely the type of advanced thinking we hope to foster in World of Words.